[See Front Cover]

Sold with original Admiralty letter notifying the recipient of the award of his D.S.M. (dated 5.7.1943), and related copy of Admiralty Fleet Orders (dated 1.7.1943), announcing the award.

D.S.M. London Gazette 22.6.1943. Recommendation states 'During this engagement with the enemy this Rating showed complete disregard for his personal safety and manned the starboard twin-Vickers machine-gun to great effect from a completely exposed position. After the action had been broken off a fire started in the Engine Room. As no Officers were immediately available, the Senior Officer [Hichens] being killed and the Commanding Officer and First Lieutenant both wounded, Able Seaman Conroy took complete control and successfully organised the putting out of the fire.

Contact with the enemy was in no small measure due to the skill and keenness with which this Rating operated his Hydrophone and R.D./F. This Rating has played a most important part in every action with the late Lieutenant-Commander R.P. Hichens, D.S.O., D.S.C., R.N.V.R., since July 1942. He has been largely instrumental in bringing units of the 8th M.G.B. Flotilla into action in his capacity as Chief Hydrophone Operator, and also in taking over control of the R.D./F. sets in boats with inexperienced Operators. Lieutenant-Commander R.P. Hichens had the highest opinion of this Rating. It is known that on every occasion, once action had been joined, this Rating has taken over control of secondary armament in the most exposed positions in the boat, when high morale would have the highest effect on younger Gunners'.

Able Seaman Leonard Denis Conroy, D.S.M., joined the crew of Light Coastal Forces legend Lieutenant-Commander Robert Peverell Hichens, D.S.O., D.S.C., R.N.V.R., in July 1942. Over the next ten months he participated in every one of the high speed and intensely violent Channel night actions which "Hitch" so eagerly sought. Four of many such pitched battles, those which brought gallantry awards to Hichens and ultimately to Conroy, are set out below using information from Peter Scott's classic history Battle of the Narrow Seas, and Hichens' wartime and alas unfinished book, We Fought Them in Gunboats. In August 1941, Hichens, a yachtsman since boyhood and the veteran of several death-dealing pre-war motor races, became the first R.N.V.R. Officer to be appointed S.O. of a Coastal Forces Flotilla. Having gained wide experience of E-Boat fighting in the North Sea during that Winter, he was ordered, on Conroy's joining M.G.B. 77 the following Summer, to deal with E-Boats operating with success in a new hunting-ground off the Channel Islands. Quitting H.M.S. Beehive, the Coastal Forces base at Felixstowe, "Hitch" led the new and heavily-armed seventy-one-foot-six Boats of his 8th Flotilla down the coast to the West Country. The following night he was making a quiet 12 knots up the Alderney Race ...

Tanker and Escort Action off Alderney - Night of 14-15 July 1942

"Light bearing green 65, sir"... Enemy in sight. Silently and signlessly the unit fell into line ahead - the fighting formation ... The enemy ships were large Trawlers, clearly visible now, proceeding on a westerly course and making about eight knots. The leading Gun Boat was soon level with the rearmost enemy vessel. She had seen us at last. She was challenging. She could not miss at that range, less than a cable. Neither could we! I pressed the fire buzzer. The next few minutes provided a welter of impressions for me, beginning with a crescendo of noise and light, passing through tense anxiety and ending with stark fear such as I had ever known before. All our guns burst into life. With the gun muzzles a few feet from one's ear, the noise was terrific. Light from the muzzle flashes, and tracer, dazzling and bewildering, the effect most gratifying. That Trawler, hard hit and surprised, scarcely returned the fire at all. We were accelerating now, tending to turn in across her bows towards the other Trawler, when I saw a small Tanker; there were almost certainly more Escort Vessels ahead. But here was our chance, the near escort subdued; the way into the Tanker open and exposed. "We'll depth charge this *******", I shouted to Curtis [the Coxswain]. It was all he needed. He knew what was required of him. I lifted the throttles high as he headed in across her bows. The little Boat leapt forward quivering with unleashed power, her guns projecting streams of brilliant light into the rapidly nearing hull. Head [Number One] was by me now. "Standby to let go port depth charge", I yelled ... The stream of shells hitting the enemy vessel lit up the ship as though she was one of Brock's famous firework images on the last night of Henley. We cleared the enemy's bows by less than ten feet ... but not before we had received a withering blast from the disengaged Escort Vessel just astern and to port of the Tanker, and from the latter herself now almost overhanging us. You could feel the Boat shudder at the blows; shrapnel flew whining in all directions; a dazzling blaze of fire burst forth at my very feet in the Wheelhouse. We had got there. Head had pulled the depth charge release at the exact moment, and a few seconds later the Boat shook to the underwater explosion. It had been a model attack. Just one of those rare occasions when everything goes right. And rare indeed they are!' (We Fought Them in Gunboats refers)

The Tanker, a 1000-tonner, was sunk and her Trawler escorts severely damaged, but so too was Hichens' M.G.B. 77 which suffered severe hull damage, had its forward Pom-Pom knocked out, and was set on fire. The blaze started in the Wheelhouse and set off flares which in turn ignited the Oerlikon magazine. On top of this, five of Conroy's shipmates lay wounded on the decks, one mortally so. For the determined manner in which Hichens pressed home this attack he was awarded a Bar to his D.S.O.

E-Boat Engagement off the Cherbourg Breakwater - Night of 1-2 August 1942

'On the 1 August 1942, four Boats of the 8th Flotilla - "The Estiable Eighth", as it had been named ... set out from Dartmouth on a typical Anti-E-Boat patrol ... Darkness found them reducing speed in a thick belt of fog. It did not look like being a happy patrol. At midnight, however, their spirits rose, for they received a report of E-Boats to the north of Cherbourg making for our coast. Hichens thought quickly. Cherbourg was 65 miles away; they would make for it and lying off, await the enemy's return ... Their luck was in - first the faintest murmur, then the muffled throbbing: they were coming. "Start up". It was a great chance for the Gun Boats. The enemy could not be more than two miles from the breakwater, and they would be going slowly now ... The E-Boats were four in line ahead and scarcely moving, probably awaiting permission to enter harbour ... Altering course slightly to starboard, the Gun Boats came in astern of the enemy, and, beginning with the rear Boat, moved slowly up the line raking each in turn with devastating fire. The Germans were completely and utterly taken by surprise. The German watchers on shore must have found the scene astonishing: its significance was not in fact grasped for eight minutes, during which the Gun Boats slowly circled the unfortunate enemy craft, who made practically no reply. Then the enemy began to wake up. Here is Hichens' own description of what followed:

'Shore Batteries put up innumerable starshell, and 4-inch shells from the Torpedo Boats and other Batteries began to sing by, bursting with brilliant effect. The sight was unforgettable. Pale yellow-green luminosity from the slowly dropping shower of starshells, fierce red, green and yellow streaks of tracer interlacing in fantastic patterns, vivid splodges of light where the big shells were bursting; roar of engines, rash and stutter of guns; the almost silent motionless line of E-Boats, glittering white in the artificial radiance and seemingly strangely helpless in their immobility; the dark line of the breakwater spitting bright flashes of flame irregularly, viciously, up and down the line, like a razed xylophonist striking his keys wildly and at random; the cautiously approaching towering hulls of two Torpedo Boats lit brightly by the occasional bursts of our 2-pounder shells on their sides, still obviously puzzled, but flashes from their guns gaining in momentum as they closed ...'

For 12 minutes Hichens had dominated the situation, but many of the guns were falling silent with stoppages, as the pace of the action began to tell. The moment had come to make a get-away, and he took it ... "It was a full ten minutes", says Hichens, "before the enemy appreciated our absence. To our unbounded delight the battle still raged behind us". Four miles away, the M.G.Bs paused in the friendly dark to count the cost and enjoy the fun. They had two casualties - neither serious, a few holes in the Boats, two of which were leaking forward: that was all. They had got off as lightly as they deserved. Looking back, they could see a distant glow in the sky which resolved itself into two bright pillars of fire and a cheer went up from the Gun Boats. Two of the enemy craft were well and truly on fire. Hichens guessed that the enemy would be angered by this assault upon his very doorstep. The measure of his anger was clearly demonstrated by the broadcast from Breslau, given out in English at 11.30 p.m. on the 2 August:

"This evening in its nine o'clock News Service the B.B.C. gave a totally false account of the naval engagement which took place in the Channel last night. It stated that two German Motor Torpedo Boats had been sunk and added the absurd allegation that the Germans had opened fire on their own ships. The facts were clearly stated in today's German war communiqué, in which it was reported that off the French coast German Patrol Boats were engaged with British E-Boats and Gun Boats. It is probable that two of the British E-Boats were sunk, and it was observed that several further British craft suffered hits. None of the German vessels was either sunk or damaged. From the prominent place given to this item in the B.B.C's News Service it is evident that the British Government is experiencing the greatest difficulty in discovering material upon which even false tales of success can be based"' (Battle of the Narrow Seas refers).

To the general satisfaction of the Flotilla, Conroy's Skipper received his second Mention in Despatches.

Convoy Interception - Night of 14-15 September 1942

In early September 1942 Hichens left Dartmouth and returned with the 8th Flotilla to Felixstowe to operate once again in the North Sea. A few nights later when hunting a patrol of four Flak Trawlers in a 'certain vicinity', Conroy and other Hydrophone Operators detected the presence a yet greater prize:

'Presently we sighted ships. It is hard to convey the thrill of such a moment. To know that the enemy is near, that you can intercept, that he is unaware of the surprise in store for him. The stealthy tracking down, the Gun Boats stealing along, subdued, held in leash, in close line ahead. The first glimpse of black shapes, blacker than the surrounding darkness. "Enemy red 45". The tensely awaited signal! To kill, or be killed. A situation stimulating and logical in its simplicity ... There were two hulls visible at first, out ahead of anything else, heading for the land, now less than two miles distant. We closed, gathering speed. A blue light flashed, challenging us. They challenged again, and yet a third time. That was all we wanted. We were right in close by now, about 200 yards, where we could not miss these slow moving hulls. Then the guns spoke. In the event it turned out to be a small convoy. Due to the fact that we intercepted it so close to the harbour mouth, the Merchant vessels were ahead of the Escort Trawlers, and we were able to wreak much havoc before they came up and the action became less one-sided. We disengaged 15 minutes later with a number of holes in our Boats, a few minor casualties, and three guns still working, but cheerful and well pleased with ourselves. The enemy had been considerably damaged, and remarkably scared. They always hated it when they thought they were as good as home' (We Fought Them in Gunboats refers).

For this highly successful affair Hichens received a Second Bar to his D.S.C.

The Last Fight - Night of 12-13 April 1943

By the Spring of 1943 "Hitch's" share of luck was all but exhausted. On the night 12-13 April, Conroy was aboard M.G.B. 112 as part of a force of four M.G.Bs acting as close escort for Minelaying M.Ls. Peter Scott recorded:

'It was a routine job which was not especially likely to lead to action, but Flak Trawlers and "Gun Coasters" had recently been interfering with the operations of our Coastal Forces in that area, and Hichens, whose orders gave him a free hand on completion of the minelay, was determined to seek out, attack, and beat up any such patrols that he could find. As the M.Ls were finishing their job, a green flashing light was sighted and as soon as he was free, Hichens set off to discover its origin. He was embarked that night in the Boat [M.G.B. 112] commanded by Lieutenant D.C. Sidebottom, who had lately joined his Flotilla. A long stalk ensued, a stealthy approach was made, and finally the enemy was recognised as a Trawler and a ship of a different type, probably a Dutch Schuyt, a number of which had recently been converted by the addition of a heavy armament into what had become known as "Gun Coasters". The M.G.Bs effected complete surprise, creeping up on the enemy's port quarter until the range was no more than 100 yards. Then suddenly they increased speed and opened fire simultaneously, running past two German ships on a parallel course. The gunnery was accurate and a large explosion was seen to blow the engine-room hatch off the Trawler. Hichens remarked on this to Sidebottom as they began to draw ahead, but the enemy was still firing back. Most of his shooting was wild, but suddenly as the leading Boat turned away to reload for her next run, a stray and solitary burst of cannon shell came directly in at the back of her Bridge. Hichens was killed instantly ...' (Battle of the Narrow Seas refers).

Conroy, who played such a vital role following his Flotilla Commander's demise, as outlined in his original Recommendation, was awarded the D.S.M. Hichens received a third and posthumous Mention in Despatches.