Don't Miss Any Special Deals - Sign Up To Our Newsletter! Aircraft Search Squadron Search Signature Search Artist Search SPECIAL OFFERS Product Search
CLICK HERE FOR A FULL LIST OF ALL GERALD COULSON PRINTS BY TITLE

Please note that our logo is used on our website images only and does not appear on our products. Strike and Return by Robert Taylor (C) Winter in Northern Europe brings short days, long nights and, for the most part, appalling weather making navigation difficult and flying hazardous, even by todays electronically sophisticated standards. Throughout RAF Bomber Commands arduous six year World War II campaign, as if atrocious weather were not enough to contend with, day and night bomber crews faced interceptions by enemy fighters, constant flak over occupied territory, and the real and ever-present danger of mid-air collision. Add snowstorms, gale force winds, freezing temperatures and the comparatively rudimentary navigational aids available at the time, it seems a miracle they were able to continue at all. But continue they did, and whenever there was the slimmest chance of hitting an enemy target, unhesitatingly, the aircrews of Bomber Command took up the challenge. 460 Squadron, RAAF was typical of the bomber squadrons under overall command of Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris, squadrons manned by volunteer aircrews from Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Rhodesia, South Africa, and many other nations opposed to Hitlers Nazi Germany. To a man they knew the frightening odds against completing a tour of duty, yet many faked their ages just to join this elite band of wartime flyers. True to their squadron motto Strike and Return, the artist shows Lancasters of 460 Squadron RAAF, returning to RAF Binbrook in Lincolnshire following a daylight raid over Germany in the late winter of 1944. With the sun almost set, chill evening shadows lengthen on a magnificent winter landscape dusted with snow, Lancaster J-Squared leads the mighty bombers as they descend in the fading light. AMAZING VALUE! - The value of the signatures on this item is in excess of the price of the print itself! Item Code : DHM2221C Strike and Return by Robert Taylor (C) - This Edition TYPE EDITION DETAILS SIZE SIGNATURES OFFERS YOUR PRICE PURCHASING PRINT Collectors Edition. Signed limited edition of 250 prints, with a total of nine signatures. SOLD OUT. Paper size 31 inches x 24 inches (79cm x 61cm) Knights, Bob Rodley, Ernest Iveson, Tony Reid, Bill Watts, Fred Carden, Pat North, Bill Curtis, Lawrence Burnside, Dudley + Artist : Robert Taylor Signature(s) value alone : £410 SOLD OUT NOT AVAILABLE All prices on our website are displayed in British Pounds Sterling

Other editions of this item : Strike and Return by Robert Taylor. DHM2221 TYPE EDITION DETAILS SIZE SIGNATURES OFFERS YOUR PRICE PURCHASING PRINT Aircrew Edition. Signed limited edition of 400 prints, with four signatures. Paper size 31 inches x 24 inches (79cm x 61cm) Knights, Bob Iveson, Tony Carden, Pat North, Bill + Artist : Robert Taylor Signature(s) value alone : £175 £150 Off! Now : £220.00 VIEW EDITION... ARTIST PROOF Aircrew Edition. Limited edition of 25 artist proofs, with four signatures. SOLD OUT. Paper size 31 inches x 24 inches (79cm x 61cm) Knights, Bob Iveson, Tony Carden, Pat North, Bill + Artist : Robert Taylor Signature(s) value alone : £175 SOLD OUT VIEW EDITION... PRINT RAAF Edition. Signed limited edition of 250 prints, with six signatures. SOLD OUT. Paper size 31cm x 24 inches (79cm x 61cm) Bateman, W E Jerry Bayliss, Hilary M Coffey, Phillip J Gardner, John R Goodwin, R Gordon Woods, Lawrence W + Artist : Robert Taylor Signature(s) value alone : £175 SOLD OUT VIEW EDITION... PRINT Victoria Cross Edition. Signed limited edition of 50 prints, with seventeen signatures. SOLD OUT. Paper size 31 inches x 24 inches (79cm x 61cm) Sold out edition. Only one secondary market print available. Knights, Bob Rodley, Ernest Iveson, Tony Reid, Bill Tait, J B Willie Jackson, Norman Learoyd, Roderick Castagnola, J Cheshire, Leonard Watts, Fred Carden, Pat North, Bill Curtis, Lawrence Burnside, Dudley Brennan, M Ben Wilcox, Bill Trent, Leonard + Artist : Robert Taylor Signature(s) value alone : £905 SOLD OUT VIEW EDITION... General descriptions of types of editions :

Extra Details : Strike and Return by Robert Taylor (C)

About this edition : Night Attack Piloting a Lancaster on the night of 3 November 1943, Bill Reid was badly wounded during an attack by a German night fighter. Injured in the head, shoulders and hands, and with his windscreen shattered, the aircraft crippled and defenceless, he pressed on to the target. Weak, exhausted, and without oxygen he turned for home, steering by the stars to bring his crew safely home. He was awarded the Victoria Cross. This companion print to the main print is signed by Bill Reid, and measures 20 inches x 15 inches (51cm x 38cm)

About all editions : A photograph of an edition of this print, showing the signature(s) in the border.

Signatures on this item
*The value given for each signature has been calculated by us based on the historical significance and rarity of the signature. Values of many pilot signatures have risen in recent years and will likely continue to rise as they become more and more rare.
Name	Info
Flight Lieutenant Bill Reid VC (deceased) *Signature Value : £80	Volunteering for RAF aircrew in 1940, Bill Reid learned to fly in California, training on the Stearman, Vultee and Harvard. After gaining his pilots wings back in England he flew Wellingtons before moving on to Lancasters in 1943. On the night of Nov 3rd 1943, his Lancaster suffered two severe attacks from Luftwaffe night fighters, badly wounding Reid, killing his navigator and radio operator, and severely damaging the aircraft. Bill flew on 200 miles to accurately bomb the target and get his aircraft home. For this act of outstanding courage and determination he was awarded the Victoria Cross. Died 28th November 2001.
Flight Lieutenant Fred Watts DFC (deceased) *Signature Value : £40	Fred Watts joined the RAF in 1940, and qualifying as a pilot was posted to 630 Squadron in 1943 flying 15 operations on Lancasters out of East Kirby. He joined 617 Squadron in April 1944 and took part in many of the precision operations that the Squadron was renowned for, including raids on V1 sites, V2 rocket bases, and all three attacks on the Tirpitz. He left 617 Squadron in March 1945 to join 83 Pathfinder Squadron for Far East deployment with Tiger Force but VJ-day brought disbandment of the Force before it could be despatched. He stayed on in the RAF after the end of the war, retiring in 1964. He died 6th August 2007.
Flt Lieutenant Bob Knights DSO, DFC (deceased) *Signature Value : £45	A member of the elite 617 Dambusters squadron, Bob Knights had a key role on the night before D-Day. With the rest of the squadron he flew on Operation Taxable which simulated the approach of the invasion across the Pas de Calais by dropping metal strips of window to a very precise pattern. The enemy was completely deceived and kept most of their best troops on the wrong side of the Seine. Bob Knights had already flown a full operational tour with 619 Squadron Lancasters, including eight trips to Berlin, before volunteering for 617 Squadron. Under Cheshire he flew on some of the squadrons most challenging precision operations and later under Willie Tait took part in the attack that finally destroyed the Tirpitz. Seconded to BOAC in December 1944 he stayed with the airline after the war for a 30 year long career. He died 4th December 2004.
Flying Officer Bill North (deceased) *Signature Value : £40	Flying Lancasters with 61 Squadron, in 1944 he was shot down over Northern France. With his aircraft badly hit, he gave the order to bale out, but as some of the crew had damaged parachutes, he elected to stay with the aircraft and crash land. Despite being badly wounded, he managed to land his Lancaster at night, and every crewmember walked away - two of them evading capture and returned to England. Bill spent the rest of the war as a POW.
Group Captain Dudley Burnside DSO OBE DFC* (deceased) *Signature Value : £25	Dudley joined the RAF in 1935 and in 1937 went to India flying on the North West Frontier, and Iraq. At the outbreak of war he went to Burma and in 1942 was fortunate to escape when his airfield was overrun by the Japanese. Escaping back to England he took command of 195 Squadron RCAF flying Wellingtons. In 1943 he became CO of 427 Squadron on Halifaxs, later converting to Lancasters. In the Korean War he commanded a Flying Boat Wing operating Sunderlands. He retired from the RAF in 1962. He died 20th September 2005.
Squadron Leader Lawrence Curtis DFC* (deceased) *Signature Value : £40	Joining the RAF in 1939, he was posted as a wireless operator firstly to 149 Squadron and then 99 Squadron on Wellingtons. He then joined OTU on Whitleys before moving firstly to 158 Squadron, and then 617 Squadron on Lancasters, where he was Unit Signals Leader for 18 months. After bomber operations he joined Transport Command in 1944. He died on 21st June 2008.
Squadron Leader Pat Carden DFC AE (deceased) *Signature Value : £45	Joining the RAF in 1932, after qualifying as a pilot, he served as an instructor until 1942, when he joined 15 Squadron at Mildenhall, flying Lancasters. Volunteering for the Pathfinder Force he joined 35 Squadron at Gravely on Halifaxes, followed by 582 Squadron on Lancasters, taking part in many bombing sorties over Normandy, including two missions on D-Day. He finished the war having completed 66 operations. Pat Carden sadly died 28th June 2008, aged 96.
Squadron Leader Tony Iveson DFC (deceased) *Signature Value : £45	Tony Iveson fought in the Battle of Britain with RAF Fighter Command, as a Sergeant pilot, joining 616 Squadron at Kenley flying Spitfires on 2 September 1940. On the 16th of September, he was forced to ditch into the sea after running out of fuel following a pursuit of a Ju88 bomber. His Spitfire L1036 ditched 20 miles off Cromer in Norfolk, and he was picked up by an MTB. He joined No.92 Sqn the following month. Commissioned in 1942, Tony undertook his second tour transferring to RAF Bomber Command, where he was selected to join the famous 617 Squadron, flying Lancasters. He took part in most of 617 Squadrons high precision operations, including all three sorties against the German battleship Tirpitz, and went on to become one of the most respected pilots in the squadron. He died on 5th November 2013.
Wing Commander Ernest Rodley DSO DFC AFC AE (deceased) *Signature Value : £50	Ernest Rodley initially joined the RAFVR in 1937 and was commissioned and posted to Bomber Command in 1941. Joining 97 Sqn flying Manchesters he was involved in the attack on the Scharnhorst, Prinz Eugen and Gneisenau whilst in Brest harbour and in the famous Augsberg daylight raid for which he received a DFC. At the end of 1942 he joined RAF Scampton helping to convert to Lancaster Bombers before rejoining 97 Sqn at Bourn as a Pathfinder. After a spell at Warboys as an instructor he took command of 128 Sqn at Wyton, flying Mosquitoes as part of the Light Night Strike Force and involvede in doing 7 trips to Berlin. Staying with this unit he finished the war having completed 87 operations. In 1946 Ernest Rodley joined British South American Airways flying Lancastrians across the Atlantic from a tented Heathrow. On 13th April 1950 he was checked out on the new Comet jet airliner by John Cunningham and became the worlds first jet endorsed Airline Transport Pilots Licence holder. Ernest Rodley retired from BOAC in 1968 as a Boeing 707 Captain, joining Olympic Airways a few days later. He amassed an amazing 28000 flying hours. Sadly he died in 2004.