Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Five: Captain W. J. Slade, Merchant Navy, who survived the loss of two ships in the last War - the Empire Antelope and Samouri - both victims of U-Boats

1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Burma Star, clasp, Pacific; War Medal 1939-45; Coronation 1953, together with the recipient’s original Coronation Medal certificate in the name of ‘Captain William John Slade’, good very fine (5) £120-150

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, A Collection of Awards to Merchant Seamen and D.E.M.S. Gunners.

View
Collection

William John Slade, who was born in Liverpool in September 1900, probably served as an Apprentice in the Mercantile Marine in the Great War - if so, his resultant awards may well have gone down in one of his subsequent commands during the last War, for he was the Master of both Empire Antelope and the Samouri.

The former ship was torpedoed on 6 November 1942, when bound from St. John’s, Newfoundland for the Clyde in convoy SC. 107. Carrying a crew of 50, including her D.E.M.S. gunners, she went down relatively slowly, thereby allowing the entire complement to get away in her boats or on rafts, although Slade returned to the ship to free one of the latter and ended up in the drink - luckily being picked up swiftly. Adrift for two or three hours, the whole were rescued by the Stockport.

The Samouri’s end on 26 January 1944, when bound from Bombay for Aden, and travelling independently, was swifter, the ship sinking vertically by the stern after 40 minutes. However, captain and crew got away in her boats and were picked up the following day by the S.S. Shahzada.

Slade, who was a long served officer of Moss Hutchinson, finally came ashore in the 1960s; sold with further details, including copies of both of his reports into the loss of the Empire Antelope and Samouri.