Naval Medals from the Collection of the Late Jason Pilalas (Part I)

The Second War D.S.M. group of five awarded to Signalman H. E. Tobin, Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve, for the sinking of U-501 south of Greenland by H.M.C.S. Chambly on 10 September 1941

Distinguished Service Medal, G.VI.R. (V.8336 E. H. Tobin, Sgln. H.M.C.S. Chambly); 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Canadian Voluntary Services Medal, with overseas clasp; War Medal, Canadian issue in silver, with small M.I.D. oak leaf, good very fine and very rare (5) £3,000-£4,000

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

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During the Second World War 114 members of the Royal Canadian Navy were awarded the D.S.M., in addition to two Second Award Bars.

D.S.M. London Gazette 3 March 1942: ‘For bravery and enterprise in action against enemy submarines.’

M.I.D. London Gazette 23 March 1942.

Hugh Eugene Tobin was decorated for his services in the corvette H.M.C.S. Chambly in the course of North Atlantic convoy SC. 42 in September 1941, namely a slow convoy of merchantmen from Nova Scotia to Liverpool. It was attacked over an extended period, 16 ships being sunk and four damaged, and as those losses mounted, a call went out to reinforce the convoy’s naval escort. The Far Distant Ships, by Joseph Schull, takes up the story:

‘The order for reinforcements had gone out from the Admiralty, and by nightfall the corvettes Chambly and Moose Jaw were approaching. The two ships had been carrying out a training cruise south of Greenland, and the opportunity to put their training into practice arrived with unusual promptness.

As they came in from ahead of the convoy, Chambly’s lookouts sighted two white rockets well down on the horizon. They were the signal indicating that a ship had been torpedoed. Chambly increased speed and made for the position from which the rockets had come. Moose Jaw was beside her on her starboard beam.

Seventeen minutes after sighting the first rockets two more were seen. One minute later Chambly got a submarine contact on her asdic. She followed the echo for two minutes, then let go her depth charges. Just as she was preparing to fire a second pattern the U-boat surfaced about four hundred yards off Moose Jaw’s port bow and proceeded to run across her course. Moose Jaw opened fire, and was bearing down rapidly on the U-boat when the German stopped his engines, abandoning any attempt to escape.

Moose Jaw ran up alongside to find most of the Nazi crew on deck with their hands up. As the corvette closed, the U-boat captain leaped from his own deck to the deck of the corvette, not even wetting his feet in the process. Moose Jaw sheered off to prevent any further boarding; and as she did do the U-boat got under way again and attempted to cross her bow. The corvette promptly rammed. Some of the Nazi crew made for their forward gun; but a round or two from Moose Jaw’s gun discouraged the attempt.

By now Chambly had come alongside to put a boarding party onto the U-boat. Lieutenant Edward T. Simmons, the officer in command of the party, ordered eleven Germans on the deck to go below. They refused, even at pistol point, which made it obvious the submarine had been scuttled; but the boarding party made a brave attempt at salvage. They went down through the conning tower to the interior to discover that all instruments had been smashed; continued a little further to find the lighting system out of action. Then from beneath them came a warning rush of water and they turned back, but not quite soon enough.

If the boat could have been saved, or even some of its secret equipment recovered, it would have been a valuable prize of war. The risk of investigation was justified; but it was not to be made without cost. With a sudden lurch, the craft began to settle. Most of the boarding party scrambled to safety before it went down, but Stoker William I. Brown was sucked into the swirl and drowned. When the effort to rescue Brown was seen to be hopeless, Chambly and Moose Jaw picked up all eleven of the U-boat’s crew from the water and rejoined the other escorts of the convoy.’

The Far Distant Ships, by Joseph Schull, adds:

‘The U-boat captain was a rarity in the German submarine service. He proclaimed that he had given himself up in order to insist that Moose Jaw rescue his men, but the explanation did not go down well either with friend or foe. When later he offered his hand to his chief quartermaster, it was refused.’