Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A fine Second War ‘Far East’ D.S.M. group of eight awarded to Chief Engine Room Artificer R. L. Jerrard, Royal Navy and Royal New Zealand Navy, who served in H.M.S. Achilles throughout the war - a veteran of the Battle of the River Plate, when the cruiser ‘Achilles opened fire on the German ‘pocket battleship’ Admiral Graf Spee in the South Atlantic, at 6.21 am on 13 December 1939, it became the first New Zealand unit to strike a blow at the enemy in the Second World War. With the New Zealand ensign flying proudly from her mainmast - as battle loomed, a signalman had run aft with the ensign shouting ‘Make way for the Digger flag!’ - Achilles became the first New Zealand warship to take part in a naval battle.’

Jerrard went on to serve in operations in the Pacific, in particular as part of Operation Iceberg, the Battle of Okinawa, and as part of Task Force 37, in operations against Kure, Miko and Kobe. The Achilles remained in the task force’s operational area, during the final air operations - ultimately leading to the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.

Distinguished Service Medal, G.VI.R. (C.E.R.A. R. L. Jerrard. C/M. 38366); Naval General Service 1915-62, 1 clasp, Palestine 1936-1939 (M.38366 R. L. Jerrard. E.R.A.2. R.N.); 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Pacific Star, 1 clasp, Burma; War Medal 1939-45; New Zealand War Service Medal; Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., G.VI.R., 1st issue (M. 38366 R. L. Jerrard, E.R.A.2, H.M.S. Achilles.) mounted for wear, generally good very fine (8) £1800-2200

D.S.M. London Gazette 11 June 1946:

‘For distinguished service during the War in the Far East.’

The Recommendation states:

‘For distinguished service during the War in the Far East while serving in H.M.N.Z.S. Achilles. And, more especially, for his persistent and cheerful leadership as senior Chief Engine Room Artificer during which time he built up in his department a spirit of teamwork and cheerful readiness to tackle and master a succession of difficult jobs.’

Robert Leslie Jerrard was born in Porstmouth, Hampshire, in 1908. He was the son of Chief Petty Officer R. W. Jerrard, R.N., and followed in his father’s profession by joining the Royal Navy as a Boy in August 1924. Jerrard advanced to Engine Room Artificer 2nd Class, and entered the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy.

Jerrard served with H.M.S. Achilles (cruiser), from June 1938 - September 1943 and from February 1944 - May 1946. The cruiser was taken into the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy:

‘As the formal title indicated, the New Zealand naval forces developed within a Royal Navy framework. The cruisers were loaned to New Zealand, which merely paid their running costs - a major advantage for a cash-strapped government. New Zealand also depended upon British expertise and personnel. Senior officers, including Achilles’ Captain Edward (later Rear-Admiral Sir Edward) Parry, were seconded British officers. In 1939 the New Zealand Division comprised 82 officers and 1257 ratings, of whom eight officers and 716 ratings were New Zealanders, supporting them was a 670-strong New Zealand Volunteer Naval Reserve. New Zealand sent its personnel to Britain for training, relied on British logistic support, and looked to the Royal Navy for traditions, advice and example. A small element of the wider British fleet, this force would be placed under the operational control of the Admiralty on the outbreak of war, in accordance with New Zealand’s defence strategy...

As the international situation darkened in the last week of August 1939, the likelihood of these plans being implemented suddenly became very real. Both New Zealand cruisers were hurriedly readied for sea. Ships’ bottoms were cleaned, supplies were loaded, and crews were brought up to their war complements. In H.M.S. Achilles’ case, this amounted to 31 officers and 536 ratings - of whom five officers and 316 ratings were New Zealanders [Jerrard being one of the experienced British crew].

Early on 29 August, with Germany preparing to invade Poland, the Admiralty requested that the ships move to their war stations. Seven hours later Achilles put to sea, bound for Balboa in Panama’s Canal Zone.... Achilles was well away from New Zealand when shortly after midnight on 3 September Captain Parry received a signal from London: ‘Commence hostilities against Germany.’ The previous day he had been ordered to change course to the Chilean port of Valparaiso. Achilles arrived there on 12 September 1939.

Of all the battles waged during the Second World War, arguably the most important was the Battle of the Atlantic, the struggle to keep open the sea routes to the British Isles... At the outset, the battle also involved denying the Atlantic and other sea routes to Germany. An immediate task for the Royal Navy was to track down and destroy the estimated 237 German merchant ships at sea or in foreign ports. As well as cutting off German trade, this action would prevent these vessels being armed and used to prey of Allied trade.

For six weeks Achilles played its part in this world-wide effort, moving along the coasts of Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia in order to deter German ship movements. The only Allied warship on this coast (all the South American countries were neutral), it was ready to intercept any German merchant ship heading for refuge in a neutral port or any of the 17 ships already holed up at various places that might dare to put to sea.’ (The Battle of the River Plate, The New Zealand Story, refers)

The German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee had been deployed, with the support ship Altmark, to cruise near the Cape Verde Islands in September 1939. With the outbreak of war she was ordered to move into the South Atlantic to operate as a commerce raider, whilst avoiding major engagements. The ‘warship claimed its first victim, sinking the British merchant vessel Clement. The British ship managed to broadcast a distress signal, providing the first indication that a German raider was operating in the area... As a result, Achilles was ordered to quit its watchdog role along South America’s west coast and proceed to the South Atlantic. After a steady passage, and refuelling at the Falkland Islands, Achilles reached the southern approaches of the River Plate on 26 October. It joined Commodore Henry (later Admiral Sir Henry) Harwood’s South America Division, which had been transferred from the America and West Indies Station. The New Zealand ship joined the division’s heavy cruisers H.M.S. Exeter and Cumberland and the light cruiser Ajax in patrolling the Rio de Janeiro/River Plate area.’ (Ibid)

On 2 December, in the eastern South Atlantic, the Graf Spee sank the Blue Star Line’s Doric Star, bound from New Zealand to the United Kingdom, and five days later she sank the steamer Tairoa. Both ships had got off distress messages, and their final positions gave the indication that the German ship was heading for the east coast of South America. Harwood concluded that the River Plate was the most likely target, and by the early hours of 12 December 1939 had gathered the Achilles, Ajax and Exeter.

Harwood’s educated guess was vindicated when at 6.14 am the following morning the Graf Spee’s smoke was spotted on the horizon. Faced with a much more heavily armed German ship, Harwood’s division faced the prospect of long range annihilation. However, instead of standing off and using the longer range of his guns to good effect, the German Captain closed with the enemy.

The Graf Spee ‘opened fire at 6.18 am at a range of just under 20,000 metres. Exeter, closing fast, replied two minutes later. At first the Germans responded to Harwood’s tactic by splitting their armament, but then concentrated the fire of all 11-inch guns on Exeter. Within six minutes, several shells had hit Exeter, causing heavy damage and loss of life. Despite having one turret knocked out, Exeter remained in action, and took more hits. At 6.32 it fired torpedoes at the enemy ship, but they missed. In all, 61 members of Exeter’s crew were killed or mortally wounded during the action.

While Graf Spee concentrated on Exeter, Ajax and Achilles closed in. Achilles opened fire at 6.21 am, and Ajax two minutes later. Their 16 smaller guns scored numerous hits, though the damage was limited by the small weight of the shells. Even so, the fire discomfited the Germans and, at 6.30, they again split their main armament. One 11-inch gun turret fixed on the light cruisers. Ajax was straddled by shells three times.

Achilles did not escape unscathed. At 6.40 a near miss sent shell splinters tearing through the director control tower, killing four ratings - two of them New Zealanders - and seriously wounding three more. Captain Parry and five others were slightly wounded.’ (Ibid)

The significance of Achilles’ role in the battle was historic:

‘When the cruiser H.M.S. Achilles opened fire on the German ‘pocket battleship’ Admiral Graf Spee in the South Atlantic, at 6.21 am on 13 December 1939, it became the first New Zealand unit to strike a blow at the enemy in the Second World War. With the New Zealand ensign flying proudly from her mainmast - as battle loomed, a signalman had run aft with the ensign shouting ‘Make way for the Digger flag!’ - Achilles became the first New Zealand warship to take part in a naval battle.

The 82-minute engagement between the Graf Spee and its three smaller British opponents - Achilles, Ajax and Exeter - was inconclusive. All four were damaged, with the British ships suffering 72 fatalities (two of them New Zealanders) to the Graf Spee’s 36. But the German warship’s subsequent withdrawal to the neutral Uruguayan port of Montevideo, and its dramatic scuttling by its own crew on 17 December, turned the Battle of the River Plate into a major British victory - and a welcome morale boost for the Allied cause. Achilles’ role in the battle was a special source of pride for New Zealanders, who welcomed the ship’s crew home at huge parades on Auckland and Wellington in early 1940.’

Having experienced the adulation of the New Zealand public, Jerrard advanced to Acting Chief Engine Room Artificer in November 1940, and to Chief Engine Room Artificer in November the following year. With Japan entering the war, the Achilles was employed as part of the ANZAC Squadron, on convoy defence in the south-west Pacific. In July 1941 the Achilles transferred to the Royal New Zealand Navy, upon its formation, and became H.M.Z.N.S. Achilles.

Throughout 1942-1943, the Achilles continued to be employed on escort duties, whilst often operating in tandem with American ships on military operations. She escorted a Task Force to Guadalcanal, 3 January 1943, and the following day deployed off the Solomons and bombarded the Japanese airfield at Munda, New Georgia. The Achilles was hit and badly damaged on her ‘X’ turret by air attacks whilst providing naval gunfire support off Guadalcanal, 5 January 1943. She underwent a major refit in the UK, between April 1943 - May 1944, and upon completion was allocated for service with the 4th Cruiser Squadron as part of the British Pacific Fleet.

In May 1945, the Achilles joined the British Pacific Fleet at Manus. She was employed as part of Task Force 57 during Operation Iceberg, the Battle of Okinawa, in particular as part of the screen during flying operations off Sakishima Gunto. In June 1945, the Achilles was employed with a number of British ships including the Aircraft Carrier H.M.S. Implacable as part of Task Unit 111.2 for Operation Inmate - a series of air attacks on Japanese positions in Truk, Caroline Islands. The following month she was engaged, as part of Task Force 37, in operations against Kure, Miko and Kobe. The Achilles remained in the task force’s operational area, during the final air operations - ultimately leading to the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.

Jerrard was ‘Shore Pensioned’ in December 1948, and settled in New Zealand. He died in Auckland, New Zealand in May 1980, and is buried in the Glenfield Berm Cemetery.

Sold with copied service papers, and research.