Exceptional Naval and Polar Awards from the Collection of RC Witte

The Royal Navy L.S. & G.C. Medal awarded to Chief Engine Room Artificer 1st Class A. L. Burgess, Royal Navy, who was awarded the D.S.M. for his gallant deeds in the destroyer Acasta at Jutland

Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., G.V.R., 1st issue (269498 A. L. Burgess, C.E.R.A. 1 Cl., H.M.S. Vulcan), good very fine £200-250

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Exceptional Naval and Polar Awards from the Collection of RC Witte.

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The destroyer Acasta, under Lieutenant-Commander John Barron, went to the assistance of Loftus Jones, V.C., in the Shark, but was famously rebuffed by the latter’s plea, “Don’t get sunk for us!” - even in the time taken for this brief exchange she was hit badly fore and aft. Worse was to follow when the Lutzow came up on Acasta’s port bow, the light cruiser’s secondary armament unleashing a ‘storm of shell’ at the inferior destroyer, a storm to which was added the combined fire-power of fast approaching enemy battle-cruisers and destroyers:

‘For 20 minutes the Acasta endured a withering fire ... Hit repeatedly, a shell burst in the engine room, killing or wounding the Engineer Officer and four men, and cutting several steam pipes. The engine room became filled with a scalding steam and had to be evacuated. As the steering-gear was shot away, Barron was unable to steer or to stop his engines until 6.30 ... As the Acasta lay stopped she was passed within a few hundred yards by division after division of battleships steaming at full speed into the action. Some passed to port some to starboard ... “We passed a disabled destroyer on our starboard bow, very close to us,” writes an officer in the Marlborough. “She was badly holed forward and aft, and was much down by the bows, but the crew were clustered aft cheering us and the other ships as we passed, and then disappeared astern, rolling heavily in the wash of the Battle Fleet, but with her ensign still flying, apparently not done for yet.” The Galatea and Fearless stood by Acasta for a time; but she eventually managed to get moving at a slow speed, and made off to the westward ... ’ (Endless Story refers).

And it was under such circumstances that Burgess, who assumed command of the E.R.As on the death of his officer, was awarded his D.S.M., Barron reporting:

‘I particularly wish to draw your attention to the following men [four E.R.As], who performed most excellent work in getting the engines moving and the steering-gear repaired, observing that the engineers’ store room was completely wrecked and there were but few available tools and the water was above the floor plates.’

His award was duly announced in the London Gazette of 15 September 1916.