The James Fox Collection of Naval Awards

The General Service Medal awarded to Marine H. C. Hopkins, 45 Commando, Royal Marines, who was wounded in action in Radfan in May 1964 whilst attached to the 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment

General Service 1962-2007, 3 clasps, Borneo, Radfan, South Arabia (RM.19268 H. C. Hopkins. Mne. R.M.) about extremely fine £1,000-£1,400

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The James Fox Collection of Naval Awards.

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H. C. Hopkins enlisted in to the Royal Marines in 1961 and was wounded in action by shrapnel to the left hand at Wadi Dhubsan in Radfan on 26 May 1964, while serving as a Signaller with ‘X’ Company, 45 Commando, Royal Marines, attached to the 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment. His patrol was advancing down a steep-sided valley to assault tribesmen when it came under fire from several directions simultaneously with several commandos wounded and killed. The following account of the action appears on the Britain’s small wars website under the title ’45 in the Radfan’:

‘On 25 May, X Company, Four Five, flew up to join 3 Para on Arnold’s Spur. The Wessex helicopters of 815 Squadron, H.M.S. Centuar, had now come into the theatre of operations to relieve the R.A.F. Belvederes.

X Company, once established on Arnold’s Spur, began to make final plans for the raid on the Wadi Dhubsan. The Wadi Dhubsan lay some 2,000 feet below the Bakri Ridge and the sides were steep. To the west of Dhubsan, and half a mile south of the Bakri Ridge, lay the Jebel Haqla, a flat topped feature rising to over 1,500 feet, which dominated the surrounding wadis. It was known that the Wadi Dhubsan was a stronghold of the dissidents and was therefore the next objective. Throughout the afternoon, sections of X Company moved cautiously to the edge of Arnold’s Spur and began to reconnoitre their routes for the following day. C Company, 3 Para, moved to establish pickets on the Jebel Haqla as A Company, 3 Para, descended the steep escarpment to secure the western end of Dhubsan. X Company’s task was to advance 1,000 yards and conduct a sweep as far as the village of Hawfi. The pickets of 3 Para reported some fifty dissidents coming up the Dhubsan and did not make their presence felt. For the next 600 yards, X Company progressed in silence until suddenly Sergeant W. Patterson of 1 Troop spotted a group of dissidents way up on the steep ridge to the right. 3 Troop was in the lead on the wadi floor.

The leading sections under command of Corporals Jan Bickle and Terry Warterson took cover behind a wall and opened fire, sending the well armed dissidents scuttling behind a rock, dragging their wounded with them. The dissidents, from the protection of their well-concealed sangars, opened up from all directions to the front of X Company. The Marines slowly picked their way up the slope, dodging from rock to rock with the enemy fire increasing every minute. The high-pitched drone of a Scout helicopter, carrying the Commanding Officer and Intelligence Officer of 3 Para, could be heard approaching from the rear. The Scout became the target for a strong barrage of enemy fire and was hit on several occasions. The pilot, Major Jackson, skilfully kept the helicopter under control and landed it safely in front of 3 Troop and the Marines dashed forward to give it protection.

Lieutenant-Colonel Farrar-Hockley then ordered A Company, 3 Para, to move up on the high ground. Air strikes were authorised and X Company began to lay out bright red and orange fluorescent panels with the panels pointing towards dissident sangars, thus giving the Hunter pilots, approaching at over 400 m.p.h., a clear reference point to the target. Moving out from behind cover with the bright panels, Captain R. Brind, Second in Command, X Company, soon became the target for heavy fire and was shot through the thigh and stomach. He completed his task and was dragged to safety, before sustaining further injury through steady sniper fire, by Marines Brownett and Robertson and was treated for his wounds by one of X Company’s Naval Sick Berth Attendants, S.B.A. Williams.

1 Troop, commanded by Lieutenant J. Barr, came under the heaviest fire. The majority of the troops were down in the bottom of the wadi near the wall, where Marine Kimber with the G.P.M.G. had been keeping up a steady rate of covering fire; the Marines approached the top of the knoll. Marine David Wilson, the troop signaller, was shot through the chest by enemy fire and died almost immediately as Lieutenant Barr began to drag him behind a rock. 1 Troop suffered another casualty when Marine Dunkin was shot in the knee and his leg was later amputated.

As is the custom in the Marines on these occasions, the kit of Marine David Wilson was later auctioned amongst his comrades in X Company and the proceeds forwarded to his relatives. The Company group of 150 men raised £700 in the auction. His cap badge (on his green beret) fetched £100.’

Note: Marine David Wilson’s General Service Medal was sold in these rooms in May 2016.

Sixteen Royal Marines died on active service in Radfan 1961-67.

Sold with copied research.