A Collection of Awards for the 1939-45 War

A Second World War King’s Commendation group of six awarded to Cook E. J. Rogers, Merchant Navy. also the recipient of the Royal Humane Society’s Honorary Testimonial on Vellum, who survived the loss of at least two ships to enemy action

1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Italy Star; Burma Star; War Medal 1939-45, with oakleaf; King’s Commendation for Brave Conduct, plastic badges (2), in their card box of issue, together with Burma Star Association and Merchant Navy ‘MN’ lapel badges, extremely fine (9) £300-350

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, A Collection of Awards for the 1939-45 War.

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King’s Commendation for Brave Conduct London Gazette 12 October 1943.

Edmund James Rogers was born in Swansea in June 1920 and first went to sea as a Galley Boy aged 15 years. A qualified Ship’s Cook by the outbreak of hostilities in September 1939, he joined the tanker British Councillor, and was similarly employed when she was mined and lost off the Humber 2 February 1940. An accompanying copy of the Chief Officer’s report states that two men remained aboard the stricken vessel, namely the Cook (Rogers) and a Steward, while Seedie’s Awards to the Merchant Navy 1939-45 lists a brace of King’s Commendations for Brave Conduct awarded on the same occasion, namely those awarded to the Chief Steward and a Second Steward. So Rogers’ commendation must have been the result of a later recommendation.

Meanwhile, however, he added the Royal Humane Society’s Honorary Testimonial to his accolades, the relevant certificate stating:

‘Edmund J. Rogers is justly entitled to the Honorary Testimonial of this Society inscribed on vellum, which is hereby awarded him for having on the 29 October 1940, at great personal risk, gone to the rescue of a man who was unfortunately drowned in the Royal Edward Lock at Avonmouth, and whose life he gallantly assisted in attempting to save.’

Rogers’ wartime appointments comprised the British Diligence (March 1940), British Resource (June to November 1940), British Fortitude (December 1940 to May 1941), Eclipse (July to September 1941), George W. McKnight (October 1941 to March 1942), George H. Jones (March to 11 June 1942), Ocean Faith (August to December 1942), Lana H. Rone (December 1942 to March 1943), Temple Arch (July 1943 to January 1944), British Diligence (February to July 1944), British Zeal (July 1944 to January 1945), and the tanker Beaconstreet (March to June 1945).

And of the above listed ships at least one was lost to enemy action, namely the tanker S.S. George H. Jones, when she was torpedoed by the U-455 in the North Atlantic on 11 June 1942 - Rogers was among the survivors and three of the ship’s officers were decorated or commended on the same occasion. Added to which his time aboard the Ocean Faith encompassed Arctic convoy P.Q. 18 in September 1942, when his ship was heavily engaged, fellow crew winning a D.S.M. and two “mentions”, one of the latter posthumously.

Sold with a quantity of original documentation, including King’s Commendation for Brave Conduct certificate in the name of ‘Edmund James Rogers, Cook, S.S. British Councillor’, dated 12 October 1943; Royal Humane Society’s Honorary Testimonial certificate, dated 19 November 1940, with above cited citation; Minister of Transport forwarding slip for 1939-45 campaign medals and Central Chancery instructions regarding the King’s Commendation badges; the recipient’s Board of Trade Continuous Certificate of Discharge, covering his career from 1935 to 1953, and his Certificate of Competency as Ship’s Cook; a hand written copy of an Admiralty press release reporting on the passage of ‘a very important convoy’ which had arrived in North Russia, 3 pp., British Wireless Marine Service notepaper, as taken down in the S.S. Ocean Faith, 25 September 1942; several letter to, or from the recipient, 1940-45; assorted wartime newspaper cuttings, one stating that the recipient had been involved in a U-Boat attack following the British Councillor incident - presumably the U-455’s attack on the George H. Jones; and a fine run of career photographs (approximately 100 images).