A Collection of Medals to Second World War Casualties 278 Pair: Fusilier C. H. Coppins, Royal Fusiliers, who died of wounds during the Dunkirk Retreat, May 1940


1939-45 STAR; WAR MEDAL 1939-45, with named Army Council enclosure, in card box of issue, addressed to ‘Mrs. A. Coppins, 44 Appleford Road, North Kensington, W10’, extremely fine (2)


£70-90


Charles Herbert Coppins served with the 2nd Battalion, Royal Fusiliers during the Second World War, and died of wounds sometime between 16 May and 3 June 1940, aged 21, during the Battalion’s rearguard action back to Dunkirk. He is buried in Oostduinkerke Communal Cemetery, Belgium. As James Holland recounts in his book, The Battle of Britain, ‘The Eastern sector of the defence perimeter was suffering badly under the onslaught of the German 18th Army. The 2nd Battalion began to suffer heavily under this sustained attack. Their depleted number armed with rifles, a few Bren guns, and way too little ammunition could only hold on for so long against massively superior fire and man power. Their remaining carriers had now been pressed into service as ambulances to carry the wounded back to the Regimental Aid Post. Casualties were now critical so Major Lotinga ordered them to fall back another 800 yards. By 31st May it was clear that the Eastern defence perimeter was collapsing. The Battalion HQ was now little more than a ditch in the village and about 9 p.m. orders were received that they were to pull back and embark from La Panne beach about ten miles up from the main Dunkirk evacuation beach. Out of 800 men who had marched into Belgium two weeks earlier a little under 150 remained. The fighting had died down as the Germans never liked attacking much at night. Gathering their remaining carriers they collected themselves together and under cover of dusk headed on down the road to La Penne now largely empty but pitted with shell craters and lined with houses and buildings mostly reduce to rubble’.


279


Four: Gunner P. H. Whitehead, Royal Artillery, killed in action on the Cherbourg peninsula, 17 June 1940


INDIAGENERAL SERVICE 1936-39, 1 clasp, North West Frontier 1936-37 (835697 Gnr. P. H. Whitehead. R.A.); GENERAL SERVICE 1918-62, 1 clasp, Palestine (835697 Gnr. P. H. Whitehead. R.A.); 1939-45 STAR;WARMEDAL 1939-45, extremely fine (4) £240-280


Percy Hoper Whitehead, of Dymchurch, Kent, served with the 71st Field Regiment, Royal Artillery in France during the Second World War, and was part of the small group of British, French, and North African troops who held back the rapidly advancing German Army in 1940 long enough to enable some 30,000 allied soldiers to withdraw from Cherbourg back to England. He was killed in action on 17 June 1940, when the lorry he was in ran over a mine at Denneville, Normandy, killing eight of the nine occupants. He is buried in Denneville Churchyard, France, and is also commemorated on a Memorial at Denneville recording the incident (which gives the date of 18 June 1940).


280


Three: Private W. A. Shears, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment, killed in action at the Battle of Metemma, Eritrea, 6 November 1940


1939-45 STAR; AFRICA STAR;WARMEDAL 1939-45, with named Army Council enclosure, in card box of issue, addressed to ‘Mrs. J. Shears, 71 Northdown Street, Caledonian Road, London NW1’, extremely fine (3)


£100-140


William Alexander Shears served with the 1st Battalion Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment during the Second World War, and was killed in action at the Battle of Metemma, in Eritrea, on 6 November 1940, aged 20. He is buried in Keren War Cemetery, Eritrea.


Shears is the only 1st Battalion Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire casualty fighting at Gallabat between 6 and 12 November 1940. There were 16 1st Battalion Essex Regiment casualties, and it is probable therefore that Shears was serving with his sister Regiment. An Italian column from Gadabi occupied Metemma on 12 April 1936. After War was declared between Britain and Italy, the Italians crossed the border and occupied Gallabat. The British recaptured the town on 6 November 1940, with the intent of then capturing Metemma; however, the attack on Metemma, under the command of Brigadier (later Field Marshal) W. J. Slim later that day failed and the British were forced to evacuate Gallabat again. They finally captured Metemma on 19 January 1941. Total British and Indian casualties amounted to 42 killed and 125 wounded.


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