The Collection of Medals Formed By Dr A W Stott

Five: Leading Stoker A. Bellis, Royal Navy, H.M.S. Dorsetshire
1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Africa Star; Burma Star; War Medal, these all named, together with damaged card box of issue addressed to his Father, nearly extremely fine (5)

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Collection of Medals Formed By Dr A W Stott.

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D/KX 93882 Leading Stoker Arthur Bellis was killed on 5 April 1942, when H.M.S. Dorsetshire was sunk by Japanese carrier-borne aircraft in the Bay of Bengal. The heavy cruiser Dorsethire, Captain A. W. S. Agar, V.C., D.S.O., was bombed and sunk in company with the heavy cruiser Cornwall. These two ships had sailed from Colombo late on the 4th April to rendezvous with Admiral Somerville. Next morning enemy reconnaissance aircraft were sighted and reported by Captain Agar of the Dorsetshire. Early in the afternoon a heavy attack by more than fifty bombers developed and both ships quickly received many hits. The attack was carried out by dive bombers from an aircraft carrier which formed part of a strong Japanese raiding force sent into the Bay of Bengal early in April. The Dorsetshire sank with the loss of 19 officers, 192 British and 16 South African ratings killed and one officer wounded. Cornwall was also sunk and over 1,000 survivors from both ships, including the captains, were rescued the next day by British destroyers.

Dorsetshire was one of the ships engaged in the pursuit of the Bismarck and fired the final torpedo which sent the German battleship to the bottom. She also sank the surface raider Atlantis in the South Atlantic in December 1941.