A group of medals awarded to Lance Sergeant Donald Charles Randall, who took part in Operation Chariot, one of the most pivotal operations in World War II, are to be sold in the Militaria and Ethnographica Sale at Tennants Auctioneers on 19th March (estimate: £6,000-8,000 plus buyer’s premium). The medals comprise a Distinguished Conduct Medal, a 1939-45 Star, a 1939-45 War Medal and Efficiency Medal with Territorial Suspender, and are sold together with Randall’s ID tags, cap, beret, webbing belt, uniform badges and insignia as well as letters and telegrams relating to him being missing in action, being a prisoner of war and further items of interest. Donald Randall of the Cameron Highlanders, attached to No.2 Commandos.
Operation Chariot was a daring British commando raid during World War II, carried out on 28th March 1942. Its objective was to destroy the heavily fortified dry dock at St. Nazaire, France, which was used by Nazi Germany’s battleship Tirpitz. The raid aimed to prevent the Tirpitz from using the dock for repairs and resupply, thereby disrupting German naval operations in the Atlantic.
The operation involved 611 men from the British Royal Navy, Royal Engineers, and the 2nd Special Service Brigade. They sailed from the UK on a converted destroyer, HMS Campbeltown, which was packed with explosives. The plan was to ram the Campbeltown into the dock gate, causing a massive explosion. Meanwhile, other commandos were tasked with attacking German positions and destroying vital infrastructure.
Despite encountering strong German resistance, the raid succeeded in its primary objective: Campbeltown rammed the dock gate, and the subsequent explosion severely damaged it, rendering it unusable for the Germans for the rest of the war. However, the raid came at a heavy cost. Of the 611 men, 169 were killed, and 215 were captured. Many of the survivors were taken prisoner, but the operation was deemed a success due to its strategic impact on the German navy.
Operation Chariot remains a remarkable example of bravery and audacity, highlighting the commitment to disrupting enemy operations at any cost. Randall was shot during the operation and was one of the 215 to be captured. One of the bullets included with this lot was found trapped in his belt after the raid when it fell to the floor in the lavatory after he was taken prisoner. In his memoirs "September 1939 to the Raid on St Nazaire, and After: a Commando's Account", which was written largely for his son's benefit, he recalls that he had been "hit and spun off his feet" during the land-based assault.
Further lots with World War II interest include a rare Second World War Mimeographed Field Order, announcing the ceasefire in North Western Europe (estimate: £800-900), two Second World War Child’s Gas Masks in Teddy Bear Cases (estimates: £400-600 and £400-500), and a Collection of Second World War Polish Medals and Badges, which includes Monte Cassino Crosses. Also on offer is a very rare Officer’s Private Purchase Pritchard-Greener Revolver Bayonet No.49 (estimate: £1,000-1,500). Made for a Webley Mk.VI service revolver circa 1916, the bayonet was designed in 1916 by Lieutenant Arthur Pritchard of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment, for use with the British Army's standard issue Webley Mark VI service revolver. It was inspired by Pritchard's experiences of trench-warfare in Flanders where he had been serving since 1915.It had been rejected by The Wilkinson Sword Company, so Pritchard took his design to the Birmingham gunsmiths, W.W. Greener, who manufactured it by modifying surplus obsolete M1874 Gras bayonets. The company produced two versions, one with a steel hilt, and the other with a brass hilt. The bayonet never became standard issue and only 200 are thought to have been produced privately on request.
Notable, too is a rare Early 19th Century Repeating Air Rifle/Shotgun by Staudenmayer, London, 1802 (estimate: £3,500-4,500), and a Collection of Helmet Plates and Badges to the Northumberland Fusiliers.
View Sale Details
