Auction Catalogue

1 December 2004

Starting at 10:00 AM

.

Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Grand Connaught Rooms  61 - 65 Great Queen St  London  WC2B 5DA

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Lot

№ 1336

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1 December 2004

Hammer Price:
£2,600

A fine Second World War anti-U-boat operations D.S.M. awarded to Leading Seaman W. H. Mackrill, Royal Naval Patrol Service: he was decorated for his part in the celebrated “David and Goliath” action between H.M. Trawler “Lady Shirley” and the U-111

Distinguished Service Medal
, G.VI.R. (LT/X. 19533A. W. H. Mackrill, L.S., H.M.T. Lady Shirley), extremely fine £1200-1500

D.S.M. London Gazette 18 November 1941: ‘For daring skill in a brilliant action against a U-boat in which the enemy was sunk and surrendered to H.M.T. Lady Shirley.’

The original recommendation states:

‘For displaying exceptional ingenuity and great personal skill in repairing the Asdic installation after a major breakdown three days prior to the action, and for carrying out his duties as A./S. operator during the attack with utmost skill. He was in large measure responsible for the success of the operation. But for his resourcefulness, the action would not have taken place.’

The following account of the action, written by the
Lady Shirley’s skipper, Lieutenant-Commander A. H. Callaway, R.A.N.V.R., appeared in the December 1941 issue of The War Illustrated:

‘We were steaming in daylight when we sighted the conning-tower of a U-boat on the surface. We were several miles away. We steamed at full speed towards the submarine and saw it dive.

Immediately we reached the spot we dropped depth charges. A bare two or three minutes afterwards we saw the periscope and knew the U-boat was surfacing. She was 500 yards away. We turned to port ready to attack with gunfire or ram her. We learned from the crew afterwards that she had been badly damaged and was leaking, with her machinery out of action.

As soon as the conning-tower opened we swept it with machine-gun fire. We could see the officers and men falling before the hail of bullets. We saw a number of men rushing to man the gun on the deck of the submarine, but they never reached it.

Just as we opened fire with our four-inch gun a machine-gun began to fire from the conning-tower of the submarine. Our first two rounds missed, but after that practically every shell hit the submarine, one bursting on the conning-tower and another penetrating the well and exploding inside.

After our first three rounds our seaman gunlayer, L. W. Pizzey, was killed by machine-gun bullets. Immediately Sub. Lieutenant French, in charge of the gun, leapt into his place and with the gun crew working heroically in spite of a hail of machine-gun bullets sweeping the entire length of the ship, we kept up such a hot fire that the enemy machine-gun was silenced and none of the Germans could bring their 4.7-inch gun into action against us.

They ran away from the gun. We could see them running along the deck of the submarine their hands above their heads in token of surrender and shouting. We ceased fire, but kept our gun trained on her. She was badly down by the stern, and her crew, wearing lifebelts, began to jump overboard.

When she plunged down stern first we cheered and then set about the business of picking up survivors. There were 45 of them, 15 more than the total complement of the
Lady Shirley. A rating whose legs had been blown off died soon after we got him on board. I asked one of the two German officer survivors, who spoke English, if he would like to conduct the burial service, but as he was wounded he asked me to do so.

I said I had no German flag with which to cover the body, and I presumed they would not wish him to be buried under the Union Jack. Politely they agreed, and with our ship’s company and the two German officers and five ratings standing together on the deck I conducted the service, the body going over the side not covered with a flag. The Germans were obviously very touched, and thanked me for the way in which the service was carried out.

We rendered first-aid to eight wounded Germans. On leaving the ship the Germans showed no sign of Nazi arrogance. They thanked us all for what we had done for them. They were absolutely astonished that such a small ship as ours could sink a powerful submarine. Our fire, they said, was so rapid and accurate that they could not man their own gun.’

Such was the magnitude of the
Lady Shirley’s achievement, that Their Lordships quickly approved the award of one D.S.O., two D.S.Cs, one C.G.M., six D.S.Ms and five “mentions” to her crew of ‘about 30’ men, Mackrill, of course, winning one of the D.S.Ms for his vital role in, and prior to, the action.

A little over two months later, on 11 December 1941, in what was rumoured to be a quite deliberate act of revenge, the
Lady Shirley was sunk by the enemy with all hands.

William Henry Mackrill is commemorated on the Lowestoft Naval Memorial.