Orders, Decorations and Medals

Royal Fleet Reserve L.S. & G.C., G.VI.R., 1st issue (Ply.22099 (Ply.D.68) A. G. Collins Mne., R.F.R.) nearly extremely fine £80-100

Albert George Collins was born in Witheridge, North Devon, on 12 March 1907. He was a Farm Labourer before enlisting in the Royal Marines at Bristol on 1 May 1924. He served afloat on the aircraft carrier Eagle and on the light cruisers Carysfort and Delhi before his release on 2 April 1932. Collins enrolled in the R.F.R. in 1932 and re-enrolled in 1937. Prior to the war Collins was employed as ground staff at Birmingham Airport and resided at 115 Reservoir Road, Selly Oak, Birmingham. He was recalled for service in July 1939 and served afloat on the aircraft carrier Courageous from 1 August 1939 until she was sunk in the Bristol Channel by U-29 on 17 September 1939. Marine Collins was awarded the R.F.R. Long Service Medal in April 1940. He saw active service during the battle of Crete as a member of the Mobile Naval Base Defence Organisation and was probably one of a rearguard force of about 400 troops. Collins was captured in Crete and became a prisoner-of-war, being held in camps 4B and 4C in Sudetenland. He was repatriated in May 1945 and re-enrolled in the R.F.R. on 8 August 1945 to complete time for a gratuity. He was discharged from the R.F.R. in 1947. With copied service paper and P.O.W. questionnaire.