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Auction: 23112 - Orders, Decorations and Medals - e-Auction
Lot: 334

The Naval General Service Medal awarded to Sergeant A. V. Davies, Royal Marines, who was mentioned in despatches for his services in H.M.S. Adventure

Naval General Service 1915-62, 1 clasp, Palestine 1945-48 (Ply. X 1833 A. V. Davies, Sgt., R.M.), good very fine

Amran Vivian Davies, who was born in Monmouth on 10 January 1919, was mentioned in despatches for his services in H.M.S. Adventure, a mine-laying cruiser (London Gazette 1 January 1944, refers).

The award likely stemmed from Adventure's interception of the blockade runner Silvaplana, which was scuttled in the Bay of Biscay on 10 April 1943, an incident described thus by Gordon Holman in The King's Cruisers:

'An older cruiser-minelayer, H.M.S. Adventure, not only gave excellent service during the war but accounted for an important blockade runner when it was nearing a German-held port after a voyage from Japan. It was the Silvaplana, believed to be carrying 6,000 to 8,000 tons of rubber and tin, which had the misfortune to meet the Adventure about 200 miles off Cape Finisterre. Challenged by the warship, the blockade runner, which could not be identified at the time, fled. She was a fast ship because Captain R. G. Bowes-Lyon, M.V.O., R.N., has said it was a long chase before the 28-knot minelayer-cruiser came up with the Silvaplana. This is Captain Bowes-Lyon's graphic description of what happened at the end of the chase:

"I tried to find out the ship's identity. His answers to my signals were unsatisfactory and suspicious. Then he made a signal, 'Be careful, I saw a submarine this morning.' If anything was calculated to arouse suspicion it was such a message from a strange ship. It was a very stupid signal to make. So we closed to about 9,000 yards and I ordered him to stop. To emphasise the signal, we fired two shells across the bows. Within a few minutes, even before the enemy ship had come to rest, two boats were lowered and were quickly followed by others. Then the bridge burst into flames. Immediately afterwards there were considerable explosions under the bridge and superstructure aft and, two minutes later, just after the last boats had got away, heavy scuttling charges were heard and seen to detonate. His scuttling organisation was perfect."

Even so, the Germans not only lost a very valuable cargo, they also lost more than 100 German Navy personnel and 50 more nationals, picked up and made prisoners by the Adventure.'

Davies died in Monmouth on 25 July 2004.

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Sold for
£160

Starting price
£70