Single Campaign Medals 427
The British War Medal awarded to Stoker 1st Class A. W. Howe, Royal Navy, who served aboard H.M.S. Lion at the battles of Heligoland Bight and Dogger Bank and was lost in submarine H3 when mined in the Adriatic on 15 July 1916
British War Medal 1914-20 (K.10819 A. W. Howe. Sto.1. R.N.) naming officially re-impressed, good very fine £40-£60
Arthur William Howe was born in Kilburn, London, on 14 July 1890, and was a plumber’s mate by trade when he joined the Royal Navy on 29 March 1911, as a Stoker 2nd Class. He served aboard the battleship Lion from 4 June 1912 until 31 March 1915, seeing action at the battles of Heligoland Bight and Dogger Bank. He joined submarine H3 on 1 April 1915 and was lost with all hands when the boat was mined in the Adriatic whilst attempting to penetrate the Austrian anchorage at Cattaro. He is commemorated by name on the Plymouth Naval Memorial. Sold with copied record of service.
428
The British War Medal awarded to Able Seaman H. S. Cross, Royal Navy, who was mentioned in despatches for services in action with enemy submarines and was killed in action when the Q-Ship Stonecrop was sunk on 18 September 1917
British War Medal 1914-20 (211054 H. S. Cross. A.B. R.N.) good very fine £60-£80
M.I.D. London Gazette 16 November 1917: ‘For services in action with enemy submarines:- A.B. Herbert Stanley Cross, O.N. 211054 (Po.) (since killed)’.
Herbert Stanley Cross was born in Peckham, London, on 18 April 1884, and was a milkman when he joined the Royal Navy on 3 August 1900, and signed on for 12 years Continuous Service on 18 April 1902. His C.S. expired on 1 May 1914, but on 4 September he signed on again for the duration of the war, serving in the light cruiser Birmingham from September 1914 to September 1916. After postings to Vernon and Victory I, he joined his next ship, H.M.S. Stonecrop, on 1 August 1917. Originally the collier Glenfoyle, she was converted for service as a ‘Q-Ship’ in April 1917 and fitted with one visible 6-pounder gun capable of firing only in the aft direction (as was legitimate defence for a merchant ship) but also with a concealed 4-inch gun, 12-pounder howitzers for projecting bombs, and torpedo tubes.
On 17 September 1917, when some 300 miles south-west of Co. Kerry, she sighted a submarine on the surface at 14000 yards distance. The submarine opened fire and Stonecrop turned away at her top speed of 7 knots, sending out SOS signals. The submarine followed, overtaking and firing, but without making any direct hits. After half an hour of this, Stonecrop lighted her Smoke Apparatus, simulating a very realistic fire, and sent off her ‘panic party’. the submarine then submerged but reappeared later and circled the ship at 600 yards. Stonecrop opened fire with her 4-inch gun, scoring several hits. The submarine then moved away, to sink stern-first. She surfaced again briefly before finally sinking. Her conning-tower hatch had not been opened and no wreckage appeared, just oil and scum, but Stonecrop’s captain was convinced that she had been sunk. The Admiralty awarded £1000 to be distributed amongst the crew, of which Cross’s share, as an Able Seaman, would have been £9. 1s. 10d. The submarine is believed to have been the U-151.
On 18 September 1917, at 1 p.m. Stonecrop was some 180 miles south-west of Fastnet when she was struck by two torpedoes, suffering extensive damage and slowly settling by the head. The ‘panic party’ left in the boats and the gun crews went to their concealed posts and waited. A submarine appeared and cruised around at about 3000 yards but never came within the field of fire of any of the ship’s remaining weapons which were still serviceable. The ship continued to settle and at about 2.30 p.m. all those still on board had to abandon her as she tilted into a vertical position and sank. The submarine then approached to enquire the ship’s name and destination, a false answer being given. She then left without taking any further hostile action. The men in the water had two boats, a partly wrecked raft and plenty of wreckage, from which they repaired the raft and constructed another. One boat was sent away towards Ireland to fetch assistance. It arrived safely and ships were sent out the following day to search. Meanwhile, the other boat became separated from the rafts during the night of 18-19 and, since it could be of no help even if it did find them again, it sailed on towards and reached Bantry Bay at 7.30 p.m. The two rafts were not sighted by the searching ships until the afternoon of 23 September. They had been without food and with only a little water since 20 September, and only 10 remained alive out of the 22 who had been on the rafts originally. In all, some 32 of the ship’s complement perished including Able Seaman H. S. Cross who is commemorated by name on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial.
Sold with copied record of service and other research. 429 British War Medal 1914-20 (25-689 Sjt. J. Wilkinson. North’d Fus.) nearly extremely fine £400-£500
John Wilkinson was born in Blyth, Northumberland, and attested there for the Northumberland Fusiliers. He served with the 25th (2nd Tyneside Irish) Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front from 1916, and was killed in action on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, 1 July 1916, on which date the Battalion, alongside the 1st, 3rd, and 4th Tyneside Irish Battalions as part of the 103rd Brigade, 34th Division, was tasked with attacking the German positions at La Boisselle. Advancing at 7:45 a.m. the Battalion came under heavy fire from the moment the assembly trenches were left, but the advance was maintained until ‘only a few scattered soldiers were left standing , the discipline and courage of all ranks being remarkable’. The other Tyneside Irish Battalions fared no better: the 1st Tyneside Irish came under intense machine gun fire, and only 1 officer with a handful of men reached the objective before being forced to retire; the 3rd Tyneside Irish ‘advanced as if on parade under heavy machine gun and shell fire’, with small parties holding out in shell holes in No Man’s Land; and the 4th Tyneside Irish managed to reach the objective, before being forced to retire, having suffered over 70% casualties. In total the tremendous casualties inflicted upon the four Tyneside Irish battalions were among the worst ever recorded on the Somme, with the 2nd Tyneside Irish suffering 487 casualties, and the four Battalions in total suffering well over 2,000 casualties
Wilkinson was amongst those killed. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, France. 430 British War Medal 1914-20 (23-693 Pte. R. Bradley. North’d Fus.) edge bruise, very fine £300-£400
Patrick Bradley was born in Felling-on-Tyne, Gateshead, and attested for the Northumberland Fusiliers at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He served with the 23rd (4th Tyneside Scottish) Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front from 1916, and was killed in action on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, 1 July 1916, on which date the Battalion, alongside the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Tyneside Scottish Battalion, as part of the 102nd Brigade, 34th Division, was tasked with attacking the German positions at La Boisselle. They attacked south of the village at 7:30 a.m. and were met with heavy machine gun and shell fire. The tremendous casualties suffered by the four Tyneside Scottish battalions were among the worst ever recorded on the Somme, with losses including all 4 Commanding Officers killed and all second in commands and adjutants. Of the 80 officers that went into action only 10 returned, and of the men some 80 per cent became casualties, with 940 other ranks killed and some 1,500 wounded.
Bradley was amongst those killed, aged just 20. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, France.
www.dnw.co.uk all lots are illustrated on our website and are subject to buyers’ premium at 24% (+VAT where applicable)
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
