Description
Physical description
Double-breasted jacket of dark blue woollen cloth, featuring an open peaked collar, front fastening of four rows of two gilt Merchant Navy pattern buttons, horizontal slash pocket to the left breast, two horizontal slash pockets to the skirt and two rear vents. Internally, the jacket is fully-lined in black rayon and there is a horizontal slash pocket to the upper right side.
Sewn above the breast pocket are the medal ribbon bars for the following awards: British War Medal 1914-1920; Mercantile Marine War Medal; Victory Medal 1914-1919. Directly below these are sewn the medal ribbon bars for the following awards (sewn on by his daughter at a later date): War Medal 1939-1945; Atlantic Star; Africa Star; 1939-1945 Star. Around either cuff is sewn the gold rank lace insignia of Merchant Marine Captain, being four stripes, with the middle two stripes interlocking to form a diamond.
History note
Part of the uniform worn by Captain Leslie Anderson of the Merchant Navy during the Second World War.
History note
43 year old Leslie Anderson was the Master of the SS Baron Kinnaird when it was torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-621 in the Atlantic on 12 March 1943, with all hands lost. The ship had been part of convoy ON(S)-169 under the command of Rear Admiral J Powell DSO, sailing from Liverpool to North America, but lost contact with the convoy during a severe storm on 27-28 February. U-621, under the command of Kapitanleutnant Max Kruschka, made contact with the lone ship on 10 March, firing five torpedoes, four of which missed and one which hit but did not sink the ship. U-621 briefly lost contact with the Baron Kinnaird but located it again the next day, firing four more torpedoes, two of which hit and caused the ship to sink the following morning. Anderson was survived by a wife and two children, with his daughter Daphne later noting that their 'lives fell apart' and 'would never be the same again'. Anderson had previously survived a torpedoeing only a few months before on 28 December 1942, when his ship, the SS Baron Cochrane (part of Convoy ONS 154), was torpedoed by U-406. On this occasion, all but 2 of the 44 man crew were rescued, and Anderson was later commended for brave conduct in the London Gazette on 6 July 1943.