1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; War Medal 1939-45 - all unnamed as awarded with condolence award slip and in original box of issue addressed to Mrs E. Corney, 65 Gilmour St. Thornaby-on-Tees Co. Durham. Included is the recipients Continuous Certificate of Discharge Book.
John Douglas Corney was born in 1895 in Stockton Tees, Durham. He enlisted in the Merchant Navy as a 4th Engineer and served on various vessels in WWI from 23.4.17. There is no record of him claiming or qualifying for any WWI medals.
He continued to serve with the MN inter-war and his Certificate of Discharge Book which is included provides a chronological breakdown of what vessels he served on, in what capacity as well as his Conduct Rating which was, without exception, Very Good.
Having progressed through the ranks he was a Chief Engineer aboard SS Llanwern, a 4966 ton British cargo ship bound for the United States, when she was bombed and sunk by German FW200 Kondor aircraft on February 26, 1941. She was carrying ballast and was traveling from Newport to Halifax. The attack also sank the Dutch SS Amstelland, SS Beursplein, the Norwegian SS Solferino, the Greek SS Kyriakoula, and the British SS Mahanada and SS Swinburne in what proved to be a successful outing for the Luftwaffe.
Many years later, Frank Plaister, a survivor, wrote the following, "
The Llanwern was 600 miles off Ireland when it was bombed by German Fokkers working in conjunction with U-boats. 'It was sunk with its load of coal in minutes. My friend Ginger Perkins went down with her. I was terrified but you don’t have time to think. I dived overboard. The next thing I remember is coming around in the sick bay of HMS Weston. I never expected to survive and thought I was in heaven. Only eleven of the sixty crew survived."
Corney was one of those who never made it home. He is remembered with honour on the Tower Hill Memorial.
Sold with some copied research. The medals are in good condition unless otherwise stated.
