Orders, Decorations and Medals

Lloyd’s War Medal for Bravery at Sea (Deck Hand James MacAllister, Trawler “Noreen Mary” 5th July 1944) fitted with replacement rings for suspension, nearly very fine £750-850

Lloyd’s List and Shipping Gazette 25 October 1945: ‘James MacAllister, Deck Hand, Trawler ‘Noreen Mary’. The trawler, engaged in fishing, was attacked by an enemy submarine, but both torpedoes which were fired missed. The submarine then shelled the trawler for almost an hour, at times coming within 50 yards. Of the crew of 10, six were killed by shell fire and two were drowned. The trawler’s boat was blown in two, but one-half floated upside down and the two survivors managed to board it. Deckhand MacAllister showed outstanding bravery and fortitude. In spite of shrapnel wounds, he stood on the upturned half of the boat so that his companion, who was more seriously injured, might rest on the only space available. They were picked up after eight hours, and by his brave action, undertaken without thought of self, MacAllister greatly contributed to the saving of his shipmate’s life.’

James MacAllister was born in 1907, son of James MacAllister, a fisherman from Balmedie, near Aberdeen. He went to sea as a fisherman in 1921, at the age of 13, and later worked as a deck hand in deep-sea tramps and whale factory ships. He survived the Second World War despite being sunk three times by enemy action, and was awarded the British Empire Medal in addition to the Lloyd’s Medal for Bravery at Sea.

He was aboard the S.S. Salvestria when she struck a mine in the Firth of Forth on 27 July 1940, with the loss of ten men and as many again injured. In September 1940, MacAllister was a member of the crew of the S.S. New Sevilla, a whaler which formed part of convoy OB216, bound from Liverpool to Canada. The convoy sailed in the early hours of 21 September but was intercepted at 9pm that night, while near the Mull of Kintyre, by U-138, on its maiden voyage but commanded by the veteran Captain Wolfgang Luth. Within a few minutes he had torpedoed three ships; Boka, New Sevilla, and the Empire Adventure. The entire crew of New Sevilla was rescued but the other two sank with heavy losses. Early next morning U-138 sank the liner City of Simla, carrying a complement of 345 passengers and crew.

In July 1944 MacAllister was engaged in fishing off the Butt of Lewis, in the Hebrides, as a deck hand aboard the trawler Noreen Mary. At 8.10pm MacAllister was working on deck when he was startled to notice two torpedoes pass down the port side about ten feet from the ship’s side. He then saw the conning tower of a submarine dead astern 120 yards away. He ran to the bridge and called all hands but by the time they came on deck the submarine had submerged and he was not believed. The mate even asked him “What pub have you been drinking in ?”

At 9.10pm the vessel was still trawling. At the time she was 18 miles west of Cape Wrath, on a north-westerly course and making three knots. The weather was still fine and clear. The submarine then surfaced about 50 yards away; MacAllister saw a few men climb out of the conning tower, and without any warning they opened fire on the trawler with a machine gun, killing three men including the skipper. The trawler abandoned its nets and increased speed to ten knots; the submarine chased her, still firing.

After a few minutes the submarine opened fire with a heavier gun mounted on the conning tower. The first shot struck the boiler, stopping the Noreen Mary and enveloping her in a cloud of steam. The submarine then circled around the stricken trawler, firing continuously. She listed to port but did not catch fire. MacAllister and the mate tried to launch a life-boat but the latter was killed in the attempt, so MacAllister went to the pantry, which was below the waterline, for shelter. At 10.10pm she rolled over to port and sank. By this time only MacAllister and three others were still alive, and they were thrown into the sea.

MacAllister swam to the wreckage of the lifeboat and tried to climb into it. The submarine, still on the surface, came towards him and fired a short burst of machine gun fire at him from a range of 60-70 yards. He dropped back into the water and remained there until the submarine had gone, then climbed onto the bottom of the upturned boat. Shortly afterwards he saw the 2nd Engineer in the water, and pulled him over and lay him on top of the boat. The engineer was badly injured and became hysterical, saying that he was going to jump back into the water. MacAllister knocked him out with a punch to the jaw (when the man’s wife later heard this she refused to speak with MacAllister). He then helped to support the injured man on the overturned boat until daybreak.

At about dawn he noticed another trawler in the distance, HMT Madeleine, and by shouting in unison they managed to attract her attention. Following their rescue it was found that MacAllister had 14 shrapnel wounds and the engineer had 48, including a piece of wire two and a half inches long embedded in his body. No trace of the other two men who had still been alive when the trawler sank could be found.

This incident is described in detail in Lord Russell of Liverpool’s famous book on Nazi atrocities The Scourge of the Swastika. The U-boat was later identified as the U-247, on her first operational patrol under Oberleutnant Gerhard Matschulat. Had the U-247 not been sunk by a Canadian warship later in August, Matschulat and some of his men might well have faced trial for war crimes and execution, as was Heinz Eck of the U-852, for the machine-gunning of survivors in the water was considered to be contrary to the usage and customs of war. Sold with further research.