£ 15k for the medals of naval hero who halted his supper to sink the Bismarck
THE bravery medals of a naval commander who broke off from eating cheese on toast to help sink the Bismarck have sold for almost £ 15,000.
Rear Admiral Alfred Phillips was having his supper in his cabin on HMS Norfolk on May 26, 1941 when the signal was received that the feared German battleship had been spotted.
He put his meal to one side and steered through the fog at breakneck speed towards the 42,000- ton vessel that had just sunk HMS Hood, the pride of the British fleet.
The Bismarck fired five salvos which sent the water 200ft into the air before the Norfolk scurried back into the fog to take refuge.
After briefly regrouping, the Norfolk fought back against the Bismarck with its 8in guns, as reinforcements arrived from the HMS Rodney, HMS King George V and HMS Dorsetshire.
Between them they fired nearly 3,000 shells at the Bismarck as it attempted to reach the Nazi- occupied port of Brest in France.
The next day it was finished off and sunk with the loss of more than 2,000 men. Days earlier, Bismarck had sunk the Hood, killing 1,415 of its crew, prompting Winston Churchill’s famous order to “sink the Bismarck”.
The hero’s medals included the Distinguished Service Order; 1914- 15 Star; British War and Victory Medals; 1939- 45 Star; Atlantic Star; Defence and War
Medals 1939- 45; Jubilee 1935 and Coronation 1937.
They were sold with Londonbased auctioneer Dix Noonan Webb for £ 14,880.
Deputy chairman Nimrod Dix said: “Anything concerned with the sinking of the Bismarck will always attract a good deal of attention.”