Description

Offered is a medal group relating to Sergeant F. A. McNair, Royal Engineers, late Royal West Kent Regiment, who was taken Prisoner of War on Leros, Greece, in November 1943. He was one of the lucky few to have been captured alive, the island having been attacked and subsequently captured by the German Brandenburg Division, one of Hitler’s elite combat units of the war

1939 – 45 Star, Africa Star, Italy Star, Defence and War Medal (1939 – 45) and Army Long Service & Good Conduct Medal (E.R.II) 6344035 SGT. F.A. M^CNAIRN. R.E. Court mounted for display. Comes with copies of: P.O.W interview form, P.O.W. records, and research.

Sargent Frederick Alexander McNair was born on the 26/1/1920 in London. Whilst living at Colbourne Avenue, Brighton, McNair enlisted with the Queen’s Own Royal West Kent Regiment on 26 February 1937. (17 years old). Most likely he was serving with the 1st Battalion at the start of the war.

During WW2, the 1st Battalion was stationed in the UK and fought in the fall of France withdrawing via Dunkirk & 2^nd Battalion was stationed in Palestine until 1939, then it deployed to Malta.

It is known that he was stationed in Malta (2^nd Battalion) during the siege and received a lecture on ‘how to behave in the event of capture’ by Major H. E. Scott. The 2^nd Battalion as part of the 234^th Infantry Brigade that was deployed to the island of Leros in September 1943 (the Italians had just switched sides).

Operation ‘Taifun’ 12/11/1943: The Germans bombed Leros incessantly for 54 days before the assault on the island. Peter Schenk’s book “Kampf um die Ägäis” reports that during these 54 days 984 air raids took place and 1,096 tons of bombs were dropped but the Germans failed to destroy the coastal batteries.

German troops landed at Palma Bay and Pasta de Sopra on the northeast coast of the island. Another German force consisting of six naval ferry barges and two torpedo boats heading for Gurna Bay on the other side of the island were driven off by the Italian batteries.

In the central part of Leros, the Germans managed to establish a few small bridgeheads, and once they established these footholds, it was almost impossible to dislodge them. German fallschirmjagers (Brandenburg Division) landed in the center of the island, an event that profoundly altered the course of the battle. Once they established a solid foothold, they divided the island into two halves. Counterattacks were launched to try and dislodge them, but all such efforts failed.

November 13 saw a continuing pattern of hard-fought attacks and counterattacks, with neither side gaining the upper hand. A trickle of British reinforcements came in from Samos, including two companies from the Royal West Kent Regiment. They landed at Portolago Bay with their commanding officer, Lt. Colonel Ben Tarleton. British attacks were sporadic and badly coordinated. The British/Italians surrendered on 16^th November.

The Germans captured 3,200 British and 5,000 Italians. Actual battle casualties were relatively light. The British lost 600 dead and 100 wounded. The Italians suffered 300 dead and missing. In contrast, the Germans lost 512 dead and 900 wounded. McNair was initially reported as missing which was later changed to P.O.W 16/11/43. Only 43 men of the Battalion managed to evade capture and return to Allied lines.

He was subsequently transported to Germany, and Stalag VII-A, Isar. He was detailed onto Arbeitskommando No. ‘3841’ in February 1944; this forced labour party comprised 85 British POW’s who worked at Schleissheimer Strasse in Much. McNair was liberated here in April 1945 and repatriated. He later transferred to the Royal Engineers with the rank of Sergeant and died in 1987 at Kettering, Northamptonshire.