Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

An important Second World War “Operation Pedestal” D.S.M. group of seven awarded to Temporary Sub. Lieutenant Alexander Pilling, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, the gunlayer in command of R.N. Gunners aboard the tanker Ohio - but who had signed on as a deckhand to comply with Board of Trade regulations: the only R.N. rating to receive the D.S.M. for gallant deeds aboard the stricken tanker, he and his fellow D.E.M.S. Gunners expended over 4300 rounds of 20 mm. Oerlikon in a matter of days

Distinguished Service Medal, G.VI.R. (JX. 185564 A. Pilling, T./A. L. Smn., R.N.), in its case of issue; 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Africa Star, clasp, North Africa 1942-43; Italy Star; Burma Star; War Medal 1939-45, together with a set of related miniature dress miniatures, minor official correction to number, good very fine and better (14) £10000-12000

D.S.M. London Gazette 22 December 1942:

‘For bravery and dauntless resolution in bringing the tanker Ohio to Malta in the face of heavy attacks by day and night from submarines, aircraft and surface forces.’

To which should be added the remarks of Ohio’s Master, Captain Dudley Mason:

‘I cannot speak too highly of the seven Royal Naval Gunners (D.E.M.S. ratings) under Gunlayer Pilling, who accompanied the vessel on this voyage. Following torpedo attack they manned the guns, withstanding practically 48 hours of continuous bombing.’

Alexander Pilling received his D.S.M. at a Buckingham Palace investiture held on 15 May 1945, by which time he had been commissioned as a Temporary Sub. Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve.

The importance of the “Operation Pedestal” needs no introduction here, Winston Churchill himself requesting regular updates as to the convoy’s progress, but for the record’s sake it is worth registering the bare facts: of the 14 merchantmen that set out, nine were sunk and three damaged, while the senior service’s input of 59 escorts, the largest such force ever assembled in defence of a convoy, sustained losses of an aircraft carrier, a cruiser and a destroyer, as well as having another half a dozen ships damaged. But of all the participating vessels, it was the tanker Ohio that captured the headlines, her survival and vital cargo of fuel allowing Malta to continue her grim defence - in the final 60 hours of her epic voyage, prior to her triumphant entry into Valetta on 15 August 1942, she received no less than seven direct hits and 20 near-misses. Her Master, of course, was awarded the G.C., the citation for which honour makes specific mention of his ship’s gunners:

‘During the passage to Malta of an important convoy Captain Mason’s ship suffered most violent onslaught. She was a focus of attack throughout and was torpedoed early one night. Although gravely damaged, her engines were kept going and the Master made a magnificent passage by hand-steering and without a compass. The ship’s gunners helped to bring down one of the attacking aircraft. The vessel was hit again before morning, but though she did not sink, her engine room was wrecked. She was then towed. The unwieldy condition of the vessel and persistent enemy attacks made progress slow, and it was uncertain whether she would remain afloat. All next day progress somehow continued and the ship reached Malta after a further night at sea. The violence of the enemy could not deter the Master from his purpose. Throughout he showed skill and courage of the highest order and it was due to his determination that, in spite of the most persistent enemy opposition, the vessel, with her valuable cargo, eventually reached Malta and was safely berthed’ (London Gazette 8 September 1942 refers).

The Ohio, an oil tanker built for the Texas Oil Company in 1940, first arrived in U.K. waters in June 1942, soon after which she was turned over to a British crew under the auspices of the British Eagle Oil and Shipping Company - for she was already earmarked for the Malta-run. Her new Master was Dudley Mason, in command of 77 men, no less than 24 of them R.N. and Army Gunners to man the tanker’s newly installed 5-inch A.A. gun aft and a 3-inch A.A. gun in the bows, in addition to an array of Oerlikon guns.

Captain Mason having attended a special conference, Ohio departed the Clyde with her fellow “Pedestal” merchantmen and a naval escort on 2 August 1942, the tanker laden with 11,500 tons of kerosene and diesel fuel oils. Gibraltar was reached without incident on the 10th, but thereafter, the convoy entered the “killing zone”, an early casualty being the aircraft carrier Eagle, torpedoed on the 11th with a loss of 260 officers and men. From now on the merchantmen - and Ohio in particular - were subjected to relentless attack, from U-Boats and Italian submarines, the Luftwaffe and Regio Aeronautica, and from Axis surface vessels. On 12 August a combined enemy force of 100 aircraft struck at the merchantmen, the likes of Pilling and his fellow D.E.M.S. Gunners undoubtedly being kept busy, but Ohio ultimately fell victim to the Italian submarine Axum, which delivered an accurate torpedo attack amidst the chaos and carnage of the ongoing air strike - Ohio was hit amidships, a huge column of flame leaping high-up above mast level. The resultant damage included a hole in her port side, measuring 24 by 27 feet, a gaping hole in her buckled deck, and the loss of steering gear and compass - no less concerning was the kerosene seeping through the damaged tanks. But Mason and his men rigged up emergency steering gear from aft and somehow overcame the fires, even reaching 13 knots, fortuitous progress given pending events.

Nearing Pantelleria, Ohio was marked out for the special attention of 60 Stukas, bombs and machine-gun fire raking her decks, the 3-inch A.A. gun in the bows being put out of action but Pelling and the D.E.M.S. Gunners breaking up some of the approaching formations and downing at least one enemy aircraft - the wreckage of which crashed into Ohio’s starboard side, half of one wing smashing into the upper work of the bridge. But the enemy aircraft kept on coming, two sticks of bombs straddling the tanker and lifting her clean out of the water and others stopping her engines on two occasions - the resultant periods of “restarting” leaving her a sitting duck. In fact, at one stage, most of the crew were taken off by H.M.S. Penn, only to be returned the following day when it was decided to take the stricken tanker in tow. Yet again, however, the Ohio was hit, a bomb falling near the original damage caused her by the Axum’s torpedo strike and reducing her to 4 or 5 knots - a preliminary damage report revealed that she had almost certainly broken her back.

Here, then, the opening of the final chapter in Ohio’s epic journey, the moment her Naval escorts stuck to her yet closer, the Penn taking up station on her starboard side to try and stabilise her and assist the process of getting her under tow. But progress was slow and Axis aircraft rarely out of sight, another hit buckling Ohio’s stern plates and breaking the tow - her decks now awash amidships, she was around 45 miles from Malta, a distance that finally brought some respite from incessant air attack, for she was now within range of the Island’s Spitfires.

The Destroyers Bramham, Ledbury and Penn now took turns in cradling the Ohio to port and starboard, or in directing her steering from astern, and at length the little flotilla came within range of Malta’s shore batteries, a timely development given prowling E-Boats. Finally, in the early evening of the 15th, after having edged her way around a British minefield, the Ohio was towed into Grand Harbour, Valetta to a spectacular reception, crowds cheering from the ramparts of St. Angelo, Senglea and the Barracca Gardens, and the Royal Marines Band performing an unforgettable rendition of Rule Britannia from the end of the harbour’s mole. Somehow oblivious to the crowds and noise, Captain Dudley Mason and his extraordinary crew remained very much on the alert, for there remained grave concern that the crippled ship might yet end up at the bottom of Grand Harbour. In the event, she reached her berth, where her valuable cargo was quickly discharged, her keel finally settling on the bottom as the last gallon of her fuel was extracted.

In addition to Dudley Mason’s G.C., Ohio’s crew won a D.S.O., six D.S.Cs, and eight D.S.Ms, Pilling’s own award being unique to an R.N. rating. He later became a Master Printer and died in Blackpool in November 1985; sold with his original Buckingham Palace investiture ticket, dated 15 May 1945, and Admiralty campaign medal forwarding slip, together with a quantity of research, including photographs of “Pedestal”.