The Second World War U-Boat destruction group...

The Second World War U-Boat destruction group of six medals to Chief Petty Officer Edward Charles Parvin, Royal Navy, who served in H.M.S. Vanoc when she took part in the destruction of two U-Boats commanded by German 'Aces': Naval General Service Medal 1909-62, George VI, clasp: Palestine 1936-1939 (J.113113 E. C. PARVIN. L.S. R.N.); 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Africa Star, with North Africa 1942-43 clasp; War Medal 1939-45, with oak leaf emplem; Royal Navy Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, George VI (J.113113 E. C. PARVIN. C.P.O. H,M.S. VANOC.); unmounted and with much original packaging, about extremely fine, [6]; with an associated Defence Medal; and together with a fine archive of original documents including the recipient's Record of Service, his Mention in Despatches certificate, portrait photographs, newpaper cuttings, and other items; also offered with this lot, a German 'Nicht oeffnen' and a cook's knife - both trophies of one of the U-Boats that the destroyer H.M.S. Vanoc sunk in co-operation with H.M.S. Walker in March 1941; and a cased canteen of flatware purported to have been taken from H.M.S. Hood, in which ship the recipient had previouly served .

By decent

Early in the morning of Sunday, 16th March 1941, in the mid-Atlantic, H.M.S. Vanoc - a destroyer of First World War vintage - rammed and sank German submarine U-100 which had earlier been damaged by depth charges from Vanoc and H.M.S. Walker. Shortly afterwards Vanoc and Walker also depth-charged U-99, and opened fire with their deck guns when she surfaced causing the captain to scuttle her. Both submarines had been commanded by U-boat Aces: U-100 under Kapitänleutnant Joachim Schepke, who perished; U-99 by Fregattenkapitän Otto Kretschmer, who was captured.