Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Four: Private V. L. Field, 2nd Battalion, Royal Durban Light Infantry, who was taken P.O.W. at Tobruk in June 1942

1939-45 Star; Africa Star; War Medal 1939-45; Africa Service Medal 1939-45, all officially inscribed ‘6062 V. L. Field’, extremely fine (4) £100-120

Victor Lorimer Field, who was born in Natal in November 1905, enlisted in the 2nd Battalion, Royal Durban Light Infantry in April 1940. Arriving in North Africa with his unit in August 1941, he would have seen action in the operations leading to the capture of Halfaya that December, and again at Sollum, in January 1942. Later that year, in the operations around Gazala, Field’s unit provided men for mobile “Jock columns” which patrolled the desert for enemy activity, but on falling back to defend the Tobruk perimeter in mid-June, fell victim to the sudden advance of the 15th and 21st Panzer Divisions on the 20th. Field was subsequently incacerated at Campo 85 at Tuturano, near Brindisi and ended the War at Stalag 8B at Teschen, Germany. He returned to the Union via the U.K. in August 1945.