Orders, Decorations and Medals

The Oman 1958 S.A.S. operations D.C.M. group of three awarded to Staff Sergeant J. Hawkins, Royal Engineers, who, as a permanent member and Troop Commander of 22 Special Air Service Regiment, was decorated for great bravery in repulsing a determined rebel attack at Aqbat: with just five men, he held his fire until the enemy force of 40 men was little more than 100 yards away - they were quickly dispersed by mounting casualties from his S.A.S. patrol’s accurate fire

Distinguished Conduct Medal, E.II.R., 1st issue (22547183 A./Sgt. J. Hawkins, R.E.); General Service 1918-62, 2 clasps, Malaya, Arabian Peninsula (22547183 Tpr. J. Hawkins, S.A.S.); General Service 1962, 1 clasp, Borneo (22547183 S. Sgt. J. Hawkins, D.C.M., S.A.S.), minor contact marks, one or two edge bruises, otherwise very fine and better (3) £12000-15000

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Ron Penhall Collection.

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John “Herbie” Hawkins was the only member of 22 Special Air Service Regiment to be awarded a D.C.M. for these operations in Oman in the Arabian Peninsula in 1958, while one of the M.Cs awarded on the same occasion went to Captain Peter de la Billiere, better known today, of course, as General Sir Peter, the famous Gulf War commander, in whose autobiography Looking for Trouble, Hawkins is mentioned. In fact no post-war history of the S.A.S. would be complete without mention of the Regiment’s clashes on the heights of the Jebel Akhdar in Oman, or for that matter Hawkins’ inspired leadership on an 8,000ft. peak at Aqbat - a peak that was subsequently designated “Herbie’s Hump” - and what makes these achievements all the more impressive is that Hawkins and his comrades in ‘D’ Squadron had only just been extracted from jungle patrol operations in Malaya, a theatre of war that had witnessed him being awarded a C.-in-C’s commendation; for further mention of Hawkins in action, see Tony Geraghty’s Who Dares Wins, which also includes a description of the action at Sabrina on the night of 27-28 December 1958.

Sold with an interesting selection of original photographs, including one of members of ‘3 Troop, 22 S.A.S., 1955-56’ , another of Hawkins in the Malayan jungle and images of Beverley aircraft and related jump trials; together with his original C.-in-C’s commendation certificate, dated 8 May 1956.