Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A Great War ‘Jutland’ D.S.M. pair awarded to Able Seaman E. W. Dicker, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, severely wounded when Rangetaker of ‘Q’ turret aboard H.M.S. Tiger

Distinguished Service Medal, G.V.R. (SX.Z.272 E. W. Dicker, R.N.V.R. H.M.S. Tiger 31 May-1 June 1916); British War Medal 1914-20 (S.Z.272 A.B. R.N.V.R.) nearly very fine (2) £500-600

D.S.M. London Gazette 15 September 1916: ‘For services rendered by Petty Officers and Men of the Grand Fleet in the action in the North Sea on the 31st May-1st June 1916. Able Seaman, R.N.V.R., Ernest William Dicker.’ One of only two D.S.Ms awarded to the R.N.V.R. for Jutland.

Despite sustaining a good number of hits from large calibre shell, H.M.S. Tiger was the only one of the 1st or 2nd Battle Cruiser Squadrons whose turrets were all training after the action. She had 2 officers and 22 men killed, and 37 men wounded at Jutland.

The following extract is taken from H.M.S. Tiger at Bay, by Victor Hayward: ‘The Tiger went to night defence stations after we had fired our last daylight rounds of angry fire. Just after 9 p.m. we went to our night disposition, in our case of course remaining closed up at our guns. We now managed to have a meal.

While eating our meal, one of our R.N.V.R. messmates staggered into the gun casement and I shall never forget the look on that poor lad’s face. Racked with pain and covered in blood, his left arm was splintered and pock-marked by shell fragments. He stood swaying on his feet with exhaustion and one of our boys caught him before he fell, easing him down onto the hatch of the ammunition hoist. He had been the rangetaker of ‘Q’ turret which had received that nasty wallop from one of Jerry’s ‘11’.

We gave him a drink of cocoa and, in spite of his protests that other poor lads required the doctor’s attention more urgently, two of us took him down to the casualty clearing station. Half an hour later, feeling and looking much better, he returned to us for food, his arm in a sling and his tattered clothes removed, wearing a stoker’s dungaree coat. Protesting that he must return to ‘Q’ turret, he took some sandwiches and left. We did not have the heart to quench his gallant spirit by retaining him.’

‘Q’ turret had been hit on the roof in the centre sighting hood, the shell appearing to have burst there, blowing a large hole in the roof plate. Two men in the gun-house were killed and several wounded, including the Midshipman of the turret, who died of his wounds next day. All sights were destroyed, and the director firing circuits were cut. The right gun-loading cage was jammed but luckily in the “down” position so that it did not interfere with the hand loading. The left gun-loading cage was temporarily jammed, the range-finder and lookout periscope smashed, but the officer of the turret was unhurt. He got up his spare crew from below, cleared away the dead and wounded, got his left gun into action with director training and laying, and fired with the sound of the other turrets’ firing. Also, after a lapse of a few minutes, he got the right gun going with hand loading with his spare crew.’

Ernest William Dicker joined the Navy on 10 June 1915, and was in the Royal Naval Division until 15 September 1915, when he was assigned to H.M.S. Tiger. He was ‘severely wounded in action on 31 May 1916’, and ‘Awarded the D.S.M. for services rendered in the above action in the North Sea.’ He served in H.M.S. Valiant from late August 1916 until the end of the war, and was demobilized on 15 May 1919.