2. Medals and Wounds

The following links give a brief synopsis of his time in the Royal Marines. Information presented to this privately maintained website (www.unithistories.com) was provided by me after obtaining the Service Records from the British National Archives. Click the title / link following below:-

 * Summary of Service Record *



MEDALS

The 1939-1945 Star

The Pacific Star with Burma Clasp

The Italy Star

The France & Germany Star

The Defence Medal

The War Medal 1939-1945

INJURED & WOUNDED

His Service Record whilst embarked on HMS DURBAN in Feb. 1942 states:-

"12/2/42 Wounded by enemy action".

Further entries:-

"22/8/42 Awarded wound certificate".

"24/1/44 Granted hurt certificate".

Naval-History.net for February 1942 states:-

11 Feb       Under air attack on passage to Singapore.

12 Feb       Escorted coastal steamers carrying evacuees from Singapore. Under air attack when   north of Sunda Strait and hit forward causing loss of 6" [Gun] mounting.

16 Feb       Withdrawn from area at Batavia. Escorted merchant ship for part of passage to Colombo.

(Wiki) HMS DURBAN states:-

"In February 1942 Durban moved with the rest of the Eastern Fleet to Java, after the Japanese started their attack on Singapore. Durban was damaged by bombing before she could leave, but on 12 February she and the anti-submarine vessel Kedah escorted the merchant ships Empire Star and Gorgon out of Singapore, repelling successive Japanese air attacks for four hours. The next day the convoy, carrying thousands of evacuees from Singapore, reached Tandjong Priok, the port for Batavia. Durban, with Admiral Thomas C. Hart as a passenger, departed 16 February escorting Plancius, carrying refugees to Colombo [Ceylon]. There Durban underwent temporary repairs". (Source: Wiki)

From his Service Records it is clear that he spent time at HMS LANKA the Royal Navy's shore base at Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) receiving medical treatment for his wounds. He remained at HMS LANKA from February 1942 until June 1942 before returning by sea to England; a passage of some 10 weeks arriving in August. He was promoted to Colour Sergeant a few months later. The extent of his injuries is not known by me, his daughter says she can remember scars and loss of muscle tissue on his right arm. Her mother also told her that he arrived home with his arm supported by and strapped to a metal / cradle type sling. He recovered and regained full use of the arm.

It should be noted that his ship HMS DURBAN received only temporary repairs whilst at the Navy base in Ceylon. According to the ship's record she was only fully repaired in America later that year, returning to England in July 1942. He did not return to HMS DURBAN.

Addendum

From his Service Record:-

"Granted Hurt Certificate (Compound fracture of Right Humerus) [upper arm bone] in air attack on HMS Durban (wounds caused by shrapnel from a bomb falling near his action station".

Also on a sub-note:-

"Prize money £12-12".