Naval Medals from the Collection of the Late Jason Pilalas

The Second War submariner’s D.S.M. awarded to Leading Stoker W. E. Edwards, Royal Navy, who was present at some memorable actions and incidents, including the occasion Lieutenant Roberts and Petty Officer Gould gained V.Cs for dealing with two unexploded bombs in the casing of Thrasher in February 1942, and the Trenchant’s spectacular 8-torpedo strike against the Japanese heavy cruiser Ashigara in July 1945, the largest warship ever sunk by a British submarine

Distinguished Service Medal, G.VI.R. (A/Temp. Ldg. Sto. W. E. Edwards. C/KX.75603) in case of issue, extremely fine £2,000-£2,400

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 23 October 1945:

‘For gallantry, skill and devotion to duty whilst serving in H.M. Submarine Trenchant in Far Eastern waters. Her operations in six patrols were successfully carried out in the face of opposition in shallow and difficult waters. During the last of these a Japanese heavy cruiser was sunk under exceptionally hazardous conditions.’

The original recommendation states:

‘Leading Stoker Edwards is the oldest man in H.M. S./M. Trenchant (40 years) and carries out his duties in a very efficient manner. His war service includes six patrols in H.M. S./M. Trenchant in the Far East; two patrols in H.M. S./M. Thrasher in Home Waters and twelve patrols in H.M. S./M. Thrasher in the Mediterranean.’

William Edwin Edwards was born at Gillingham, Kent on 8 August 1907 and entered the Royal Navy as a Stoker 2nd Class in January 1926. Two years later he volunteered for services in submarines and remained employed as such until coming ashore in January 1938, when he joined the Royal Fleet Reserve. Recalled in the summer of 1939, Edwards attended a refresher course in H. 28 in the 5th Submarine Flotilla at Gosport, prior to removing to the river-class submarine Clyde in January 1940. On 13 May 1940, in Scandinavian waters, Clyde encountered the German auxiliary cruiser Widder on the surface and a lengthy exchange of gunfire ensued, but without any telling results.



Having then attended another refresher course in the Oberon, Edwards commenced his first proper operational tour in the Thrasher, from March 1941 to October 1943. And an action-packed tour it proved to be, his 12 war patrols witnessing the destruction of some 20,000 tons of enemy shipping.

However, likely most memorable of all was the occasion that Thrasher came under attack after sinking an enemy supply ship north of Crete on 16 February 1942. Relentless attack, as it transpired, for she endured three hours of depth charging and bombing before daring to surface that night. And it was then that two unexploded bombs were discovered, lodged in Thrasher’s gun casing. Lieutenant Peter Roberts and Petty Officer Tommy Gould, volunteered to remove the bombs. The first UXB was quickly dealt with and lowered over the side, but the second had penetrated further into the deck casing. So Roberts and Gould had to enter the confined space, just two feet high, and lying flat, wriggle their way to the UXB, past deck supports, battery ventilators and drop bollards. Gould then lay on his back, clutching the 150lb bomb, whilst Roberts dragged him out by his shoulders, a distance of 20 feet. As Gould recalled:

‘It was then a matter of the two of us, lying horizontally, pushing and pulling the bomb back through the casing. It was pitch black and the bomb was making this horrible ticking noise while the submarine was being buffeted by the waves.’

Throughout their 50-minute ordeal, Thrasher was surfaced, stationary and close inshore to enemy territory. Had she been forced to crash dive, Roberts and Gould would have perished. They were both awarded the Victoria Cross.

In October 1943, Thrasher’s crew transferred to the Trenchant, taking with them their C.O., Lieutenant-Commander ‘Baldy’ Hezlet, afterwards Vice-Admiral Sir Arthur Hezlet, K.B.E., C.B., D.S.O., D.S.C. And thanks to his wartime memoirs, H.M.S. Trenchant at War - From Chatham to the Banka Strait, the entirety of Edwards’ operational tour in the Far East is described in detail.

Trenchant carried out a total of seven war patrols between July 1944 and July 1945, in which period she achieved some notable ‘kills’, among them the German U-589 with three torpedoes off Penang on 23 September 1944, and a Japanese minesweeper in the Java Sea on 25 May 1945; she picked up 17 survivors from U-589, including her captain.

But the biggest ‘kill’ of all, indeed the largest warship ever sunk by a British submarine, was the heavy cruiser Ashigara, taken out by a full bow salvo of eight torpedoes off Muntok Island in the Banka Strait on 8 June 1945. Trapped between the Sumatran shore and a shoal, Ashigara was unable to comb the full complement of ‘fish’, and five of them found their mark. She sank at 1239 hours, with a loss of over 100 of her crew and around 1200 embarked troops. The remainder, including her captain, Rear-Admiral Miura, and 400 troops were rescued by the enemy destroyer Kamikaze.

Regular submarine patrols aside, Trenchant also undertook special operations, most notably the raid on Phuket harbour on the night of 27-28 October 1944, when she conveyed a pair of chariots ‘Tiny’ and ‘Slasher’ and their two-man crews to the target area. The Sumatra Maru having been sunk, and the Volpi damaged, Trenchant recovered the charioteers amidst much celebration. All four were decorated, as was the long-served Edwards, who finally came ashore in August 1945, when he was released ‘Class A’.

Sold with the original named Buckingham Place enclosure letter for his D.S.M.