* 'During a period of five days in France, this officer destroyed one enemy aircraft and shared in the destruction of four others. Since the return of the squadron to this country, Flying Officer Sizer has taken part in a large number of patrols and has personally destroyed at least a further six enemy aircraft. During one patrol he was attacked and shot down by five Messerschmitt’s. Landing two miles outside La Panne, he swam across a canal and was taken to a casualty station suffering from facial wounds, and thence to England. After only two days sick leave he again participated in patrols with his squadron.' DFC London Gazette: 11 August 1940The Battle of France and then Battle of Britain DFC and Invasion of Sicily Second Award Bar group to Spitfire and Hurricane pilot Wing Commander Wilfred Max “Wilf” Sizer, the three-times shot-down Battle of Britain Ace who served in four campaigns during WWII and is credited for the destruction of 7 enemy aircraft and 5 sharedThis remarkable group, together with its logbooks and related items, is being sold on behalf of the recipient’s family and offers a rare opportunity to acquire one of the last Battle of Britain Ace’s groups to have remained in private handsa) Distinguished Flying Cross, G.VI.R., reverse officially dated '1940', Second Award Bar officially dated '1943' b) 1939-1945 Star with Battle of Britain clasp (copy clasp) c) Atlantic Star with Air Crew Europe clasp (copy clasp) d) Africa Star with North Africa 1942-43 clasp e) Defence and War Medals, mounted for wearing, good very fine or better; together with the recipient’s Caterpillar Club badge, gilt metal with 'ruby' eyes, the reverse engraved 'P/O. W. Sizer. Pres. By. Irving Co.', in original Irving Air Chute of Gt. Britain Ltd box of issue, and his miniature dress awards (the Atlantic Star with incorrect clasp and also including a GSM, clasp Palestine) and his original full size ribbon. Also included with the lot are a series of logbooks, comprising:Logbook 2 – commencing 26 April 1941 – 30 October 1943 Logbook 3 – commencing 1 November 1943 – 7 January 1944 Logbook 4 – commencing 12 January 1948 – 20 March 1951 Logbook 5 – commencing 7 March 1951 – 12 December 1951 Logbook 6 - commencing 3 March 1952 – 23 October 1955 Logbook 7 – commencing 1 November 1955 – 4 December 1959QTY: (7)NOTE:Wilfred Max "Wilf" Sizer (1920-2006) was born in Chelmsford and educated at the King Edward VI Grammar School in Chelmsford.Sizer joined the RAF in 1938 and, after completing his training, joined 17 Squadron at Kenley and, early in 1939, moved to 213 Squadron at Wittering.The squadron was sent to France on 17 May 1940 to support others during the Battle of France. On the 19th, Sizer shared in the destruction of two Hs126s and damaged another, and the following day he shared a Do17. On this patrol Sizer was attacked by five Me109s and was shot down. He landed two miles from La Panne and swam across a canal before being taken to a casualty clearing station with facial wounds after hitting his head on a gun sight. He swiftly returned to his unit two days later and was back in the air immediately.213 Squadron flew constantly over the French coast during the evacuation of Dunkirk and, on 28 May, he destroyed an Me109 whilst on the 31st he shot down another Me109 and damaged yet another. He himself was shot down south of Dunkirk and made a crash landing in Hurricane P2434.The following day Sizer attacked an He III which had started bombing the beaches at Dunkirk and sent it away with engines ablaze. Three days later his squadron was involved in a furious dog fight when German fighters were escorting a bombing formation which were preparing to bomb the evacuation convoys. Sizer attacked another Me109 and shot it down but was himself attacked from the rear. He still managed to damage another Me109, but was outnumbered and his Hurricane was hit and set alight. He crash-landed south of Dunkirk and Sizer fortunately remembered to take his parachute from the wreckage. A man on a motorcycle and side-car rescued him, but then he left his parachute in the side-car and had to go back for this precious item. He arrived in Dunkirk still clutching his parachute and started to board a destroyer but, at the last moment was told to disembark and board instead the River Clyde paddle steamer Plynlimmon. As the paddle steamer departed, the destroyer was attacked by a swarm of Stuka dive bombers which blew the ill-fated destroyer apart. When Sizer returned to 213 Squadron he found that he had been posted as “missing” from the morning flight (an emotive account written by his wife Nita in May 1940 is included with the lot).At the start of the Battle of Britain, Sizer’s squadron was based at Exeter. German squadrons were attacking southern England, and, on 11 August 1940, Sizer destroyed a Ju88 when the squadron intercepted a large raiding force over Weymouth. The following day he shot down an Me110 which was heading towards Portland. On 15 August he shot down two Stuka’s and on 5 October damaged a Ju88. He was awarded the DFC (London Gazette: 8 November 1940).Sizer was then posted to 58 OTU at Grangemouth as an instructor and after a series of other positions with 56/57 OTU, he joined 152 Squadron equipped with Spitfires in April 1942. It went to North Africa in November 1942 and on 25 November, he damaged an Italian Mc202 and three days later a Ju88.Sizer was given command of 93 Squadron at Souk-el-Khemis in Tunisia from February 1943 and flew low-level sorties until the defeat of the Axis forces in Tunis, after which he was transferred to Malta to prepare for the invasion of Sicily.On 10 July 1943, he was leading his squadron over the beaches of Southern Sicily when he damaged a Ju88; he then damaged an Me109 on the 12th and destroyed another Mc202, probably another and damaged four more Mc202s on the same day, resulting in his award to the Bar to his DFC (London Gazette: 28 September 1943).He then remained in the Middle East as a fighter instructor and subsequently commanded a photo reconnaissance squadron in the Canal Zone.Sizer left the RAF in 1946, but rejoined two years later when he resumed his role as fighter instructor. In 1953, he commanded 54 Squadron flying Meteor F.8 jet fighters and later the supersonic Hunter F.1.After spending two years in Hong Kong before returning to the Air Ministry in 1961, he retired from the service two years later with the rank of Wing Commander.Once asked if he had enjoyed his wartime experiences, Sizer replied;Absolutely, looking back we certainly enjoyed it, in fact we enjoyed it then, because we were young you know, I mean we were only 19, 20 years old, crikey you look at them now days and they’re all doing silly things aren’t they. All the lads round here are knocking things down, driving fast cars or making a nuisance of themselves which is exactly what we were doing. Yes it was good fun, there were terrible moments and sometimes very upsetting. Wilf Sizer, April 2005.
