Who else deserved and missed out on an award.

[turbroprop]

With the current debate about awards. Got me thinking who else had a rum deal.

Obvious one is Captain Eric Brown.

Less obvious is LAC Reynolds (12 Sqn) May 1940.

[Pontius Navigator]

Tp, and those are known names. There are hundreds of thousands of other war heroes.

Giving a captain the DSO for leadership ignores the hundred of followers that chose to follow. My father in law risked his life to save others when his ship sank. His exploit was never written up, too junior, loss of officers, and it was a disaster that decorations and awards would have highlighted when the Admiralty wished to draw a veil over it.

[Wensleydale]

PN - It is the opposite! When the military disasters happen then the VCs come out! Look at Isandlwana, and the follow up battle Rorke's Drift. You could also add the Augsburg Raid in 1942 and the Dams raid in '43 for Bomber Command. Generally speaking, the bad news of the casualties is hidden by the bravery headlines that the VC generates.

[Heathrow Harry]

It's a lottery - look at Lisa Potts who stopped a nutcase running amok at a school back in 95 or 96 class with a machette and was badly cut up - she did get a GM but why not a GC??

[racedo]

HH

Yeah remember the lady and then had to fight for compensation. She writes children's books now.

[Pontius Navigator]

WD, I take your point except that the last three were all successful notwithstanding high casualty rates. The one I have in mind was essentially red on blue assisted by blue for no enemy loss. Losing a cruiser, a destroyer and over 500 men was not something to be proud of.

[Pontius Navigator]

HH I would guess that she was only considered for a GM as she was a nursery teacher whereas a grammar school teacher might have merited a GC had they been head of department etc.

The tariff system strikes. In my father's line of business the basic award was OBE but no CBE.

[Melchett01]

Tp, and those are known names. There are hundreds of thousands of other war heroes.

I'd go a step further and say there are probably hundreds if not thousands across the Services each year. But they miss out because either their chain of command doesn't think to write people up, cant be bothered to write people up or otherwise worthy individuals are thought to be not quite worthy enough i.e. second guessing what the system will think.

As a Flt Cdr I wrote my FS up, with a view to getting him some sort of formal honour above and beyond an AOC's commendation. I submitted the citation and forgot about it until the following year his MBE came through, one of about 7 or 8 SNCOs awarded MBEs on that one list if I recall correctly. CAS at the time noted his delight that SNCOs were getting State awards, but was disappointed that only one - my FS - had been written up for being very very good at his job. All the others were written up on the basis of worthy but non-operational secondary duties and CAS suggested we should be recognising performance in ways other than good annual appraisals. Given the current tempo and associated resource constraints, I suspect there are many more like my FS who don't make it for one or more of the reasons I suggested.

[Lima Juliet]

Me... :cool:

[Pontius Navigator]

Melchett, well done. I know of one SNCO written up for BEM who got an MBE for the secondary work.

I also know of a retired sqn ldr who got an MBE, don't know why, but for the last 25 years has been heavily involved in nonpaying charity work, so some are well justified.

Certainly you need someone willing to do the write up.

I managed to get one of my men an AOCs Commendation. The next write ups were intercepted by my parent unit and downgraded to stn cdrs. The staish had never visited my unit, the men did not work for him and didn't know him. It had no meaning or value.

[Union Jack]

HH I would guess that she was only considered for a GM as she was a nursery teacher whereas a grammar school teacher might have merited a GC had they been head of department etc.

The tariff system strikes. In my father's line of business the basic award was OBE but no CBE. - PN

Not strictly so, since the only "tariff system" applied in such cases is that of bravery, as indicated by the attached extract from https://www.gov.uk/honours/types-of-honours-and-awards

"The George Cross

First level civilian medal for bravery: for acts of heroism and courage in extreme danger.

The George Medal

Second level civilian medal for bravery: for acts of great bravery.

The Queen’s Gallantry Medal

Third level civilian medal for bravery: for inspiring acts of bravery."

IIRC from my time in the Naval Secretary's Office, the QGM was introduced in 1974 with the very specific aim of replacing an Order of the British Empire award for bravery based on rank.

Jack

[Tankertrashnav]

Further to Jack's comments about the George Cross, the bar for this award has been set incredibly high, and rightly so. This is reflected in the fact that since its inception in 1940 it has only been awarded 161 times, and a large proportion of those awards took place during WW2. There have only ever been four awards to women, the three well-known awards to SOE operatives Odette Sansom, Violette Szabo and Nora Inayat Khan (the last two posthumous), and the posthumous award to Barbara Harrison, a BOAC stewardess who died whilst helping passengers to escape from an onboard fire at Heathrow. Although originally intended as a civilian award, military recipients far outnumber those to civilians, and in fact the last civilian award was in 1990 to a New Zealand policeman.

I assume P-N's remarks about grammar school teachers were made tongue in cheek, but I hardly think that the type of educational establishment she worked in came into it when considering what award Lisa Potts would be given!

[Pontius Navigator]

TTN, not quite. I was thinking award related to pay scale with those on the higher pay scale considered officer status. For instance a primary school head was hosted by a flt lt and the grammar school head by a wg cdr.

As for GC-GM, I am now better informed as I had equated the award to the DFC-DFM example.

[The Oberon]

Not only do some not "make the cut" due to not being written up, others fail due to the lack of literacy of the the initial writer. This was also obvious on promotion boards where good people were passed over due to a poorly written appraisal.

[Tashengurt]

There must be loads of individual acts of heroism that get missed during battle.

[Heathrow Harry]

When you look at the WW2 GC awards and compare them with actions post war - in places like NI and the FI for the armed forces and day to civis I don't see why more aren't/weren't handed out. Defusing a bomb or bombs is defusing a bomb 1941 or 1976

[Tankertrashnav]

What you say about bomb disposal is quite correct. The fact is of course that that there were quite literally hundreds of men on bomb disposal work throughout WW2, dealing with thousands of bombs, hence the apparent imbalance between wartime and post war awards. The two most recent awards of the George Cross, those to Staff Sergeants Kim Hughes and Olaf Schmidt, RLC (the latter posthumous) were for bomb disposal work in Afghanistan.

I think if we are going to award our gallantry medals very sparingly, as we do, then I think we have to accept the fact that many deserving people will miss out. I think Danny has got it right on the Carol Vorderman thread when he says "when everyone's somebody, nobody's anybody".

[NutLoose]

I often thought that for every one brave act that is awarded a VC there are possibly ten that are not witnessed nor did the person survive.

[Hangarshuffle]

Iron Cross was classless award maybe? Britain is stuck in its class system, same old scene since the bloody Romans. Long if we could move on a bit like some other nations.

[Tankertrashnav]

Iron Cross was classless award maybe?

As are the Victoria Cross and the George Cross, which are awarded regardless of rank or status.

The Iron Cross started that way when it started in 1813, although it was awarded in two classes, first and second. One of the few good things you could say about Hitler is that unlike most dictators he didn't cover himself with self awarded medals, but only ever wore the Iron Cross, 1st Class, which he won as a gefreiter (lance corporal) in 1918. A curious aside is that the officer who recommended the award was Jewish.

By the time the Nazis got hold of it, the Iron Cross was expanded from a simple all ranks award to the situation where the various grades went:

Iron Cross second class
Iron Cross first class
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with oak leaves
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with oak leaves and swords
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with oak leaves, swords and diamonds
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with gold oak leaves, swords and diamonds

and finally

Grand Cross of the Iron Cross, (sole recipient one Hermann Goering!)

So you can see, whatever the original intention, in its WW2 form the Iron Cross was far from classless, and you can bet there were no gefreiters wearing the Knight's Cross in any of its variations.

When I was at university I did a dissertation on Soviet Orders and Medals, and like all dictatorships they were as bad as the Nazis. They had a complex system of awards each with various grades, which mirrored the old czarist awards which followed their ranks of nobility. Best example these days is North Korea, and no doubt someone will oblige with that well-known picture of a bunch of North Korean generals plastered with medals from top to toe!

[handsfree]

Don't know if it's the well known one but will this do ?

http://i829.photobucket.com/albums/zz216/poodlejumpy/8223569938c794b041de5c8b87c393a4_zps4tspwbyn.jpeg

[MPN11]

So you can see, whatever the original intention, in its WW2 form the Iron Cross was far from classless, and you can bet there were no gefreiters wearing the Knight's Cross in any of its variations.

ISTR that one had to 'move up the ladder' with the Iron Cross, i.e. You couldn't get the Knight's Cross unless you had already been awarded the 1st Class [etc etc]. I believe there were a few exceptions, however.

I wish I could recall which book I was reading when I saw that ... something on tanks on the Eastern front?

(EDIT = Thank you Wiki ... "The Iron Cross 1st Class and the Iron Cross 2nd Class were awarded without regard to rank. One had to possess the 2nd Class already in order to receive the 1st Class (though in some cases both could be awarded simultaneously)."

Don't know if it's the well known one but will this do ?They're lightweights ... nothing on their trouser legs, for a start!

[reds & greens]

They're lightweights ... nothing on their trouser legs, for a start!

I'd hate to put that jacket through the Dry-Cleaners.

[Tankertrashnav]

That's the one, handsfree :ok:

[His dudeness]

76 Gefreite decorated with the Iron Cross, according to this:

Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 - 1945 (http://www.das-ritterkreuz.de/index_themen.php4?modul=verleihung&grp=rkdg&dg=Gefreiter&vdat=4)

All ranks listed here:

Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 - 1945 (http://www.das-ritterkreuz.de/index_themen.php4?modul=verleihung_rk)

With "Eichenlaub" (oak leaves) - lowest rank were NCOs - out of 516 ICs only 26 were given to soldiers ranking below lieutenant

Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 - 1945 (http://www.das-ritterkreuz.de/index_themen.php4?modul=verleihung_el)

With "Schwerter" (Swords) Only one non commissioned officer received one, Luftwaffe, after 99 kills on the eastern front...

Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 - 1945 (http://www.das-ritterkreuz.de/index_themen.php4?modul=verleihung_s)

With "Brillianten" (diamonds) - lowest rank lieutenant

Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 - 1945 (http://www.das-ritterkreuz.de/index_themen.php4?modul=verleihung_b)

[Pontius Navigator]

I'd hate to put that jacket through the Dry-Cleaners.
The real problem would be putting them all back in the right order

Do I see a few a slopping shoulders not to mention shoddy drill

[Melchett01]

Do I see a few a slopping shoulders not to mention shoddy drill

Let's be honest, I don't think that's just the North Koreans ;)

[Tankertrashnav]

His dudeness - I stand corrected that there were awards of the Knights Cross to lower ranks. However 76 out of just over 7,300 awarded means that almost 99% went to officers, so my general point that in WW2 at least the addition of these higher grades of the Iron Cross meant it was no longer an all ranks award, in the accepted understanding of what that term means.

[BEagle]

More Generals of the Korean People's Army - including the legendary General Gong-on-Dong?

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a341/nw969/GoDong_zpsiqmhcnsw.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/user/nw969/media/GoDong_zpsiqmhcnsw.jpg.html)

[MPN11]

@ His dudeness ... thanks for posting those links. :ok:

[finncapt]

That is one of the best comments I have seen on pprune, Beags.

Absolutely priceless.

May I suggest Beags gets an award in the next honours list for "services to humour".

[olympus]

three well-known awards to SOE operatives Odette Sansom, Violette Szabo and Nora Inayat Khan (the last two posthumous)

Noor Inayat Khan

[Drainpipe]

May I suggest Beags gets an award in the next honours list for "services to humour".

His nomination was rejected after his post in the thread on bodily functions.

[Pontius Navigator]

Interestingly there is an obituary today for John Gregson, an apprentice at the age of 19 swan 600 yards with an injured colleague. He was awarded a GC.

[Tankertrashnav]

In 1977 or thereabouts I met Jack Bamford, who in 1952 became the youngest recipient of the George Cross at the age of 15, for rescuing several members of his family from a fire at their house. He was badly burned, and still carried the scars on his arms and face 25 years later.

olympus - you are correct, I was misled by the fact that she sometimes used the pseudonym Nora Baker, an extension of Ora Baker, her American mother's name, and I suspect she was known as Nora during her WAAF service.

[AtomKraft]

I think Noor means 'Diamond' in Hindi.

[ShotOne]

How about some of the BOAC pilots who operated the Swedish "ball bearing run" during WW2? Very few gongs or recognition despite a casualty rate not far off RAF ops. And no, not just in speedy Mosquitoes; much of the traffic was in Whitleys, Venturas, all by legal necessity completely unarmed.

Edit: ditto for merchant navy...vast majority, nada. Even on a convoy with disastrous loss rate - unless carrying munitions. For instance, carrying wooden rifle butts qualified crew for medals but hold full of aviation fuel stored in foil lined hardboard cases didn't!

[Lonewolf_50]

I was once nommed for an Air Medal, but it got downgraded to an ass chewing in lieu of first award. :E Does that count?

[Pontius Navigator]

LW, indeed as I expect a few posthumous bravery awards might have merited a hats on interview had they survived.

[Tankertrashnav]

Edit: ditto for merchant navy...vast majority, nada. Even on a convoy with disastrous loss rate - unless carrying munitions. For instance, carrying wooden rifle butts qualified crew for medals but hold full of aviation fuel stored in foil lined hardboard cases didn't!

I am not sure if you are referring to gallantry medals or campaign medals, but in the case of the latter, the Merchant Navy was entitled to the same campaign medals and stars as the Royal Navy, with similar periods and areas of qualification. The type of cargo being carried was not a factor.

I have only ever physically seen a few groups of WW2 medals which contained the then maximum of five campaign stars, and they were all to Merchant Navy recipients, who tended to "get around" more than their RN equivalents. I suspect that with the introduction of the Arctic Star in recent years there will a few six star Merchant Navy groups around.

[Traffic_Is_Er_Was]

The NK pic with the medals on the sleeves and trousers is an obvious fake. Real NK generals would have an aide wear their extra medals, until he too was full, and then another, and so on. The pic posted by handsfree bears this out, with only the chap leading being the actual recipient.
Tis true. Trust me, I used to work for the government!

[Tankertrashnav]

ShotOne as it happens, Pontius Navigator has just referred to the WW2 stars awarded to his Merchant Navy father, on the Arctic Star thread (post #7)

http://www.pprune.org/military-aviation/589209-arctic-star.html

[RedhillPhil]

Surely John Surtees deserves a little something bearing in mind a certain tatooed footballer...,..

[PPRuNeUser0139]

RP - if you're referring to John Surtees (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jo4hqTx-Mx4), the only man ever to be world champion on 2 and 4 wheels, I couldn't agree more. :ok:

[NutLoose]

PN

Bay war hero honoured for valour after torpedo holes ship - Bay of Plenty Times - Bay of Plenty Times News (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503343&objectid=11308252)

This event was the second time in six months that Mr Gregson had been torpedoed. He was awarded the Albert Medal in February, 1943, by King George. Mr Gregson spent most of his working life on the seas and moved to New Zealand in 1952.
He was a pilot for ships entering Tauranga Harbour for many years. In 1971, the Queen decided to make the Albert Medal obsolete and allow holders to have it replaced with the George Cross. Mr Gregson said it took authorities about seven years to find him in New Zealand and when he was asked to trade his Albert Medal for a George Cross, he refused. "I kept mine. I said it was given to me by the King so I will keep it, thank you very much."

[Pontius Navigator]

NL, interesting, so the Telegraph obituary assumed he had the GC

[NutLoose]

Their picture shows a medal on his chest not a cross, that is what threw me, though it is probably counted as a GC as that is what replaced it, he just chose to retain the original medal, though I bet they recorded him as a GC holder in all records.

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20020422/slug/how-a-seaman-saved-a-gunner-s-life-on-a-burning-ship.177153

[Union Jack]

NL, interesting, so the Telegraph obituary assumed he had the GC - PN

Along with several other sources apparently.

What a modest yet clearly proud man, and interested to see that Captain Gregson was evidently properly treated as a GC holder in view of the photograph in John Gregson GC (http://vcgca.org/our-people/11/john-gregsonson) which seems to illustrate a bronze Albert Medal (Sea), known as the Albert Medal 2nd Class until 1917. I also read that some 15 people altogether declined to exchange their previous award for the GC, and one cannot help wondering how this may have affected any entitlement to the GC Annuity, currently £10000 pa in the UK, especially observing that Captain Gregson was born and brought up in the UK before later adopting NZ nationality.

On a lighter note, I was amused to read in
Bay war hero honoured for valour after torpedo holes ship - Bay of Plenty Times - Bay of Plenty Times News (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503343&objectid=11308252) that "I was knocked unconscious but wasn't seriously injured. I was the sight-setter on a 14-inch gun on the stern of the ship." Clearly a typo in lieu of "four inch", since 14 inch guns were the main armament only in such major war vessels as the KGV Class battleships.

Also thoroughly agree re John Surtees.

Jack

[Pontius Navigator]

UJ, as a slight digression, as a 2nd Officer my father's manoeuvre station was on the poop. Naturally, as the gun was on the poop, he was also in charge of the gun. He told me how they had to load the shell, then the silk bagged charge, and then sponge out after firing. Not 50 years different from the cannon ball era.

Although he was sunk by a surfaced submarine they had not had time to man the gun. He did tell me however of one of his companies fast merchant ships. As far as I can recall, as my geography was nascent at that time, the ship was making independent passage from Gibraltar when a German submarine surfaced. The ship got off the first round which fell short while the Germans were still trying to man and ready their gun. Before the Germans could fire the ship, and I have a dim recollection it could have been the City of Edinburgh, fired again and over this time. The submarine crew was then seen to scuttle back below and submerge before the third shot. He said the ship then departed at 20 kts, far faster than her design speed. I don't know how true that was.

[Tankertrashnav]

Union Jack - with regard to the annuity, the situation in the UK for holders of the Albert Medal who declined to exchange their medals is quite clear. In 1968, the original royal warrant for the medal was amended with the following:

"...surviving UK recipients of the Albert Medals are entitled to annual gratuities of £100*, irrespective of whether the medal awarded is in gold or bronze. Gratuities may be paid to other Commonwealth recipients under local regulations"

As far as I am aware the surviving George Cross survivors are receiving the full £10k annuity, as the awards were given by the UK, so logically this should apply to holders of the Albert Medal.

* This sum was the same as that paid to George Cross recipients at the time.

[Union Jack]

PN - a slight discretion perhaps but a very interesting one, so thank you for posting it.

If you would like to find out more, you may care to try asking for info on Ships Nostalgia (http://www.shipsnostalgia.com) on one or more of the forums entitled Ship Research, Maritime Family History Research, or Shipping Lines - Ellerman. I would not be at all surprised if some old salt knew which ship it was, or was even on-board at the time!:ok:

Jack

[Union Jack]

TTN - VMT for the detailed clarification - much appreciated, and I was confident that you would be along shortly!

It is also interesting to note separately that the *Old Commonwealth* countries are a lot more parsimonious with their VC/GC Annuites.:=

Jack

[AR1]

Often wondered if I could get the GC bit ruled out of my missing Long Gong. Sadly not -They seemed to overlook the good bits and concentrate on the 9 bad bits.


But Mr Surtees would get my vote. And I nod my head in the direction of those who went out of their way but only have the satisfaction of doing something right to show for it.

[NutLoose]

This is a case which I find wrong, he earned his award, it wasn't something awarded like an OBE on the work of others


Boer War hero stripped of VC for stealing 30p worth of scrap (http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/other/boer-war-hero-stripped-of-vc-for-stealing-30p-worth-of-scrap/ar-BBy1qMe)

[Tankertrashnav]

Interesting story, Nutloose which reflects the different attitudes of the times. Here is a quotation from the article.

Those supporters included King George V, who publicly stated no man should be stripped of his VC.

“Even were a VC to be sentenced to be hanged for murder, he should be allowed to wear the VC on the scaffold,” said the King.

Those words did the trick, but they did not benefit Ravenhill, although his name was returned to the VC register.

The Royal Warrant was subsequently amended, and the Victoria Cross can not be forfeited now. I do ask myself though, in the current climate, if the holder of a Victoria Cross were convicted and imprisoned for child sex offences, would there be a public clamour for its forfeiture? I rather think there would.

On a slightly different vein, I once attended the installation of a headstone on the grave of a VC winner, Private John Divane, who was a Crimean veteran who died in poverty in Newlyn and was buried in an unmarked pauper's grave in Penzance cemetery. His regiment, the Rifles, (Divane had served in the 60th Rifles) had raised the money for the stone, and the ceremony was attended by a field marshal, no less, who had served in the regiment. Little comfort to Divane himself, of course, and about 100 years too late, but a nice gesture all the same.

[NutLoose]

In addition to the bombers, every available plane in Fighter Command flew several sorties that day. Although 600 were available on paper, only 398 took off to attack the Germans. Seventeen of them were shot down. Altogether, with the 242 bombers and 35 Coastal Command Hudsons and Beauforts — of which five were lost—675 aircraft took off to attack the German battleships. No one can blame their aircrews for the failure of this massive attack. The bomber crews who found the ships attacked with lonely heroism on that grey winter's afternoon. In the late afternoon one solitary Wellington shot out of the clouds in thick weather right over Prinz Eugen at 400 feet and flew through a hail of flak which practically ripped off her tail unit. As she dived over the destroyer Hermann Schoemann and dropped her bombs, she was badly hit and crashed into the sea. The German crews watched her burn with a long sheet of flame rising from the water.
This was just one of the bombers which did not return. No one knows who the pilot was but he upheld the honour of the RAF His attack was as courageously carried out as Esmonde's and his Swordfish. He too deserved the VC.
Breakout :: ???. 32 :: ?????? ????? ?????? (http://rubooks.org/book.php?book=10675&page=32)

That evening the only surviving Swordfish air-gunner, Donald Bunce, made his lonely way back to the sergeants' mess at Manston, which he had left just before lunch. There he wrote this terse, undramatic report in his log-book, "Torpedo attack against Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. Attacked by fighters (FW 190s) and forced into sea."
The only other unwounded survivor, Edgar Lee, after reporting to Admiral Ramsay, was driven back to Manston where as senior surviving officer of the Swordfish squadron he had a lot to clear up before being sent on immediate leave. Tom Gleave shook him by the hand. He said nothing. What was there to say to a man when thirteen of his comrades were dead and three others wounded?
That same night Gleave sat in his office and wrote his first report on the Swordfish massacre. He admits he was in tears. In his outer office a young WAAF sat sobbing over her desk. She was the girl friend of one of the naval fliers. He addressed his report to Air Vice-Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory, Chief of 11 Group, for forwarding to the proper naval authorities. In stilted service prose, he told of the courage of the Sword-fish crews:
"Concerning pilots and crews of 825 Squadron which operated from Manston against Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen, attached is the report of Sub-Lt. Lee. As Officer commanding this station to which 825 Squadron was attached for operational purposes, and having been fully acquainted with their operational activities and the circumstances attendant thereto in respect of the above operation against enemy warships, which resulted in the loss of the entire squadron and seventy-five per cent of their crews, I respectfully submit that it would not be presumptuous on my part to express an opinion on the manner in which Lt.-Cdr. Esmonde and the crews under his command carried out their duties on this occasion.
"I discussed the operation with Lt.-Cdr. Esmonde prior to the squadron taking off at 12:30. His pilots and crews present at this meeting displayed signs of great enthusiasm and keenness for the job they were about to undertake, and it was no doubt due to Lt.-Cdr. Esmonde's leadership that such a fine spirit prevailed. Nothing more was heard of the squadron until the five survivors were brought ashore. The German battle-cruisers were undoubtedly protected by a terrific barrage of flak, and covered by one of the biggest fighter screens ever seen. Against this, the determination and gallantry shown by Lt.-Cdr. Esmonde and his pilots and crews is beyond any normal praise. I am of the opinion that Lt.-Cdr. Esmonde is well worthy of the posthumous award of the Victoria Cross."
It was the first time in history that an RAF officer had recommended a naval officer, not even part of his command, for Britain's highest decoration. Gleave later had only one bitter regret. He felt he had written his report too hastily. If he had considered it a little more he would have recommended more VC.s for the Swordfish crews.