Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Three: Cook H. Thomas, Royal Navy, who was killed in action during the First Battle of Sirte when H.M.S. Neptune, on convoy duty to Malta, struck four mines in quick succession off the Tripoli coast on 19 December 1941, and sank within minutes; of the 764 Officers and crew in Neptune only one man survived

1939-45 Star; Africa Star; War Medal 1939-45, with named Admiralty enclosure, in card box of issue addressed to ‘Mrs. M. Thomas, 57 Gaddesby Road, King’s Heath, Birmingham 14’, extremely fine (3) £60-£80

Hubert Thomas served during the Second World War in the Leander class light cruiser H.M.S. Neptune, as part of Force K deployed as convoy support to Malta. On 17 December 1941 the supply ship MV Breconshire was being escorted to Malta by Force K near the Gulf of Sirte, when the British ships sighted Italian battleships escorting a convoy to Tripoli. After seeing Breconshire safely into Malta, Force K sailed again to search for the Tripoli convoy. At 1:0 a.m. on 19 December 1941, whilst approximately 20 miles off the Tripoli coast, Neptune hit a mine. She then went full speed astern and struck two more mines, seriously damaging her propellers and rudder. The destroyer H.M.S. Kandahar went to assist but in doing so she herself struck a mine. At about 4:00 a.m. Neptune was struck by a fourth mine and sank within a few minutes. Only 16 men from a compliment of 764 survived the initial sinking and managed to climb aboard a raft; however, all but one man succumbed whilst on the open seas. The Neptune’s sole survivor, Able Seaman Norman Walton, was picked up by the Italians on Christmas Eve and made a prisoner of war. The loss of H.M.S. Neptune represented the greatest single tragedy for both the Mediterranean Fleet and the New Zealand Navy of whom 151 men were part of Neptune’s crew.

Thomas was amongst those killed, aged 27. He is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial, and his medals were sent to his widow Mrs. May Thomas.