Auction Catalogue
Create new listA good Coastal Forces D.S.M. awarded to Petty Officer Motor Mechanic J. A. A. ‘Tony’ Shenton, H.M. M.T.B. 681, for an action off the coast of Holland in June 1944 in which he was wounded and his boat sunk
Distinguished Service Medal, G.VI.R. (P.O.M.M. J. A. A. Shenton, P/MX. 79271) together with named condolence slip, original photograph and news cutting, extremely fine £600-800
D.S.M. London Gazette 19 September 1944: Petty Officer Motor Mechanic John Arthur Anthony Shenton, M.T.B. 681. ‘For outstanding courage, skill and determination in light coastal craft in successful actions with enemy forces.’
The action fought on the 9th/10th June, 1944, off Egmond by six boats of the 58th Flotilla, was a resounding success apart from the loss of M.T.B. 681. Until this time, few torpedo attacks on shallow draught targets had succeeded. Bit in May, at last, Coastal Forces had begun to receive torpedoes with a magnetic pistol and this was to revolutionise the success rate. This new non-contact pistol triggered by the magnetic field of a target, enabled the torpedo to be set to run deeper, which had many advantages. The torpedo was not affected so much by surface waves, it left a less visible track and it was able to get ahead of any track it did leave. When it exploded without actually being in contact with the target’s hull, it was more likely to break the back of a ship, or to damage vital regions such as engine rooms and magazines that might have been inaccessible through the sides.
So it was that the redoubtable Lieutenant-Commander Ken Gemmell’s boats, when they met a patrol of four armed trawlers and a gun coaster in very low visibility, were able to fire six torpedoes in the first attack after stalking and plotting the enemy, and to claim hits on three trawlers. In a second attack, this time without the advantage of surprise and so bringing heavy return fire, two torpedoes were fired and a hit claimed on the gun coaster. In this attack 681 was set on fire and subsequently sank, two of her crew being killed and seven, including Shenton, wounded.
In his report, Lieutenant E. S. Forman, the C.O. of 681, states: ‘The First Lieutenant and the Motor Mechanic [Shenton] went into the petrol compartment and discovered the space dense with smoke. The Motor Mechanic then returned bearing a smoke helmet. A full examination was then made by the Motor Mechanic, who reported the Star Wing Pool tank holed by a 37 m.m. shell, about 18 inches from the deckhead. The Motor Mechanic showed great initiative in sizing up the situation and asking permission to put the nozzles of the hose into the shell hole and fill the tank with water to expel the fumes.’
Now that the immediate safety of the boat seemed assured, but in no condition for further action, Forman decided to return to base. Handing over to the First Lieutenant, Forman went to the charthouse to consult his navigator. Suddenly, his conversation was interrupted by an explosion and the deck collapsed below his feet. His report reveals that ‘the ship was a mass of white flames from the bridge forward below deck, and the topsides had parted from the deck. Realising the ship could not possibly be saved, I gave the order “Abandon Ship Stations.’
Forman, and all his crew except the two who died were picked up by 687 and 683. Petty Officer Shenton suffered second degree burns to his face and upper body, and was later treated for these at Felixtowe Hospital. He was presented with his D.S.M. at Buckingham Palace on 6 November 1945. Tony Shenton was tragically killed in a motor accident on 15 June 1946, within a few miles of his home in Andover, having travelled from London. Sold with full research.
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