Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Seven: Stoker Petty Officer H. W. Hawkins Royal Navy, who was killed in action when H.M.S. Kite was sunk by U-344 in the Barents Sea on 21 August 1944

British War and Victory Medals (K J. 63004 H. W. Hawkins. Boy.1. R.N.); 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star, 1 clasp France and Germany; Arctic Star; War Medal 1939-45; Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., G.V.R., 3rd issue (K.58919 H. W. Hawkins. S.P.O. H.M.S. Lucia) generally very fine and better (7) £400-£500

Harold Willie Hawkins was born in Barnstable, Devon on 11 June 1901. He joined the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class on 11 December 1916, and served during the Great War in H.M.S. Impregnable until 18 September 1917, when then transferred to the shore-based establishment H.M.S. Pembroke, before joining H.M.S. Indomitable on 26 September 1917. Hawkins served the rest of the War on this ship, leaving to Vivid II on 4 February 1919. Remaining in service, he was advanced Leading Stoker in 1928, and served during the Second World War as Chief Stoker in H.M.S. Kite.

H.M.S. Kite was a Black Swan Class Sloop, which on 20 August 1944 was escorting the aircraft carriers H.M.S. Vindex and H.M.S. Striker, which in turn were escorting convoy JW-59 to Northern Russia when the convoy was sighted in the Barents Sea by German aircraft. Soon after, a large pack of U-boats attacked the convoy. However one U-boat was sunk by Fairey Swordfish aircraft from one of the carriers and two more were sunk by other destroyers. At 06:30 on 21 August, Kite slowed to 6 knots to untangle her ‘foxers’ (anti acoustic torpedo noise makers, towed astern). The decision to do so, rather than severing the ‘foxers' cables and abandoning them, was made by her temporary commander, Lieutenant-Commander Campbell, a submariner. At that speed Kite was a sitting duck, and she was hit by two torpedoes from U-344 and sank. Of Kite's crew of 10 officers and 207 ratings, 60 survived the attack, but from the freezing Arctic water only 14 sailors were picked up alive by H.M.S. Keppel. Five of the rescued died on board Keppel leaving only nine to make it to shore. U-344 herself was in turn sunk the next day by a single patrolling Swordfish from H.M.S. Vindex.

Hawkins was amongst those killed, and he is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial.