was enthusiastic about the new Percival Gull monoplane and ordered his own model powered by a Napier Javelin 111 six cylinder engine, with the interior finished in red leather. In this luxurious Gull Four G-ACGR (currently on display at the Brussels Military Museum) he competed in the King’s Cup and the Folkestone Aero Trophy Race. He later became the owner of the first Percival Petrel two-engine monoplane, completed in 1938. As Under-secretary of State for Air, Sassoon carried out the first general inspection of British overseas air stations, flying the Blackburn Iris. Afterwards he wrote The Third Route, published by Heinemann in 1929, recounting the story of the development of the air route from England to India. Honours and decorations Sassoon was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1917. On 7 October 1919, it was announced that Sassoon had been awarded the French Croix de Guerre "for distinguished services rendered during the course of the campaign". In 1923 he was made Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE). In 2012 Sassoon's set of decorations was sold at auction. The decorations included the GBE, made by the court-jeweller Garrard, the CMG neck badge, also by Garrard, 1914–15 Star (engraved Lieut. Sir P.A.D.G.Sassoon. R.E.Kent Yeo.); British War Medal and Victory Medal (engraved Major Sir P.A.D.G.Sassoon. R.E.Kent Yeo.); 1935 Jubilee Medal and 1937 Coronation Medal (both engraved A/Cdre Sir Philip Sassoon 601 Squ. A.A.F.); France, a decoration of a Knight of the Legion d’Honneur, a decoration of a Knight of the French Colonial Order of the Black Star; Belgium, Officer of the Order of the Crown; French Croix de Guerre and Belgian Croix de Guerre; mounted in the court style. The arts He was Chairman of the Trustees of the National Gallery from 1933 to 1935, and as Minister for Works in the 1930s he was responsible for embellishing many of London's monuments and parks. As a collector Philip Sassoon was, like many of the Rothschilds, drawn mainly to the English and French 18th century, but he also collected contemporary artists such as John Singer Sargent and William Orpen. A Mamuluk glass mosque lamp, once belonging to Sassoon can be found in the collection of the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon, Portugal. Personal life Sassoon was said to have lived an openly homosexual life. According to a reviewer of a 2016