Canada, Commonwealth. A Privately Made Legacy Book in Remembrance of Lancaster Navigator Sergeant Michael J. MacNaughton-Smith, K.I.A.

An extremely unique privately made book in remembrance of Sergeant Michael John MacNaughton-Smith who served in the Royal Air Force as a Navigator in a Lancaster bomber. This book contains countless heartfelt letters, including photographs, to his mother while serving in the Royal Air Force, spanning over thirty-seven pages. It concludes with a telegram and letter from E.F. Deas, Wing Commander in Command of No. 630 Squadron of the R.A.F. informing his father that Michael’s aircraft failed to return following a mission taking place on the night of 21st/22nd of June 1944 over the war industries at Wesseling in Germany. It also contains a Letter from the British Red Cross Society and Order of St. John. Further letters contained in this book states that he was buried two days following his disappearance in Grave No. 217 in a cemetery in Antwerp, Belgium. Interestingly, it features further communication between Michael’s parents and the mayor of Deurne (Antwerp) about his burial. The book concludes with several beautiful poems written by Michael during his childhood and youth. It is bound with stiff cardstock covers with a dark blue faux leather exterior. The total length of this book is fifty-one pages, measuring 19 cm (w) x 245 mm (l), in better than extremely fine condition.

Footnote: Michael John MacNaughton-Smith (1604049) was born in 1924 to his father, Hubert John McNaughton-Smith and his mother, Jessie McNaughton-Smith in Crawley-Down, Sussex, and attended St. John’s College in Oxford, United Kingdom. He died in the early morning hours of June 22nd, 1944 when shot down by a Night Fighter 2 miles northeast of Turnhout during a raid on a synthetic oil plant at Wesseling, Germany.