Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A superb Second World War Coastal Forces C.G.M. group of four awarded to Stoker 1st Class R. J. Spinks, Royal Navy, who was decorated for a close range firefight against an enemy convoy in the Dover Straits in June 1942, when his boat, M.T.B. 201, was severely damaged by E-Boats, armed trawlers and an enemy tanker, as a consequence of which all but two of her crew were killed or wounded and the boat temporarily abandoned: himself wounded in both legs, Spinks insisted on re-entering the engine room - ‘which was without lights, full of fumes and liable at any moment to blaze again’ - and managed to get 201 back underway on an auxiliary engine before passing out through exhaustion

Conspicuous Gallantry Medal, G.VI.R. (KX. 102770 R. J. Spinks, Sto. 1); 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star, clasp, France and Germany; War Medal 1939-45, the first a little polished, nearly very fine, the remainder rather better (4) £8000-10,000

One of just six C.G.Ms won for services in Coastal Forces in home waters.

C.G.M. London Gazette 25 August 1942:

‘For courage and skill serving in H.M. Motor Gun Boats and Motor Torpedo Boats in action against the enemy in the Channel.’

The original recommendation states:

‘Early in the action the Motor Mechanic was seriously wounded and the Leading Stoker killed, leaving Spinks as the only rating capable of work in the engine room. Spinks himself had his leg broken but tackled and extinguished a fire which had broken out. When orders were given to abandon ship, he received a wound in his other leg from a cannon shell. He was placed on a raft, but when the boat was re-boarded he insisted on being lowered into the engine room which was without lights, full of fumes and liable at any moment to blaze again. He succeeded in directing other members of the crew in repairs and starting one auxiliary engine and getting the boat underway. He was eventually overcome by exhaustion and was removed from the engine room unconscious. Although 201 sank before reaching harbour, the boat was able to withdraw from the enemy coast with the surviving members of the crew, only through the action of Spink who showed gallantry and devotion to duty of a high order, and a complete disregard for personal danger.’

The following account of the action appears in The Battle of the Narrow Seas, by Lieutenant-Commander Peter Scott, M.B.E., D.S.C.:

‘A week later came a night when there was great activity in the Dover Strait. Two groups of E Boats were laying mines one off Folkestone, the other off Rye; there was a friendly convoy eastbound and another westbound through the Narrows, and a friendly destroyer bound for Portsmouth, which was ordered to turn about because of further enemy mine-laying off Selsey Bill.

Meanwhile, at about 2 a.m. the M.T.Bs under Lt. G. L. Cotton, R.N.V.R. [Spinks’ skipper in M.T.B. 201], were making their interception, though unfortunately it was detected before the attack could be completed. At once the air was full of starshell and tracer, but Cotton, with magnificent determination, went straight on in, closely followed by Lt. E. H. Larive, Royal Netherlands Navy. Which of the two boats fired the torpedo which is believed to have hit will probably never be known, but both M.T.Bs passed through the screen of some seven or eight E Boats and a number of flak trawlers. In the action which followed the result was inconclusive. It was less successful than many M.T.B. battles, but, as an example of human fortitude and determination in adversity, the story must take a high place.

Cotton describes in his report how, because of the blinding glare, he was not at first certain whether a ship ahead of him was a merchant vessel or a trawler, so he fired one torpedo at a range of 300-400 yards. Too late, as the torpedo left the tube, he realised that it was only a trawler.

"At this juncture," he writes, "we were hit on the bridge by an E Boat firing from astern of us. I was wounded and the coxswain was temporarily knocked out; the wheel was taken by the Canadian spare officer, Sub.-Lt. I. D. Moore, R.C.N.V.R.

A large vessel was sighted immediately ahead which appeared to be the tanker, extremely light, as she was high in the water. She engaged us with very heavy gunfire. The remaining torpedo was fired at a range of 300 yards or less, and we turned to starboard, passing approximately 50 yards from the target's port quarter.

Shortly after the second torpedo was fired, the spare officer and the gunner clearly saw and heard an explosion, while others felt the concussion; the gunner maintains that he saw smoke rising from the fore hold of the ship. I personally did not see any explosion, as my attention was occupied elsewhere.

By this time one engine had been put out of action by a hit on the salt-water pump. In turning away from the tanker we passed an E Boat at fairly close quarters, but it did not open fire. Two trawlers, however, engaged us as we were still turning, with extremely heavy and accurate fire, hitting us so often that the remaining engines and the guns were put out of action, a small fire was started, and many of the crew became casualties. So bad was the damage that the boat stopped, disabled, about three-quarters of a mile from the nearest trawler. Both trawlers continued shelling intermittently, so that finally the order had to be given to jettison the confidential books, and destroy all secret equipment.

The state of the personnel at this time was as follows:

Commanding Officer .. Wounded.
First Lieutenant .. Wounded.
Spare Officer .. Badly wounded (Died before reaching Base).
Telegraphist .. Slightly wounded.
Gunner .. Wounded.
Signalman .. Killed.
Motor Mechanic .. Very seriously wounded.
Coxswain .. Wounded.
Leading Stoker .. Killed.
Stoker .. Badly wounded.

Only the Seaman Torpedoman and the' Trained Man' were unwounded.

At 0220 I gave the order to abandon ship, intending to lie off in the raft while the trawlers continued shelling, and this was carried out during a lull in the firing. One trawler then trained a searchlight on the boat and the firing continued intermittently for about half an hour, after which both trawlers disappeared.

I then ordered the boat to be re-boarded and an endeavour to be made to get her under way. This was successful, and at 0340, proceeding on one auxiliary engine and hand-steering, course was set for Dover. The boat was making water rapidly, though the few still capable were endeavouring to their utmost to keep the level down by bailing and operating the hand bilge pump. At 0745 two High-speed Launches of the R.A.F. closed us and took off the badly wounded. An attempt was made to tow, but by this time the bilge pump was out of action and at 0848 she turned over and sank.

Forwarding Cotton's report to Admiralty, the Commodore Commanding, Dover-Rear-Admiral R. L. B. Cunliffe, after remarking on the ‘valiant efforts to save their vessel’ made by ‘her gallant and much tried crew,’ goes on to say that there is no conclusive evidence of the damage inflicted on the enemy, but although three weeks had elapsed since the attack, ‘the tanker, it is observed, still remains in the docks at Dunkirk.’

And another account of the action appears in Home Waters M.T.Bs & M.G.Bs at War 1939-45, by Leonard C. Reynolds:

‘Activity at Dover continued unabated, and on 14-15 June a bruising battle was fought by three boats of the newly arrived 9th M.T.B. Flotilla. This flotilla of Vospers, commanded by Lt. C. Philpotts, R.N., consisted initially of four boats manned entirely by officers and men of the Royal Netherlands Navy, and four more with Royal Navy crews. On this night the unit was led by Lt. G.L. Cotton in 201, followed by 203 (Lt. E.H. Larive, R. Neth. N.) and 229 (Lt. A. McDougall). Their task was to attack a large tanker which had already escaped destruction twice, but was obviously of importance to the enemy. Intelligence had established that this tanker would sail, heavily escorted, eastward through the Strait from Boulogne.

In order to give the M.T.Bs every chance, a force of five M.G.Bs from Ramsgate, led by the S.O. of the 2nd Flotilla, Lt. G. D. K. Richards R.N., was despatched in advance to lay mines ahead of the convoy. However, detected by searchlights and starshell, they were subjected to very heavy fire from both the shore and the leading escorts, and M.G.B. 46 was seriously damaged by fire from VP 1806. Some of the escorts turned into Calais, but the remainder continued towards Dunkirk. Richards and his boats had no chance of laying mines accurately.

Cotton and his M.T.Bs were in position to attack by 02.00, but as 201 turned in to attack, all the escorts opened fire and Cotton was faced with a wall of shells and tracer. With Larive in very close station astern, he roared in to penetrate the screen, but had extreme difficulty in deciding which of the shapes ahead was his main target. He got one torpedo away, and then 201 received a devastating burst of fire which virtually immobilized everyone on the bridge: Cotton was wounded, together with the First Lieutenant, the coxswain, the telegraphist, and a bridge messenger. The signalman was killed. The Canadian spare officer, Sub. Lt I. D. Moore, took the wheel, and the second torpedo was fired. One engine had been hit and was out of action, and there were casualties in the engine room.

Larive - still close astern - then fired his torpedoes, and everyone was sure that at least one hit was obtained, although from which boat no one was sure - and it did not seem to matter. Still under fire and trying to disengage, 201 came to rest some distance from the escort screen, but with two trawlers still firing at her. Cotton ordered the crew to 'abandon ship', ditched the confidential books and gathered the crew in a raft. However, 201 did not sink, and when the trawlers finally left, Cotton re-boarded, hoping it might be possible to get her back to Dover. He succeeded in getting under way on the auxiliary engine, and they crept painfully towards base. All but two of the crew had been wounded, and by this time three had died and two more were seriously in need of medical attention. Despite the efforts to keep baling and pumping, the boat was making water rapidly. At 0745 two R.A.F. Air Sea Rescue boats arrived. One took off the badly wounded while the other attempted to tow the stricken boat. Sadly, at 0848, 201 turned over and sank. It was an unhappy end to a gallant and determined action.

By the nature of war, the news that would have brought some consolation to Cotton and his crew could not come rapidly: they discovered that the tanker had reached Dunkirk, but not whether it was damaged. After the war enemy records revealed that there had been a successful torpedo hit on the ocean-going tug Cherbourgois V. The awards announced in August included D.S.Cs for Cotton and Larive, a Conspicuous Gallantry Medal for Stoker Robert Spinks, who had kept the engine room working even though badly wounded, and despite the deaths of his Motor Mechanic and the Leading Stoker. There was also a D.S.M. for 201 's coxswain Leading Seaman A. E. Collins.

Robert Jenkins Spinks received his C.G.M. at a Buckingham Palace investiture on 15 December 1942; sold with a file of copied research.