Arctic Star

6 pointed bronze star depicting KC, the Royal Cypher of King George VI and the inscription THE ARCTIC STAR, suspender ring and ribbon with central white stripe, flanked by red, dark blue and light blue stripes panning outwards. Contained inside a black presentation case with the Queen's Crown in gold leaf on the lid.

Posthumously awarded to Group Captain James Brian 'Willie' Tait DSO & Three Bars DFC & Bar, one of the most decorated British Commonwealth airmen of the Second World War, for operational service north of the Arctic Circle.

James Brian ‘Willie’ Tait, born 9 December 1916 in Manchester, joined the Royal Air Force in 1934 and was commissioned as a Pilot Officer in 1936. Following the completion of his flying training at RAF Cranwell, Tait was posted to 10 (Bomber) Squadron at RAF Boscombe Down, where he flew the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bomber. In April 1940, Tait was posted to 51 Squadron at RAF Dishforth, and undertook his first bombing operation of the Second World War on 2 May 1940, against German targets in Oslo, Norway, and later took part in the first British bombing raids on Italy (11 June 1940) and Berlin (25 August 1940). Given command of the squadron in late 1940, Tait then led the air element of Britain's first ever airborne operation, Operation Colossus (10 February 1941), which targeted an aqueduct in southern Italy. Shortly after Colossus, for which Tait was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO), he joined 35 Squadron, the first RAF squadron to operate the Handley Page Halifax bomber. With 35 Squadron, Tait led a successful daylight raid on the German naval base at Kiel on 30 June 1941, for which he was awarded a Bar to his DSO. He then took temporary command of 10 Squadron in May 1942, leading them on the first two 'Thousand Bomber Raids' to Cologne and Essen on 30 May 1942 and 1 June 1942 respectively, after which he commanded 78 Squadron from July to November 1942. After a period of rest from operations, which Tait spent at Bomber Command Headquarters and then at two Operational Training Units (OTU), Tait was appointed Master Bomber of 5 Group RAF in May 1944, operating from RAF Coningsby. On the night of 5/6 June 1944, Tait led a formation of 200 Lancaster bombers from 5 Group to attack the German gun battery at St Pierre du Mont, near Omaha Beach, in advance of the D-Day landings. Shortly after, in July 1944, Tait took command of the elite 617 Squadron, also known as the ‘Dambusters’ squadron, succeeding Leonard Cheshire VC. With 617 Squadron, Tait led specialist attacks on difficult targets, including U-Boat and S-Boat pens and V-1 and V-2 sites, often using 12,000 pound 'Tallboy' bombs, and with Tait frequently leading the Lancasters from the front and target-marking in a De Havilland Mosquito or a P-51 Mustang. Under Tait, 617 Squadron also continued dambusting operations, notably carrying out a successful raid on sluice gates of the Kembs Barrage in October 1944, which led to Tait being awarded a Bar to his Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). Perhaps most notably, Tait led the raids that finally sunk the German battleship Tirpitz on 15 September 1944 (Operation Paravane), 28 October 1944 (Operation Obviate) and 12 November 1944 (Operation Catechism). On the final operation, Tait's Lancaster scored a direct hit on the battleship, followed by direct hits from two other Lancasters. For his leadership on these operations as well as the sheer number of significant operations he took part in over the course of the war, he was recommended for the Victoria Cross, but was instead awarded a Third Bar to his DSO, making him only one of sixteen British Commonwealth service personnel to be awarded the DSO and Three Bars. Having flown 101 operations, Tait was rested from operations in December 1944 and posted to various RAF headquarters. He remained in the RAF until 1964, and served as Aide-de-Camp to Queen Elizabeth II from 1959. By the end of his RAF career, he had amassed 3,069 flying hours and had flown 33 different aircraft types.