December 10, 2019 Edged Weapon, Armor & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/10/2019
Lot consists of: (A) Khaki cotton knitted sweater, with black leather backed felt lieutenant's slip on shoulder epaulettes. Underside is stamped "Goode's Portsmouth Ltd, Naval Outfitters". (B) Black wool peaked Royal Navy officer's cap with gold bullion and cloth insignia affixed to the hat band, maker stamped to crown "William Scully Ltd. of Montreal". Reverse of the sweatband has been marked with a fountain pen "H E T LAWRENCE
These two items are attributed as having been worn by Royal Navy officer Hal Lawrence in his historic boarding of the crippled U-94 on August 28, 1942. Provenance: TIME-LIFE Collection; The War Museum, New York. On August 28, 1942, in the company of American warships and the corvettes HMS HALIFAX and SNOWBERRY, HMS OAKVILLE was escorting a convoy off Haiti when she attacked U-94. OAKVILLE dropped depth charges to force it to surface, and after bombarding it, rammed the submarine twice. Sub-Lieutenant Hal Lawrence and Petty Officer A.J. Powell leapt onto the deck of the crippled U-94 and headed below. Lawrence went searching for intelligence but the sub had already been prepared for scuttling and was sinking quickly. Lawrence escaped the conning tower just as the vessel sank, and was saved along with Powell and 19 German sailors. He would be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his gallantry. CONDITION: Very good overall. BM