Signature of Bill Reid VC, one of the greatest pilots of WWII
A 1944 club membership card signed by Reid as "William Reid VC". He was awarded the UK’s highest award for valour for his conduct on a bombing raid to Dusseldorf on November 3, 1943.
It is a rectangular, printed membership application card for The Thirty Club at 30 Castleton Boulevard, Skegness. It is dated January 24, 1944 and records Reid’s rank as “Ft/Lt” (Flight Lieutenant), and his address as RAF Woodhall. It is signed “William Reid VC”. Reid signs that he is paying the 5 shillings membership fee for the year.
On both the club’s record of Reid’s name and his own signature, the VC is underlined.
It’s possible this is one of the first times Reid signed his name as a VC holder. It was awarded on December 14, 1943.
Reid’s conduct on the raid of November 3 was extraordinary. Flying a Lancaster bomber, he survived a fighter attack that shattered his windscreen and another that killed most of the key members of his crew. He delivered his bombs and plotted his own course home, despite suffering serious injuries himself.
Victoria Cross holders are a small and select club. Just 1,358 have been awarded. All are heroes.
Reid was later captured, but survived the war and returned to civilian, family life and a career in agriculture. His VC was sold at Spink in 2009 for a then record £384.000.
The Thirty Club opened in Skegness in the 1930s (RAF Woodhall is around 26 miles away). It closed in 1974 but there remained a club on the premises, which have subsequently been converted into flats.
This personal and revealing memento from World War II gives an insight into the life of one of the bravest and most modest (Reid’s wife only discovered he had a VC after they were married) heroes of World War II.
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