Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A Second War ‘sinking of the Scharnhorst’ D.S.M. group of nine awarded to Bandmaster 2nd Class C. J. Burley, H.M.S. Jamaica

Distinguished Service Medal, G.VI.R. (Bandmaster 2nd C. J. Burley, R.M.B.X.160); Naval General Service 1915-62, 1 clasp, Palestine 1936-1939 (RMB.X.160 C. J. Burley. Bd. Cpl. R.M.); 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Africa Star; Pacific Star; War Medal 1939-45; Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., G.VI.R., 1st issue (RMB.X.160 C. J. Burley. Bdmr. 2. R.M.); Efficiency Medal, E.II.R., 2nd issue, Territorial (22833786 W.O. Cl. 1. C. J. Burley. D.S.M. RA.) this last with official correction to surname; together with related R.A.O.B. Secretary’s badge, silver-gilt with gold embellishments, hallmarked London 1927, ‘Presented to Primo J. T. Burley for services rendered as Secretary. 12th Jan. 1928’, light contact marks, otherwise nearly very fine and better (10) £2,600-£3,000

D.S.M. London Gazette 7 March 1944: ‘For gallantry, distinguished service and devotion to duty in H.M. Ships during the action in which the SCHARNHORST was engaged and sunk.’ One of five D.S.Ms. awarded to H.M.S. Jamaica for the sinking of the German battleship Scharnhorst on Boxing Day 1943.

The recommendation states: ‘Bandmaster 2nd Class Clifford Joseph Burley (Kempston, Bedford). Bandmaster Burley performed the duties of bearing tube operator throughout the action with great skill and perseverance. His example of calmness and efficiency had an excellent effect on the whole Transmitting Station crew.’

The battle of North Cape

On 15 December 1942, H.M.S. Jamaica was assigned to Force 2, the distant escort for Convoy JW 55A, with the battleship H.M.S. Duke of York and four destroyers. Force 2 was commanded by Admiral Bruce Fraser, Commander-in-Chief of Home Fleet, in Duke of York. For the first time the British distant cover force escorted the convoy all the way to the Kola Inlet. Their passage was uneventful, and Force 2 sailed on 18 December to refuel at Iceland. Before he reached his destination, Admiral Fraser received Ultra information that a sortie by the German battleship Scharnhorst was likely to attack Convoy JW 55B, which was already at sea. German aerial reconnaissance spotted the convoy on 22 December, and Scharnhorst, escorted by five destroyers of the 4th Destroyer Flotilla, sailed on 25 December to intercept it. The resulting engagement became known as the Battle of North Cape.

The German ships were spotted on the morning of 26 December and were engaged by the covering force that consisted of the cruisers Belfast, Sheffield, and Norfolk, together with four destroyers. Meanwhile, Jamaica and Duke Of York approached from the south west, barring the Scharnhorst's path of retreat. The German battleship turned for her base at Altafjord in the early afternoon after two brief encounters with the British cruisers. She was spotted by Duke of York's Type 273 radar at a range of 45,500 yards and the battleship opened fire half an hour later. Jamaica fired her first salvo a minute after, and hit Scharnhorst on her third broadside. She was forced to cease fire after 19 volleys as the German ship was faster in the heavy seas than the British ships, and was opening up the range despite heavy damage from the British shells. One shell from Duke of York's last volley penetrated into Scharnhorst's Number One boiler room and effectively destroyed it. This reduced the German ship's speed sufficiently for the British destroyers to catch up and make four torpedo hits using a pincer attack. This slowed the ship again, so that Jamaica and Duke of York also caught up and opened fire at a range of 10,400 yards. They hit the German ship continually, but she was still not sinking after 20 minutes of firing, so Jamaica was ordered to torpedo her. Two torpedoes from her first volley of three missed and the third misfired, so the cruiser had to turn about to fire her other broadside of three, two of which appeared to hit. Belfast and the destroyers also fired torpedoes before Scharnhorst finally sank.

For this action Fraser was advanced to G.C.B. and awarded the Soviet Order of Suvorov 1st Class. He was promoted to full Admiral in February 1944 and after the war was raised to the peerage as Baron Fraser of North Cape.