CAMPAIGN GROUPS AND PAIRS 220
Pair: Corporal R. Halpin, Gloucestershire Regiment, taken Prisoner of War at the Battle of Imjin River, 26 April 1951, who was one of the small section of men under Lieutenant Philip Curtis ordered to attack an enemy machine-gun post on ‘Castle Hill’, 23 April 1951, for which Curtis was later awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross- Halpin was one of three men who helped carry Curtis to cover after he was wounded, before Curtis again attacked, and with his final act silenced the enemy machine-gun post
KOREA 1950-53, 1st issue (22210064 Pte R. Halpin. Glosters.); U.N. KOREA 1950-54, unnamed as issued; together with a United States of America Presidential Unit Citation riband bar, and the recipient’s related miniature awards, nearly extremely fine (2)
£1400-1800 Provenance: Dix Noonan Webb, September 2006.
Robert Halpin was born in his family home at 176 Chorley Road, Westhoughton near Horwich, Lancashire on 12 September 1927, moved with his family to Kent shortly after his birth. A miner by trade, he enlisted in the East Kent Regiment in March 1948, and had served a full period of National Service before his re-enlistment on the outbreak of the Korean War. Promoted fairly quickly, on the eve of the Battle of Imjin River Halpin was section commander of 1 Section in 1 Platoon, A Company, Gloucestershire Regiment.
The Battle of Imjin River
‘Colonel Carne had given much thought to the deployment of the 1st Gloucesters. His front was over nine miles long. Two defiles through the hills had to be covered and the mass of hills to the south of the river, dominated by the Kamaksan feature, presented a deployment problem for his artillery. His primary aim was to cover the approaches to the northern end of the defile through the hills as they offered the Chinese the quickest means of reaching the flatter country to the south. A Company, the forward most company of the Glosters were located on a hill, 148 metres high at it highest point. This position covered the main crossing point on the river 2,000 metres to the north. On the top of the hill, centuries before, a castle had stood. This prominent feature became known as 'Castle Hill'. By 1951 nothing remained of the fortifications except the hint of walls where low mounds encircled the summit. This part of the hill was known as the 'Castle Site' or Point 148. 'A' Company commander, Major Angier, had decided that he would keep his platoons within supporting distance of each other on Castle Hill. Using the Castle site as a centre the surrounding terrain and defensive positions can be described thus.
Five hundred metres out to the north, a small hillock, like a knuckle, sat on top of the spur. This finger ridge sloped down towards the lmjin for about a kilometre and could offer an enemy a narrow but relatively gentle route up Castle Hill. To the east lay a much shorter spur overlooking the village of Choksong. On the forward edge of this spur was a rectangular bunker built during an earlier military occupation and recently refurbished by American engineers as an OP. From this vantage point General Ridgeway was scheduled to observe the hills north of the river. He never visited the site. The OP had been constructed with a roof, a number of horizontal slit windows and a doorway on the south facing side accessible via some steps. This bunker was to be the scene of some exceptionally bitter fighting. Again on this eastern side was a re-entrant, sheltered within lay the remains of an old Korean temple with its characteristic sloping tiled roof and one or two small, deserted houses. This cluster was some 120 metres from the OP bunker and 200 metres from the summit of Castle Hill. It was to be in this general area, under command of 2nd Lt. John Maycock, that 2 Platoon were sited to become the right-hand forward platoon. They faced the northern spur, overlooked Choksong village and were responsible for the defence of the Castle Site. If this position were overrun the rest of the company positions would prove untenable. To occupy the OP bunker would have been stretching his platoon so barbed wire was laid between it and the nearest 2 Platoon position. Barbed wire was short across the whole front. Both A and D Companies had been given the greater share allocated to the Glosters but it was sufficient only for a single coil round each platoon. 2nd Lt. Maycock’s platoon was thought to be short of its usual complement of 30 men but included a number of men (possibly 4) under command of Lt Bruce Hudson from 70 Battery OP Party because of the excellent views north.
To the left of 2 Platoon was sited 2nd Lt. Terry Waters and 3 Platoon, tasked with defending an area from the north-west all the way round to the south west. Directly to the west another narrow spur ended in a low knoll 600 metres from Castle Hill; beyond it, 2,000 metres away the lmjin River again. This finger would be worrying as like that to the north, it offered a possible enemy approach to the main position. Some 900 metre away, below this finger and its adjoining re-entrant was the tiny hamlet of Komsang in the rice paddies at the foot of the hill. To the rear of A Company's position were situated about 1,000 metres of rice fields criss-crossed with footpaths. The fields served to separate Castle Hill from the mountains that stretched across the horizon and would restrict any passage southwards. Overlooking this terrain were sited Lt. Philip Curtis and the men of 1 Platoon who would cover the rear on both flanks and act as a counter attack force should either of the two forward platoons be overrun. Here were sited the two Vickers from 3 Section of the MMG Platoon. Major Angier also positioned his headquarters close to 1 Platoon to enable him to control both forward platoons in battle.
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