Orders, Decorations and Medals

Four: Chief Yeoman of the Signals F. C. Donno, Royal Navy, a veteran of an earlier encounter with Hipper’s cruiser squadron off Yarmouth in November 1914, who won the approbation of Their Lordships for his subsequent deeds on the occasion of the loss of the destroyer Contest

1914-15 Star (220551 F. C. Donno, L. Sig., R.N.); British War and Victory Medals (220551 F. C. Donno, Y.S., R.N.); Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., G.V.R., 2nd issue (220551 F. C. Donno, Yeo. Sigs., H.M.S. Highflyer), mounted as worn, contact marks and polished, thus good fine or better (4) £140-180

Frederick Clarence Donno was born in Islington, London, in January 1887 and entered the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class in May 1902.

A Leading Signalman aboard the destroyer H.M.S. Lively by the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914, he quickly saw action when his ship, in company with the Halcyon and Leopard, came under 11-inch gunfire from the German Battle Cruiser Squadron off Yarmouth on 3 November, the first of several enemy raids on England’s east coast towns - such was the screen of splashes caused by the enemy’s gunfire that he was unable to take advantage of the situation and only Halcyon took a hit.

Removing to the destroyer Contest in June 1916, Donno remained similarly employed up until her loss on 18 September 1917, when she was torpedoed while going to the rescue of the crippled City of Lincoln - the torpedo struck right aft and detonated the depth charges, blowing off the ship’s stern. She went down stern first after an hour or so, but Donno was among the survivors, and he was commended by Their Lordships at the subsequent court of enquiry - having exchanged semaphore signals with the City of Lincoln at the height of the action, he was on the forecastle when the torpedo struck Contest, and was forced to take cover from flying debris.

Donno went on to serve in four more destroyers before the War’s end, namely the Wakeful, Pylades, Orford and Talisman, and was awarded his L.S. & G.C. Medal in October 1920. Advanced to Chief Yeoman of the Signals in February 1926, he was finally pensioned ashore in the following year; sold with a file of research, including old picture postcards of the Lively and Contest, and copied typescript of the Admiralty court of enquiry proceedings into the loss of the latter ship.