Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Pair: Rifleman P. D. Westlake, The Rifle Brigade and No. 2 Commando, taken prisoner in the raid on St Nazaire in March 1942

1939-45 Star; War Medal, together with eight original P.O.W. Camp letters, from various camps between June 1942 and October 1944; a rare No. 2 Commando Christmas Card 1941; a letter to his parents written during commando training near Keswick in November 1941; and various Red Cross correspondence to his parents, extremely fine and rare (2) £400-500

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Medals to The Rifle Brigade and Affiliated Regiments from the collection formed by Michael Haines.

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Rifleman Peter Westlake is the only member of the Rifle Brigade so far traced to have taken part in the famous raid on St Nazaire in March 1942. He was a member of number 6 Troop of 2 Commando and, in common with all those who were not killed, and the few who escaped, was taken prisoner by the Germans. One of the P.O.W. letters to Westlake’s parents is from Captain Michael ‘Micky’ Burn, K.R.R.C., commanding 6 Troop, 2 Commando, who was awarded the M.C. for his part in the Raid and who wrote in September 1942: ‘You won’t know me but I’d like to tell you how glad I was your son, Peter, got away undamaged after our raid at St Nazaire. He made a very happy prisoner and obviously has a talent for drawing. He was also a very fine soldier and in all respects someone to be proud of. I know he‘ll make the best of this period of leisure.’

Westlake was a member of ‘Micky’ Burn’s Assault party ‘2D’ in Group Two, of which he was in overall command . They were embarked in ML 192, Lieutenant-Commander Billie Stephens, R.N.V.R., leader of the 20th Flotilla and responsible for all the MLs in the “Chariot” force.

‘ML 192 was the first boat of many to be hit and destroyed by guns which were largely impervious to the fire of the launches’ puny Oerlikons. Close enough to be in the way of the hail of shot and shell that was missing the destroyer astern, she entered the port with all guns blazing and with Micky Burn’s Commandos mostly spread about the deck amidships, primed and ready for landing... Racing to clear the Mole, they managed to make a further 300 metres before being hit by a series of missiles which, within seconds, transformed what had been a living warship into a flaming wreck, her mid-section littered with dead and wounded... Among the last to leave the doomed ML was Stephens himself, who stood right up on the bows and had a last swig of whisky from his flask, before lowering himself into the freezing water.’

Westlake was amongst the struggling mass of survivors who managed to make if safely ashore. Having lost their weapons, they were incapable of resistance when confronted by a group of Germans, and so they were marched away into captivity. Micky Burn, however, had so far evaded capture and it was some time before he and a comrade were winkled out of their hiding place deep in the engine room of a trawler.

In a speech to Commando and Naval survivors, on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the raid, Micky Burn made the observation, ‘What I think we all did, all of us, had a spiritual as well as technical and tactical importance. What it comes to is that we did the impossible. So whenever some great project is afoot, national or international, or even some private individual act is in mind which could be ennobling, and have good results and give heart, and when people mock it and say, “Oh, it’s impossible, it can’t be done”, we have a certain right, indeed a certain joy in contradicting, because one week and half-a-century ago we managed to achieve it.’