Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

‘The war continued relentlessly, and only two nights later, on 11-12 October [1944], Tim Bligh took four boats of his 57th Flotilla into an action off Vir Island, north of Zara, which by its results and by the significance of the challenge it presented to the heavily armed F-Lighters, has frequently been referred to as the finest Coastal Forces action of the war.

It has been described in detail in both ‘Flag 4’ and ‘The Battle of the Torpedo Boats’, and each had the advantage of the beautifully written report by Bligh. Indeed, that report was published in The London Gazette of 15 October 1948 as one of a selection of the great Coastal Forces actions of 1939-45.’

Dog Boats at War, by L. C. Reynolds, O.B.E., D.S.C., refers.

The rare and outstanding Second World War Coastal Forces D.S.M. and Bar group of five awarded to Able Seaman R. S. Whiteley, Royal Navy, who also won a “mention” for his gallant work as gun layer of M.G.B. 622’s 6-pounder gun in many spectacular high-speed, octane-fuelled engagements in the Mediterranean and Adriatic - much to the cost of the enemy: a case in point would be the ‘great accuracy’ of his gun in a monumental fire-fight on the night of 11-12 October 1944 - often referred to as the finest Coastal Forces action of the war - when he quickly sank a number of enemy craft and showed ‘himself to be unsurpassed in Mediterranean Coastal Forces - no amount of enemy fire has any effect on his coolness and accuracy’

Distinguished Service Medal, G.VI.R., with Second Award Bar (A.B. R. S. Whiteley, C/JX. 308197)), in its case of issue; 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Italy Star; War Medal 1939-45, M.I.D. oak leaf, these last four with their original card forwarding box addressed to ‘Mr. R. S. Whiteley, 56 Overbury Crescent, New Addington, Nr. Croydon, Surrey’, together with a ‘Commando’ uniform patch, extremely fine (6) £6000-7000

D.S.M. London Gazette 5 December 1944:

‘For great skill and daring while serving in Light Coastal Craft in a series of sharp and successful encounters with enemy forces in the Adriatic and Aegean.’

Bar to D.S.M. London Gazette 13 February 1945:

‘For outstanding courage and determination in skilful attacks on enemy shipping in the Adriatic while serving in Light Coastal Craft.’

The original recommendation - dated 16 October 1944 - states:

‘On the night of 11-12 October 1944, H.M. M.G.B. 662 and H.M. M.T.Bs 634, 637 and 638, on patrol North of Zara, encountered one or more enemy ‘F’-lighter convoys. Our unit carried out three well-ordered gunnery and torpedo attacks which lasted five hours. In face of heavy enemy fire these attacks were pressed home and as a result 6 enemy ‘F’-lighters, 4 enemy Pi-L Boats and 1 E-Boat were destroyed, 1 ‘F’-lighter and 1 E-Boat were probably destroyed and 2 E-Boats were damaged by gunfire. This great success was achieved at the cost of only very few casualties, and minor damage to our own craft ... For leadership, courage and great skill. Able Seaman Whiteley was a six-pounder gun layer on His Majesty’s M.G.B. 662 and Captain of the gun. In the face of heavy enemy fire he did some brilliant spotting that was an example to every boat in the unit; and by his great accuracy quickly sank a number of enemy craft.’

Remarks of Administrative Authority:

‘Forwarded fully concurring. As a gun layer this rating has shown himself to be unsurpassed in Mediterranean Coastal Forces, and no amount of enemy fire has any effect on his coolness and accuracy.’

Mention in despatches London Gazette 21 November 1944:

‘For courage, skill and determination in a series of close actions with the enemy off the West coast of Italy and Dalmatia while serving in Light Coastal Craft.’

The original recommendation - dated 26 April 1944 - states:

‘On the night 24-25 June 1944, H.M. M.G.Bs 662, 659 and H.M. M.T.B. 670 encountered the ex-Jugoslav Torpedo Boat T. 7. After a very intensive close range gun action the T.7 was driven ashore and destroyed and some prisoners were taken ... For skill coolness and initiative as six-pounder gunlayer on H.M. M.G.B. 662. He did a very good shoot and scored many useful hits.’

Remarks of Administration Authority:

‘Forwarded fully concurring. This rating has been in M.G.B. 662 for 9 months and seen much action.’

Remarks of Operating Authority:

‘Fully concur. He inflicted severe damage on the enemy.’

Raymond Stewart Whiteley, who was born in Epsom in July 1921, served in M.G.B. 662 in the 57th M.G.B. Flotilla from the summer of 1943 until at least October 1944.

His skipper for much of the same period was Acting Lieutenant-Commander T. J. “Tim” Bligh, R.N.V.R., who was to be awarded an O.B.E., D.S.O., D.S.C. and Bar for his gallantry in the Mediterranean and Adriatic - the former distinction for taking the surrender of German Naval Forces in the Adriatic in his capacity as Senior Officer, 57th M.G.B. Flotilla. According to Len Reynolds, one of Bligh’s Flotilla C.Os, he ‘was a natural leader, an extrovert with a huge personality backed by the intellect of a scholar at Balliol’.

Under Bligh, with her complement of three officers and 30 ratings, 662 was to become one of the most decorated Dog Boats of the war, her crew winning a D.S.O., two D.S.Cs with Bars, a D.S.M. and Bar and nine D.S.Ms, in addition to a good tally of “mentions”. As a consequence, her story is the subject of considerable coverage in such histories as Dudley Pope’s Flag 4 and Len Reynolds’s Dog Boats at War; so, too, in the latter’s account of his own boat, Motor Gun Boat 658, one of 662’s consorts.

When Whiteley joined 662 in the summer of 1943, she was part of the 20th M.G.B. Flotilla, and in that capacity he would have participated in operations off the Italian coast, operating out of bases at Bastia and Corsica.

Fire-fights aplenty - the ‘pirates of Vis’ - Mention in despatches and D.S.M.

In January 1944, Tim Bligh arrived as 662’s new skipper, as a consequence of which she became part of the 57th M.G.B. Flotilla. It was the commencement of a remarkable chapter of operational service, a chapter that commenced amidst a flurry of gunfire on the night of the 29th-30th. Dog Boats at War takes up the story:

‘At the end of the month, on 29-30 January, Lt. Commander Tim Bligh in M.G.B. 662, with M.T.B. 97 (Lt. M. Bowyer) set out on his first patrol in the Adriatic, and indeed one of his first as the new S.O. of the 57th Flotilla. They found a small tanker and a schooner at the eastern end of Brae and made a gun attack, as neither was a suitable target for 97's torpedoes. Both were sunk, after eight Italian prisoners had been taken. Interrogation by the Italian speaking British Liaison Officer in Vis revealed that there had been a German presence aboard each vessel, as guns' crews, but all had been killed in the engagement. The schooner was the 350-ton Folgore, just returning from use as a supply ship and on her way from Durazzo (in Albania), bound for Sibenik, north-west of Split. Bligh was out again in his 662 on 2-3 February, this time with M.T.B. 649 (Hughes). Their patrol was northward to the Zara Channel, and after questioning some fishermen, they sighted a three-masted schooner situated very satisfactorily up-moon. Despite some spirited return fire, she was rapidly set on fire at very short range. Survivors began to jump overboard, and twelve of them were picked up.’

In May 1944, 622 and the 57th Flotilla shifted to a new base in the Adriatic: Vis in the Dalmatian Islands, home to all manner of cut-throats collectively termed ‘Land Forces Adriatic’.

As related by Captain S.W. Roskill, D.S.C., R.N., in The War at Sea (Vol. III, Part II), our special forces and Tito’s partisans required the assistance of the Navy to go about their business:

‘In June 1944, after Marshal Tito’s escape from Italy, the island became his headquarters and a centre from which to resume the direction of Partisan activities; Tito’s partisans combined with the British Forces also based on Vis, which consisted of men of 40th and 43rd Royal Marine Commando and 2nd S.A.S. Brigade under the command of Brigadier George Daly, and used the naval vessels present to transport materials and men to liberate the islands of Dalmatia ... raids were repeatedly made against enemy-held Dalmatian islands and the adjacent mainland. The assault forces, consisting of British Commandos and Yugoslav Partisans, were escorted and covered by destroyers and coastal craft from Vis; and their forays undoubtedly increased the insecurity of the enemy’s communications along the coastal roads and his hold on the offshore islands. In addition the steady pressure of our surface ships and aircraft against the enemy’s seaborne supply traffic continued all the time, on both sides of the Italian mainland.’

In fact the M.G.Bs and M.T.Bs based at Vis undertook no less than five major operations with the Commandos and partisans, namely the seaborne landings on Korcula, Solta, Hvar, Mljet and Brac.

M.G.B. 622 undoubtedly played her part in these operations and, as it happened, she had a partisan officer embarked in her next notable surface action, a successful run-in with an ex-Jugoslav torpedo boat on the night of 24-25 June 1944. As recounted elsewhere, the terrified partisan officer clung to Bligh begging him to call off his attack. The latter remained unmoved and called for Whiteley and his fellow gunners to prepare for action. Dog Boats at War describes overall events thus:

‘Lt. Commander Tim Bligh with his 57th Flotilla returned to the Adriatic from Bastia and arrived at Vis in mid-June ; his first eventful patrol was on 24-25 June. His unit was M.G.Bs 662 and 659 (Barlow), with M.T.B. 670 (Hewitt). They went north to the coast of Murter Island, and were rewarded when they sighted a warship which was identified as the T7, a well-armed two-funnelled ex-Yugoslav torpedo boat of about 250 tons, one of the few really significant threats to British boats in the islands. Bligh ordered 670 to attack with torpedoes, bur both missed astern and Bligh had to decide whether, with his unit now in an adverse position and probably detected, to make a gun attack. He dismissed the entreaties of his Partisan Liaison Officer to let her go, and set off in pursuit. He worked his way into an inshore position, still abaft the beam, prepared to close the range as far as possible until T7 opened fire. When she did, at 150 yards, the three Dogs, now gaining bearing every second, were able to bring all their forward and port side guns to bear, and their attack, accurately delivered, had T7 on fire with guns silenced within half a minute. Suddenly the T7, still steaming at about 12 knots, swung to starboard across 662's bows. Whether it was an attempt to ram or the result of damage to the steering was irrelevant: she just missed 662 (Bligh estimated by 5 feet!) and steamed straight into the Murter shore. After a while, a thorough search was made of her, five prisoners taken (others escaped), her weapons examined, and she was left firmly aground, filling up and on fire above decks. An Army demolition party later ensured there was no chance of salvage.’

Whiteley, who ‘did a very good shoot and scored many useful hits’, was mentioned in despatches. In fact 14 of the T. 7’s crew were killed and five taken P.O.W.

His subsequent award of the D.S.M. almost certainly stemmed from a spectacular duel with an F-Lighters off Vir, north of Zara, on the night of 7-8 August 1944, when 622 was seriously damaged by return fire. Dog Boats at War takes up the story:

‘On 7-8 August, Tim Bligh in his own boat M.G.B. 662 led M.T.Bs 667 (Jerram) and 670 (Hewitt) northward to their patrol area off Vir Island, north of Zara. lt was a fine calm night, with visibility at about 1 1/2 miles. Soon after 2200, a convoy of three ships was sighted approaching from the south. As they got nearer, Bligh identified them as a small escort and two F-Lighters. Remembering how little success the Dog Boats had previously had when using torpedoes against F-Lighters, he decided to attack first with guns. He opened fire at 2216 at 350 yards range, but even as his first salvo hit the leading F-Lighter, she opened fire very accurately and scored immediate hits, putting one of 662's engines out of action and damaging another, starting a fire and causing ten casualties straight away. But 662's gunners did not waver. With those of 667, in close station, they poured a concentrated and accurate return fire on the F-Lighter, which presently burst into flames with guns silenced. Events followed each other with almost lightning rapidity. At 2218, the second F-Lighter seemed to be trying to escape, and Bligh ordered 670 to attack her with torpedoes. Hewitt found that he had a real problem, as the target turned right round to the southward and started to steal away without firing any guns. He hastily manoeuvred, turning short round, adjusted his torpedo sight and at 2226 sank the target with one torpedo, becoming (according to Bligh later), the first Mediterranean Dog Boat to sink a moving F-Lighter with a Mark IV torpedo. 662 was in real trouble. Phosphorous fires were spreading in pockets all over the boat, and the engine room fire had been so severe that the methyl-bromide extinguishers had to be used, requiring evacuation of the engine room. The motor mechanics went below again rather earlier than they should have done, and started one engine to allow 662 to hobble away to avoid the shore batteries which had opened up. The two M.T.Bs used their three remaining torpedoes trying to sink the first burning F-Lighter but failed to hit. However, by midnight, gunfire finished the task and she sank.’

In September, 622 participated in a remarkable round-trip to the Corfu Channel, a profitable sojourn for, on the 3rd, she and her consorts encountered a convoy of small schooners and lighters. In the ensuing action much ammunition was expended and seven enemy craft were sunk. In all when they got back to base, the M.G.Bs of the 57th had been under way for a total of 47 hours and covered 535 miles.

The battle of Zara - Bar to D.S.M.

Now to events of the night of 11-12 October 1944 and the aforementioned action that has been described as the most brilliant Coastal Forces action of the war. This Whiteley’s crowning moment manning 622’s 6-pounder, the great accuracy of his gun costing the enemy dearly and winning him the glowing accolade of being unsurpassed as a gun layer in Mediterranean Coastal Forces. It was, as Len Reynolds explains in his history, Dog Boats at War, an action fought against huge odds:

‘The true significance of the action was that this was a battle between four Dog Boats and at least seven F-Lighters and four Pi-L Boats (smaller lighters with a high bow and stern which made them difficult to distinguish from F-Lighters except from a beam view). In many circumstances (frequently described earlier in these pages) these would have been daunting odds, as the German craft, some with 88-mm. and quadruple 20-mm. guns, could defend themselves well and prevent a short-range attack. But close inshore, in low visibility, with uncertainty of identification, 'absurdly close ranges' (Bligh's words) and 'excellent gunnery and admirable coolness on the part of the Dog Boats' COs', all these possible hazards were nullified, although early on in the action damage and casualties were suffered.

The operation had begun unusually, as this was a period in the Dalmatian campaign when the islands were being rapidly evacuated by the enemy, and SNOVlS was probing northward with a view to using anchorages close to the action, Vis now being rather too far south. Partisans and covert forces (the L.R.D.G. especially) were feeding back information. Tim Bligh's most senior C.O. (Walter Blount), who had already visited the island of Ist, well north of Zara, was sent on ahead of the unit to discover the latest intelligence. Bligh's orders were to be prepared to lie up at lst for one night, to patrol the mainland route on the second, and return to Vis on the third, depending on what was found.

His unit was his own M.G.B. 662, followed by M.T.Bs 634 (Blount), 637 (Davidson) and 638 (Lummis). Blount and Davidson were immensely experienced, and Lummis, although less so, was to perform very well.

In fact, they patrolled with no enemy contact on 10-11 October, but armed with more information, were in position off Vir Island, some 20 miles north of Zara, by 2220 on the evening of the 11th. 634 had some engine trouble, with fumes affecting the engine room crew, but seems to have been ready enough when Bligh in 662 sighted enemy ships on the port bow at about 400 yards range. He eased his unit close inshore, and identified the targets as four F-Lighters, one of which was ominously heading straight for 662, and one that looked in silhouette to have the higher profile of a 'flak lighter'. As the unit moved forward to attack, this ship opened fire and with its first salvo killed one of 662's pom-pom loading numbers. All four Dog Boats opened fire. The smoke and the low visibility made accurate observation from the S.O's boat impossible, and in his report he uses the device of giving each C.O's accounts separately. Briefly, before she drew ahead, 662 saw two Pi-L boats blow up, two F-Lighters heavily damaged and an E-boat disabled.

Blount in 634 decided he was too close to attempt a torpedo attack as ordered; the pom-pom's ready use locker was hit and went up in flames, but the flak lighter at 50 yards range was hit time after time and burst into flames, with her bridge collapsed. He then saw another group of F-Lighters steering southward (the first indication that there may have been two convoys crossing), and engaged them, damaging two before they moved into 637's field of fire. Lastly, what Blount thought was an E-boat appeared, and he saw it explode and sink.

Davidson in 637 then had his turn. Faced with less enemy fire and at point-blank range his gunners were relentlessly hitting all three targets presented to them, one of which became a blazing wreck. He also saw two large objects to port which turned out to be upturned vessels.

Lummis in 638 further damaged two of 637's F-Lighters and a Pi-L boat and fired on another E-boat.

Bligh, of course, did not have the benefit of all this information at first, but by now all his boats were to the north of the action. He felt sure no enemy ships would be moving on northward, so decided to make a wide sweep westward, southward and then back into the shore about a mile south of Vir Light. By now it was 2346 and he moved quietly up the coast. He sighted the wrecks of two lighters, and was well up towards Vir Point when he saw targets to the port bow, close inshore. 637 illuminated with star-shell, and the unit engaged three craft: an F-Lighter was seen to sink and the others were hit. Heavy fire came suddenly from hidden sources further south, but ceased after the boats fired at the flashes.

It was just on midnight, and knowing the moon was due to rise at 0114, Bligh decided to wait in order to gain the advantage of more light to help his unit finish off any remaining vessels by torpedo. He had great confidence in his radar operator and believed it unlikely that he would allow any craft to creep southward and escape close inshore. So he moved westward again and took up a waiting position about 2 miles off Vir Light until 0151, when he illuminated with star-shell, but was chagrined to find no evidence of any targets. He had two more pauses, and finally moved into the coastline at 0251, and searched southward. Almost at once he found a very large F-Lighter bow-on to the beach - a perfect torpedo target. 634 duly obliged with hits by both torpedoes. Soon after, he found another group of two beached 'Fs' and some small craft. They were all subjected to heavy fire, and 637 sank the only one not blazing with one torpedo at 0337.

Bligh felt that no vessels remained to be dispatched, and decided to return to Vis. In discussion with his C.Os, he analysed the results of the action. He comments, very wisely, ' ... great difficulty was experienced in this task. The natural desire to claim what one believes to have been sunk has been curbed!' His conservative and considered estimates were:

Six F-Lighters sunk.
One F-Lighter probably sunk.
Four Pi-L boats sunk.
One E-boat sunk, one possibly sunk, and two damaged.’

Whiteley was awarded a Bar to his D.S.M. and quite likely remained in 662 until she was paid off in Malta in July 1945.

He died at Southend-on-Sea, Essex in December 1985; sold with copied research.