Lot Essay
D.S.M. London Gazette, 2.1.1945. Recommendation states 'On the night of 27-28 August 1944, M.T.B. 450 suffered severe splinter damage from a large calibre shell which smashed the exhaust pipes and fractured the water cooling system, causing a fire in the compartment. Acting Chief Petty Officer Poffley extinguished the fire himself and in spite of flames and great heat from the exhaust pipes bound the holes with canvas and rigged a jury cooling system with rubber piping. He worked with great courage up to his waist in water and ignoring the pain from burns received from the exhaust pipes. Through his resourcefulness, the temporary repairs were effective and the ship kept in action throughout the night'.
Acting Chief Petty Officer Motor Mechanic Geoffrey Poffley, D.S.M., a Nottinghamshire man, was invested with his Decoration at Buckingham Palace on 6.3.1945. At the time of award, he was serving in 35th M.T.B. Flotilla, Portsmouth Command, his Captain, the very gallant Lieutenant J.D. Dixon, R.N.V.R., being the S.O. of the Flotilla and ultimately the holder of three D.S.Cs. In Battle of the Narrow Seas, Peter Scott describes the last week of August 1944 as 'the most dramatic period which Coastal Forces ever had in the Narrow Seas' and, more specifically, refers to the activities of M.T.B. 450:
'On the following night [24-25.8.1944] the battle was continued if anything more fiercely than before ... Once again the round began with diversionary E-Boats which were chased by M.T.Bs under Lieutenant Dixon. As usual, they retired at high speed and finally joined the convoy which was forming up outside Fecamp. With the Frigate H.M.S. Thornborough in support, the M.T.Bs moved south to attack this convoy. Dixon found one large and two small Coasters with the E-Boats in company about 400 yards off shore and leading westward towards Le Havre. Under the bright glare of starshells and constant fire from the Shore Batteries, he engaged the enemy for ten minutes, setting one Coaster on fire and damaging an E-Boat. Under the cover of this diversion, the Fighting French Destroyer La Combattante was able to creep in on the convoy undetected. At 3000 yards Captaine de Corvette A. Patou, D.S.C., Free French Navy, gave the order to open fire. The time was half past two in the morning of 26 August. Two Coasters were set on fire at once, while a third blew up a quarter of an hour later. Patou kept up his attacks for three-quarters of an hour, at the end of which he had sunk two more ships and an E/R-Boat, and yet another beached itself off Iport. All that remained was one T.L.C. and one large R-Boat of the new type with a funnel. These two turned back towards Fecamp, but Lieutenant Shaw, with a unit of three boats, moved in to intercept and cut off their retreat. He fired six torpedoes and sank them both - the relief convoy had been wiped out'.
'On the following night [27-28.8.1944] the final remnant of German shipping sailed from Le Havre to the north-eastward, after filling the harbour with mines as they had done at Cherbourg. It was attacked by Dixon with three M.T.Bs and Patou with La Combattante set another on fire and damaged a fourth'.
It is interesting to speculate whether Poffley was still with Lieutenant Dixon on the night of 6-7.4.1945, when in a 'very brilliant action', the Flotilla accounted for two E-Boats for no loss.
Acting Chief Petty Officer Motor Mechanic Geoffrey Poffley, D.S.M., a Nottinghamshire man, was invested with his Decoration at Buckingham Palace on 6.3.1945. At the time of award, he was serving in 35th M.T.B. Flotilla, Portsmouth Command, his Captain, the very gallant Lieutenant J.D. Dixon, R.N.V.R., being the S.O. of the Flotilla and ultimately the holder of three D.S.Cs. In Battle of the Narrow Seas, Peter Scott describes the last week of August 1944 as 'the most dramatic period which Coastal Forces ever had in the Narrow Seas' and, more specifically, refers to the activities of M.T.B. 450:
'On the following night [24-25.8.1944] the battle was continued if anything more fiercely than before ... Once again the round began with diversionary E-Boats which were chased by M.T.Bs under Lieutenant Dixon. As usual, they retired at high speed and finally joined the convoy which was forming up outside Fecamp. With the Frigate H.M.S. Thornborough in support, the M.T.Bs moved south to attack this convoy. Dixon found one large and two small Coasters with the E-Boats in company about 400 yards off shore and leading westward towards Le Havre. Under the bright glare of starshells and constant fire from the Shore Batteries, he engaged the enemy for ten minutes, setting one Coaster on fire and damaging an E-Boat. Under the cover of this diversion, the Fighting French Destroyer La Combattante was able to creep in on the convoy undetected. At 3000 yards Captaine de Corvette A. Patou, D.S.C., Free French Navy, gave the order to open fire. The time was half past two in the morning of 26 August. Two Coasters were set on fire at once, while a third blew up a quarter of an hour later. Patou kept up his attacks for three-quarters of an hour, at the end of which he had sunk two more ships and an E/R-Boat, and yet another beached itself off Iport. All that remained was one T.L.C. and one large R-Boat of the new type with a funnel. These two turned back towards Fecamp, but Lieutenant Shaw, with a unit of three boats, moved in to intercept and cut off their retreat. He fired six torpedoes and sank them both - the relief convoy had been wiped out'.
'On the following night [27-28.8.1944] the final remnant of German shipping sailed from Le Havre to the north-eastward, after filling the harbour with mines as they had done at Cherbourg. It was attacked by Dixon with three M.T.Bs and Patou with La Combattante set another on fire and damaged a fourth'.
It is interesting to speculate whether Poffley was still with Lieutenant Dixon on the night of 6-7.4.1945, when in a 'very brilliant action', the Flotilla accounted for two E-Boats for no loss.