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Auction: 19001 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 836

(x) Eight: Temporary Acting Warrant Engineer W. P. Downes, Royal Navy

British War and Victory Medals (M. 7023 W. P. Downes. E.R.A.4. R.N.); Naval General Service Medal 1915-62, 1 clasp, Palestine 1936-39 (M. 7023 W. P. Downes. C.E.R.A.2. R.N.); 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45; Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., G.V.R. (7023 W. P. Downes. E.R.A.1. H.M.S. Danae.), the Great War Pair and L.S. & G.C. mounted as worn, nearly very fine (8)

William Percival Downes was born at Chepstow, Monmouthshire, on 7 September 1898. He enlisted into the Royal Navy as Boy Artificer on 2 January 1914, and initially served at the shore establishments Fisgard and Vivid II. He later served aboard the battleship H.M.S. Hercules, and was likely present at Rosyth when the German fleet surrendered on 21 November 1918, and later on 3 December, when Hercules was detached to take the Allied Naval Armistice Commission to Kiel. He continued to serve the Royal Navy, receiving his L.S. & G.C. Medal on 29 November 1931 and was shore pensioned on 6 September 1938.

With the outbreak of the Second World War, Downes returned to the Rosyth shore base Cochrane, where he served as C.E.R.A. 1st Class from 25 September 1939 - 17 February 1941. He then transferred to H.M.S. Furious, at a time when the aircraft carrier was busy transferring Hurricane aircraft to Gibraltar for later passage to Malta. In October 1941, Furious was assigned to Jamaica to deliver aircraft which would provide anti-submarine service in the Caribbean; Downes transferred to H.M.S. Illustrious on 19 October 1941 and likely saw action in the twilight of his career off the coast of Madagascar against the Vichy French. He received his final promotion on 29 August 1942; sold with box of issue and medal entitlement slip for Second World War medals, addressed to 'Mr. W. P. Downes, 35 Harley Street, Rosyth, Dunfermline, Fife', and copied service record.


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Sold for
£190