WWII Letter. Royal Navy Officer 1940, Killed In Action. German Bombers & RAF.
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:79305 |
*** Please see my other listings for more Active Service military letters.
This is an extremely scarce original Second World War British letter, written in August 1940, shortly after participating in the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk and just before the beginning of the Battle of Britain, by a Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Navy who was later killed in action. This officer received a Mention in Despatches for his service in the Dunkirk ...evacuation. This officer was killed in action on the 1st of September 1940, while serving in the "E" Class destroyer H.M.S. Express (H61).
There is excellent content in this 2 page letter, which was written on the 8th of August 1940. This officer was killed at sea just a few weeks after writing this letter). In May and early June he had participated in the recent Dunkirk evacuation operations, for which he received a Mention in Despatches. He writes in the letter of German aircraft appearing overhead while his ship was laying mines. The German planes appeared to be waiting to be joined by additional bombers, but RAF fighters had appeared and chased the Germans off. There is also content about a friend being wounded in H.M.S. Wren, which had been sunk by German aircraft on 27 July:
"I was very sorry to see that De Courcey was wounded in the 'Wren'. I hope not badly.
We have been very busy again lately, and some tricky job - the usual 'poultry' business. We had a couple of enemy bombers snooping around us, in and out of the clouds, the other day. But they didn't drop any bombs nor come near enough to shoot at. We were expecting their friends to come along, but luckily the next thing we saw were our own fighters, and nothing more of the Huns."
This is a very good letter, written at a crucial point in the war by an officer who was later killed in action at sea.
*** This officer was killed in action on the night of 31 August/1 September 1940, when his destroyer struck a mine while rushing to intercept a force of German ships.
This officer saw a great deal of combat action in the first year of the war, much of it in convoy escort, hunting German U-Boats, and laying mines. He was Mentioned in Despatches for his role in the Dunkirk evacuation, in which H.M.S. Express carried roughly 3, 000 troops to safety. He also fought in an April 1940 surface battle against a German force which included battleships and cruisers, near Narvik, Norway, in support of H.M.S. Renown, while temporarily attached to the destroyer H.M.S. Esk.
This scarce original letter was written by Lieutenant Commander Dennis Worth Deane, Royal Navy, serving in H.M.S. Express (H61), an "E" Class minelaying destroyer which saw a great deal of action in the Second World War. Lieutenant Commander Deane was killed in action on the night of 31 August/1 September 1940, when Express struck a mine while engaged in laying an offensive minefield in the North Sea. Express had her bow blown off and suffered heavy loss of life, including her Captain and Lieutenant Commander Deane, both of whom were on the bridge when the explosion occurred. Two other minelaying destroyers, H.M.S. Ivanhoe and H.M.S. Esk, struck mines as well, H.M.S. Esk exploding when her magazines detonated. Express was towed to England for repairs, which took a full year.
Commander Deane served in H.M.S. Express from the outbreak of war in 1939 until his death in 1940, with the exception of a period in March and April 1940 when he was temporarily attached to H.M.S. Esk, while Express underwent repairs following a collision with a fishing trawler. While aboard H.M.S. Esk Deane fought in a major surface action off Narvik, Norway, supporting the battlecruiser H.M.S. Renown in an action against a strong force of German vessels which included the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, and also the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper and numerous destroyers.
Lieutenant Commander Deane was Mentioned in Despatches on 9 August 1940 for his role in the Dunkirk evacuation (His flotilla commander, Lord Louis Mountbatten, was Mentioned in Despatches in the same order). H.M.S. Express had been one of the first destroyers assigned to the evacuation, and was one of the last two destroyers to leave Dunkirk Harbour with troops aboard on June 4th. Lieutenant Commander Deane's Mention In Despatches was published in the London Gazette in August 1940, just a short time before he was killed.
An excellent original WWII letter, written in 1940, just a few weeks before his death, by an officer in the Royal Navy who saw a great deal of action in the war until he was killed in action at the end of August, 1940. Buyer pays shipping, $3.00 in Canada, $4.00 to the United States, $5.00 International. Immediate payment is required for this listing. I accept Paypal only. Thank you.Please Note: Canadian customers will be required to pay applicable GST/HST on all purchases. Please contact me if you have any questions.
This is an extremely scarce original Second World War British letter, written in August 1940, shortly after participating in the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk and just before the beginning of the Battle of Britain, by a Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Navy who was later killed in action. This officer received a Mention in Despatches for his service in the Dunkirk ...evacuation. This officer was killed in action on the 1st of September 1940, while serving in the "E" Class destroyer H.M.S. Express (H61).
There is excellent content in this 2 page letter, which was written on the 8th of August 1940. This officer was killed at sea just a few weeks after writing this letter). In May and early June he had participated in the recent Dunkirk evacuation operations, for which he received a Mention in Despatches. He writes in the letter of German aircraft appearing overhead while his ship was laying mines. The German planes appeared to be waiting to be joined by additional bombers, but RAF fighters had appeared and chased the Germans off. There is also content about a friend being wounded in H.M.S. Wren, which had been sunk by German aircraft on 27 July:
"I was very sorry to see that De Courcey was wounded in the 'Wren'. I hope not badly.
We have been very busy again lately, and some tricky job - the usual 'poultry' business. We had a couple of enemy bombers snooping around us, in and out of the clouds, the other day. But they didn't drop any bombs nor come near enough to shoot at. We were expecting their friends to come along, but luckily the next thing we saw were our own fighters, and nothing more of the Huns."
This is a very good letter, written at a crucial point in the war by an officer who was later killed in action at sea.
*** This officer was killed in action on the night of 31 August/1 September 1940, when his destroyer struck a mine while rushing to intercept a force of German ships.
This officer saw a great deal of combat action in the first year of the war, much of it in convoy escort, hunting German U-Boats, and laying mines. He was Mentioned in Despatches for his role in the Dunkirk evacuation, in which H.M.S. Express carried roughly 3, 000 troops to safety. He also fought in an April 1940 surface battle against a German force which included battleships and cruisers, near Narvik, Norway, in support of H.M.S. Renown, while temporarily attached to the destroyer H.M.S. Esk.
This scarce original letter was written by Lieutenant Commander Dennis Worth Deane, Royal Navy, serving in H.M.S. Express (H61), an "E" Class minelaying destroyer which saw a great deal of action in the Second World War. Lieutenant Commander Deane was killed in action on the night of 31 August/1 September 1940, when Express struck a mine while engaged in laying an offensive minefield in the North Sea. Express had her bow blown off and suffered heavy loss of life, including her Captain and Lieutenant Commander Deane, both of whom were on the bridge when the explosion occurred. Two other minelaying destroyers, H.M.S. Ivanhoe and H.M.S. Esk, struck mines as well, H.M.S. Esk exploding when her magazines detonated. Express was towed to England for repairs, which took a full year.
Commander Deane served in H.M.S. Express from the outbreak of war in 1939 until his death in 1940, with the exception of a period in March and April 1940 when he was temporarily attached to H.M.S. Esk, while Express underwent repairs following a collision with a fishing trawler. While aboard H.M.S. Esk Deane fought in a major surface action off Narvik, Norway, supporting the battlecruiser H.M.S. Renown in an action against a strong force of German vessels which included the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, and also the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper and numerous destroyers.
Lieutenant Commander Deane was Mentioned in Despatches on 9 August 1940 for his role in the Dunkirk evacuation (His flotilla commander, Lord Louis Mountbatten, was Mentioned in Despatches in the same order). H.M.S. Express had been one of the first destroyers assigned to the evacuation, and was one of the last two destroyers to leave Dunkirk Harbour with troops aboard on June 4th. Lieutenant Commander Deane's Mention In Despatches was published in the London Gazette in August 1940, just a short time before he was killed.
An excellent original WWII letter, written in 1940, just a few weeks before his death, by an officer in the Royal Navy who saw a great deal of action in the war until he was killed in action at the end of August, 1940. Buyer pays shipping, $3.00 in Canada, $4.00 to the United States, $5.00 International. Immediate payment is required for this listing. I accept Paypal only. Thank you.Please Note: Canadian customers will be required to pay applicable GST/HST on all purchases. Please contact me if you have any questions.
