A fine Second War ‘Withdrawal from Dunkirk’ D.S.M. group of nine awarded to Engineering Room Artificer J. Barton, Royal Naval Reserve, for services in the destroyer H.M.S. Express, one of the first ships to arrive at Dunkirk she was the means of rescuing some 2795 British and French troops; Express and the destroyer Shikari were the last ships to leave Dunkirk with troops when the evacuation ended

Distinguished Service Medal, G.VI.R. (P.O. 32EE. J. Barton. E.R.A. 1. R.N.R.); 1914-15 Star (E.A. 1202, J. Barton, E.R.A., R.N.R.); British War and Victory Medals, with M.I.D. oak leaves (1202 E.A. J. Barton. E.R.A. R.N.R.); 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45; Royal Naval Reserve L.S. & G.C., G.V.R., 2nd issue, with Second Award Bar (138 F.D. J. Barton. E.R.A. R.N.R.) mounted court-style as worn, some awards polished and minor edge bruising, nearly very fine or better (9) £1,200-£1,600

D.S.M. London Gazette 16 August 1940:
‘For good services in the withdrawal of the Allied Armies from the beaches at Dunkirk’

M.I.D. London Gazette 17 April 1918.

James Barton was born in Belfast on 16 October 1891. He enrolled in the Royal Naval Reserve on 2 September 1914, seeing service in H.M.S. Arrogant and Attentive II between between the start of the War and 1919. He was later re-engaged for service in the Second War.

Dunkirk by A. D. Divine - who was himself awarded a D.S.M. - notes that Barton’s award was for services in Express. In June and July 1940, Express made a number of trips to Dunkirk and was one of the first to arrive and commence taking troops off the beaches. At first there were not many soldiers on the beach, but numbers soon grew and they were subject to continual attack by enemy aircraft. Taking troops off from a shelving beach could only be done in small boats, although there had been an attempt to make a pier by driving lorries into the sea for the troops to walk out on. Later troops were taken off from Dunkirk Harbour.

The Express and Shikar were the last ships to leave with troops before the evacuation was ended; in total, the Express brought out 2,795 troops, including some French. Many ships were sunk or damaged during the evacuation. The Express was damaged by bombing, but was repaired in time to continue taking part in the evacuation.

On 31 August 1940, the Express and four other Minelaying Destroyers left Immingham to lay an offensive field off the coast of the Netherlands. At around 23.00 hours almost to the point of dropping mines, it was reported by radio that there was an enemy convoy near at hand, which was to be attacked after the mines had been dropped. Before any mines were dropped, three of the ships, including Express, had themselves struck mines. Express was the first and some of the crew were picked up by the Ivanhoe, who then also struck a mine. Meanwhile, the Esk was struck and sank almost immediately. There was a considerable loss of life in all three ships, with the Express losing 4 officers and 55 ratings. In spite of having most of her bows blown off, the Express was towed back to port and eventually rebuilt. The Ivanhoe could not be saved and had to be sunk.