Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Family group:

A well-documented and interesting Great War ambulance driver’s group of three awarded to Lieutenant A. T. Bruen, Royal Army Service Corps, late Ambulance Driver with the British Red Cross
1914-15 Star (A. T. Bruen. B.R.C. & St. J.J.); British War and Victory Medals (Lieut A. T. Bruen.) mounted as worn, extremely fine

The outstanding Second World War naval ace’s Operation ‘Pedestal’ D.S.O., Cape Matapan D.S.C. group of seven awarded to Commander (A.) J. M. ‘Bill’ Bruen, Fleet Air Arm. Lucky to have emerged unscathed from the severely damaged carrier Indomitable during ‘Pedestal’ and indeed from numerous air-to-air combats, he ended the war with a final score of ‘four enemy aircraft destroyed, four shared destroyed, two damaged and two shared damaged’. One of a dozen or so Irishmen to gain ace status in the conflict, Bruen has been described as ‘probably one of the best naval fighter leaders of the war’
Distinguished Service Order, G.VI.R., silver-gilt and enamel, reverse of suspension bar officially dated ‘1942’; Distinguished Service Cross, G.VI.R., reverse officially dated ‘1941’, hallmarked London 1940, and additionally engraved, ‘Lt. Cdr. J. M. Bruen RN, HMS Formidable’; I939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Africa Star, 1 clasp, North Africa 1943-43; Defence and War Medals 1939-45, with M.I.D. oak leaf, the last five all privately named, ‘Cdr J. M. Bruen, DSO DSC RN‘, mounted for display, nearly extremely fine (10) £2,000-£3,000

Arthur Thomas ‘Shuvva’ Bruen was born in Dublin on 23 November 1873 and, being above the age limit for military service, volunteered – at his own expense – to serve as an ambulance driver for the British Red Cross in France in April 1915.

As verified by accompanying documentation, he was for the next six months heavily engaged in transporting casualties, and his accompanying narrative – see below – makes for fascinating reading in this often neglected ‘civilian chapter’ from Great War history, as indeed does the related documentation, such as lists of the wounded conveyed, and their possessions, the whole immaculately recorded.

He was employed in No. 2 Motor Ambulance Convoy, which consisted of about 50 ambulances under the command of an R.A.M.C. captain, with three other medical officers. And their brief was to clear casualties from all the Field Ambulances in the 1st Army area to the three Casualty Clearing Stations in Merville, and thence to hospital trains and barges.

In January 1916, Bruen was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Army Service Corps, in which rank he remained actively employed on motor transport duties for the remainder of the war, latterly in an M.T. section attached to 36th Ulster Division. His narrative refers to his unit being enrolled to assist with the transportation of casualties from the Somme offensive in July 1916:

‘The wounded began to arrive in Rouen in greater numbers than could be dealt with by the ambulance cars and our lorries were called on to move the sitting cases. It was reported that 10,000 wounded arrived in six hours at one time … ’

Bruen’s section was generally employed in shifting artillery ammunition, in which role his section sometimes came under fire. However, at 9 p.m. on 10 November 1918, he happily noted: ‘The news came through that the Armistice applied for by the Germans had been granted: great rejoicing, cheering, rockets, Verey lights, etc.’

Sold with a large leather-bound album containing a highly impressive archive of original documentation and his handwritten narrative (1915-19), the former including photographs, maps, field messages, patient delivery slips, tickets, passes, permits, transport orders, and postcards, and supplemented by uniform insignia, including a rare embroidered ‘B.R.C.’ shoulder flash, a stamped and numbered B.R.C.S. arm band, a 3-years-overseas service chevron and an original Haig Fund poppy.

Bruen’s extensive narrative makes for interesting reading, as does the accompanying documentation, but worthy of special mention would be his British passport, dated 14 April 1915, with portrait photograph, and numerous French stamps; his ‘Army Certificate of Identity for Civilians wearing the Red Cross Brassard’, issued at Pall Mall, London on 16 April 1915, with portrait photograph; his British Red Cross ‘Form of Declaration’ to serve as a chauffeur ‘in the British Isles and on the Continent’, dated 14 April 1915; and his commission warrant for the rank of 2nd Lieutenant, Land Forces, dated 15 January 1916.

Commander (A.) J. M. ‘Bill’ Bruen, Fleet Air Arm
D.S.O. London Gazette 10 November 1942: ‘For bravery and resolution when an important convoy was fought through to Malta in the face of relentless attacks by day and night from enemy submarines, aircraft and surface forces.’

The original recommendation states:

‘As Commanding Officer of No. 800 Squadron he had six weeks in which to re-equip his squadron with Hurricanes and bring them to a proper state of battle efficiency. In this he achieved conspicuous success, his squadron accounting for 14 enemy machines, shot down on 12th August. Of this number Lieutenant-Commander Bruen was responsible for the destruction of three. His courage and determination were an inspiration to all, and his ability as a pilot unexcelled.’

D.S.C. London Gazette 29 July 1941: ‘For bravery and enterprise in the Battle of Cape Matapan.’

The original recommendation states:

‘He was responsible, with his section, for the very well-timed attack on the screening destroyer during the second attack on the Veneto. This gave the aircraft a clear approach and contributed largely to their success. Later, during the bombing attack on the fleet, his section forced a number of the enemy to jettison their bombs before they had reached the fleet. He maintained his squadron in a high state of serviceability throughout the operations, enabling a continuous patrol to be kept up in spite of the limited number of aircraft available.’

John Martin ‘Bill’ Bruen was born in Dublin on 10 December 1910, son of Arthur Thomas ‘Shuvva’ Bruen, and entered the Royal Navy as a 13-year-old cadet in September 1924. Appointed a Midshipman in January 1929, and advanced to Sub. Lieutenant in May 1931 and to Lieutenant in April 1934, he held several seagoing appointments on the Atlantic, Mediterranean and East Indies stations.

Having also earlier obtained a flying certificate, he transferred to the Fleet Air Arm, then under the auspices of the Royal Air Force, and was posted as a fighter pilot to 802 Naval Air Squadron (N.A.S.) in the summer of 1936. The squadron was embarked for the Mediterranean in the aircraft carrier H.M.S. Glorious in the same month, a tour of duty which ended with Bruen’s return to the U.K. in August 1938.

Shortly afterwards, he transferred to 801 N.A.S. in the carrier Courageous and was likewise employed when the newly formed and independent Fleet Air Arm was established on the eve of hostilities. His subsequent wartime career was of an exceptional nature, encompassing as it did his claim to four enemy aircraft destroyed, four shared destroyed, two damaged and two shared damaged.

And that impressive tally of air-to-air successes commenced with his appointment to the command of 803 N.A.S. in the Ark Royal in the summer of 1940, when he and his fellow pilots took part in Operation ‘Catapult’, the attack launched against the French Fleet, near Oran, Algeria. Piloting Skua L2927, Bruen damaged a Hawk 75 and a Morane MS. 406 in combats over Mers-el-Kebir harbour, prior to leading his section to attack a Breguet Bizerte flying boat, which was shot down.

A few weeks later, on 31 August, he shared in a Cant Z. 501 flying boat in an action fought far to the west off the Balearic Islands. In his subsequent report, he stated:

‘The section attacked from up-sun, the first burst starting a bad petrol leak in the starboard wing tank. During our attacks the enemy aircraft appeared to attempt to alight on the sea, but bounced and crashed. No survivors were observed. Flames and smoke from the burning enemy was even seen from the fleet 16 miles away!’

Bruen and his squadron transferred to the Formidable at the year’s end, and it was during this period that he and his pilots converted to Fulmars. Tasked with the protection of Malta convoys, Bruen downed a Ju. 88 on 21 March 1941, and fought further combats in the battle of Cape Matapan later in the same month, when he also led a gallant attack on an enemy destroyer screening the Veneto. He was awarded the D.S.C.

Then in another convoy action in May – Operation ‘Tiger’ – his section mixed in with some He. 111s and he was credited with the destruction of Oberleutnant Max Voight’s aircraft from 5/KG 26, thereby making him the Navy’s latest ace.

However, Formidable was herself damaged during the evacuation of Crete, when hit by two bombs that killed 12 men and wounded 10, one of the bombs passing through the starboard forward flight deck. She had to be withdrawn for repairs and Bruen and his squadron transferred to Dekheila, where they were re-equipped with Hurricanes. He stood down from his command in July 1941, was rested back in the U.K., and received his D.S.C. from the King at a Buckingham Palace investiture in November.

Promoted to Lieutenant-Commander in March 1942, Bruen took command of 800 N.A.S. in the carrier Indomitable in the same month, and it was in this capacity that he was awarded the D.S.O. for his gallant leadership during the epic Malta convoy Operation ‘Pedestal’. On that occasion, piloting Sea Hurricanes, he fought some notable combats, not least on 12 August, when his squadron was scrambled to meet incoming raids: he shot down a Ju. 88, damaged another and shared in the destruction of an S. 79. Indomitable, however, was severely damaged by bombs which penetrated the unarmoured section of the flight deck and caused casualties of 46 killed and 70 wounded.

Bruen remained in command of the squadron, which next transferred to the escort carrier Biter for the North Africa landings in November 1942, and he added a ‘mention’ to his accolades on the same occasion (London Gazette 6 May 1943, refers). This, no doubt, for his ongoing leadership and his final ‘kill’, a Vichy D. 520 downed over Le Senia on the opening day of the landings; the enemy pilot was seen to bale out.

Having stood down from his command and returned to the U.K. in December 1942, Bruen received his D.S.O. at a Buckingham Palace investiture and was advanced to the acting rank of Commander in August 1943. But he saw no further action, instead serving variously as a Chief Instructor, Executive Officer and Commanding Officer at U.K. air stations for the remainder of the war, latterly at Shrike at Maydown in Northern Ireland.

Placed on the Retired List in December 1955, he died in April 1967.

Sold with two original wartime F.A.A. pilot's wings (one lacking its anchor device), a studio portrait photograph, in uniform, taken in 1945, and a copy of Flight magazine, 20 May 1932, with an illustration of the aircraft carrier H.M.S. Glorious.

For the medals awarded to Commander N. A. ‘Bernie’ Bruen, Royal Navy, the son of Commander J. A. ‘Bill’ Bruen, see the previous lot (Lot 120).