Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Four: Acting Leading Stoker J. A. Jackman, Royal Navy, killed in action when H.M. Submarine Olympus struck a mine off Malta, 8 May 1942; only 9 of the 98 men on board managed to swim the 7 miles back to Malta in the dark, with only the glow of German bombs showing them the way

1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Africa Star; War Medal 1939-45, with named Admiralty enclosure, in card box of issue, addressed to ‘Mrs. V. E. Jackman, 37 Tintern Road, Gosport, Hants’, extremely fine (4) £140-180

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, A Collection of Medals to Second World War Casualties.

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James Alfred Jackman joined the Royal Navy as a Stoker 2nd Class on 22 June 1931, and was promoted Stoker 1st Class on 6 June 1932. He joined submarines on 14 May 1940, and served during the Second World War in H.M. Submarine Olympus from 30 January 1941. Promoted temporary Acting Leading Stoker on 20 May 1941, he was killed in action when Olympus struck a mine and sank off Malta on the night of 8 May 1942. Of the 98 crew and passengers on board (the passengers being the survivors from the crews of H.M. Submarines Pandora, P-36, and P-39 which had been sunk in air raids) most of the men on board managed to escape by leaping into the sea, but 89 were killed, the vast majority drowning, the only survivors being those that managed to swim the 7 miles back to Malta in the dark. Ironically it was the glow caused by German bombs falling on Malta (which of course was subject to the blackout) that showed them in which direction to swim. In terms of men killed, the loss of Olympus ranks as one of the worst Royal Navy wartime submarine losses. Jackman was one of those killed, aged 28. He is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial.

Sold with a photograph postcard of the recipient, taken at Hong Kong in December 1933.