A rare Second World War Battle of Crete D.S.M. group of nine awarded to Chief Petty Officer Steward N. A. Coombes, Royal Navy, who was decorated for his gallantry in the destroyer H.M.S. Kingston

Distinguished Service Medal, G.VI.R. (P/L 11127 N. A. Coombes, P.O. Std., H.M.S. Kingston); British War and Victory Medals (L. 11127 N. A. Coombes, B. Svt., R.N.); 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Africa Star; Italy Star; War Medal 1939-45; Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., G.V.R., 3rd issue (L. 11127 N. A. Coombes, L. Std., H.M.S. Vernon), the Great War and L.S. & G.C. awards with contact marks, nearly very fine, the remainder good very fine (9) £1700-1900

D.S.M. London Gazette 6 January 1942:

‘For outstanding gallantry, fortitude and resolution during the Battle of Crete.’

Norman Arthur Coombes was born in Southampton on 15 April 1902 and joined the Royal Navy as a Boy Servant on 21 May 1918, aged 16.  He served aboard Maidstone, a depot ship for submarines at Harwich, in the closing months of World War I. He was still serving aboard her when he reached the age of 18; he was then rated Officers’ Servant 3rd Class and engaged for 12 years.

Coombes left Maidstone in May 1922 and was then appointed to Lucia, another submarine depot ship, in the Mediterranean. This was followed by a period ashore near his home town; Victory II (1923-24) and Excellent (1924-28). In July 1928 he was appointed to Victory XI, the Portland Naval Depot, and served aboard the River class destroyer Doon.

In May 1935, when his L.S. & G.C. Medal was awarded, Coombes was serving in Vernon, the torpedo school at Portsmouth, and had been rated Leading Steward.

H.M.S. Kingston - early operations - two U-Boat ‘kills’ - Red Sea Force

By the outbreak of hostilities in September 1939, Coombes was serving in the recently completed Kingston, a Kelly class destroyer of 1710 tons built by J. Samuel White & Co. of Cowes. Armed with six 4.7 inch guns and ten torpedo tubes, she had a speed of 36 knots and a complement of 183 officers and ratings.

He was consequently present in the action leading to the destruction of the U-35 off the Shetland Isles on 29 November 1939, when, unusually, all the crew of the U-Boat were saved; so, too, in her subsequent operations in the 14th Destroyer Flotilla, as part of the Red Sea Force.

During this latter period of operations she participated in the destruction of the Italian submarine Evangelista Torricella off Perham in the Red Sea on 22 June 1940, as well as delivering another attack on another Italian submarine, the Perla, five days later. Then in March 1941 the Kingston took part in the re-capture of Berbera, the capital of British Somaliland, which had been in enemy hands for seven months.  She was part of Force G in April, which established an advanced base at Mersa Kuba in the Eritrean campaign. This greatly facilitated the occupation of Massawa, which virtually completed the conquest of Eritrea.

Greece and Crete

In April, when British forces had to be evacuated from Greece, the Kingston, serving with the Mediterranean fleet, was one of four destroyers which embarked troops from Kalamata.  A German column broke into the town while the evacuation was in progress and, in the confusion, most of the Allied troops were left behind.

On 20 May the Germans invaded Crete; after a heavy bombing raid, soldiers landed by parachute and glider.  On the night of 21-22 May the Germans attempted to reinforce them by sea; British warships intercepted one troop convoy about 20 miles to the north of Canea and sank most of the ships, forcing the others to turn back.  Kingston, in company with her sister-ship Kandahar and the cruisers Gloucester and Fiji, patrolled the Aegean to the west of Crete but did not encounter any enemy ships.

On the morning of May 22 the destroyer Greyhound was detached and sent to sink an enemy vessel detected to the north west of Crete.  She did so, but was herself caught and sunk by enemy bombers. Kingston, Kandahar and the two cruisers were sent to rescue her survivors, all the while under heavy air attack. At 3 p.m. the rescuing ships were given discretion to withdraw but it was too late.  Gloucester received several hits and was brought to a halt, badly on fire.  As she sank, her company were machine-gunned in the water; few survived.

Fiji steamed southwards, accompanied by the two destroyers, still under heavy attack. At 6.45 p.m., having survived some 20 formation attacks and fired every round of her anti-aircraft ammunition, Fiji fell victim to a single aircraft’s attacks and sank at 8.15 p.m. The two destroyers returned after dark and rescued over 500 of her crew.

Coombes distinguished himself in this action and his C.O., Lieutenant-Commander Somerville, recommended him for the immediate award of a decoration. The recommendation read: 

‘For courage and leadership while in charge of ‘X’ supply party during a prolonged engagement with enemy aircraft on 22 May 1941. His steady bearing throughout the action, and particularly when three bombs near missed the ship, were an encouragement to all working with him between decks and his devotion to duty in attending survivors from H.M.S. Fiji throughout the ensuing night was untiring.’

Some naval historians consider the Battle of Crete to have been the most severe trial faced by the Royal Navy in the Second World War. For day after day, first while intercepting German invasion forces and then evacuating Allied troops, the ships had to operate close to the land, in conditions of perfect visibility, within easy range of enemy aircraft and without air cover of any kind. In all, the Royal Navy lost three cruisers and eight destroyers sunk, with two battleships, an aircraft carrier, seven cruisers and nine destroyers damaged. 2,261 sailors lost their lives. When some officers expressed an opinion that the price was too high and the evacuation should be discontinued, Admiral Cunningham made the memorable reply: “It takes three years to build a ship, it would take three hundred years to build a new tradition.”

Coombes, who appears to have moved to a new appointment n June 1941, finally came ashore as a Chief Petty Officer Steward in February 1953> He retired to Southampton, where he died in December 1972; sold with a file of copied research, including service records and several photographs of Kingston.