Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A fine Second World War D.S.M. group of five awarded to Petty Officer L. Kemp, Royal Navy, who, having been decorated and mentioned in despatches for his gallantry aboard the gunboat H.M.S. Ladybird, was killed in action in H.M.S. Campbeltown in the famous St. Nazaire raid in March 1942

Distinguished Service Medal, G.VI.R. (JX. 140210 L. Kemp, L. Smn., H.M.S. Ladybird); 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Africa Star; War Medal 1939-45, M.I.D. oak leaf, together with original card forwarding box the campaign awards, addressed to his mother, extremely fine (5) £2500-3000

D.S.M. London Gazette 7 October 1941:

‘For courage and coolness when their ship was sunk by enemy aircraft.’

Leslie Kemp was had previously been mentioned in despatches for his gallant deeds aboard the gunboat H.M.S. Ladybird (London Gazette 12 August 1941 refers), when she was badly damaged landing Royal Marines during “Operation Abstention”, an ill-fated attempt to seize the Italian island of Kastelorizo, in February 1941. The original recommendation - for a decoration - stated:

‘Leading Seaman Kemp, as Chief Quarter-Master, was at the wheel during the whole period of the enemy bombing attacks on 25 February. In the face of heavy and accurate bombing he showed considerable devotion to duty and behaved with courage and coolness during the attacks.’

Later lending her support to the Tobruk garrison, ferrying in supplies and bombarding the enemy airfield at Gazala, Ladybird met her end on 12 May 1941, the same occasion on which Kemp won his D.S.M. Her skipper, Commander John Blackburn, R.N., later described events that day:

‘We were anchored at Tobruk on 12 May, when 47 Nazi bombers swooped towards us. My Chief Gunner’s Mate saw the first plane dropping out of the sun shine, and it laid a stick of bombs so near that their explosion flung the crew to the deck. The there was a terrific screech, and there came another lot, one of which got us right aft, almost immediately putting the deck under water. Then another bomb got us in the engine-room. The ship shivered from stem to stern and was obviously sinking, but my men urged me to carry on. We were burning like hell amidships and fire was pouring out of the engine-room. I saw many of my men dash into the inferno and carry out the wounded, while the forward six-inch guns, pom-poms and machine-guns sprayed a hail of metal at the Nazi planes.

The planes swarmed around us, dropping more bombs. By this time the wounded were helping to feed the guns as the planes swarmed around us. We got two of them. Rescue boats arrived from shore and took aboard the first of the wounded. We still kept firing our forward guns, but Ladybird was sinking fast with the water sweeping closer to the bridge every moment. Even then the sailors, gunners and officers, with fire all round them, and half the guns under water, said to me: “Carry on, sir, please.”

They stayed until, at the last minute, when the old ship was rolling for her final plunge. I ordered them to abandon ship. She went down with what guns we could man firing to the last.’

The Ladybird had four men killed and 14 wounded. Admiral Cunningham, C.-in-C. Mediterranean, sent the following signal to Commander Blackburn:

‘Great fighting finish worthy of the highest ideals and tradition of the Navy and an inspiration for all who fight on the sea.’

St. Nazaire

In what capacity Kemp was employed in the interim remains unknown, but by early 1942 he had joined the former American four-stacker Campbeltown, shortly to be allocated a key role in forthcoming “Operation Chariot” - namely to ram the southern caisson of the Normandie Dock in St. Nazaire, laden with delayed action explosives, thereby destroying the facility and denying the mighty Tirpitz use of the only suitable dry-dock on the Atlantic coast.

Accordingly, over a two week period in March 1942, the Campbeltown was fitted out at Devonport and outwardly altered to resemble a German Mowe-class torpedo boat, while internally she was fitted with a special tank containing four tons of T.N.T. and eight-hour delay fuses which were to be activated two hours before she reached the Normandie Dock.

Setting out on her final voyage with the raiding force on 26 March, she took over as Force Leader shortly after midnight on the 28th, when seven and a half miles remained in the run-up the Loire. Finally, at about 0130, with less than two miles to go, the German defences awoke. C. E. Lucas Phillips takes up the story in The Greatest Raid of All:

‘A continuous stream of projectiles of all sorts was now striking the Campbeltown, but so violent was the sound of our own weapons that the ring of bullets on her hull and the crack of small shells was hardly noticed; but when larger shells shook her from stem to stern none could be unaware, and what every survivor was to remember for ever afterwards was the unchecked flow of the darts of red and green tracer flashing and hissing across her deck and the quadruple whistle of the Bofors shells. Bullets penetrated her engine and boiler-rooms, ricocheting from surface to surface like hornets ...’

With 200 yards to go a searchlight fortuitously illuminated the check-point of the lighthouse on the end of the Old Mole, enabling Lieutenant-Commander S. H. Beattie on the Campbeltown’s bridge to correct his aim on the caisson. Having then ploughed through the steel anti-torpedo net, the old four-stacker closed on her collision course at 20 knots, and every man aboard braced himself for the impact. At 0134 the Campbeltown crashed into the gate, rearing up and tearing the bottom out of her bows for nearly 40 feet. Commando assault and demolition parties streamed ashore, while below the sea cocks were opened to ensure the Germans could not remove her before she blew up ... ’

Whether Kemp had survived thus far is unknown, but even if he managed to get aboard a departing M.L., his chances of survival were negligible.

He was 25 years of age, the son of Fred and Ruth Kemp of Leeds, Yorkshire, and is buried in the Escoublac-la-Baule War Cemetery.