Exceptional Naval and Polar Awards from the Collection of RC Witte

The rare and impressive post-war Palestine operations C.B.E., Second World War Salerno landings D.S.O. group of fifteen awarded to Captain A. T. G. C. Peachey, Royal Navy, an ex-Q-Ship officer and Jutland veteran who commanded the cruiser H.M.S. Delhi at the landings at Oran, Algiers, Sicily, Salerno and Anzio, in addition to the cruiser Enterprise off Normandy, prior to adding the C.B.E. to his accolades for his ‘determination and fearlessness’ during operations off Palestine

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, C.B.E. (Military) Commander’s 2nd type neck badge, silver-gilt and enamel; Distinguished Service Order, G.VI.R., 1st issue, silver-gilt and enamel, the reverse of the suspension bar officially dated ‘1944’; 1914-15 Star (Mid. A. T. G. G. Peachey, R.N.), note last initial; British War and Victory Medals (Lieut. A. T. G. C. Peachey, R.N.); 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star, clasp, France and Germany; Africa Star, clasp, North Africa 1942-43; Burma Star; Italy Star; War Medal 1939-45; Naval General Service 1915-62, 1 clasp, Palestine 1945-48 (Capt. A. T. G. C. Peachey, D.S.O., R.N.); Coronation 1937; United States of America, Legion of Merit, Officer’s breast badge, gilt and enamel; Greece, Order of George I, 3rd Class neck badge, with swords, silver-gilt and enamel, mounted court-style as worn where applicable, the last with minor enamel damage, otherwise generally good very fine (15) £3000-3500

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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C.B.E. London Gazette 7 January 1949:

‘While holding the appointment of Commodore, Levant, Captain Peachey carried out his duties with determination and fearlessness, both in connection with the interception of ships carrying illegal immigrants to Palestine and subsequently during the withdrawal of British forces when he was responsible for the smooth working of the port of Haifa.’

D.S.O. London Gazette 23 May 1944. The original recommendation states:

‘Officers and men engaged in the landing at Salerno, which was conducted with outstanding skill. Success was achieved but only after heavy fighting, and after many vigorous counter-attacks by the enemy from prepared shore positions, from the air and from the sea.’

American Legion of Merit London Gazette 1 February 1949:

‘For distinguished services while in command of H.M.S. Delhi during operations in connection with the landing at Anzio.’

Greek of George I London Gazette 15 December 1942:

‘The King of Hellenes has expressed his wish to confer the following decorations upon officers and men of the Royal Navy and Merchant Navy for their services to him on his journey to England.’



Allan Thomas George Cumberland Peachey was born in May 1896, the son of Allan Thomas Peachey of Ballyconnell, Co. Cavan, and was educated at Haileybury and Trinity College, Cambridge.

The Great War - Jutland and Q-Ships

Entering the Royal Navy as a Cadet in September 1914, he first went to sea as a Midshipman in the battleship H.M.S. King George V in May 1915, and remained similarly employed until August 1917, thereby being present at Jutland - on which occasion, the King George V acted as the flagship of Vice-Admiral Martyn Jerram, in the 1st Division of the 2nd Battle Squadron, and engaged the enemy battle cruiser S.M.S. Derfflinger.

Peachey next served in the Q-Ships, with an appointment in the P.Q. 62 (a.k.a. Kingsnake and Mornington) in the period August to October 1917, following which he removed to the cruiser Princess Royal. Remaining actively employed in the latter ship until May 1918, he returned to the King George V on being appointed a Flag Lieutenant to Admiral Sir John de Robeck, Bt., in the latter month, and was still employed in that capacity at the War’s end.

Between the Wars - wounded off Spain

Advanced to Lieutenant in March 1919 and to Lieutenant-Commander in December 1933, Peachey was serving as Executive Officer of the battleship Royal Oak when she was hit by gunfire off Valencia during the Spanish Civil War in February 1937 - he was wounded by the resultant shell splinters, so, too, his C.O. and four other men. More peaceful was his part in the Coronation Review, on which occasion he was serving in the royal yacht Victoria & Albert.

1939-45 War - cruiser command

Having held a staff appointment on the renewal of hostilities in September 1939, Peachey was advanced to Captain in December 1940 and served as C.O. of the armed merchant cruiser Queen of Bermuda from February to November 1941, in which period his ship served in the South Atlantic, in addition to acting as an escort to the Greek royal family on its evacuation from Crete in May 1941 - the latter resulting in his appointment to the 3rd Class of the Order of George I.

Then in November 1941, he assumed command of the cruiser Delhi, the commencement of a long chapter in offshore support for assorted Allied landings - namely off North Africa, Sicily, Salerno and Anzio. During the course of the former operations in November 1942, Delhi had her stern blown off in Algiers Bay after being attacked by Italian aircraft, but she returned to active duties in the Mediterranean in early 1943, after repairs had been completed back in Newcastle.

Subsequently, as a component of Support Force East during the Sicily landings, Delhi covered the British landings at Syracuse, while in September she formed part of the Northern Attack Force during the Salerno landings. A glimpse of Peachey at work in the Delhi during these latter operations may be found in Taffrail’s Western Mediterranean 1942-45:

‘9 September: Captain Peachey of the Delhi, the A.A. Cruiser working with the Southern Attack Force, had his gun’s crews closed up all day and constantly in action. He reported various attacks, one, in the morning, bringing 21 sticks of bombs bursting in the Delhi’s close vicinity and another, after dark under brilliant flare illumination, produced 30 sticks of bombs among the ships in the crowded anchorage. The air attacks in the anchorages continued and on 10 September the Delhi was again in frequent action, shooting down at least two enemy aircraft over the Southern anchorage while a third was seen to explode in mid-air. “The measure of success against enemy aircraft has resulted in a highly competitive spirit among the gun’s crews,” Captain Peachey reported, “So much so that the ship’s company has applied to remain continuously at actions stations. Ship’s routine has been modified accordingly.” ’

He was awarded the D.S.O.

Next present at the Anzio landings in January 1944, when the Delhi’s guns engaged enemy targets in Formia, Peachey was recommended for the American Legion of Merit and returned home for a stint of long overdue leave. However, as confirmed on his service record, he was quickly recalled at short notice to oversee the transfer of the battleship Royal Sovereign to the Soviets - in lieu of war reparations from Italy - in May 1944.

It was a predictably political affair, and on one occasion an exasperated Peachey refused permission for the Russian Admiral to board the Royal Sovereign until ‘he had been instructed in the common courtesies of Naval etiquette’. When at length he did permit the Russian Admiral and his entourage aboard, he found they ‘were intensely suspicious and found it difficult to accept anything they were told’. Inevitably, perhaps, the best means for a smoother transfer turned out to be vodka - so much so that by the time the battleship finally set sail - as the re-christened Arkhangelsk - Peachey swore he had been put off vodka for life.

In fact he was probably relieved to be informed in June 1944 that he had been appointed to the command of cruiser Enterprise. Be that as it may, he was quickly back in action off Normandy. Gordon Holman’s The King’s Cruisers takes up the story:

‘Captain A. T. C. G. Peachey had taken over when she went back to bombard for four days in support of the first British offensive in the Caen area. Out of twenty-three targets given her on this occasion, consisting of gun positions, howitzers and troops concentrated in woodland, she neutralised no less than seventeen.

Mr. Winston Churchill, as Prime Minister, was a distinguished visitor to the ship while she was lying off the coast of Normandy. He slept on board for four nights and was an interested spectator of the regular firework display which used to greet the odd aerial visitation from the enemy after dark. One night, in the wardroom I have described, he added an historic touch to its naval atmosphere. He started a song, which echoed defiantly and triumphantly around the ship - “Rule Britannia”. ’

Deployed in a similar role off the Dutch coast, in support of the 2nd Army, in September, Peachey was next ordered to the Far East as Captain, Landing Craft Force ‘W’, in readiness for Operation “Zipper”, the British plan to capture either Port Swettenham or Port Dickson, in Malaya. Owing, however, to the end of hostilities in the Pacific, the operation was never fully executed, though some probing operations on Penang went ahead, in co-operation with S.O.E.

Post-war - Palestine

Having then acted as Senior Officer of the Reserve Fleet in Portsmouth, Peachey was embarked for the Middle East as S.N.O.Palestine in late 1947, in which capacity he remained actively employed until July 1948, latterly as Commodore, Levant. He was, as cited above, awarded the C.B.E., and was finally placed on the Retired List in January 1950.