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Auction: 25112 - Orders, Decorations and Medals - e-Auction
Lot: 549

The campaign group of five awarded to Battery-Sergeant Major W. J. Headland, Royal Artillery, who was wounded in action in Syria 1941 and taken prisoner of war in North Africa the next year in 1942, being punished for assisting an escape attempt while imprisoned

1939-1945 Star; Africa Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45; Army L.S. & G.C., G.VI.R. (1062859 W.O. Cl. 2. W. J. Headland. R.A.), the rank officially re-impressed, light pitting, very fine (5)

William John Headland was born on 23 November 1919, the son of William and May Headland of 61 Raeburn Road, Northampton, Northamptonshire. He joined the Territorial Army on 23 July 1925 however rather appropriately he appears upon the 1939-45 census with his occupation listed as Precast Concrete Air Raid Shelter Storesman & Constructor.

Mobilised for service during the Second World War Headland was posted to the Middle East with the 157th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery which soon saw action in Syria. There he was wounded in action on 4 July 1941, towards the end of the campaign and not long after the Battle of Battle of Deir ez-Zor.

Headland appears to have recovered well from his wounds joining the Regiment in the Middle East in March 1942. He was still there in June when the bulk of the unit went in the bag at the Battle of the Knightsbridge Box on 6 June 1942. He was taken initially to a transit camp at Tripoli and it was here that Headland was to assist in an escape attempt, his prisoner of war questionnaire states:

'Assisted an attempted escape by allowing fellow prisoners of war to dig an escape tunnel from the compound of which I was in charge in a transit camp near Tripoli. Leakage of information got to the ears of Italian Interpreter and with several of my fellow prisoners was sentenced to several days confinement in a fort.'

Surviving this ordeal Headland was taken first to Campo 53 in Italy until September 1944 when he was taken to Italy and imprisoned at Stalag 4.B. until the end of the war. He noted on his questionnaire that he suffered from dysentery as a result of the poor food he was being fed, despite six weeks of ill-health he was able to recover; sold together with copied paperwork.

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Sold for
£140

Starting price
£130