Lot Essay
Sold with a quantity of original documents and one or two photographs, the former including a Certificate for Hurts and Wounds (dated 11.10.1937) and an R.N.V.R. Certificate of Service for the period 1958-70; together with a metalled boxing trophy, with inscribed silver plaque, 'A.W.I. Novices Light Heavyweight, Runner-Up, Alan P. Smales, H.M.S. Ajax'.
Petty Officer Mechanic Allan Patrick Smales was born in Ramsgate, Kent in May 1919 and entered the Royal Navy in May 1937, his first seagoing appointment being the Cruiser H.M.S. Ajax. Documentation accompanying the Lot would suggest that he was still aboard her during the Battle of the River Plate, when he served as part of No. 3 Fire Party. No verification has been traced, however, for him having been Mentioned in Despatches. Smales left the R.N. in May 1949 and served for many years as a Reservist.
Petty Officer Mechanic Allan Patrick Smales was born in Ramsgate, Kent in May 1919 and entered the Royal Navy in May 1937, his first seagoing appointment being the Cruiser H.M.S. Ajax. Documentation accompanying the Lot would suggest that he was still aboard her during the Battle of the River Plate, when he served as part of No. 3 Fire Party. No verification has been traced, however, for him having been Mentioned in Despatches. Smales left the R.N. in May 1949 and served for many years as a Reservist.