MEDALS & COINS, ARMS & ARMOUR

The final days of May 1940 were a time of acute crisis for the British people, at every level of society: from the soldiers of the British Expeditionary Force defending their dwindling foothold on the European continent in the face of the Nazi onslaught, to the new Prime Minister Winston Churchill supporting a colossal weight of responsibility while defeatism within his own cabinet threatened to undermine him.

But a British capitulation would have had dire consequences far beyond Britain itself. It would have left Adolph Hitler the uncontested master of Europe, with no enemies among the major world powers. It is impossible to say what would have happened next, but without a Naval Blockade of Germany, without British and Commonwealth Forces fighting the Axis in North Africa, without the aerial bombardment of German industry and infrastructure, and without so many of the other commitments and distractions that characterised the following years, the Nazis could have turned on their Soviet allies at a time of their choosing, and with far greater concentration of resources than was in fact the case. The chances of American intervention in Europe would have dwindled, and in any case there would have been no British Isles from which to launch such an intervention.

The successful evacuation from Dunkirk, by the Royal Navy supported by civilian vessels, of the majority of the British Expeditionary Force transformed this situation. Talk of surrender was silenced, and Britain remained in the war.

One man who played a key role in these events is represented by the medals illustrated here. Lieutenant Robert Bill, Royal Navy, was sent to Dunkirk from Dover in charge of six trawlers, tasked with assisting with the organisation of evacuation ships and the embarking of soldiers under circumstances of great danger and difficulty. During the most intense phase of the German aerial bombardment his physical courage and professionalism enabled him to perform remarkable feats in keeping the evacuation moving. Among other things, his presence of mind and keen maritime instincts ensured the removal from the pier of the stricken destroyer Grenade, moments before she exploded. At one point he became more intimately involved on-shore when, in support of the piermaster Commander Jack Clouston R.N., he was obliged to maintain order among the waiting soldiers with a drawn revolver.

Lieutenant Bill’s was rightly decorated for his “fine display of officer-like qualities and gallantry under fire”, and his Distinguished Service Order and campaign medals will be offered in our May 17th auction of Medals & Coins, Arms & Armour – a remarkable tangible link to those desperate days when the fate of the free world hung in the balance.

Ned Cowell

+44 (0)1722 341469 | nc@woolleyandwallis.co.uk

Opposite: The Operation Dynamo D.S.O. group of seven awards to Lieutenant Robert Bill, R.N Estimate £2,000–3,000