Group of linked items relating to WW2 service of John Elliot Austin of Banbury. He initially receives a letter from the RAF accepting him as air crew followed by a later reject letter. He joins the Somerset Light Infantry as private 14823792 and served in India. Although not war service he served in India during the troubled transition from Empire to Independance. Very interesting archive.

WW2 1939 45 War medal in box addressed to J E Austin 6 Grange Road Banbury Oxfordshire. This matches the 1939 register where he is shown born 13/3/1926 and listed in 1939 as "At School"

Letter of welcome to RAF

Reject Letter from RAF

RAFVR deferred Service Cert

RAFVR group photo with signatures on back measures 3.5 x 4.75 inches

2 Photo of him in Ox & Bucks Light Infantry

Souvenir booklet SS Arundell Castle sailing from Bombay 14/11/1947 with post card of ship

Group photo Somerset Light Infantry with names Peshawar 1945 measures 6.5 x 8.5 inches

WW1 Group photo and studio photo of his father in WW1 uniform (Father Percy served in Royal Engineers)

Newspaper cutting of him in tug of war Bombay 1947

Linen kit bag with his name and service number SLI

His India Snap shot album taken Kyber Pass, Lahore, DelhiPeshawar, Agra, Bombay, Bangalore. and trip home via Alexandria in 1947. Album measures 5.5 x 8 inches with 20 leaves and about 75 photos. Mainly tourist shots but about 20 of the Somersets in India during the twilight of Empire. All named. Interesting shot of Taj Mahal lit up on Independance Day.

Larger album measuring 8 x 12 inches which has been half filled with similar tourist shots and pictures of Somersets in India approximately 80 mostly small and only half of them named.

Note postage is a deliberately high estimate to allow for furthest overseas destination and high insurance value. I ALWAYS REFUND DIFFERENCE AFTER POSTING.

 

Calculating an accurate postage requires the item to be packed which could take several days to pack everything. Please wait for invoice before paying for item as your postage may be cheaper. Unless it is a simple item like a photograph or map however I will send invoice with the default postage. Then I am packing the items at the same time as waiting for payment. This makes for quicker despatch.

 

TERMS & CONDITIONS

Please note I can only post items on a Saturday because I am at work during the rest of the week. As I am listing on a free listing day for 10 days, the item will end on a Tuesday or Wednesday. If you pay me before Friday Evening, the item can be despatched the next day. However if payment is after Friday despatch will be the following Saturday unless you let me know there is a special need for a quicker delivery.

I have entered the maximum of 10 days for despatch time. Most dispatch times will be far quicker than this but if there are a lot of items sold, it may take longer to pack the items than just one day and despatch may have to be the following Saturday. If you are happy with the delivery time please dont leave low rating on despatch time as this equates to the same as negative feedback and ebay will no longer invite me to free list. I list lots of interesting things and if I get more than three 1's or 2's on feedback dashboard I will not be listing stuff again. As someone who also buys from ebay, I fully appreciate why there are less interesting things being listed on ebay. Also remember shipment is outside of my control. Just because Royal Mail or an Overseas carrier have taken excess time delivering the item is not a good reason to penalise me. Please be assured I will do all the chasing in the event of an item going missing or more likely late arrival.

I do not add packaging surcharges and try to find you the cheapest way to send item. I use recycled supermarket boxes and pass on the savings by adding no charge for packing.

Please leave feedback after you have received your item and are happy with it. I will respond with mine within two weeks. I prefer to do feedback in a batch.

If the high bidder does not pay for the item within 10 days of the auction ending, I reserve the right to relist it or offer it to another bidder.

I attempt to describe accurately and honestly, including any defects but I cannot know all that you may want/require of a particular item. If  in doubt, please e-mail for further information / pictures before bidding.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you are at all unhappy with your purchase. I will do my utmost to rectify the problem.

If an item is not as described I will accept it back for a full refund, provided it is returned to me in the condition I supplied it to you.
Otherwise, sales are Final.
 
Please do not worry if by chance your item gets lost in the post, I will do all the chasing up and try my hardest to locate it for you. If unfortunately it does go completely missing, then I will refund you and deal with the postal service myself.

 
I will always use the most economical way of posting taking into account the need to insure items of higher value. I always send multiply buys in the same parcel and pass on the postal saving. However be aware of the anomaly with overseas postage when the weight exceeds 2kg, the postage cost takes a massive jump and it is sometimes cheaper to send as 2 parcels.

 

You pay what I have to pay the Postal Service