CAMPAIGN GROUPS AND PAIRS
First reports of enemy movement in front of 2 and 3 Platoons were arriving at A Company HQ around 2200, 22nd April. By 0200 hours (23rd April) the enemy had established themselves in strength on the forward slopes with fierce attacks soon following. It has been reported that the Chinese were queuing up under the shoulder of the hill to assault in almost 'suicidal' waves. Casualties soon mounted particularly in 2 Platoon. Fighting became hand to hand-burp guns, bayonet and grenades being used by both defenders and attackers as they grappled for possession of each trench. These attacks were pressed more strongly between 0600 and 0700. In these early morning hours the summit of Castle Hill was lost to the enemy. It became clear to Major Angier that, despite a magnificent defence, 2 Platoon was in serious trouble. With part of their position overrun, ammunition was low and only a fraction of the platoon remained unscathed. The enemy had established one or more machine-guns up near the crest of the Castle Site and were now able to cover their attacks with accurate supporting fire from this key feature. With the Castle Site lost the chances of making a clean withdrawal should one be ordered would be highly unlikely
An '0' Group was held at approximately 0500 during which Angier told Curtis that he was to mount a counter-attack on to Castle Site at first light. At dawn Curtis got his men out of their trenches and formed them up in extended line. It was relatively quiet with no firing on either the Castle Site or 3 Platoons location. Curtis looked left and right, shouted 'fix bayonets' paused briefly as the thirty or so bayonets clicked on to rifles, then stood up to give the order 'advance'. In a time honoured vignette of British Infantry they advanced at the walk across the 250 m to the Castle Hill site. Number 1 section under Cpl Halpin was the forward right section, on the left 2 Section with Curtis his radio operator and runner in between them. Slightly to the rear and in the centre followed 3 section and Sgt N Tuggey. Norman Tuggey takes up the story:-
"The left forward section moved to the NW ridge, and I went forward with them. it was all quiet, and we just stood looking down the slope and wondering, I suppose, what had created such a shindig throughout the night. Its difficult to say how long we stood there, not knowing quite what to make of it, when suddenly the Chinese stood up from behind the bushes they were carrying. The distance between us and their most forward troops was just a few yards and their numbers frightening".
A fierce fire-fight erupted leaving Curtis with two immediate problems. A real danger that the enemy would quickly infiltrate round his exposed right flank existed. Secondly they were receiving fire from the OP bunker. It is believed three men of the platoon were killed and four wounded at this time. Curtis ordered Tuggey and the reserve 3 Section to find a position to the right of the Castle Site from which they could engage any enemy coming up the eastern slopes from Choksong. This left Curtis to deal with the OP Bunker. Gathering a group from 1 Section including Robert Halpin, Curtis worked his way, under intense fire, to a fold in the ground only 20 metres from the OP bunker. Private Sam Mercer was also a member of this 'winkle group' and confirmed that Halpin was also a member of this small group (letter from Private Sam Mercer, included in the lot, refers). Curtis began to hurl grenades that were passed to him at the aperture. The response from the machine gun was immediate. It poured burst after burst into the area of 1 Section forcing them to crawl back to better cover. Not so Curtis, he remained continually exposing himself to throw more grenades until a bullet struck him in the head leaving him to lie exposed within a few metres of the objective. Gallantly two or three of his men, some accounts state that it was Robert Halpin, L/Cpl H M Mairs, a veteran of the Burma campaign, and Private Sam Mercer, wriggled up to drag him under cover. Corporal Cyril Papworth RAMC attended to the struggling Curtis. Curtis's men, again including Halpin, Mairs and Mercer, sought to restrain their platoon commander when he strove to get up to continue the attack. Major Angier, who had followed 1 Platoon up, also tried to reassure him as Papworth bandaged his head with a field dressing. Several hands held Curtis down; one soldier resorted to sitting on the wounded officer, so desperate were they to restrain him. Despite this Curtis broke free and moved into the attack for the second time. Hurling grenades he lurched the last few metres towards the still firing machine-gun. A few yards from the bunker he fell, mortally wounded in the stomach, the moment a grenade left his hand. The machine-gun was silenced, thus enabling the remainder of the Platoon to clear the Castle Site. The Chinese made no further effort to exploit their success in this immediate area; had they had done so, the eventual withdrawal of the company might well have proved impossible. Curtis was carried back to shelter by his men, still alive, but only just. Papworth arrived but there was nothing he could do to save him, he died in the arms of the soldiers who brought him down the slope.
When asked to reflect why Philip Curtis pushed home the second attack when, with a serious head wound, he had more than fulfilled his duty already Private Sam Mercer recalled "We soon realised that he was inclined to lead from the front with a rifle, if he could get one, rather than a revolver. Within the platoon it was generally felt that the first trouble we hit we would lose him" (letter from Private Sam Mercer, included in the lot, refers). It was not until Tuesday 1st December 1953 that the award of the Victoria Cross was announced in the London Gazette. The long delay was due to the living witnesses like Cpl Halpin being held as prisoners for over two years. These were men like Private Ward and Corporal Roy Masters who both made sworn statements and most importantly Colonel Carne who instigated the procedure for the VC on his own repatriation.’ (extracts from At War in Korea by George Forty; The Imjin Roll by Colonel E. D. Harding, D.S.O.; and The Last Eleven? by Mark Adkin refer, all of which mention Halpin’s action, refer.)
Halpin was taken prisoner of war following the lmjin River engagement, one of 21 officers and 501 men of the Gloucestershire Regiment captured by the Chinese at the Battle of Imjin River. He was released from captivity along with 74 other Prisoners of War on 18 August 1953, and finally arrived back in Southampton on 28 October 1953. Following his service in the army he worked as an animal technician with a pharmaceutical manufacturer. He died at the Pilgrims Hospice in Thanet, Kent, on 11 February 2001.
Sold together with a hand-written letter from Private Sam Mercer, which makes mention of Halpin’s role; various copied newspaper articles; and other copied research.
www.dnw.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182 |
Page 183 |
Page 184 |
Page 185 |
Page 186 |
Page 187 |
Page 188 |
Page 189 |
Page 190 |
Page 191 |
Page 192 |
Page 193 |
Page 194 |
Page 195 |
Page 196 |
Page 197 |
Page 198 |
Page 199 |
Page 200 |
Page 201 |
Page 202 |
Page 203 |
Page 204 |
Page 205 |
Page 206 |
Page 207 |
Page 208 |
Page 209 |
Page 210 |
Page 211 |
Page 212 |
Page 213 |
Page 214 |
Page 215 |
Page 216 |
Page 217 |
Page 218 |
Page 219 |
Page 220 |
Page 221 |
Page 222 |
Page 223 |
Page 224 |
Page 225 |
Page 226 |
Page 227 |
Page 228 |
Page 229 |
Page 230 |
Page 231 |
Page 232 |
Page 233 |
Page 234 |
Page 235 |
Page 236 |
Page 237 |
Page 238 |
Page 239 |
Page 240 |
Page 241 |
Page 242 |
Page 243 |
Page 244 |
Page 245 |
Page 246 |
Page 247 |
Page 248 |
Page 249 |
Page 250 |
Page 251 |
Page 252 |
Page 253 |
Page 254 |
Page 255 |
Page 256 |
Page 257 |
Page 258 |
Page 259 |
Page 260 |
Page 261 |
Page 262 |
Page 263 |
Page 264 |
Page 265 |
Page 266 |
Page 267 |
Page 268 |
Page 269 |
Page 270 |
Page 271 |
Page 272 |
Page 273 |
Page 274 |
Page 275 |
Page 276 |
Page 277 |
Page 278 |
Page 279 |
Page 280 |
Page 281 |
Page 282 |
Page 283 |
Page 284 |
Page 285 |
Page 286 |
Page 287 |
Page 288 |
Page 289 |
Page 290 |
Page 291 |
Page 292
