Groups and Single Decorations for Gallantry

The unique Second War 1942 S.B.S. ‘Operation Reservist - attack on Oran Harbour’ M.M. group of six awarded to Sergeant D. C. Ellis, 2 Special Boat Service, late King’s Shropshire Light Infantry, a veteran of Dunkirk, who served with 101 Troop, No. 6 Commando prior to joining the S.B.S. for the raid on the Vichy French held Oran Harbour. Paired in a Folbot with the S.B.S. raid commander, Major H. V. Holden-White, Ellis launched from H.M.S. Walney into the night, 8 November 1942. The Oran Harbour attack was the first British-American Combined Operation of the Second World War, which also produced a superb Victoria Cross for Walney’s Captain, F. T. Peters, and was described by Winston Churchill as ‘The finest British naval engagement since Trafalgar.’ Holden-White and Ellis launched mini torpedoes from their canoe against a submarine and a destroyer, seemingly hitting the latter, prior to be being captured and taken prisoner of war whilst trying to escape from the harbour. Having been repatriated, Ellis was posted for further S.B.S. service under the command of 136 Force (S.O.E.), and served in India, Ceylon and Burma, 1944-47 Military Medal, G.VI.R. (4032370 Sjt. D. C. Ellis. K.S.L.I.); 1939-45 Star; Africa Star; Burma Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45, mounted as worn, last 2 mounted in wrong order, generally very fine (6) £12,000-£15,000 --- M.M. London Gazette 27 April 1944: ‘In recognition of gallant and distinguished services in North Africa.’ The original recommendation, which is best read in-conjunction with his commanding officer’s [Captain H. V. Holden-White] own recommendation for the Military Cross, states: ‘Oran Landings. Assault on port by H.M.S. Walney and H.M.S. Hartland - 8th November, 1942. Was Captain Holden-White’s partner in the Folbot, he displayed coolness and courage in directing his Officer on to the target and later, when by himself, he salvaged and re-floated the damaged Folbot, almost under the eyes of a French sentry.’ Holden-White’s M.C. recommendation states: ‘Was in Command of the Special Boat Section Unit, which was detailed to carry out dangerous and delicate operations in-conjunction with assault on the port of Oran. He was in charge of the party operating from H.M.S. Walney in folbots and displayed courage and initiative of a high order in attacking with small torpedoes a French destroyer which was leaving the port, and it is believed that one hit on the vessel was obtained.’ Derek Charles Ellis enlisted as a Boy in the 2nd Battalion, The King’s Shropshire Light Infantry at Shrewsbury in May 1935. He transferred to the 1st Battalion the following year, and served with the B.E.F. in France, 24 September 1939 - 8 June 1940. Ellis was posted to No. 6 Commando (Special Service Brigade) in May 1941, before transferring to the Special Boat Service in April 1942. He was to become part of the newly formed 2 SBS, which was gathered from a nucleus of 101 Troop, 6 Commando and new recruits such as Holden-White. Their billet was a private hotel in a suburb of Ardrossan, Scotland, and from here they learned all things according to the gospel of ‘Jumbo’ Courtney. Ellis had been part of 101 Troop, and had taken part in a reconnaissance 22/23 November 1941: ‘At Dover 101 Troop were mostly engaged in helping the Royal Navy destroy floating mines by rifle fire, but two canoe pairs were used to make a reconnaissance on the night of 22/23 November 1941. This was in preparation for a raid the next night by a hundred men from No. 9 Commando on a coastal gun battery at Houlgate near the mouth of the river Seine. Lieutenant Smith and Corporal Woodhouse overturned in surf and were captured, while Corporal D. C. Ellis and Private Lewis missed the rendezvous and paddled back across the Channel to England. However, they had gathered sufficient information to confirm that LCA’s (landing-craft assault) could land on the beach.’ (SBS In World War Two, The Story of the Original Special Boat Section of the Army Commandos by G. B. Courtney refers) Operation Reservist In the second week of October 1942, Holden-White was summoned to Lord Mountbatten’s Combined Operations Headquarters in Whitehall. There ‘was something big on. Hush-hush. Destination secret for now, but the SBS had an important role to play. Holden-White gleaned enough information to guess that an attack was planned on the Vichy French and that SBS canoeists would be launched at the head of a sea-borne onslaught which, even for one quite new to the service, seemed to nullify what he assessed to be the section’s greatest asset, operating clandestinely.’ (SBS The Inside Story of the Special Boat Service by J. Parker refers) The above - Operation Reservist - was to be a subsidiary part of Operation Torch, the massive invasion of North Africa in November 1942. The SBS operation was to be part of the amphibious assault on Oran, 8 November 1942. The Vichy French held harbour which was heavily protected by shore batteries and contained a number of the surviving vessels of the Vichy French Navy: ‘Opposition inland was judged correctly to be minimal, but the Vichy naval chiefs were still smarting over the sinking of part of the French fleet at Oran by the British in 1940 and would take drastic measures to protect their remaining vessels. Oh, and one other thing, said Courtney. The SBS had the honour of testing a new weapon, a mini-torpedo designed to be fired from canoes, which would hopefully cut down on the need for limpet mines whose clamping was always a hazardous business. A few days later Harry [Holden-White] and Lieutenant E. J. A. ‘Sally’ Lunn went to an experimental station in Hampshire to see a demonstration of the mini-torpedoes. A stock of them was being prepared which, they were assured, would be dispatched with an officer to Gibraltar, where they would be collected by the SBS en route to wherever they were going (then still a secret). The day of embarkation came. Harry took five pairs of SBS canoeists to Greenock, where they loaded their stores, weapons and canoes aboard two converted American coastguard cutters now under the Royal Navy flag and named H.M.S. Walney and H.M.S. Hartland. Three pairs [including Ellis] led by Holden-White boarded Walney while Sally Lunn headed the other two in Hartland. Orders were now clear. They were to join a large convoy at Gibraltar, protected by destroyers and submarines. There, the two ships would pick up 400 American troops, who were to mount a sea-borne assault on Oran harbour and hold it until reinforcements arrived from inland. The SBS role in all of this was to go in first, blowing up shipping in the harbour with the still-experimental mini-torpedoes. Each pair of canoeists was to be given two torpedoes, which they were to release towards suitable targets as soon as feasibly possible. The torpedoes were to be collected in Gibraltar, they were told, where an office would explain all. Harry takes up the story: “Well, that was the first thing to go wrong. When we got to Gib, there was no bloody officer to explain it all, no bloody instructions, and the baby torpedoes were in bits. Luckily, I had Sergeant-Major J. Embelin with us, who was a demolition expert, and he was able to assemble them. But we still had only a vague idea about range and so on... Another problem for us was launching the canoes from ships. Normally, SBS crews are floated off submarines or lowered from MTBs. These cutters gave us a drop of eight to ten feet and our flimsy folbots could have been damaged. So on the way out we decided to practise and unpacked the canoes we had brought aboard in kitbag...