Description
Object description
Jacket, No 5 Dress: Lieutenant (Engineering) Royal Navy
Physical description
Double-breasted No. 5 Undress jacket of dark blue wool featuring an open collar with wide peaked lapels, left breast horizontal slash pocket, two horizontal skirt slash pockets and two rear vents. To the front of the jacket are two rows of four gilt Royal Navy Officer pattern (King's Crown) buttons. Internally, the jacket is fully lined with a dark silk material and there is one horizontal slash pocket on the inside right.
The cuffs are decorated with two gold lace rank stripes, the upper with circular 'eye' decoration, and separated by a single light of dark maroon (Engineering) branch of service colour. To the top left are three medal ribbons, indicating the award of the following medals: 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star (with rosette fitted, indicating qualification for the award of the France & Germany Star); Italy Star.
History note
This jacket was worn by Lieutenant (Engineering) P G Andrews on active service during the Second World War;
Peter 'Andy' Andrews initially began his war service by joining the Royal Engineers in September 1939 and was placed on the Army Reserve, however his career in khaki was short-lived as by August the following year he was released and commissioned into the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. He was first assigned to Whitehall in an Admiralty Department on miscellaneous weapons development, but by April of 1941 he was posted to Clydeside, where he undertook six months intensive naval engineering training at the John Brown Shipyard. There he gained his Watchkeeping Certificate and the authorisation to adopt straight gold rank stripes (by convention wartime enlisted, or "hostilities only" engineering officers were distinguished by wearing either RNR interwoven stripes (former merchant navy), or RNVR wavy stripes (ex-civilian).
In late October 1941 Sub-Lieutenant (E) Andrews, RNVR, joined HMS EDINBURGH with the Home Fleet at Scapa Flow, then patrolling in northern waters, and later on with convoys to Russia (the ship was torpedoed by U-456 on 30 April, north of Murmansk, while part of convoy QP-11 and later attacked again on 2 May by three destroyers. The ship sustained a third torpedo hit and the damage was such that she was scuttled. The survivors were taken to Russia and later repatriated).
On July 27th Andrews joined the ships company of HMS BELFAST, then refitting at Devonport (the ship had undergone extensive repairs since striking a mine in November 1939 and was fitted with improved weapons, radar and armour). In November BELFAST went back to war, escorting Arctic convoys to Northern Russia throughout 1943, and on 26th December participated in the sinking of the SCHARNHORST in the Battle of the Northern Cape. During Operation OVERLORD, Lieutenant (E) Andrews was on board when HMS BELFAST sailed for Normandy, a part of the supporting armada, bombarding German positions off GOLD Beach. Andrews remained with the ship whilst it remained off JUNO Beach following the landings and proceeded with her to Tyneside for refitting for future operational service in South East Asia.
In October Andrews was posted to HMS OAKLEY as Engineer Officer, and joined that ship on 14th November at Brindisi, via Cairo, where the ship later covered minesweeping operations in the Eastern Mediterranean in the Gulf of Athens (in support of Operation MANNA – the re-occupation of the Greek mainland). In December OAKLEY was nominated for service in the Indian Ocean, after a refit in England, but was temporarily assigned to 21st Destroyer Flotilla after arrival (extensive E-boat and submarine activity in January 1945 required added protection for troop and supply convoys to the continent). By March the proposed refit for the East Indies was suspended, although begun at Portsmouth, the ship was assigned to Taranto, the refitting to continue when docked. The strategic situation changing, in late August OAKLEY returned to Portsmouth and post-decommissioning was handed to the Reserve Fleet in the Portsmouth Sound. Temporary Lieutenant (E) Anderson left the ship in February 1946 and joined HMS RANEE as Senior Engineer on March 1st, where after refitting with a boiler she proceeded to Singapore as a troop transport. Returning to the UK in June, Andrews was released from service on 11th August.
Inscription
SW Silver & Co.
(Silver & Edgington Ltd)
LONDON
PORTSMOUTH, LIVERPOOL & HOVE
ENG. LIEUT. P.G. ANDREWS
- OG. '44 R.N.