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Auction: 21002 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 207

A rare Second World War Coastal Forces Mediterranean operations D.S.M. group of six awarded to Able Seaman B. Colgan, Royal Navy, who was decorated for his services in M.T.B. 260 during Operation "Childhood", a raid mounted by the boats of the 10th M.T.B. Flotilla against Tripoli harbour on 20 January 1943

Distinguished Service Medal, G.VI.R. (ESDX.1189 B. Colgan. A.B.), officially impressed naming; 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Africa Star; Italy Star; War Medal 1939-45, good very fine (6)

Approximately 40 D.S.M.s were awarded to M.T.B. Petty Officers and ratings for actions in the Mediterranean during the Second World War.

D.S.M. London Gazette 24 August 1943. The original recommendation - which placed Colgan first in the Order of Merit - states:

'This man has been consistently good as gunlayer of the twin 0.5" Turret whenever his boat had been in action. On this occasion he showed outstanding skill and coollness throughout the action, which continued intermittently for five hours.'

Bernard Colgan likely joined M.T.B. 260 at Port Tewfik in early 1942, following her shipment direct from the U.S.A.; an Elco P.T. boat, she was part of the Lend-Lease Bill.

'They were splendid boats, each fitted with three 1250 b.h.p. Packard engines which gave them a speed of well over 40 knots. At 20 ft. they were beamy for their length, and they displaced 32 tons' (Mediterranean MTBs at War, by L.C. Reynolds and H. F. Cooper, refers).

Evidence of the speed factor was quickly established by a sister boat M.T.B. 261, her captain filming her overtaking a motor cyclist on the banks of the Suez Canal at a record 47 knots.

Allocated to the 10th M.T.B. Flotilla, 260 and her consorts quickly commenced operations out of H.M.S. Mosquito, the newly established Coastal Force base at Alexandria, and were later joined there by the boats of the 15th M.T.B. Flotilla; 260 was initially commanded by the flotilla's C.O., Lieutenant-Commander C. D. 'Daddy' Noakes, R.N., but on him being posted elsewhere, Lieutenant M. H. B. Solomon, R.N.V.R., assumed command.

In mid-September 1942, 260 and her consorts were allocated to Force C as part of Operation "Agreement", a major assault on Tobruk. Each M.T.B. embarked 10 soldiers, all of whom were to be landed at a small inlet named Mersa es Sciausc, just to the east of Tobruk, and outside the boom protecting it. In the event, only two boats managed to reach the inlet and one of these fell into enemy hands. But worse was to follow, for German and Italian aircraft constantly harried the M.T.B.s during their return journey to Alexandria, and a further three boats were lost to dive-bombing. Elsewhere, too, at sea and on land, "Agreement" had proved to be a disastrous enterprise.

Malta sojourn

In December 1942, the 10th M.T.B. Flotilla was ordered to Malta, where a new Coastal Force base - H.M.S. Gregale - was established. 260 was now under the command of Lieutenant H. F. Wadds, R.A.N.V.R., who was shortly to be awarded the D.S.C. and Bar, and the first of those distinctions stemmed from 260's part in Operation "Childhood", a successful attack on Tripoli:

'On the night of 19-20 January [1943], the 10th Flotilla notched up its first successful torpedo attack, off Tripoli. As Evansen, with 264 (Sheldrick), 260 (Wadds) and 313 (Foster) were searching for targets just to the north of the port, to their delight they came across three tugs attempting to tow an Italian submarine which had gone aground while approaching the harbour. They first drove off the tugs with gunfire, setting one of them on fire. The submarine (Later identified as the Santorre Santarosa) was then hit by a torpedo from 260.

On the following night the same three boats returned to Tripoli with orders to attack the harbour mole of the port with gunfire in an attempt to encourage the enemy to abandon the port. In fact when the Army entered Tripoli on 23 January, they found the harbour installations intact and gave the MTBs credit for their help' (ibid).

Colgan was awarded the D.S.M., which award he received at an Investiture held on 14 March 1944. A fellow member of crew was likewise decorated, and his Skipper, Harry Wadds, was awarded the D.S.C.

In the interim, in common with the surviving crews of the 10th Flotilla, Colgan was rested at Vienna, the Coastal Forces base at Bizerta but he may well have been present in 260's subsequent attack on the Italian cruiser Scipione Africano on 16 July 1943. It was for this latter action that Wadds was awarded a Bar to his D.S.C.


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Sold for
£5,000

Starting price
£1100