Medal Bar of Leading Aircraftman Sidney Edward Jefford

Sidney Jefford serviced and maintained Rolls-Royce Merlin III engines that powered Hawker Hurricanes during the Second World War. Groundcrew often worked long hours in dangerous situations to keep the aircraft of the RAF in service.

Jefford joined the RAF in September 1939 as an engine fitter. On 1 September 1940, when he was serving with No. 257 Squadron, the Luftwaffe dropped over 150 bombs on their station at Debden in Essex. He was later posted to North Africa, Greece and the Middle East with No. 208 Squadron. He received a Mention in Despatches in 1943 for saving one Hurricane by cannibalising spares from two other unserviceable aircraft, enabling the repaired aircraft to escape unscathed during an enemy attack. Medals, from left to right: 1939–1945 Star, the Africa Star with clasp, North Africa 1942–1943, the Italy Star, the Defence Medal and the 1939–1945 War Medal with Mention in Despatches oak leaf.