Second World War Medal Group – Sergeant Bert Kirkham, 22 Sqn. Royal Air Force – Shot Down by a BF 109 While Attacking the German Heavy Cruiser Lützow off the Coast of Norway, June 1941
1939-45 Star – unnamed as issued
Atlantic Star – unnamed as issued
War Medal – unnamed as issued
With box of issue, slip, photograph, and some family related bits including a Women’s Royal Voluntary Service Medal to a Mrs Kirkham.
Sergeant Bert Kirkham, 950127, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, was born in December 1920 at Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, the son of Reginald and Jennie Kirkham. At the time of the 1939 Register, he was residing with his family in Newcastle-under-Lyme and employed as a Tax Officer with the Inland Revenue, a respectable civil service position for a young man of just 18 years of age.
Following the outbreak of the Second World War, Kirkham enlisted into the Royal Air Force, joining between September 1939 and August 1940, and was posted to No. 22 Squadron, part of Coastal Command. The squadron had only recently transitioned onto the Bristol Beaufort, a twin-engine torpedo bomber, and was heavily engaged in anti-shipping strikes over the North Sea and Norwegian waters, targeting German naval forces and supply routes.
Kirkham was serving as a Sergeant (Aircrew) aboard Bristol Beaufort Mk I, W6521 (OA-R) when, on the night of 12/13 June 1941, he took part in a major and now well-documented strike against the German heavy cruiser Lützow, which had been located off the Norwegian coast. Aircraft from No. 22 Squadron, operating from RAF Wick, joined a larger force tasked with locating and attacking the vessel and its escort.
During the operation, one aircraft from No. 42 Squadron successfully struck Lützow with a torpedo, crippling the vessel. However, the attacking force came under heavy opposition. Kirkham’s aircraft, W6521, is recorded as having been shot down by a Messerschmitt Bf 109 off the Norwegian coast near Stavanger, with the loss of all four crew members:
- Squadron Leader Edward Culverwell
- Pilot Officer Alastair William Robson
- Sergeant Bert Kirkham
- Sergeant Ernest Shackleton
All were killed in action, Kirkham being just 20 years old at the time of his death on 13 June 1941. With no known grave, he is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial, Panel 46, among those airmen lost without trace.
Kirkham’s sacrifice came during one of the early and dangerous Coastal Command torpedo operations, a role characterised by low-level attacks against heavily defended naval targets, often with extremely high casualty rates. The attack on Lützow itself was a significant action, temporarily removing a major German warship from service, though at considerable cost to the attacking crews.
His entitlement to the 1939–45 Star, Atlantic Star, and War Medal 1939–1945, issued posthumously to his family in the named transmission box addressed to R. Kirkham Esq., 47 Underdale Road, Shrewsbury, reflects his operational service with Coastal Command and his ultimate sacrifice.
The group is further enhanced by the inclusion of a contemporary photograph of Kirkham in uniform, offering a rare and personal connection to the airman, as well as original issue paperwork. Also present is a Women’s Royal Voluntary Service Medal belonging to “Mrs Kirkham”, almost certainly a family member, and additional paperwork relating to a First World War soldier of the same family, though these are ancillary to the principal RAF casualty group.
A highly evocative and complete Second World War Coastal Command casualty group, directly connected to the famous attack on the German cruiser Lützow, and to a young RAF airman who gave his life in one of the most hazardous roles of the war.
PLEASE NOTE: All research will be sent to the buyer via email. I am unable to provide printed copies, as I do not have access to a printer.
AJMS Medals