Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

The important D-Day C.G.M. group of eight awarded to Chief Petty Officer R. H. G. McKinlay, Royal Navy Beach Commando ‘Peter’, for gallantry ashore when, single-handed, he silenced two enemy strong points with hand grenades and afterwards, under fire from snipers, went to the rescue of a wounded man and brought him safely to cover. After the war he became one of the first members of the Fleet Clearance Diving Team, serving with Commander ‘Buster’ Crabb, M.I.6’s ‘Frogman Spy’, and was awarded a Queen’s Commendation for salvaging an aircraft which had crashed into the sea off Hong Kong; his C.G.M. is one of only two awarded for D-Day, the other being to Sergeant C. J. Hunter, Royal Marines

Conspicuous Gallantry Medal, G.VI.R. (P.O. R. H. G. McKinlay, P/JX.245579); 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star, clasp, France and Germany; Africa Star; Defence and War Medals; Naval General Service 1915-62, 1 clasp, Palestine 1945-48 (P/JX. 801641 R. H. G. McKinlay. C.G.M. P.O. R.N.); Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., E.II.R., 2nd issue (JX. 801641R. H. G. McKinlay. C.G.M. C.P.O. H.M.S. Annet) mounted as worn together with Queen’s Commendation for Brave Conduct oak leaf, light contact marks, otherwise very fine or better (8) £30000-40000

Provenance: Christie’s, 24 July 1990, ‘The Property of the Recipient, R. H. G. McKinlay, Esq.’

C.G.M. London Gazette 29 August 1944: ‘For gallantry, skill, determination and undaunted devotion to duty during the initial landings of Allied Forces on the coast of Normandy.

Petty Officer McKinlay was put ashore between noon and 1400 hours on 6th June. Finding himself at some distance from his prearranged destination, he made his way along the beach and took charge of a party of Naval ratings and Army ranks who were bound for the same point. Single-handed, he silenced two enemy strong points on the way with hand grenades. Later, on an open stretch of sand which was under fire from enemy snipers, disregarding his own safety, he went to the rescue of a wounded man and brought him safely to cover.’

Q.C.B.C. London Gazette 14 June 1960: ‘For brave conduct in salvaging an aircraft which crashed into the sea at Kai Tak, Hong Kong, on 19th October 1959.’

Ronald Harry George McKinlay was born at Portsmouth, Hampshire, on 16 April 1924, and was a messenger in the Post Office before he volunteered to join the Royal Navy as a Boy Seaman, Second Class, in January 1941. He served aboard H.M.S. Nelson from March to September 1942, taking part in Operation Pedestal, the famous convoy to Malta. In March 1943 he was posted to H.M.S. Quebec for specialist training as a Royal Navy Commando. He was promoted to Temporary Acting Leading Seaman the same year and drafted to the newly formed ‘P’ Commando, training with Assault Force ‘J’, being promoted to Temporary Acting Petty Officer in March 1944.

‘Eventually moving south to the Isle of Wight with Force J in preparation for D-Day... McKinlay’s unit with their beach signs, lights and other gear was allocated to a Landing Craft loaded with DD tanks. Their particular task was to leap ashore ahead of these vehicles and immediately erect signs to mark the beach exits for them before returning to signal in the follow-up waves. But as their LCT neared the shore and commenced to lower her ramp she was hit almost at once in the bows by an 88mm shell which completely wrecked the ramp. Out of control, the Landing Craft was now completely adrift in the midst of the incoming invasion fleet. She continued to wallow helplessly while drifting away from her proper point of touchdown with bullets whining overhead and shells and mortar bombs exploding all round her. In fact she drifted all the way from Courselles to Ouistreham.

After about an hour and a half of this McKinlay decided to try to swim ashore but when that proved impossible managed to persuade the coxswain of a passing LCVP by signal lamp to come alongside and take them off. Thus instead of landing on one of the beaches in Juno Sector with the Canadians they found themselves in Sword Sector with the British. “Now we were miles away somewhere on the left flank. Although there was a major on the beach where we had come ashore it seemed that most of his officers had been killed, because we saw three Army captains lying dead on the sand dunes. However we had to make our own way back to our proper sector, and between us and our own beach was the enemy, which made it a bit awkward.”

As another historian has written (Alex McKee, Caen - Anvil of Victory), “This was a gross understatement. Many isolated German strongpoints were still holding out and would continue to hold out for days. But between 2 British Division on Sword and 3 Canadian Division on Juno the German beach defences were solid and unbroken. No Allied troops were swarming ashore there.”

With the major taking charge of the mixed groups of ‘lost’ soldiers and sailors, the party set off towards ‘the war’, but soon became pinned down by mortars and machine-guns. the major decided that one particular 88mm gun some fifty to a hundred yards away ought to be put out of action, and since McKinlay was a Commando he should do this with grenades. When McKinlay pointed out that he was not carrying any he was immediately presented with a supply by the other members of the party. Thus armed, he managed to get close enough to the strong-point to let go three grenades, “which caused a good deal of chaos”.

Then, forgetting that he had not fixed his bayonet, he rose and charged. Becoming aware that one of his party was accompanying him, he dropped flat in the sand and waited. Presently a huge German appeared at the entrance to the strong-point, obviously very shaken and apparently the only survivor. McKinlay duly took him prisoner and returned to his party. But as they approached one of the latter mistaking the situation shot the German through the stomach, which made McKinlay furiously angry.

Having now destroyed two gun emplacements, McKinley approached his ‘greatest fright of the war.’ He later recalled, “As I was about to leave a dug-out being checked for the enemy I saw a ‘German’ coming towards me armed like two cowboys. We both opened fire at the same instant. I thought ‘This is it! I am about to die a hero’s death, confound it!’ Then I saw what a mug I had been; the absence of blood proved it, I had opened fire on myself, and the large shattered mirror at the entrance, no doubt the result of some German officers’ vanity, was the evidence.” He explained that his reference to cowboys resulted from the fact that at that moment of his battle of the beaches, he had a revolver in one hand, a forty-five strapped to one thigh, and a Colt 38 on the other.

By now the party totalled nearly one hundred and they had also acquired a number of German prisoners. To their right bodies of dead British soldiers washed about in the surf, and at the back of the beach were enemy gun emplacements, mortar and machine-gun pits. Since the party was continually being sniped and shot at, McKinlay suggested to the major that they should station all their prisoners around them as a protective screen. Although the major protested that this would constitute a breach of the Geneva Convention he eventually agreed and they continued on their way.

Then occurred an odd incident. In McKinlay’s group was a Canadian corporal. Suddenly a German with a levelled rifle appeared from a gap between the gun emplacements obviously about to open fire. In Polish the Canadian called out to him not to shoot, and to McKinlay’s surprise the ‘German’ answered in the same language. Both men were Poles!

Hurrying past dead and mangled Germans lying in their gun pits, McKinlay saw a man lying in a nearby field being shot at, the bullets kicking up spurts of dust all around his prone body. Since no one else seemed willing to go to his aid McKinlay went in and dragged him to safety.

The party finally reached their own beach that evening after a hazardous journey of two and a half miles.’ (The Beachhead Commandos by A. Cecil Hampshire refers).

McKinlay remained on Juno Beach throughout June 1944, commanding a section of ‘P’ Commando and assisting various beachmasters, until his unit were relieved by ‘W’ Commando. Promoted to Temporary Petty Officer in March 1945, he saw service with LCOCU (Landing Craft Obstacle Clearance Unit) during the operations in Palestine, serving aboard the hospital ships Maine and Empire Clyde. McKinlay afterwards trained as a Royal Navy Clearance Diver, becoming a Clearance Diver 1st Class in March 1952, and became widely experienced in underwater demolition, beach clearance and Gemini inflatable raft operations. He served with Commander ‘Buster’ Crabb, O.B.E., G.M., M.I.6’s ‘Frogman Spy’ at the Underwater Counter-Measures and Weapons Establishment, Havant, 1952-53. Crabb’s comments on McKinlay’s efficiency record stated ‘A fine type of Petty Officer and a good leader. Capable of being thrown on his own resources. He has good initiative and is very loyal.’

McKinlay was a stand-in pilot of a two-man chariot during the making of the well known 1955 film, Above Us the Waves, starring John Mills. He was awarded his L.S. & G.C. medal in May 1957, and the following year was posted to H.M.S. Tamar for a two year stint with the Far East Fleet Clearance Diving Team in Honk Kong. During this period he was awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Brave Conduct for the salvage of a de Havilland Venom whose brakes failed during an emergency landing at Kai Tak, Hong Kong, causing the aircraft to overshoot into the sea. With top secret equipment on board, it was imperative that McKinlay and his team made a quick and successful recovery under the most difficult of circumstances.

McKinlay returned in June 1960 to H.M.S. Vernon, as Chief Instructor in charge of training, until March 1965 when he was Pensioned to Shore.

Sold with a good quantity of original related photographs, various newspaper cuttings, the recipient’s green beret with R.N. Chief Petty Officer’s and Diver’s badges, together with copied record of service and Efficiency Record signed by Commander Crabb, The Beachhead Commandos by A. Cecil Hampshire, Beachhead Assault by David Lee, and a cassette tape of the recipient relating his wartime experiences. The numerous photographs include young McKinlay undergoing training as a Royal Naval Commando, McKinlay with his ribbons and badges ‘up’, wearing his medal group, and with his parents when invested with the C.G.M.; McKinlay with John Mills during filming, McKinlay and another frogman driving the ‘chariot’ for the movie Above Us the Waves, McKinlay and others all in frogman rig with Commander Crabb, more than eighty photographs in all.