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Offered for sale on the 28th May 2025 is a rare and historically important medal pair awarded to Captain Jack McCleery of the Royal Naval Air Service and Royal Air Force. This superb lot consists of his Defence and Victory Medals, both named to “Capt. J. M. McCleerey R.A.F.” and housed in their original boxes with “On His Majesty’s Service” envelopes. Accompanied by the original Air Ministry delivery note dated 7th July 1923, the group is of particular note for its connection to one of the earliest pioneers of aircraft carrier operations.
Born in Belfast in 1898, Jack McCleery joined the Royal Naval Air Service in 1916 as a Probationary Flight Officer. His training was rigorous and extensive, taking him to key aviation centres including Crystal Palace, Eastchurch, Cranwell, Frieston, Calshot, and the Isle of Grain. Over the next ten months, he mastered over a dozen types of aircraft—both land-based and seaborne—earning his wings as a Flight Sub-Lieutenant.
In July 1917, McCleery was posted to the HMS Furious, one of the world’s first aircraft carriers. This revolutionary vessel operated out of Scapa Flow and Rosyth and would go on to transform naval warfare. Aboard Furious, McCleery flew Short 184 seaplanes and Sopwith 1½ Strutters from her deck—becoming one of the earliest pilots in history to operate from a moving aircraft carrier.
His service coincided with one of the most formative periods in naval aviation. McCleery flew from both ship and shore stations, including Turnhouse, East Fortune, and Donibristle. He worked alongside several legendary figures in early aviation, including Edwin Dunning—who achieved the first successful deck landing on a moving ship—and Frederick Rutland, who gained fame at the Battle of Jutland. McCleery personally witnessed Dunning’s historic landing and the tragic crash that claimed his life only days later.
McCleery and his comrades—referred to in later years as “The Furious Few”—were a group of exceptional aviators who pushed the boundaries of what was possible in military aviation. Under the command of Squadron Commander Dunning, HMS Furious set the standard for future aircraft carrier development and helped shape a new era in naval warfare.
In 1918, Captain McCleery was involved in the support for the famous Tondern Raid—the first successful air strike launched from an aircraft carrier, targeting German Zeppelin sheds. He also participated in over a dozen operational sorties into the North Sea and carried out numerous reconnaissance missions off the Danish coast. Given the rudimentary nature of carrier aviation at the time, it was common for pilots to land in the sea and await rescue by destroyers.
McCleery was present at the surrender of the German High Seas Fleet and was later promoted to Captain in the newly established Royal Air Force. He briefly served as Acting Commanding Officer of F Squadron before eventually retiring from the RAF in 1969. He died in 1983.
Captain Jack McCleery’s remarkable wartime story has since been the subject of renewed interest. He featured in the 2018 BBC documentary Captain Jack and the Furious Few and was the subject of the 2011 biography World War One Aircraft Carrier Pioneer by Guy Warner. This lot includes a copy of Warner’s book and reproductions of McCleery’s personal diary entries, offering rare insight into the daily life and extraordinary experiences of a Great War pilot.
Offered with impeccable provenance—having passed by direct descent from McCleery’s family—this is a superb opportunity to acquire a medal group of significant historical importance, representing the dawn of naval aviation and the courage of those who helped define it.
