The D.F.C. group of six to Acting Flying Officer John William Grosvenor Hodgkinson, R.A.F. Volunteer

The D.F.C. group of six to Acting Flying Officer John William Grosvenor Hodgkinson, R.A.F. Volunteer Reserve, who flew as a pilot in the Berlin Airlift of 1948-1949: Distinguished Flying Cross, George VI, reverse dated 1945, in case of issue, good very fine; 1939-45 Star; France and Germany Star; Defence Medal; War Medal 1939-45; Air Efficiency Award, George VI IND IMP (W/O J. W. G. HODGKINSON. (745476) R.A.F.V.R.), the last five mounted for wearing, good very fine or better, [6]; together with: the recipient's flying log book for the period of his service in the Berlin Air Lift; a small collection of photographs, including a view of the recipient receiving his D.F.C. from the King; his uniform tunic; rifle shooting prize medals, and other items.

D.F.C. London Gazette 20/02/1945

John Hodgkinson was born in Derbyshire on the 2nd of October 1920 and entered the R.A.F. Reserve aged 18. Having trained as an engineer, he flew in bombers during the Second World War, and was awarded the DSO in 1945 while serving in 207 Squadron R.A.F. He married Sylvia (neé Lowe) in Oxford in January 1948, and later that year, he participated, as a pilot, in the remarkable and heroic effort to supply the people of West Berlin during the Soviet blockade. He flew AVRO York transport plane as part of an intensive and hazardous schedule of supply runs between September and December 1948. His log book records flights between Wunstorf and Gatow airfields, and other destinations. He was a keen target shooter, and he died in Oxfordshire in 2001.