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Auction: 5019 - Orders, Decorations, Campaign Medals & Militaria
Lot: 130

An Outstanding C.B., D.S.O., O.B.E. Group of Twelve to Rear-Admiral W.J. Munn, Royal Navy, Commanding Destroyer H.M.S. Hereward at the Battle of Cape Matapan and During the Evacuation of Greece and Crete 1941, a Veteran of the Norwegian and Calabrian Operations, a Prisoner of War, and Commanding H.M.S. Kenya during the Bombardment of Inchon 1950, Korean War a) Order of the Bath, Military Division, Companion´s (C.B.) neck Badge, silver-gilt and enamel, in Collingwood, London case of issue b) Distinguished Service Order G.VI.R., silver-gilt and enamel, enamel chip to obverse lower arm, lower suspension bar dated ´1941´ c) Order of the British Empire, 2nd type, Military Division, Officer´s (O.B.E.) breast Badge, silver-gilt d) Order of St. John, Serving Brother´s breast Badge, silver and enamel e) 1939-45 Star f) Atlantic Star g) Africa Star h) War Medal, M.I.D. Oak Leaf i) Naval General Service 1915-62, G.VI.R., one clasp, Palestine 1945-48 (Cdr. W. J. Munn. R.N.) j) Korea 1950-53, 1st type obverse, M.I.D. Oak Leaf (Cdr. W.J. Munn. D.S.O. O.B.E. R.N.) k) United Nations Korea Medal l) Coronation 1937 m) Coronation 1952, the group nearly extremely fine, all except C.B. and Order of St. John mounted court style as originally worn n) related miniature awards (12), full size and miniature riband bars, the two groups housed in customised Gieves, London case o) D.S.O. and O.B.E. cases of issue, Garrard, London and Royal Mint respectively p) Officer´s telescope with nickel fittings and plaited string sleeve; Naval brass buttons q) a good regulation sword, the blade etched with foliate decoration, Royal Arms, crowned Anchor and owner´s name WJ MUNN SEPr 1st 1931, complete with sword-knot, scabbard and leather slip inscribed with initials ´WJM´ r) a good regulation Midshipman´s dirk with etched decoration to blade, complete with knot, scabbard and oilskin outer cover, spring-clip of scabbard defective but operable, locket insecure s) Silver salver (Hallmarks for Birmingham 1939) engraved to ´H.M.S. Mohawk, Lieutenant W.J. Munn, Royal Navy 18th February 1940´, also engraved with eleven signatures; Manual of Seamanship, Volume I, Admiralty 1951 t) Lieutenant´s fine bicorne hat with single twisted bullion loop and bullion tassels u) Junior officer´s sword-belt and slings, with two stripes of gold embroidery on black silk webbing and fine gilt clasp, the hat, epaulettes and belt all contained in their velvet-lined tin with lid inscribed ´WJ MUNN RN´ v) Admiral´s cap, with white top and two rows of gold oakleaf embroidery to peak w) Officer´s Ball Dress coatee by Johns & Pegg, the label inscribed ´WJ Munn Esq Nov 1932´, now with Flag Officer´s QEC gilt buttons and gold sleeve-insignia of a Rear Admiral x) Mess waistcoat in blue barathea with QEC Flag Officer´s buttons; a fine blue cloth knee-length cape by Gieves, with four gilt Flag Officer´s buttons, lion´s head finials to gilt collar-chain and white silk lining y) good regulation blue greatcoat with Flag Officer´s buttons, shoulder-boards now missing; Barathea Undress coat by Gieves, dated 1960, with Rear Admiral´s sleeve insignia and five rows of medal-ribbons; two pairs of plain uniform trousers; a civilian evening-dress tailcoat and trousers z) Bunting White Ensign, 2ft 5ins x 5ft (no ring in hoist); a silk or rayon White Ensign, 2ft 8ins x 5ft 8ins; a pennant for the Red House Yacht Club; and a bunting Israeli Flag with a substantial archive of photographs from the recipient´s service in H.M.S. Kenya, Venus and Gambia, including Trieste, Volos, Gibraltar, Malta, Korea, Karachi, Dar Es Salaam, Mauritius, Maldives and also an album as The Captain, Britannia Royal Naval College portraying a passing out ceremony with the Duke of Edinburgh as the guest of honour the group offered with the following documents etc: - Bestowal document for the Order of the Bath, dated 2.1.1962, with Statutes of the Order, in original envelope of issue - Bestowal document for the Distinguished Service Order, dated 11.11.1941 - Bestowal document for the Order of the British Empire, dated 13.4.1948, in original envelope of issue - Mentioned in Despatches Certificate - Named Permission to Wear document for Coronation 1953 - Commission appointing W.J. Munn as Sub-Lieutenant, Royal Navy, date and details slightly faded - Letter of Appointment as Naval Cadet, posted to H.M.S. Nelson, with effect from 25.8.1928 - Same for Lieutenant, H.M.S. Flood, with effect from 21.9.1936 - Same for Lieutenant, H.M.S. Whirlwind, with effect from 23.9.1938 - Same for Lieutenant, Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth, with effect from 20.12.1938 - Order of appointment to be Chief of Staff to the Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet, dated 22.2.1961 -Certificate for Wounds and Hurts, dated 4.6.1951 - Copy of recipient´s obituary from the Daily Telegraph, dated 7.10.1989 - Survey map of Mauritius, newspaper cuttings, copies of after dinner speeches given by the recipient and other ephemera (lot) Estimate £ 5,000-6,000C.B. London Gazette 2.6.1962 Rear-Admiral William James Munn, D.S.O., O.B.E D.S.O. London Gazette 11.11.1941 Lieutenant William James Munn, Royal Navy, H.M.S. Hereward ´For gallantry and distinguished services in operations in Greek waters.´ O.B.E. London Gazette 13.4.1948 Commander William James Munn D.S.O., Royal Navy ´For zeal and devotion to duty in command of His Majesty´s ship Venus, while serving with the Palestine Patrol, in intercepting illegal immigrant ships, from June 1946-September 1947.´ M.I.D. London Gazette 29.6.1951 Commander William James Munn D.S.O., O.B.E., H.M.S. Kenya Rear-Admiral William James Munn C.B., D.SO., O.B.E. (1911-1989); educated at Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth; posted Cadet and Midshipman H.M.S. Nelson, 1929-31; Lieutenant H.M.S. Flood, 1936; Admiral Sir A. Cunningham´s Flag Lieutenant during the Spanish Civil War, with Battle Cruiser Squadron; Lieutenant H.M.S. Whirlwind during the Munich Crisis, 1938; First Lieutenant H.M.S. Mowhawk (Destroyer), 1939, and served in her during the Norwegian Campaign of Spring 1940 and also later that year in the Mediterranean, including the engagement with the Italian battle fleet off the coast of Calabria in July; Commander H.M.S. Hereward (Destroyer), 1941. Battle of Cape Matapan On the night of the 28th March 1941, as part of the Mediterranean Fleet under Admiral Sir A. Cunningham, Munn commanded the Hereward during this ferocious action. As a result of the battle, three large Italian cruisers were sunk (the Fiume, Zura and Pola), a feat no less remarkable for the fact that the action was conducted in pitch black without the assistance of radar for many of the ships involved, "I was with the destroyer force that had been sent out ahead and it sounded as though all Hell had been let loose astern of us. Shortly afterwards we were ordered back to rejoin the fleet, but on the way to try and pick up all the survivors we could. I shall never forget that scene. As we approached one could see parts of ships still floating but on fire and the sea was a mass of wreckage of boats and rafts and the whole surface was a mass of floating bodies. It was just like going through a lake covered in water lilies which brushed down each side of the ship. In addition there was a most eerie noise. At first I could not make out what it was but as we got closer and eventually stopped in the middle of these bodies this noise of chant came up from all around us. It was not until then that we realised that being Italians and Roman Catholics the poor devils were crying out to the holy mother and this chant we were hearing was "Mamma Mia, Mamma Mia". It really was the most ghostly noise and I can still hear it now." (Munn´s speech notes refer). The Last Evacuation of Crete Two months later Hereward took part in the evacuation of the British Army from Greece, and from there on to repeat this operation from the island of Crete, in May. The latter naval evacuation force was to receive particularly close attention from the Luftwaffe, with eight destroyers sunk and a further seven heavily damaged. The force, under Rear-Admiral Rawlings, sent to enable the evacuation consisted of the cruisers Orion, Ajax, and Dido and the destroyers Decoy, Jackal, Imperial, Hotspur, Kimberely and Munn´s Hereward. Cunningham´s plan being for the force to pass through the Kaso Strait in darkness and when the destroyers had ferried the Black Watch and Royal Marines to the cruisers, the whole party would in theory return through the straits before dawn. During the evening of the 28th the evacuation force came under attack from both Stukas and Italian motor torpedo boats, fortunately however, there were no casualties. Of more importance was the unforeseen problem that occurred with the steering gear of the Imperial. Her steering fouled and she nearly rammed into the cruisers. H.M.S. Hotspur was ordered to take off Imperial´s company and sink her. This delay meant that the evacuation force was behind schedule and was in the Kaso straits at dawn. Munn had taken 450 soldiers onboard the Hereward earlier at Heraklion (Northern Crete) and found himself on the wing of the evacuation force, "The Stukas were at us from first light and one could see them going down to re bomb at Scarpanto. Being the junior boy I was the wing destroyer on the screen nearest Scarpanto. At 6.25am three Stukas attacked me. I managed to avoid the bombs from the two which attacked from either bow, but the third came up my stern and his bomb actually went down my funnel. It felt like being in a tube train pulling up at a station, one´s body sagged forward as from 28 knots we came to a grinding halt." Admiral Rawlings was left with the difficult decision of whether to send aid to the heavily wounded Hereward or to press on with the main force and leave her to fend for herself as best she could. He chose the latter and decided to keep the main force together for maximum protection, leaving Hereward to return to the Crete coastline some five miles off. Munn stoically accepted this as the right decision, "It would have been murder for any of the squadron to have taken off our ship´s company and we were left to our own devices, which were nil. We were on fire forward, every boat had been damaged so I decided to abandon ship to save as much life as possible. In addition to our ship´s company we had soldiers onboard. I was horrified by the carnage in the gulley flat area and as every officer had been issued with morphia we gave the desperate ones an overdose to put them out of their misery." Munn saw every man off his sinking ship and, whilst the Stukas continued to fire on the motionless vessel, descended onto a raft himself, "The Stukas cut us in half......came back and machine gunned us in the water. One felt very naked, but luckily they missed and when I complained about this later as Scarpanto they said that we had kept on firing after we had been hit." Mercifully the Italian motor torpedo boats that had attacked them earlier intervened and picked up Munn and the other survivors taking them to Rhodes. The Hereward was abandoned two miles off Plaka and all those onboard who survived were taken prisoner of war. He was awarded the D.S.O. for Hereward´s part in the evacuation from Greece. Prisoner of War 1941-45 Munn spent the rest of the war in captivity, mainly in Padula (10.5.1942 - 11.8.1943), an old Carthusian Monastry with 400 inmates in Italy and then latterly in Marlag and Milag Nord (31.10.1943 - 10.4.1945), in Germany, "There are memories of Commander Orlebar in khaki beret and quickly tagged by us "The Marquess of Marlag"; Commander "Ongo Bongo" Templer declaiming pearls of wisdom as he walked the asphalt perimeter in bare feet. The Black Market, the wonders of the Red Cross, football, the solitude of the cooler, gardening, the long appels and the sheer bloody monotony of it all. Many moods made up life there. Then the Germans - Tubby Barckhausen, Pappi Schurr with his little goatee beard, Kapitan Rogge - all verging on "gentlemen" but the enemy nevertheless. No doubt about Schoof and Guessefeld - verdammte schweinehunde as they gladly said of us...... The friendships forged in captivity were deep, lasting and important. No more, no less." After the war Munn was appointed to command the destroyer H.M.S. Venus, December 1945; he once again saw service in the Mediterranean entrusted with the delicate task of patrolling the coastline of Palestine, to prevent illegal Jewish immigrants from landing (1945-47, O.B.E.); Commander 1946; posted Executive Officer for the cruiser H.M.S. Kenya, Far Eastern Station, 1949; he served in her during the early months of the Korean War (1950-53), including the bombardment of Inchon (September 1950); the Kenya worked in tandem with H.M.S. Belfast to negotiate the twenty-six miles of unfamiliar and restricted waters through the Communist controlled West Korean islands into the estuary of the Seoul river to bombard Inchon; nearly two hours were spent strategically shelling Inchon (the deep water port for Seoul, the South Korean capital and also an important army base for the North Koreans); this daring naval operation was undertaken in the knowledge that a Communist airflield was only ten miles away, and had all the more impact due to the fact that it was undertaken hundreds of miles behind enemy lines; as a result of the bombardment Munn suffered ´sub clinical deafness.... On His Majesty´s service in H.M.S. Kenya. The injury being caused by gun-blast from the starboard 4 inch guns´ (Certificate for Wounds and Hurts, refers); for his part in this action Munn was Mentioned in Despatches; Captain 30.6.1951; Chief Staff Officer Administration, Portsmouth, October 1951 - 10.8.1953; Captain of the Dockyards Singapore, 20.10.1953 - 11.11.1955; Captain Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, 17.4.1956 - 15.8.1958; Captain H.M.S. Gambia, 4.11.1958 - 7.7.1960; Rear-Admiral 30.6.1960; Chief of Staff to the Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet, 1961-63 (C.B. 1962). Rear-Admiral J.W. Munn retired in May 1963. (´´The War at Sea´, S. Roskill D.S.C., Volume I; ´Crete 1941, The Battle at Sea, D.A. Thomas; Telegraph Obituary, 7.10.1989; personal records and correspondence all refer).

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£6,500