The emotive Second War King's Commendation and Lloyd's Medal for Bravery group of six...

The emotive Second War King’s Commendation and Lloyd’s Medal for Bravery group of six awarded to Chief Officer F. B. Brown, Merchant Navy, the sole surviving crew member of the Arandora Star and one of ‘the bravest men who ever trod a deck’; a victim of Gunther Prien and the U-47, of Royal Oak notoriety, the ex-Blue Funnel ship was laden with German and Italian internees, bound for Canada, of whom over 600 lost their lives 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Africa Star, 1 clasp, North Africa 1942-43; Burma Star, 1 clasp, Pacific; War Medal 1939-45, with M.I.D. oak leaf; Lloyd’s War Medal for Bravery at Sea (Chief Officer F. B. Brown, S.S. “Arandora Star” 2nd July 1940.) extremely fine (6) £1,400-£1,800 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- Provenance: Spink N.C., December 2000. King’s Commendation London Gazette 28 October 1940: ‘For services when the ship was torpedoed and sunk.’ Lloyd’s Medal for Bravery at Sea Lloyd’s List and Shipping Gazette 13 May 1941: ‘The Master, First, Second and Fourth Officers, after having done all they could to save life and having no boat or raft to save themselves, took to the water as the vessel sank, and all, with the exception of the Chief Officer [Brown], were drowned.’ Frederick Bertram Brown was likely serving in the Arandora Star at the outbreak of hostilities. A cruise ship of the Blue Star Line, she was requisitioned by the Admiralty and converted for use as troopship, and it was in this capacity that she participated in the evacuation of military and civilian personnel from Norway and France in April-June 1940. In the following month, on 2 July 1940, the Arandora Star was torpedoed and sunk by the U-47 about 75 miles west of Bloody Foreland in Co. Donegal. Hocking’s A Dictionary of Disasters at Sea states: ‘The liner was under the command of Captain Moulton and carried 1,178 German and Italian internees proceeding to Canada, the remainder consisting of 176 crew and 254 troops charged with the duty of guarding the prisoners. Immediately the torpedo exploded there was panic among the Germans and Italians, who fought each other with ferocious savagery. In attempting to rush the boats scores were forced overboard and drowned …’ Sergeant Norman Price, a survivor, later recalled: ‘I could see hundreds of men clinging to the ship. They were like ants and then the ship went up at one end and slid rapidly down, taking the men with her … Many men had broken their necks jumping or diving into the water. Others injured themselves by landing on drifting wreckage and floating debris near the sinking ship … ’ And in respect of Frederick Brown’s gallant deeds, Those in Peril on the Seas, by David Masters, adds: ‘She was so badly shattered by the explosion that the passengers had only a poor chance. Captain Moulton, the Chief Officer, F. B. Brown, the Second Officer, S. Ransom and the Fourth Officer, R. Liddle, strove without the slightest thought of self to get the people into the boats. They were indefatigable in their efforts, but the ship was foundering swiftly and they had little time. Yet in the short time vouchsafed to them they launched every boat and raft on the liner. There was nothing left for them, no boat or raft to ensure their own safety. As the ship went down they jumped into the sea, four of the bravest men who ever trod a deck. Captain E. W. Moulton, Second Officer Stanley Ransom and Fourth Officer Ralph Liddle all sacrificed their lives for their fellow men and the courage of all four won the award of the Lloyd’s Medal.’ The final death toll amounted to 613 internees, 91 soldiers and 57 crew. Sold with a pre-war copy of the Arandora Star’s cruise guidebook.