There is always a history behind the items brought in for auction and in some cases there is a fascinating story of the person to whom they belong.
Donald Craig's WWII Medal Group and ephemera relating to his service and capture during Operation Title
Donald Craig was born in Wadebridge, Cornwall in 1913 and emigrated to Canada with his family around 1920. In 1933 he returned to England and joined the Royal Engineers seeing action in the Atlantic and Palestine. As a qualified diver in 1941 he transferred to the Special Service Brigade (Special Boat Service) and in 1942 was part of Operation Title using manned torpedo 'chariots' to attack the German battleship Tirpitz in Asenfjord,Norway. After the chariots were lost during a storm on the 31st October, the raid against Tirpitz was called off. The fishing boat Arthur which was used to tow the chariots was then scuttled at Breidvik and nine of the team members reached Sweden. One member was captured by the Germans and later shot as a spy. Operation Title was the inspiration behind the film 'Above Us the Waves' and the later Operation Source X-craft midget submarine attacks on the Tirpitz. After the war Donald Craig was commissioned to the RNVR MFU Training taking command of HMS Varbel (MA19/252).
