Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

An outstanding Northern Ireland B.E.M. group of four awarded to Sergeant R. Worthy, Queen’s Own Buffs, who was decorated for repeated acts of gallantry in Belfast between October 1969 and April 1970

British Empire Medal, E.II.R., Military Division (23534329 Sgt. Roy Worthy, The Queen’s Regt.); General Service 1918-62, 1 clasp, Arabian Peninsula (23534329 Pte. R. Worthy, Buffs.); General Service 1962-2007, 2 clasps, Borneo, Northern Ireland (23534329 Sgt. R. Worthy, Queens Own Buffs.); Army L.S. & G.C., E.II.R., Regular Army (23534329 S. Sgt. R. Worthy BEM Queens.), generally good very fine (4) £2000-2600

B.E.M. London Gazette 1 January 1971. The original recommendation states:

‘In the absence of an officer, Sergeant Worthy commanded the Battalion Mortar Platoon on protracted and arduous internal security operations in Belfast from October 1969 until Christmas, and from April until the present date. In between he acted as Platoon Sergeant. In both capacities he has displayed coolness, courage, steadiness and initiative far greater than is to be expected from an N.C.O. of his rank and service.

He was leading the Platoon at the Shankill Road shooting in October when it came under fire and two men received gunshot wounds. It was entirely due to his coolness and fine leadership that they were quickly and successfully evacuated, and that the Platoon completed its mission without further casualties.

His outstanding personal courage and determination were again seen on the night of 3 April when the Platoon was faced with a vicious crowd of over 200 rioters at Ballymurphy. The platoon was deployed as rearguard with orders to hold the crowd back while the Company strove to advance towards a dominating piece of high ground. The rioters were on all sides of the Company and the Platoon had to fight a rearguard action while under constant petrol bomb and missile attack. Although in the darkness and confusion he did not know what was happening to the remainder of the Company, Sergeant Worthy fought a successful rearguard action for over two hours under constant pressure, and it was entirely due to his efforts that the crowd was contained and the company able to reach its objective.

His platoon had been in action in the Springfield area the night before and were subsequently in action in the ‘Bone’ area for a further two days and nights. During the entire period of ninety-six strenuous hours in which they faced considerable danger with little respite, it was Sergeant Worthy’s magnificent example, steadiness and courage which sustained the Platoon’s high morale and brought them through with negligible casualties.’

Roy Worthy was born in Sheffield, Yorkshire in September 1936 and enlisted in the Buffs in January 1958; his subsequent career would witness the amalgamation of The Buffs with the Queen’s Own Royal West Kent Regiment in 1961, to form the Queen’s Own Buffs, The Royal Kent Regiment. This in turn amalgamated in 1966 with The Queen’s Royal West Surrey Regiment, The Royal Sussex Regiment and The Middlesex Regiment, to form The Queen’s Regiment.

Service of a particularly active nature in Northern Ireland aside, Worthy was present in operations in Aden in 1958-59 and Borneo in 1963. He was advanced to Colour-Sergeant in 1971 and was awarded his L.S. & G.C. Medal as a Staff Sergeant in January 1976. Placed on the Army Reserve in early 1980, he died in Sheffield in February 2006.

Sold with original Ministry of Defence citation and a contemporary newspaper cutting from the South Yorkshire Times announcing the award of a ‘Bravery Medal for Woodhouse Sgt. in Ireland.’