Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Family group:

Three: Sapper A. C. Burrage, Royal Engineers

1914-15 Star (60114 Spr., R.E.); British War and Victory Medals (60114 Spr., R.E.), mounted as worn, contact wear and polished, nearly very fine

Three: Able Seaman A. C. Burrage, Royal Navy, who was lost on active service in the S.S. Empire Surf in January 1942, a victim of top U-Boat ace Wolfgang Luth

1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; War Medal 1939-45, in their original card forwarding box addressed to ‘Mrs. M. Faiers, 72 Keightley Drive, New Eltham, London S.E. 9’, these extremely fine (6) £140-160

Arthur Christopher Burrage, the son of Arthur Charles and Rebecca Burrage of Eltham, London, was among those lost in the S.S. Empire Surf on 14 January 1942, when, as part of convoy ON-55, she was torpedoed south of Iceland by the U-43 - out of her complement of 53 men, there were just six survivors, the dead including nine D.E.M.S. gunners. U-43 was the command of Kapitan Leutnant Wolfgang Luth, a top U-Boat ace who ended the War as holder of the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords & Diamonds, one of only two German Naval officers so honoured. Burrage was 22 years of age, has no known grave and is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial - the ‘Mrs. M. Faiers’ named on the above described forwarding box may well be a married sister, a ‘DNA/Wills’ reference number on the side of the box suggesting Arthur died intestate.