Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A well documented and poignant 1939-45 and Korea War group of four awarded to Lieutenant (O.) K. M. Thomas, Royal Navy, late Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, who was killed off Korea in July 1953 when his Firefly of No. 810 (F.A.A.) Squadron, H.M.S. Ocean, crashed into the sea on take-off

Defence and War Medals 1939-45; Korea 1950-53 (Lieut. (O.) K. M. Thomas, R.N.); U.N. Korea 1950-54, the last in its card forwarding box, together with registered envelope and related Admiralty condolence slip in the name of ‘Lieutenant (O.) K. M. Thomas, R.N.’, and the recipient’s official identity disc and a gold-plated identity bracelet inscribed ‘Kenneth M. Thomas, Sub./Lieut. (A.), R.N.V.R.’, the third with officially corrected rank, extremely fine (6) £700-900

Kenneth Maxwell Thomas commenced his Fleet Air Arm course as a Naval Airman 2 at Daedalus at Lee-on-Solent in April 1943 and was commissioned as a Sub. Lieutenant (A.), R.N.V.R., on qualifying as an Observer in October 1944. He did not witness any active service, however, but did visit the ‘stone frigate’ Saker in the U.S.A. before the War’s end.

Re-joining the Fleet Air Arm as a Lieutenant (O.) in August 1952, and having attended Signal, Navigation and Survival courses, he joined the carrier H.M.S. Ocean out in Malta, from whence he was embarked for Korea, via Aden, Ceylon, Singapore and Hong Kong. As verified by an accompanying diary kept by the recipient, the Ocean arrived in the Yellow Sea, north of the 38th Parallel on Friday 22 May 1953, and quickly went into action, Thomas flying a photographic mission on the following day and, ‘in the afternoon we attacked a camouflaged building near Haeju - a little flak encountered.’ Indeed Thomas’ diary goes on to describe numerous missions, many of them of an offensive nature, and a typical example being his entry for Monday 25 May: ‘Flew a photographic reconnaissance flight over gun positions in the Haeju area at 8 a.m., strafed a few ox-carts. At 2 o’clock we flew a strike against a reported H.Q. building and revetments - used 16 rockets each - fairly hammered the place. On way back we saw the U.S.A. battleship New Jersey joining up with us. Their helicopter landed Admiral of 7th Fleet on deck and he watched us fly off on the next detail at 5 p.m. Three in one day - a strike against camouflaged H.Q. and buildings - flew one with Jimmy Legate and afterwards strafed gun positions. Got back to calm after de-briefing at 7 p.m. Shower, changed, ate a jolly good meal and saw “African Queen” in the wardroom at 9.15 p.m. Turned in at 11 o’clock very tired.’

A brief interlude having ensued back Japan, owing to Ocean’s part in the Coronation celebrations, Thomas was back in action by the second week of June, and four weeks later, the Ocean had completed her third patrol on operations. By way of example for this latter period, the following entry is quoted from his diary for Thursday 2 July: ‘Up early and we attacked road bridges and any visible transport. Obtained direct hits with our rockets. Our second strike at noon took us to the Hosa Dong peninsular and we attacked flak positions and observation posts - direct hits on the latter. At 6 p.m. we went after camouflaged buildings - causing one fire. A very successful day. Odd bods were shooting at us but no luck for them.’

The final entry in his diary is for Sunday 12 July. He was killed two days later, on taking off from Ocean. With the Carriers in Korea 1950-53, by John R. P. Lansdown, takes up the story: ‘The remaining Furies took off satisfactorily, but the first Firefly, after some of its rockets had failed, crashed into the sea and sank immediately, taking with it the Observer, Lieutenant K. M. Thomas. The pilot, Lieutenant A. J. D. Evans, was promptly picked up by the U.S.S. Southerland, but despite prolonged artificial respiration, failed to regain consciousness, and died on board her. On completion of the flying programme that evening a combined memorial and burial service for Lieutenants Thomas and Evans was held on Ocean. In the gathering dusk the ships of the screen - Buck, Southerland and Cockade - closed in astern and on quarter to take their part. ‘We all appreciated their courtesy and sympathy deeply’, recorded Captain Logan.’

Sold with a large quantity of original documentation and photographs, including Admiralty telegram reporting the recipient as ‘missing, presumed killed’, dated 15 July 1953, and follow up letter which adds ‘his aircraft from H.M.S. Ocean crashed into the sea’, dated 16 July 1953; ‘Order of Parade and Form of Service’ in H.M.S. Ocean for the Coronation 1953, together with a copy of Ocean Saga, being a review of the carrier’s activities in the period May 1951 to December 1952, the front cover inscribed ‘K. M. Thomas’, an embroidered ‘H.M.S. Ocean’ cushion cover, and a copy of Scenes of A-Bomb Explosion, Hiroshima, the interior signed by a survivor at the A-Bombing Centre, Hiroshima, and dated 24 June 1953. And career photograph and /or scrap books (6), the earliest with images relevant to his early training in 1943-45, followed by later coverage of his career on re-entering the Fleet Air Arm at the time of the Korean conflict; an album of photographs and post cards dedicated to his time in the U.S.A. in 1945; another album of early 1953 vintage, with numerous scenes from Malta, from whence H.M.S. Ocean departed for Korean waters; a scrapbook covering his time in Malta, with numerous newspaper cuttings, tickets, invitations and other memorabilia; an album of photographs and postcards dedicated to the period of Ocean’s voyage to Japan in 1953, via Aden, Ceylon, Singapore and Hong Kong; and another scrapbook containing his diary for the period 16 April until 12 July 1953, just 48 hours before his death.