Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Three: Able Seaman A. C. Hudson, Royal Navy

1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; War Medal 1939-45, extremely fine, together with original Admiralty condolence slip in the name of ‘Alfred Cyril Hudson’ (3) £40-60

Alfred Cyril Hudson was killed in action on 24 November 1941, when the cruiser H.M.S. Dunedin was torpedoed and sunk by the U-124 some 900 miles west of Freetown. Although she went down in less than 20 minutes, around 150 survivors managed to scramble aboard assorted Carley floats and wreckage, and greeted the Captain of the U-124 with a strong rendition of There Will Always Be An England when he surfaced for ten minutes to inspect his victims. Tragically, however, over the next three days, until rescue arrived in the form of a U.S. merchantman, over half of these gallant men fell victim to exhaustion, insanity and sharks.