Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Four: Fourth Engineer Officer W. A. Monk, Merchant Navy, who lost his life on the occasion of the S.S. Cornish City was torpedoed and sunk in July 1943

1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Africa Star, clasp, North Africa 1942-43; War Medal 1939-45, in their original addressed card forwarding box, together with the recipient’s Minister of Transport condolence slip in the name of ‘William Archibald Monk’, and an old cigarette holder, extremely fine (5) £80-100

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, A Collection of Awards to Merchant Seamen and D.E.M.S. Gunners.

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William Archibald Monk, who was born in Auckland, New Zealand, in April 1912, joined the ship’s company of the S.S. Cornish City as Fourth Engineer Officer in January 1943, and was still serving in that capacity when she was torpedoed and sunk by the U-177 on 29 July, some 400 miles to the East of the southern tip of Madagascar. The explosion caused by the impact of the torpedo broke the ship’s back and in a matter of seconds the bow reared up vertically before plunging below the waves - only six out of her full complement of 43 men managed to get away, but sadly Monk was not among them. Aged 31 years, he is commemorated on the Merchant Navy Memorial at Tower Hill, London; sold with research.