Orders, Decorations and Medals

Three: Commander H. W. Head, Royal Navy, who received an M.I.D. for service on H.M.S. Achilles at the battle of the River Plate, 13 December 1939

1939-45 Star; Defence and War Medals, unnamed as issued, very fine (3) £100-140

M.I.D. London Gazette 23 February 1940.

Henry William Head was a M.I.Mech. E. and M.I.N.A. He entered the Royal Navy as a Midshipman on 15 September 1919 and was promoted to Sub-Lieutenant in October 1922, Lieutenant (E) in April 1924, Lieutenant-Commander (E) in April 1932 and Commander (E) in December 1938. He attended the Royal Naval Engineering College, Keyham, in 1923 and was Engineer in Command on the Verity, April 1937, Achilles, January 1939 and Devonshire, June 1943. He was Commander (Engineering) aboard the cruiser Achilles, when in company with the Exeter and Ajax, and under the command of Commodore Henry Harwood, they engaged the German ‘pocket battleship’ Graf Spee in the battle of the River Plate, 13 December 1939. As a result of the damaged sustained in the battle, and fearing to resume to the fight, the Graf Spee was subsequently scuttled.

Sold with M.I.D. Certificate, named to ‘Commander (E) H. W. Head, R.N., H.M.S. Achilles’, with original envelope and M.I.D. emblem forwarding slip, together with some copied research.