WW2 soldier's Distinguished Service Order for gallantry during fall of France heads to auction

DSO group and family medals archive to be sold on Wednesday 26th March

THE medals of a brave soldier whose service during the fall of France in 1940 earned him one of the highest military awards for gallantry are going to auction in the Midlands.

The ‘significant’ family collection, which includes the Distinguished Service Order awarded to Major Harold Henry Merton plus papers, original photographs and certificates, goes under the hammer with Richard Winterton Auctioneers on Wednesday, March 26.

A veteran of two world wars, career soldier Merton was unaware of his DSO for half a decade as he was captured following the British surrender to Major-General Erwin Rommel at Saint-Valery-en-Caux on June 12 1940.

He endured five years as a prisoner of war and only learned of his award for gallantry in the Battle of France when he was finally freed at the end of WW2.

Instituted by Queen Victoria in 1886, the Distinguished Service Order is second only to the Victoria Cross and is awarded for operational gallantry typically during combat.

Major Merton entered World War Two with the British Expeditionary Force in 1940 attached to the 23rd Field Artillery regiment.

Whilst in France the unit became attached to the 51st Highland Division under the command of Major General Sir Victor Morven Fortune.

They came under attack by Rommel’s Panzer units around Chartres in early June, and the race to withdraw ended with the 51st Division force setting up a defensive perimeter around the Channel port of Saint-Valery-en-Caux.

Despite a desperate battle to hold out so Allied shipping could rescue troops, amid terrible casualties and running out of ammunition, Fortune decided to surrender.

Along with approximately 8,000 troops, Merton and Fortune and other officers were taken into captivity.

The two were later moved to OFLAG VII C Laufen Castle where they were treated reasonably well, as attested by an archive image of Merton, Fortune and others posing around a game of curling.

Merton would go on to be held at Spangenburg Bei Cassel before finally being freed at the end of hostilities.

On his return to the UK he learned he had been awarded the DSO for actions in and around Saint-Valery-en-Caux between June 10 and 12 1940 during the Battle of France.

Merton had been listed as missing in action/POW since July 1940.

His Distinguished Service Order was awarded for ‘recognition of gallant and distinguished services in the field’ shortly before his capture.

“Despite extensive research with official Armed Forces sources, no copy of the citation has been found so we can’t be more specific of the circumstances which led to the award of the DSO,” said Nick Thompson, medals and militaria consultant with Richard Winterton Auctioneers.

“Awarded when the Victoria Cross would not be appropriate, the DSO was instituted in 1886 and is highly regarded by collectors.”

Merton’s professionally mounted medals in the auction are the British War and Victory medals named to Captain HH Merton; India General Service medal with North West Frontier Bar 1936-37 correctly named Captain HH Merton; Distinguished Service Order, dated on reverse suspension bar 1945; the 1939-45 Star; the France and Germany Star; and WW2 War Medal.

The medals are accompanied by Merton’s original certificate of commission as a 2nd lieutenant in 1915, his DSO box and award scroll, framed dress side cap and post-war photographs with Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery.

They go under the hammer at The Tamworth Auction Rooms at 34-35 Church Street, B79 7BX, on Wednesday, March 26.

The auction starts at 9.30am and viewing takes place the day before, Tuesday, 25th March, 10am-4pm, with the catalogue expected to be released online a week before the sale.

Mr Thompson added: “The Harold Merton group is further enhanced by three watercolours in a frame which were painted by a fellow prisoner of war, a letter received by Merton after WW2 from Lieutenant General Sir Brian Horrocks, other documentation and Royal Artillery metal insignia.

“There are also colour photos taken by Merton when he returned to Germany some years later to visit Laufen Castle and an aged copy of the large format book The Prisoners’ Progress.”

Also included in the same lot are medals to Merton’s son Richard and brother Leslie.

Born in India in 1933 whilst his father was serving in the 63rd Field Battery Royal Artillery, Richard Henry Merton went on to become a 2nd lieutenant with the 9th Devonshire Regiment and was awarded the Africa General Service Medal for service in Kenya.

He later joined the Parachute Regiment.

Going under the hammer are the boxed medal, correctly named to 2nd Lt R H Merton Devons, alongside original Devon Regiment, Parachute Regiment and other insignia together with his Parachute Beret, complete with badge and dated 1958, plus patches and photos.

Also included is a framed group of miniature WW2 medals to his uncle, Harold Merton’s brother Leslie Hugh Merton, who served with the 48th Royal Tank Regiment (RAC) during WW2 and was squadron quartermaster sergeant when he left the Army in 1949.

The miniature set comprises the 1939-45 Star, the Africa Star with 1st Army bar, the Italy Star, Defence Medal, War Medal and Territorial Efficiency Medal.

The entire Merton family archive is expected to fetch upwards of £4,000.

“The is the fascinating story of three men’s service in a variety of theatres of war, with different ranks, all valued members of our British Army from 1915 through to the 1950s,” added Mr Thompson.

“This significant archive is supported by photos, both framed and loose, insignia and a considerable amount of research, obtained online and personally, from a multitude of sources over the past three months.”

The collection has been consigned to auction by the family, who hope the medals ‘go to someone who can appreciate them and look after them as they should be’.

Originally from the London area, Harold Merton was born on June 22 1898 and was commissioned into the Army as 2nd lieutenant in the Royal Artillery on October 27 1915.

In 1916 he went to the Balkans to serve in the WW1 Salonika campaign and by 1918 had risen in rank to lieutenant and then captain.

After the war, Merton stayed in the Army, married and went to serve in the 63rd Field Battery Royal Artillery in India, where son Richard was born in 1933.

Following the family’s return from India, Merton was promoted to major in 1937 and served as part of the British Expeditionary Force which left for France in 1939 at the start of World War Two.

He stayed in the Army after being freed as a prisoner of war and was attached to the Royal Artillery Training Regiment in Oswestry, where he was pictured with Field Marshal Montgomery in April 1947.

Merton retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1956.

The sale takes place on Wednesday, March 26, from 9.30am at The Tamworth Auction Rooms, 34-35 Church Street, Tamworth, Staffordshire B79 7BX.

The catalogue can be viewed online a week before the auction via our Auction Calendar and viewing in person takes place the day before the sale, Tuesday, 25th March, from 10am-4pm.

For more information, or to arrange a free valuation of military items at Tamworth, telephone 01827 217746 or email tamworth@richardwinterton.co.uk.

Nick Thompson offers free valuations of medals and militaria by appointment at The Lichfield Auction Centre, Wood End Lane, Fradley Park, with the next on Tuesday, March 25 – to book, email office@richardwinterton.co.uk or telephone 01543 251081.