A Great War DCM group to Whippet Tank driver Sergeant J B Callaghan Tank Corps

DCM correctly impressed - 40274 Sjt. J. B. Gallaghan 8/Tank Corps

Pair correctly impressed - 40274 Sjt. J. B. Gallaghan Tank Corps

 Swing mounted as worn.

 Condition GVF

 Provenance - Noonan's. Lot 53 13 October 2021, hammer £3400. So around £4250 after fees.

D.C.M. London Gazette 1 January 1919; citation published 3 September 1919:

‘He has done admirable work in many Tank actions, both before operations by his devotion to duty in keeping his tank fit, and during operations, by his extreme coolness and skilful driving under very heavy fire. His conduct on all occasions was of the highest order, and he set a fine example to all.’

John Bernard Callaghan, a native of Glossop, Derbyshire, attested for the Tank Corps on 18 May 1916 and served with the 8th Battalion, Tank Corps during the Great War on the Western Front from 18 August 1916. He suffered accidental burns in the field on 11 September 1916, being admitted to 1st Canadian General Hospital at Etaples on 13 September; repatriated to the U.K., he recovered sufficiently and returned to the Front on 24 August 1917.

Callaghan was promoted Sergeant on 26 March 1918, and during the period covered by the award of his D.C.M. he was driving the Medium Mark “A” Whippet Tank; he had ‘been put in for a decoration more than once ... I am very pleased that they have seen fit to recognise your good work at last.’ (letter to the recipient from Captain J. G. Hassell refers). Hospitalised again in July 1918, he returned to the U.K. on the S.S. Cambria on 25 July, and was discharged Class Z Reserve on 23 February 1919

In the book, Cambrai 1917 the myth of the first great tank battle; Hassell, describes the action: 

“ I was in the second wave commanding H7 Harrier and received three direct hits - tank completely put out of action. This was after we had reached our final objective. I had 8 men inside with a large black German dog which had refused to run away with retreating Bosch soldiers. Apart from scratches we had no casualties. This was due to extremely good team work which existed between my driver Sergeant Callaghan and myself. We sensed trouble in the leading tank, (Lieutenant the Hon Cecil Edwardes killed) and just managed to swing the tank through 90 degrees and start of downhill to our right, when the first shot took off my right track it sailed away through the air. The second shot - a glancing blow pushed in the roof and the third got us right in the rear. Had we been broadside on, we should have all been done for”. 

German infantry Leutnant A. Mestward said of this moment in the battle, "The tanks made rapid progress, crossing the trench to our left and right whilst maintaining heavy fire against the trench. We were utterly defenceless in the face of these monsters. This was no longer a battle. This was a massacre."

It seemed to promise to be an overwhelming victory. The British Mk IV tanks had passed the trench system and were now in open country heading towards their objective, the town of Cambrai, which could be seen in the distance on top of a hill. The battle of Cambrai was far from over. The German Army also had a secret weapon and it was hiding behind bushes near the village of Flesquières waiting for the tanks to come into its sights.

The Mark IV tanks of H Battalion, Tank Corps were moving up a slope, 2nd Lt Gordon Hassel in his tank named ‘Harrier’ remembers feeling uneasy when they reached the top and stopped. He could see Cambrai but the ground in front of them was unusually devoid of the enemy. "I said to my driver, I don’t like this somehow. I don’t know why." It looked too good to be true. Too easy. Suddenly a shell from a field gun that was waiting in a carefully planned ambush hit a tank called ‘Hong Kong’ and destroyed it. The others tried desperately to escape its range.

The gun that destroyed ‘Harrier’ also hit ‘Huntsman’ and ‘Harvester’. The weapon that was causing so much damage was the 77mm Krupp Feldkanone 16 Field Gun. It was originally designed for indirect artillery fire, it had been modified for direct fire against tanks. It was lethal. Its 6kg armour piercing shells were accurate over distances over one mile.

As the desperate fighting continued Hssell described the progress of H7 Harrier, pressing on to Villiers Guislain, they came upon a German Battery:

“We peppered the horses with Lewis guns. We passed a disabled tank which had hit (Lieutenant Cecil Scott’s), and signalled to him to bring all his crew to us. They were sheltering behind the disabled machine. They ran across and we took officer and crew in. Then still going towards the enemy my machine engine failed - stalled - crossing a small trench so that my nose was elevated forming a grand target. Enemy guns ranged on us and soil and splinters were coming through into the tank. Sergeant Callaghan worked like one possessed to get the engine running. We were seven minutes in this perilous position but escaped being hit. Getting her on the move, i decided to return and then the gear change lever jammed, so that there was no selection and we had to coral back home in lowest gear. Moreover, we could not steer, and came right back through the wood in a dead straight line, but managed not to be bellied. Lieutenant Scott was in a state of partial shell shock and I had to get him out and walk with him in front of tank, getting him to smoke a fag. We rallied in Sunken Road and found Major Pratt with three other Tanks”

Sold together with two letters to the recipient from his Adjutant, Captain J. G. Hassell, informing him of the award of the D.C.M., dated 28 January 1919 and 10 March 1919; an original photograph of the recipient’s tank; and copied research.