REVIEW: ORDERS, DECORATIONS, MEDALS & MILITARIA 13 SEPTEMBER

Although undertaken at a heavy loss, the 1942 Dieppe Raid was considered a success by Winston Churchill and his Chief of Combined Operations, Lord Mountbatten, because of the lessons learned that influenced strategy on the D Day landings two years later.

Operation Jubilee, as it was named, was an Allied amphibious attack on the French port conducted to test the feasibility of landing, to gather intelligence and to boost morale.

While it may have achieved the first two objectives, the third remains the subject of debate as over 3,600 of the 6,086 troops who landed had been killed, wounded or taken prisoner within ten hours, and 106 RAF aircraft and 33 landing craft lost.

Key lessons for the Allies were that any invasion would require artificial harbours, air support was vital and beach landings meant adapting tanks for the purpose.

One of those who took part in the raid was Corporal Charles Harold Blunden, No. 4 Commando (The Rifle Brigade) who, in the final assault on the “Hess” Battery, despite being wounded, ‘continued to destroy the enemy until there were no Germans left alive’.

His resulting Military Medal group of seven was a highlight of Noonans’ 13 September sale, where it left its £8,000-12,000 estimate behind to take a hammer price of £17,000.

Cpl. Blunden was the Section Leader in Captain Webb’s Troop of No. 4 Commando, which was charged with disabling Batterie 813, otherwise known as Hess Battery.

The battery’s six 150mm guns were sighted to 8,500 yards and capable of firing 36 rounds at a time, with a maximum range of 17 miles, making them very effective for coastal defence. Surrounded by a minefield, the battery was also protected by anti-aircraft guns and light machine guns and manned by about 100 men.

During the assault Major Pat Porteous, despite being wounded in the hand and arm, disarmed and bayoneted a German who was about to kill a comrade. He was to be awarded the Victoria Cross. Despite having his part of foot blown away, Sgt. Major Stockdale continued to lead his men in a charge under heavy fire. He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.

Blunden, already a man in his early forties at the time of the raid, played a conspicuous part in the final assault on the battery and set a high standard of leadership. He also showed a great example in house-to-house, and hand-to-hand fighting through the battery buildings.

Among the documents sold with the medals group was a signed letter of congratulations on his M.M. from Louis Mountbatten, Combined Operations Headquarters, 2nd October 1942, a testimonial from the Commanding Officer of No 4 Commando, and a letter from the French Naval Attaché enclosing a Croix de Guerre with Star, “in acknowledgement of your gallant part in the events which led to the liberation of France and Europe”, dated 20 May 1952.