Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria, to include the Brian Ritchie Collection (Part I)

A Second World War aircraft carrier Pacific operations D.S.M. group of six awarded to Ordnance Artificer 2nd Class J. G. Faulkner, Royal Navy

Distinguished Service Medal, G.VI.R. (O.A. 2 J. G. Faulkner, P/MX. 51368); 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Africa Star; Pacific Star; War Medal 1939-45, good very fine and better (6) £800-1000

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Medals from the collection of Angela and the late Douglas Bertram.

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D.S.M. London Gazette 1 January 1946.

John Geoffrey Faulkner most probably joined the ship’s company of the aircraft carrier H.M.S. Indefatigable when she was commissioned at Clydebank in mid-1944. If so, he would have served off Norway prior to the Indefatigable’s departure for the Pacific in November of the same year. More certain is the fact he was decorated for services in that ship in the Pacific (Seedie’s refers).

By early 1945, her F.A.A. aircraft were hotly engaged against assorted Japanese targets and between March and May, in “Operation Iceberg”, she lent support to the U.S. landings at Okinawa. It was at the commencement of the latter operation, on 1 April 1945, that Indefatigable became the first British victim of a kamikaze aircraft, being hit on the flight deck above her “island” superstructure, the detonation of the Zero’s 500lb. bomb wrecking both flight deck barriers, the flight deck sick bay and the briefing room - eight men were killed instantly, and the final casualty total was four officers and ten ratings killed, and 16 wounded.

Following repairs at Sydney, the Indefatigable returned to an operational footing, and her aircraft were in action right up until 15 August 1945, on which date they fought the last air-to-air combat of the War. Throughout this period she remained under threat from further kamikaze attacks. Most probably, however, the catalyst behind the award of Faulkner’s D.S.M. dated back to Indefatigable’s first painful experience of “The Divine Wind” on 1 April 1945.