Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

The exceptional and rare Second War ‘Special Forces’ M.M. group of six awarded to Warrant Officer T. W. ‘Tom’ Winter, a high-explosives expert who served as an early member of the Commandos and 11 Special Air Service, prior to being specially requested to join the newly formed Small Scale Raiding Force

Tom Winter took part in three of the S.S.R.F’s most notable raids, namely:

Operation Postmaster, the combined S.S.R.F. and S.O.E. ‘Pirate Operation’ that took place in early 1942 in west Africa, which had Ian Fleming as one of its key planners, and numbered amongst the raiders Private Anders Lassen (later V.C., M.C. & two bars), the latter of whom Winter had met off the train as a fresh recruit at St Pancras Station, having been given orders to take him under his wing, with the words: “be as strict as you can with him, but don’t go too far because he’s good hearted and good at everything, even if he does dislike discipline!”

Operation Dryad, a twelve-man smash and grab operation, which again included Private Anders Lassen, that took place in September 1942 near Aldeny in the Channel Islands

Operation Aquatint, a similar twelve-man raid that took place nine days later, that ended in disaster with all the raiders being either killed, wounded or captured, including The unit’s C.O., Major March-Phillips who was killed in action - Tom Winter himself was one of those captured - Being brutally interrogated he was lucky to escape with his life, unlike two of of his less fortunate comrades who were executed under Hitler’s infamous Commando Order

Following two years spent as a prisoner of war, Tom Winter eventually succeeded in escaping his German captors dressed as a French soldier and joined up with the liberating forces

Military Medal, G.VI.R. (108938 W.O. Cl.2. T. W. Winter. R.A.S.C.); 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star, 1 clasp, France and Germany; Africa Star; War Medal 1939-45; Poland, Republic, Cross of Merit with Swords, 1st issue, Second Class, silvered and enamel, with separate crossed swords suspension, mounted court-style as worn, light pitting to M.M., otherwise generally good very fine (6) £24,000-£30,000

M.M. London Gazette 20 June 1946.
The original recommendation states: ‘Company Sergeant Major Winter has taken part in a number of recent operations including “Dryad”. In this operation his duty, in company with one other, was to force and search the actual light-tower, and throughout the operation he acted with dash and determination of a high order. Previously he took part in the successful Special Operations Executive operation “Postmaster” in which he played an important part in the capture of the German ship Lokomba and the power-driver German lighter Bibundi, on both of which he was responsible for blowing of the anchor chains with high explosives.
On all occasions when in action he has acted with courage and resourcefulness, coupled with a real desire to engage the enemy. He has at all times shown himself to be a very capable N.C.O. and a fine example to his men.’

Thomas William Winter was born on 1 January 1905. An engineer by trade, he enlisted into the Army on 4 November 1939 and was posted to the Royal Army Service Corps. In 1940 he volunteered for the commandos. A brief outline of his War service is taken from a ‘Mars & Minerva’ article:
‘After seven months as a technical instructor of Mechanics with the Royal Army Service Corps, Mr. Winter volunteered for dangerous work and joined the Parachute Wing No. 2 Commando in 1940. This later became No. 11 Special Air Service and Mr. Winter was posted for duties with the Special Operations Executive which specialised in secret actions behind enemy lines. He spent nine months in a Brixham trawler with members of the Small Scale Raiding Force posing as French fisherman off the coast of West Africa on an abortive search for non-existent German submarine servicing facilities, before playing an important role in Operation Postmaster. Which together with Operation Dryad, was to gain him the Military Medal.
Postmaster involved the successful overnight capture of the German freighter Likomba and its lighter, and the 9,000 ton Italian passenger and cargo ship, Duchess d’Aosta, which were “holed up” in a West African harbour because of the War.
A specialist in high explosives, Mr. Winter’s job was to “blow” the anchor chain of the German ship so that it could be pulled away by the tug, like the other ship, while the crews were being entertained at a party ashore.
He took part in a series of raids on the French Coast and Channel Island, in which prisoners were sometimes taken. Then came Dryad, in which there was little time to complete a hazardous operation in heavy seas because the Germans made routine contact with the Lighthouse every 90 minutes from Cherbourg. A month after Dryad, the force ran out of luck when three were killed and the others, including Mr. Winter, were captured during a raid on the French coast.
Mr. Winter survived S.S. interrogators before ending up in a prisoner of War Camp in Poland. But even there his undercover activities did not end. By sending coded letters to his wife, Lily, he supplied the War office with information, gleaned while on working parties about factories in the area producing war materials.
Punished after it was discovered he had taught explosive techniques to members of the Polish underground, he eventually escaped, together with an S.A.S. officer, from German hands in 1945 and joined the liberating forces.’

Much has been written about the three key Small Scale Raiding Force (S.S.R.F.) raids that Winter took part in; Operations Postmaster, Dryad and the disastrous Operation Aquatint. The raids themselves averaged 11-15 raiders and included in their number many well known and highly decorated early members of the British Special forces, including Majors Gus March-Phillips D.S.O., M.B.E., the founder of the S.S.R.F.; Captain Geoffrey Appleyard D.S.O., M.C., later 2 S.A.S.; Captain Graham Hayes M.C., who was executed by Germans in 1943; Quartermaster Desgranges, Free French, ex-Special Operations Executive; and the famed Anders Lassen V.C., M.C. and 2 Bars, later S.B.S. and Major S.A.S. To add to this, behind the scenes and very much involved in the planning of theses operations was Ian Fleming. Indeed, many aspects of these raids are thought to be inspiration for various scenes in the James Bond series.

Operation Postmaster, 14 January 1942
Operation Postmaster was a joint raid by 11 men of the Small Scale Raiding Force (S.S.R.F.) and 4 from the Special Operations Executive (S.O.E.). This small force was later christened the ‘Maid Honor Force’
The raid, under the command of Major March-Phillips, was to be carried out on 14 January 1942. The objective was to sail the Maid of Honor Q ship to Freetown, Sierra Leone, and once there to cut out three enemy ships from the harbour of Santa Isabel on the Island of Fernando Po. Once captured, these ships were then to be sailed to Lagos. The fact that the harbour was in neutral Spanish territory was of great concern to both the Foreign Office and the Admiralty, both of whom voiced their concerns and initially distanced themselves from the operation, due to possible repercussions, for if successful, the Spanish could rightly claim the operation as state sponsored piracy. Indeed Winter himself in an interview in later years called the Maid of Honor ‘the pirate ship’.

The force arrived in Freetown in late August 1941 and from there scouting and plans for the operation were finalised and the Foreign Office finally gave the go ahead on 6 January 1942. On 11 January, the raiders boarded two tugs, Vulcan and Nuneaton, manned by 17 local volunteers and headed for their objective. At 23.30 hours on 14 January, the three enemy ships were approached by the tugs and although challenged by crews, suitable answers were given and the raiders’ canoes from both were despatched. Of the three enemy ships, Burundi and Likomba were moored together and were approached by the raiders from Nuneaton, which included Winter. He, along with Captain Graham Hayes would be assigned as first to board, to take care of any resistance, and to set the explosives. Burundi and Likomba were boarded and the crew on watch jumped overboard without resistance. After planting explosive charges on the anchor chain, the raiders guided Nuneaton alongside both to take them in tow once the charges were blown.

The following is extracted from the book, Geoffrey: Being The Story of John Geoffrey Appleyard, DSO, MC & Bar, of the Commandos and Special Air Service Regiment, published in his memory in 1947:

‘By reason of strict censorship prevailing at that time Geoffrey was not able to refer in his letters to what took place on this operation, and so it is better that it should be described by Prout, assisted by Tom Winter, both of whom took part therein. Proutie writes:-

“The targets for the proposed raid were a large enemy liner carrying valuable cargo, and two smaller enemy craft that would be of great use to the Navy. These were anchored in a distant port and. it was proposed to capture them in some way and bring them to British waters. The prospect thrilled the crew of the Maid, for it presented them with an opportunity to emulate their hero Drake in a cutting-out expedition. During preliminary planning, it was soon realised that the crew were far too few for the task. Military or naval assistance was impracticable. Gus (March-Phillips) therefore decided to invite selected Britishers to 'come to a party.” No one who received the message knew what was involved, but all knew it meant high adventure and everyone responded. It is to the great credit of those gallant fellows that they did not know what was in store for them until they were at sea, but were prepared to risk their lives for their country' on an unknown project.

Great credit must also be given to those nameless few who 'prepared the ground.' Without their efforts the operation could never have succeeded, and at considerable hazard they were responsible for enabling plans to be made that reduced risk to a minimum. A powerful tug was chartered, together with a smaller one, and both sailed, timed to arrive alongside the enemy at the darkest hour of the darkest night of the moon. Gus commanded the whole expedition, with Apple second in command. Graham (Hayes) cormmanded the smaller tug. The crew of the Maid were distributed as follows : with Gus were Apple, Andy (Anders Lassen), Denis Tottenham, Ernest Evison, the cook, Andre Desgrange, ‘Haggis ' (the nickname of Gus's batman) and myself; and with Graham were Tom Winter and Buzz Perkins. The volunteers were divided between these parties. The tugs were manned by their own crews, who had volunteered with alacrity for the job.

A heavy swell was encountered crossing the Bar, and the heavily laden tugs wallowed like pigs. This was most unfortunate for the volunteers, most of whom were not accustomed to small craft, and some of the poor fellows took fully two days to recover from their agony. As for the crew, if any of them had felt bad, they would not dare have shown it, for the wrath of Gus would have descended on them like an avalanche!

Two days out disaster was narrowly averted. The diesel engine of the small tug developed piston trouble, and Graham signalled for assistance. She was then taken in tow whilst Tom Winter and the engineer worked on the engine. The small tug did not take kindly to being towed through the swell, and began to sheer alarmingly, in spite of the efforts of Graham and the very able Skipper to get her to answer her helm. Gus promptly rang to ' slow,' but Graham's vessel had developed such a sheer that her keel was showing out of the water, and her crew threw most of her provisions overboard before clambering on to her side in an effort to right her. At this stage Andy, with great presence of mind, rushed aft on the large tug and cut the hawser with an axe. Undoubtedly Andy's prompt action saved Graham's tug from total loss. Graham and Tom swam about retrieving their precious provisions and cases of beer, heedless of sharks or barracuda. Eventually, re-provisioned from the large tug, and with her engine- again in action, Graham's vessel got under way, and the voyage was resumed.

A report stated that the enemy liner was secured by two heavy cables attached to her bow anchors, and by four lighter cables attached to her stern, whilst the smaller enemy vessels were anchored in the normal way, bow and stern. The plan had the simplicity of brilliance.

1. Both tugs were to act independently but simultaneously.

2. At a given signal they were both to enter the harbour and go alongside their targets, board them and make fast the towing cables, whilst selected parties overcame resistance, and placed cutting charges on the anchor and stern cables.

3. Once the cables had been made fast the tugs were to steam slowly ahead to enable the strain on the cables to cause the barnacled ships to 'spring' from their moorings after the cables had been cut.

4. Completion of these tasks was to be reported to Gus on the bridge, and a single blast on his whistle was to be the signal-for the blowing of the cables, and for the tugs to steam 'Full Ahead' and tow their prizes out of the harbour.

This plan was carried through with 'one small adjustment. The Chief Engineer on the large tug had very wisely raised the question of the reaction of the native stokers to the
'big bangs,' and it was decided that I should go down the stokehole and control the stokers, for the vital importance of maintaining steam was indisputable. This meant of course, unfortunately, missing most of the fun, but I did not regret it, for those stokers worked magnificently.

Every single man was briefed as to his exact duty, and rehearsal after rehearsal of the coming action took place on the outward voyage on both tugs. We arrived at our destination in pitch darkness shortly before midnight. Arms were issued, and last minute preparations made. The signal to go in was given, and the two tugs slid silently between the buoys towards the sleeping town and our prey. Once inside the harbour, the two tugmasters, by beautiful judgement, with engines stopped but still under way, brought their craft exactly alongside the target ships before they were heard and challenged by the look-outs.

"As the tug slid to within two feet of the liner's fo'castle Gus gave the order to board, and he led his party over the rails of the tug and the enemy ship and overpowered the look-out before the alarm could be given. The boarders were armed with coshes, 12 inch bolts covered with rubber and strictest orders were given to avoid the use of firearms.

Once aboard, the raiders, about twenty in all, split into small parties to carry out the tasks allotted to them. Gus, followed closely by his diminutive bodyguard 'Haggis' led his party quickly through the ship and captured the bewildered crew without a shot being fired. Only one blow was struck, and that was when one of the volunteers found an enemy officer 'looking aggressive.' The poor wretch did not look very aggressive after a tap with his assailant's 'persuader.' From the bridge Gus was able to see Apple and Andre fix their charges to the heavy anchor chains forward, and Andy and his party heave aboard the heavy hawser and make it fast to the bollards. The prisoners were driven into the after dining saloon, and astern John Eyres and Desmond Long placed their charges on the mooring cables. On the tug the Master had eased forward with the engines just turning over, and was looking expectantly towards Gus on the bridge. Below in the tug, the Chief and Second Engineers were waiting for the clang of the telegraph and every ounce of steam and every revolution they could coax out of the 2,000 h.p. engines. In the stokehold I was telling the sweating stokers the tale as I had never told it before, and promised them a big 'dash' if they worked well. My powers of persuasion were considerably assisted by a tommy gun and a Colt .45.

Gus's shrill whistle pierced the silence and immediately the ships and harbour were shaken by a series of tremendous explosions. The telegraph clanged in the engine room of the tug, and the Chief opened the throttle wide. The powerful engines shook the tug as she strained and pulled at her huge burden, and the water was churned up into a phosphorescent race by the thrash of her propellers. The liner did not move. In the silence that followed the explosions Apple's clear voice was heard 'I am laying another charge.’ One of the forward charges had failed to ignite and Apple, realising that the whole success of the operation depended upon him, rushed forward and laid another charge with a short fuse on the huge anchor chain. After what seemed an eternity Apple's voice rang out again 'I am going to blow.' Unable to get back to proper shelter he crouched behind a nearby winch. A blinding flash and a huge explosion followed immediately, the tug’s propellers thrashed again, and the huge liner lurched and began to slide forward. A mighty shout rang out from the bridge : ‘My God, she's free.'

Responsibility now shifted to the Tug Master and the Chief Engineer, and they acquitted themselves splendidly. By superb seamanship the Master towed his unwieldy prize through the narrow channel to the buoys, against a severe cross current, whilst below the Chief and Second broke all the safety rules of the Mercantile Marine as the engines threatened to shake themselves out of their beds. The black stokers worked like demons and I almost felt like kissing them - but not quite!

Pandemonium reigned ashore. Immediately after the detonations were heard the anti aircraft guns went into action and blazed into the sky, the explosions having been mistaken for bombs from raiding aircraft. It was not until daylight came that it was realised on the shore that steamers had gone in the night. It was as well that the 6 inch guns covering the harbour had not opened fire because the most powerful gun aboard the tug was a Bren!

In the meantime, the smaller tug, whose Master had matched the skill of his colleague on the larger vessel, had come alongside her target preceded by Graham and Tom Winter who had launched collapsible canoes from their parent ship, and had boarded the enemy vessel from them. On board they had found the watchman, who had challenged them, and who, confronted by two men with knives in their teeth and truncheons in their hands, took one horrified look and promptly dived overboard and swam for the shore.

Finding no further opposition, Graham and Tom at once laid their cutting charges on the anchor chain and stern cables. At this moment the remaining two members of the boarding party came aboard from the tug and made fast the towing cable. The tug then went slowly ahead and took the strain on the cable. After making sure that the ship was actually in tow Graham and Tom fired the charges, the tug went 'Full ahead' in exactly the same way as the larger one was doing in the case of the liner.

Just as they got under way they heard the tremendous explosion from the liner and were overjoyed to find that all was well with Gus and his party. A few moments later they saw the huge bulk of the liner silhouetted in the dim light. She was moving faster than the smaller tug and reached the safety of the open sea ahead of Graham.

Progress was slow against a strong flood tide, and when only two miles from the shore the engine failed once more. Whilst Tom and the engineer were trying to get some life out of the engine the tide was taking them back to the port which they hoped they had just left for ever. They found that the trouble was serious, and had to disconnect the connecting rod from one cylinder in order to get the engine to run on the remaining two. After three hours' work the engine started on the two cylinders and enabled the party to go ahead at one to two knots. Graham was determined not to lose the small craft which was lashed alongside the enemy vessel, and to help the disabled engine she was dropped astern of the main prize and towed in line ahead. Graham steamed straight out to sea for the remaining hours of darkness for a prearranged rendezvous with Gus some 200 miles distant.

When daylight came they found that, in addition to their new prize, they were towing a sailing dinghy and a canoe! These they regretfully abandoned later as they could not spare the time to stop and get them onboard with a heavy swell running. The following day the second prize broke away and considerable time was lost circling to pick her up again. This accomplished, to the accompaniment of several very expressive remarks by all the party, it was decided to abandon the rendezvous and steam independently for the home port. Danger from British warships or submarines caused great concern, as the enemy vessel had her national colours painted on the funnel. Running short of water, they had the good fortune to sight a British cargo ship, which sheered off violently on seeing the enemy colours! Fortunately, however, the Tug Master knew the British ship and her Master which by now was approaching warily with her guns manned. By means of Morse he managed to make himself known and all was well! The Master of the British ship very sportingly offered to tow Graham's entire fleet, and in this way, in long line ahead, they all reached the home port before Gus, much to the latter's surprise and relief.

Meanwhile, Gus's party, during the long slow voyage back to port cleaned up the liner and made all shipshape. The enemy crew was put to work, a check made of her cargo, and on the bridge I laboriously typed out Gus's official report. Gus forbade any form of looting, the only exception being clean linen. ‘Haggis’ had been appearing in clean shirts daily and Gus ordered him to unearth his hoard, which he confiscated and shared between Apple and myself, to the deep chagrin of 'Haggis,' who as a mark of protest appeared in a pair of very feminine unmentionables which he had ferreted out from somewhere! When both Gus and Graham's parties arrived in home waters they were very quickly intercepted and taken over by the vigilant Navy who never got over their astonishment at finding enemy ships manned by their own countrymen.

The raid took place at a time when the shortage of Allied shipping was acute. This very fine ship and the smaller craft were welcome additions to the hard-pressed Merchant Navy, whilst their valuable cargoes made an equally useful addition to the Home country's depleted stores.’

Operation Dryad, 2-3 September 1942
Operation Dryad was a raid on the Casquets lighthouse located on a small island 6 miles west of the Island of Aldernay in the Channel Islands. Here a small German observation post had been set up, with a radio station. The objective of the raid was to take prisoners, as well as to keep the Germans on their toes. Several earlier raids had been attempted but had been called off due to weather conditions.
The raiding party consisted of 12 men from the Small Scale Raiding Force and included a number of the Commandos who had served in Operation Postmaster: Major March-Phillips, Captain Appleyard, Captain Hayes, Anders Lassen, Quartermaster Desgranges, and C.S.M. Winter.
At 9:00 p.m. on the night of 2 September 1942, the raiders set off aboard H.M. Motor Torpedo Boat 344- nicknamed The Little Pisser because of her outstanding turn of speed, she arriving at Casquets Island at 22.45 hours. Anchoring the M.T.B., the force rowed ashore, landing on the small beach at midnight. They then proceeded to scale the steep rocky ascent to the lighthouse itself, making their way through barbed wire defences on the way. On reaching the lighthouse courtyard unobserved, the raiders split into smaller groups, each with its own objective. Captain Appleyard and C.S.M. Winter were tasked with securing the lighthouse tower itself, only to find it unoccupied and the rest of the raiders searched the other buildings for its occupants.
The German garrison of 7 men were taken totally by surprise and were taken prisoner- their weapons, including a 20mm cannon were thrown into the sea; their radio smashed; and any useful paperwork such as codebooks, diaries, and letters were seized. Returning to the waiting M.T.B., the Force, together with their prisoners, arrived back at Portland at 4:00 a.m., just seven hours after leaving.

It was for this raid, along with Postmaster, for which Winter was awarded the Military Medal.

Operation Aquatint, 12-13 September 1942
Operation Aquatint was another Small Scale Raiding Force raid carried out under the leadership of Major March-Phillips and again included Captain Appleyard, Captain Hayes, Lieutenant Desgranges and C.S.M. Winter in its number.
This raid was to be carried out just nine days after Operation Dryad, on the night of 12-13 September 1942. Its objective was to test enemy defences, collect information, and to take prisoners. However, unlike the two earlier raids, it was a total disaster.
Boarding H.M. Motor Torpedo Boat 44, the 12 raiders sailed from Portsmouth shortly after 8:00 p.m. on 12 September, arriving off the coast at 10:00 p.m. Moving slowly towards the coastline, the M.T.B. arrived at its objective of Sainte-Honorine at midnight. The raiders boarded their boats, leaving Captain Appleyard aboard the M.T.B., and headed for the shore, landing 20 minutes later. On landing, the raiders realised they were in the wrong location- they were actually at Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, about a mile from their objective. Carrying on regardless, the force dragged their boat onto the beach and moved up towards the village itself, only to see a small German patrol of eight or nine men. The raiders took cover but were soon discovered and a fire fight ensued, resulting in the raiders making a fighting retreat to the boat. They managed to get about 100 yards off the coast, until their boat was located by other machine gun posts along the shore, and by a heavy calibre gun emplacement. Taking heavy fire, the boat began to sink and the raiders attempted to swim to the M.T.B., which had also been discovered. Under heavy fire itself and taking damage, the M.T.B. was forced to temporarily withdraw. Unable to get to the M.T.B., the surviving raiders swam back to shore.

On reaching the shoreline, Winter was fired on again and then finally captured, as was Lieutenant Desgranges. Both these men were subsequently forced to collect the bodies of their fallen comrades from the beach before being taken to Caen for interrogations. Captains Lord Howard and Hall, who were both wounded, were also taken prisoner. Captains Burton and Hayes, and Privates Hollings and Orr, managed to avoid capture on the beach but were later captured. Major March-Phillips, Sergeant Williams, and Private Lehniger were killed at some point between attempting to reach the M.T.B. and getting back on shore.

Taken Prisoner of War, Winter was brutally interrogated, before spending the next two years held at P.O.W. Camp 344 in Ober Silesia from 30 September 1942 until 14 December 1944, before finally escaping dressed as a French soldier, as he records in his M.I.9 debriefing questionnaire: ‘When our forces were within 30 miles of our Stalag I escaped and got to our lines to ask for medical supplies as typhus had broken out in the political prisoners compound. I went back to the camp with our relieving force. I used French uniforms to escape, was fired on but was not hit.’ He was one of the lucky ones, for two of the other captives from Acquaint were executed under the infamous Commando Order, including Winter’s great friend Captain Graham Hayes, MC.

Tom Winter is also extensively quoted in the book Anders Lassen, VC, MC of The SAS, by Mike Langley