Naval Medals from the Collection of the Late Jason Pilalas

The Second War Pacific operations D.S.M. awarded to Petty Officer Steward E. Barton, Royal Navy, who was decorated for tending wounded members of his gun crew aboard H.M.N.Z.S. Moa although himself severely wounded; several of his shipmates were subsequently decorated by the Americans and the Moa won a Presidential Unit Citation; hours earlier he had won a “mention” for a spectacular two hour action against a Japanese submarine but was subsequently among those lost on Russian convoy JW. 59 in August 1944, when his ship was torpedoed

Distinguished Service Medal, G.VI.R. (SR. 69524 E. Barton, L. Std.) extremely fine £3,000-£3,600

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Naval Medals from the Collection of the Late Jason Pilalas.

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D.S.M. London Gazette 7 September 1943:

‘For courage and devotion in tending wounded members of his gun’s crew, when he himself was severely wounded, during a successful action between H.M.N.Z.S. Moa and four Japanese barges.’

The original recommendation states:

‘For courage and devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy in successfully treating other wounded ratings, when he himself was severely wounded, until he collapsed, when the vessel in which he was serving was engaged by four Japanese barges on 30 January 1943. A shell had exploded setting fire to a cordite charge at the gun which he was serving at the time, causing heavy casualties to the gun’s crew including himself. Two barges were sunk as a result of this action.’

Mention in despatches London Gazette 1 June 1943:

‘For bravery and skill in action against enemy submarines while serving in H.M. Ships Bicester, Wheatland and Lamerton, and H.M.N.Z. Ships Kiwi and Moa.’

Ernest Barton won his D.S.M. and “mention” for gallant deeds in H.M.N.Z.S. Moa, deeds that were enacted within a few hours of each other on 29-30 January 1943.

The first of these actions, fought on the night of the 29th, was a spectacular two hour long running fight with the Japanese submarine I-1 off Kamimbo Bay at the north-west end of the Guadalcanal. The Moa, like her consort Kiwi, also a ship of the 25th Minesweeping Flotilla, was barely equipped to confront such a superior opponent, the I-1 measuring 96 metres in length with a 2035-ton surface displacement - making her twice the length of her opponents and more than three times the size; added to which she had a surface speed of 18 knots - nearly six faster than the minesweepers - and a 125mm. main gun which fired a shell twice the weight of those available to H.M.N.Z. Ships.

Yet the New Zealanders remained undeterred, both ships working up to full speed to go into the attack, Kiwi leading with Moa in support. Forced to the surface by a succession of accurately dropped depth-charges, I-1 endeavoured to beat a retreat to Guadalcanal, using the cover of darkness against the high land of the island, all the while engaging her opponents with her main 125mm. gun, three shells from which came ‘too near the Moa for comfort’. Indeed even having been rammed three times by Kiwi - and severely damaged - the enemy submarine still showed signs of fierce resistance, but Moa finally got into position for the kill:

‘The Moa took up the chase with a will, opening up on the submarine which was retreating at about 12 knots and which had managed to put out the fire on her after casing. From the time the Moa took over the leading role, the action turned into a chase, with the I-1 relying on her six-pounder to reply to the Moa’s 100mm. shells. The Japanese altered course often to try to dodge the New Zealand ship’s fire, and for her part the Moa kept manoeuvring to stop the submarine’s stern gun being brought to bear. Star shells and searchlights were used to keep the I-1 illuminated and several of the Moa’s shells were seen to find their target. Finally, at 11.20 p.m., the I-1 ran aground on a submerged reef and was held fast. The Moa stood off, waiting for dawn, when she found the battered fore part of the submarine sticking about 12 to 15 metres out of the water at an angle of 45 degrees. And the action was not quite over. One Japanese was shot off the wreck by machine-gun fire and a wounded officer rescued from the sea before enemy artillery from ashore made it wise for the Moa to move off ...’ (The Navy in New Zealand, by Grant Howard, refers).

For his part in this remarkable action, almost certainly manning a gun, Barton was mentioned in despatches, and his skipper, Lieutenant-Commander (afterwards Vice-Admiral Sir) Peter Phipps, R.N.Z.N.V.R., was awarded a Bar to his D.S.C. and the American Navy Cross, one of several U.S. honours to be bestowed on the New Zealanders - the Moa won a Presidential Unit Citation. And the Americans certainly had good reason to be grateful, for, unbeknown to the “Kiwis”, as it remained a secret for nearly 40 years, ‘a treasure trove’ of valuable secret documents was subsequently recovered from the wreck of the I-1, the loss of which sent reverberations around Tokyo (and supplied a dramatic windfall to Allied Intelligence in Hawaii):

‘More than 200,000 secret documents, widely distributed across the Pacific [by the Japanese], had been compromised and had to be replaced. It was months before the mess was cleaned up, and many of the compromising items had to remain in service for some time ... by the time the red-covered, five-digit code book and the additive tables retrieved from I-1 reached FRUPac [of the American Naval Intelligence], the code had been changed, but to Dyer and Wright that code was as precious as a moon rock to an astronomer ...’ (Double-Edged Secrets, U.S. Naval Intelligence Operations in the Pacific during World War II, by W. J. Holmes, refers).

Literally hours after this ferocious clash, in the early morning of the 30 January 1943, a lookout in the Moa spotted the dark shapes of four Japanese landing barges. Moa closed the range and during the ensuing “firefight” a shell from one of the Japanese barges set fire to a cordite charge at the mounting of Barton’s gun, causing serious casualties, himself included - as stated above, it was for his gallant actions on this occasion that Barton won his D.S.M. Nor did the Japanese escape without loss, two of their barges being sunk.

Following his commission in the Moa, and on recovering from his wounds, Barton joined the sloop Kite, formerly of legendary U-Boat “killer” Captain F.nW. Walker’s No. 2 Escort Group, and was lost in her on 21 August 1944, when she was torpedoed by the U-344, while acting as an escort to Russian convoy JW. 59. A Dictionary of Disasters at Sea states:

‘The sloop Kite, Lieutenant-Commander A. N. G. Campbell, was a unit of a force under command of Vice-Admiral F. H. G. Dalrymple-Hamilton, C.B., in the aircraft carrier Vindex, which was escorting a large convoy to Russia. On 21 August 1944, the convoy was attacked by a strong force of submarines, several of which had previously been sighted by aircraft from Vindex and Striker. An attack was made on the enemy formation from the air and depth charges from Swordfish aircraft sank one submarine. Later destroyers and frigates accounted for others, but during these operations Kite was torpedoed and sunk with a loss of ten officers, including Lieutenant-Commander Campbell, and 207 ratings.’

The U-344 was sunk by a Swordfish aircraft on the following day.

Sold with an M.I.D. oak leaf and American Presidential Unit Citation riband, together with copied research.