Major’s raid was real Boy’s Own tale

THE medals of a D-Day hero whose exploits were immortalised in an adventure comic are now up for sale.

Major Austin “Bobby” Joyce led a daring raid on a heavily-defended Nazi farmhouse which ended in the capture of 26 German troops.

After his platoon came under fire he ran towards the building, shot a gunner at the window and threw a hand grenade through it. He and his platoon encircled the house and took 26 prisoners.

He was awarded the Military Medal for the March 1945 raid, dramatised in the July 8, 1972 edition of The Victor.

The citation for his medal says: “The speed, resourcefulness and determination of Lance Sgt Joyce’s action undoubtedly saved the company many casualties and largely contributed to the success of the attack.”

Austin Joyce from Wakefield, West Yorks, enlisted in the West Yorkshire Regiment in 1942 aged 19. He was believed to have served in the Pacific before transferring to the Welsh Guards in 1943. He was posted to the 1st Battalion where he was made a noncommissioned officer.

They came ashore at Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944, and fought their way through northern France before reaching Germany. There Major Joyce led the farmhouse raid in a village near Essen. After the war he was stationed in Palestine until 1948. He later served in Japan, Germany, the Arabian Peninsula and Northern Ireland, attaining the rank of major. He was awarded an MBE in 1952 for his service to the Guards Depot at Pirbright in Surrey. His gallantry medals and MBE are tipped to fetch £5,000 at auction next month through Spink & Son in Central London.

Marcus Budgen of Spink & Son said: “The story of Major Joyce is really a Boy’s Own tale you cannot help but warm to.” HONOUR Getting his MBE in 1952