WW2 Royal Navy medals & records Yeoman of Signals Godwin HMS Victorious passport

Royal Navy medals to Yeoman of Signals Godwin, who served in the aircraft carrier H.M.S. Victorious from the Atlantic – Mediterranean – Pacific, fighting the Germans, Italians and Japanese. Post war he served on H.M.S. Whitesand Bay as part of the Palestine Patrol. Whilst he served for 15 years, his first 3 did not count as he was under the age of 18! 1939 – 45 Star, Atlantic Star, Africa Star with clasp NORTH AFRICA 1942 – 43, Pacific Star with clasp PACIFIC (should be BURMA) Defence and War Medals, all unnamed as issued. Naval General Service Medal (G.VI.R.) with clasp PALESTINE 1945 – 48, named D/JX 183648 D.J. GODWIN. L.SIG. R.N. Swing mounted as worn, they come with original Certificate of Service, Conduct sheet, Signal History Sheet, Passport, 2 x photographs and Permanent Pass Singapore 1954. Yeoman of Signals Dennis John Godwin was born in Falmouth, Cornwall in 1925. An errand boy by trade he enlisted into the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class on 26/2/1040. Posted to H.M.S. St. George from April 1940 – 5/8/1941. Followed by H.M.S. Victorious (aircraft carrier) 6/8/1941 – 26/5/1944. From 24 to 30 August 1941, Victorious formed part of the distant escort force for the eight merchant ships of Operation Dervish, the first Arctic convoy of the war as they sailed from Iceland to Arkhangelsk and then covered the aircraft carrier Argus which was delivering Hurricanes to Murmansk. On the return journey, she launched attacks against shipping in Vestfjorden, claiming two merchant ships sunk. On 8 October, she carried out another attack against shipping off Norway, damaging two merchant ships with bombs. The Victorious was ordered to search for and attack the German battleship Tirpitz and on 9 March launched an unsuccessful attack. In the last week of March 1942, she formed part of the covering force for convoy PQ 13 and QP 9. She received significant weather damage from a force 9 gale with 65 ft (20 m) waves buckling the ship’s bow plating and forward bulkheads and requiring a short refit to repair the damage. The Victorious continued to provide cover for Arctic Convoys for the rest April 1942. She took part in operation ‘Pedestal’ providing air cover for the Malta-bound Convoy WS 21S departed Britain on 3/8/1942. On 12/8/1942 she was slightly damaged by an attack from Italian bombers. In November 1942, she was part of the North African landings Operation Torch provided air cover during the landings and made air attacks at Algiers and Fort Duree. In late December 1942, she was loaned to the US Navy arriving at Pearl Harbor in March 1943 and was promptly deployed with the primary role to provide fighter cover. She provided cover for the invasion of New Georgia (part of Operation Cartwheel) and spent the next 28 days continuously in combat operations at sea, a record for a British carrier, launching 614 sorties. She was recalled home in late July, arriving in December 1943 to undergo a refit. His final operation with the Victorious was in April and May 1944 as part of Operation Tungsten, attacking the German battleship Tirpitz in Altafjord, Norway. Whilst it did not sink the Tirpitz, it nevertheless caused the ship serious damage. The Victorious conducted three further attacks on Tirpitz, in April and May. Posted to H.M.S. Eland in Freetown (Sierra Leone) a major port city in the Atlantic Ocean from September 1944 – July 1945. In World War 2 it was the main port of call on the convoy route to and from the Far East, as a signaller he would have been a busy man. He finished the war back at H.M.S. Drake. He was serving on H.M.S. Whitesand Bay (Bay-class anti-aircraft frigate) from 21/9/1946 – 24/9/1948 as part of the Palestine Patrol. She intercepted, board and detained ships carrying illegal Jewish immigrants to Palestine. Boarding ramps and protective nettings were fitted, and special training for boarding parties was carried out. She remained on the Palestine Patrol until March 1948, while based at Haifa. In April, she was sent to Trieste for guardship duties. He was promoted to Yeoman of Signals in 1953 and transferred to the Reserve on 26/1/1955, dying in Southampton in 2011.