RAF airman’s WWII scrapbook under hammer

A World War II scrapbook giving an insight into the life of an RAF Bomber Command airman is to go under the hammer next week.

The scrapbook was put together by Flight Lieutenant G. H. Eakins, whose first name is not known, and is illustrated with aerial photos of bomb damage to Germany taken from a low-flying Lancaster bomber.

The book is due to be auctioned in Lincoln on Wednesday, along with watercolour scenes painted by Fl Lt Eakins, inspired by his view while on raid.

Auctioneers Golding Young & Thomas Mawer said Fl Lt Eakins was part of 106 Squadron based at Metheringham, near Lincoln.

His scrapbook begins with a picture of a crew from 106 Squadron in front of a Lancaster bomber, with his handwritten caption: “This was taken near the end of our tour – a daylight on Essen I think.

“The Lanc at the rear is OUR Lanc, Old ‘S’ better known to the ground crew as ‘Unbeatable’. At this time the kite had done over 100 ops.”

Another picture shows the raid on the Mittelland canal, the 24th mission flown by Fl Lt Eakins and his crew in their Avro-Lancaster.

The crew were fortunate to return from the mission, as 40 of the 120 Lancasters did not come back.

In his scrapbook Fl Lt Eakins says the pictures, taken as “an example of the power of Bomber Command”, were shot just after the end of the war from a low- flying Lancaster with an RAF camera.

The images show bomb damage on the Hohenzollern Bridge over the River Rhine and the burned-out city of Essen.

They also show the marshalling yards at Hamm, reputed to be one of the largest sorting sidings in the world; Cologne with its bomb-damaged ­cathedral; Germany’s largest inland port at Duisberg; and Dusseldorf.

There are also photographs taken while Fl Lt Eakins was training, including time spent in Southern Rhodesia.

One shows Fl Lt Eakins and two other men leaning out of a window with the caption: “Our billet at Mt Hampden, Salisbury. The fellow on my left is Bob Gunn of Edinburgh, ex-soldier and the fellow on my right is Harrey Fairburn of Edinburgh, ex-soldier.

“Both splendid chaps, unfortunately they both got shot down on Bomber Command 1944.”

Auctioneer John Leatt said: “Eakins took the aerial photos of the bomb damage caused to German cities from the Lancaster bomber himself and also documented his time with RAF through interestingly captioned photographs.

“Many of the crew members he pictured are identified and this will certainly appeal to local historians and collectors.

“Eakins was also a very good amateur watercolourist and his pictures could only have been painted by someone who has seen other aircraft in flight from above.

“They are in no way stereo­typical and are very much one-off originals.

“The watercolours are also still bright and clear because they have been housed in a portfolio together away from daylight.”

The paintings show “Lancasters going out on a mission” from above, an airman in the cockpit of a Lancaster, a Stuker plane being pursued by a Spitfire, a CAT flying boat and an American Navy Phantom and various other planes.

Mr Leatt said the scrapbook is expected to fetch up to £150 at auction, while each of the paintings is expected to fetch between £50 and £200.