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Auction: 26002 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 139

(x) Sold by Order of a Direct Descendant

A rare Second World War 'Champagne Campaign' Silver Star group of seven awarded to Lieutenant-Colonel R. W. 'Bill' Becket, Canadian Army and First Special Service Force (F.S.S.F.)

Otherwise known as the 'Bad Boys of the Good Wars', the elite U.S.-Canadian unit saw much action in Italy and the south of France, Becket acting as C.O. of the 1st Battalion, First Regiment from July 1942 to December 1943 and as C.O. of the Third Regiment in the period July to December 1944

1939-45 Star; Italy Star; France and Germany Star; Defence Medal 1939-45, silver; Canadian Voluntary Service Medal 1939-45, with overseas clasp; War Medal 1939-45, silver, these six with impressed naming, 'Lt/Col R. W. Becket'; United States of America, Silver Star, the lower left limb officially numbered '18998', mounted as worn, together with an F.S.S.F. Liberation of Rome 40th Anniversary Medallion, good very fine (8)

Silver Star confirmed via Headquarters, 6th U.S. Army, General Orders No. 13 of 13 December 1944:

'For gallantry in action as a member of the 1st Special Service Force, in action against the enemy near Castillon, France, on 4 September 1944.

Lieutenant Colonel Becket, without regard for his personal safety, drove deep into enemy-held territory, over mined roads, to secure necessary intelligence for operations of the unit under his command. Acting upon information thus obtained, he led his troops in a boldly devised and vigorously executed plan of attack which quickly overcame enemy resistance and resulted in the capture of Mount Ours, a terrain feature of critical importance to the advance of friendly troops.

The courage and aggressiveness shown by Colonel Becket in personally reconnoitering enemy dispositions, and his ability to quickly exploit knowledge thus obtained, reflect great credit upon himself and is in keeping with the high standards of the Allied forces.'

Ralph Wilson Becket was born in Montreal, Quebec on 3 June 1909 and was educated at Westmont High and McGill University, where he studied Law. A pre-War member of the Prince Edward Island Highlanders, he was commissioned in October 1939 and served on the staff of the Halifax Fortress.

Embarked for England, he trained with the Essex Scottish but returned to Canada to an appointment as an instructor in his old regiment. And he was likewise employed when he volunteered for the newly formed First Special Service Force (F.S.S.F.) in August 1942.

Otherwise known as the 'Bad Boys of the Good Wars', the F.S.S.F. was an elite U.S.-Canadian unit which owed its existence to an earlier plan formulated by the British scientist Geoffrey Pike. That plan - which journeyed back and forth between the great and the good, including Churchill and Eisenhower - was eventually dropped in favour of building an elite force of American and Canadian troops under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel R. T. Frederick, a native of San Franciso and a 'West Pointer'. And that process started at Fort William Henry Harrison in Montana in the summer of 1942.

Originally intended for an airborne assault in Norway, the course of war led to a revised plan and the deployment of the unit's 1st and 3rd Regiments to the Pacific Island of Kiska, which, on their coming ashore was found to have been abandoned by the Japanese.

Becket, who had qualified as a parachutist and been advanced to Major, acted as C.O. of the 1st Battalion, First Regiment from July 1942 to December 1943, and according to his service record was briefly deployed to the Pacific at this time - probably during the Aleutian campaign in Alaska. It was to be the only campaign fought on North American soil.

The same source confirms his subsequent deployment to Italy in the period November 1943-June 1944, latterly as a Lieutenant-Colonel and C.O. of the Third Regiment. Here, then, a period of intense operations, the F.S.S.F. being assigned to the toughest of objectives and fighting its way over a succession of stoutly defended peaks. Then came the Anzio operations, in which Becket and his men undertook intensive patrolling and large-scale raids. Resultant losses were high, the F.S.S.F. finally being withdrawn after 99 days with a loss of 106 killed or missing and 300 wounded.

Finally, Becket and his men saw action in the south of France, having come ashore in their assault boats at Iles de Hyeres on 15 August 1944. Bitter fighting ensued, Becket being awarded the Silver Star, his service record stating the award was approved in January 1945.

The F.S.S.F. was formally disbanded December 1944, many of its Canadian members joining the 1st Canadian Parachute Regiment, in which capacity they served in the North-West Europe operations, including Operation 'Varsity'. The Lieutenant-Colonel died at Cimetiere Mont-Royal, Outremont, Quebec in October 1996.

Sold with the recipient's original Canadian Army (A.F.) Officer's Record of Service, three wartime period newspapers and a copy of a Florida reunion programme, 1993, with related F.S.S.F. history by Ed Thomas. Also sold with a large quantity of related uniform buttons, pips and badges, among them Prince Edward Island Highlander cap badges (3), together with a like quantity of embroidered uniform patches, including 'U.S.A. / Canada' F.S.S.F. and Parachute / Airborne flashes, together with a piece of shrapnel and the remnants of purloined German epaulettes.

For the recipient's dress miniatures, please see Lot 285.

Subject to 5% tax on Hammer Price in addition to 20% VAT on Buyer’s Premium.

Estimate
£3,000 to £5,000

Starting price
£2500