The James Fox Collection of Naval Awards

A fine post-War ‘Royal Visit to South Africa 1947’, B.E.M. group of nine awarded to Quartermaster-Sergeant A. Rendell, Royal Marines, who was captured and taken Prisoner of War whilst serving in H.M.S. Sikh during Operation Agreement, the disastrous raid on Tobruk on the night of 13-14 September 1942

Royal Victorian Medal, G.VI.R., 1st issue, silver, unnamed as issued; British Empire Medal, (Military) E.II.R. (Q.M.S. Albert Rendell, Ply.X.1448, R.M.); 1939-45 Star; Africa Star; Italy Star; Burma Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45; Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., G.VI.R., 2nd issue (Ply.X.1448 A. Rendell. Q.M.S. R.M.), mounted court-style for display, minor edge bruise to last, otherwise good very fine and an unusual combination (9) £800-£1,000

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

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R.V.M. A.F.O. 2392/47. Awarded for the Royal Tour to South Africa in H.M.S. Vanguard, Medal presented 25 June 1947.

B.E.M. London Gazette 13 June 1957.

Arthur Rendell was born in Wolverhampton on 23 November 1917 and enlisted into the Royal Marines in November 1935. He was promoted Corporal on 21 January 1937 and Sergeant (Temporary) on 22 August 1941.

‘Massacre at Tobruk’
The objective of Operation “Agreement”, the raid on Tobruk, was to gain control of the harbour and to demolish the installations of a port which saved the Germans 260 miles of road transport. Prepared in the greatest secrecy - and timed to coincide with land operations undertaken by the Long Range Desert Group - the main thrust of the assault fell to the men of the 11th Battalion, Royal Marines, all of whom were embarked in H.M.S. Zulu and her fellow Tribal-class consort H.M.S. Sikh at Haifa. They had in addition attached elements from the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers - both ships had Italian red and white diagonal identification stripes painted on their fo’c’sles, in addition to other minor modifications to try and confuse the enemy, but in the event such alterations proved utterly ineffective.

Having then received a good luck signal from Winston Churchill, Zulu and Sikh escorted by the cruiser H.M.S. Coventry - also sunk in the raid - and two Hunt-class destroyers (Croome and Hursley), made their way towards Tobruk for “zero hour” on the night of the 13-14 September 1942 and, on nearing their destination, broke away from their escort and steamed due west at top speed until, at midnight, they altered course and turned south for the final run-in. At this moment, 60 R.A.F. Wellingtons began a three hours’ bombardment of the town and at 2 a.m. the code word was received, indicating that the L.R.D.G. had taken a coastal battery at the mouth of the harbour, thereby setting in motion the lowering of the first wave of assault craft from Sikh and Zulu. As it transpired, these were the only Marines disembarked, for the ferocity of the enemy’s response by shore battery and small-arms was immense - in fact fewer than 100 Marines survived the terrible passage from ship to shore where, after numerous acts of gallantry, the survivors were taken prisoner.

Meanwhile, in their attempt to close the shore and try and rescue assorted men in heavily damaged assault craft, Sikh was caught in enemy searchlights and swept by a heavy fire, so much so that she was eventually stopped dead in the water, her guns and engines out of action. Rendell was in the water by this time. Zulu fared little better, taking three or four hits, but nonetheless made a bold attempt to get the seriously damaged Sikh in tow. Owing to the scale of the enemy’s fire, however, Commander White was compelled to abandon the task and sheer off for Alexandria, but not before closing with the shore to lay a smokescreen: not long afterwards the Sikh went down with the loss of two officers and 20 ratings.

Rendell’s own account of the action, as given to a subsequent court of inquiry, states:
'I was a 3" Mortar Platoon Commander of the 11 Battalion. I was in A.2 dumb lighter in the 1st Flight which left the ship and formed up at 0345hrs approximately. There was a heavy sea running and approximately ten minutes later [we] parted. Contact was lost with A.1 owing to the sea and darkness and A.3 was cast off so that we could use our paddles.
At 0415hrs, shore searchlights started to sweep the sea and passed over us many times. Shortly afterwards, shore batteries opened fire, presumably at H.M.S. Sikh which had been illuminated many times.
About 0445hrs, Sikh came between us and the shore and at approximately 0500hrs she was seen to be hit aft.
About 0510hrs Sikh hailed us to come alongside as she was waiting for us. Approximately 0520 we came alongside Sikh which immediately got underway. An officer and 2 men were left in the boat and were picked up later by the Italians. Sikh's engines had now seized up.
At approximately 0610hrs the order was passed to place scuttling charges and destroy R.D. gear instantly. I passed the order on the men's deck to mount all automatic weapons on the upper deck for A.A. This order was carried out efficiently. Shortly afterwards, Sikh was hit and caught fire on the for'ard and men's deck. Many men were killed and badly burned.
At 0710hrs the order 'Abandon Ship' was passed. The ship was being hit very frequently by this time.
At approximately 1100hrs I was picked up by a German 'E' Boat.'

Rendell was taken aboard and taken Prisoner of War. He was eventually returned via a prisoner exchange with the Italians on 21 March 1943. In October that year he was asked to present his experiences to fellow Marines:
'At 0720 the abandoned ship started to list to starboard - it was hopeless. The Captain was the last man to leave - 20 minutes after we had gone. We took everyone we could, even those who had been burnt though the salt water did not do them much good and many died. The enemy continued to shell us until 0920hrs even after the ship had gone. I saw a Carley Float which received a direct hit and it just disappeared. I had a shell very near me - about 5 yards away - which exploded and I felt as if somebody had hit me below the belt.
After the ship had disappeared the Italian Air Force put in its appearance and began to machine-gun us in the water. About 11 o'clock having been in the water since 7.20 some E Boats started to leave Tobruk and came towards us. We were picked up. Warnings about security and other orders were shouted in the water. It was just the same when the Bismark was sunk. The only thing we can say is 'I cannot say'. I was hooked up by my shorts and hoisted on board and left to dry out on the quarter deck of an E Boat. I was with all the other fellows, one being a Lieutenant who was hit in the head - a piece of skull was missing - and then he was babbling away, therefore people started to sing so that the Germans could not hear him if he said anything secret. One of my opposite numbers took his shirt off and put it over the German Ensign - a very unwise thing to do. It was not over there for long, however.'

Having seen further service in Burma, Rendell was appointed to H.M.S. Vanguard for the Royal Visit to South Africa in 1947 and was awarded his Long Service and Good Conduct Medal on 9 December 1950. His B.E.M. was awarded for his services at the Royal Marines Initial Training Centre, and he was presented with his B.E.M. by Major-General Fellowes on 16 October 1957. He finally retired to Exmouth on 25 November 1962.

Sold with a copy of the book ‘Massacre at Tobruk’, by Peter C. Smith; and extensive copied research.