William ‘Wires’ Kavanagh
May 29, 2012 21:54:02 GMT
Post by shred on May 29, 2012 21:54:02 GMT
From the Manchester Evening News April 13th 2010.
A medal awarded to a war hero who rescued the crew of a plane shot down off the French coast on D-Day is likely to fetch up to £2,200 at auction. Salford-born Naval Petty Officer Wireman William ‘Wires’ Kavanagh won the Distinguished Service Medal after he swam in the freezing sea to rescue the seven-man crew of a Halifax bomber. The plane had been shot down and ditched in the sea off the coast of Normandy on June 6, 1944. Mr Kavanagh, born in Pearson Street, Greengate, in 1917, swam out to the airmen, two of whom were injured, and even though he was suffering from exhaustion and severe cold he managed to bring the whole crew safely back to his ship. Now 66 years later, Mr Kavanagh’s DSM – along with his three other war medals – is up for sale and is expected to fetch between £1,800 and £2,200 at Spink in London,on April 22. The medal is worth double the usual Second World War DSM because it is for an incident which took place on D-Day. If Mr Kavanagh had been killed in the incident, the medal would have been worth roughly another £1,000. Known as Wires for his work as an electrician on minesweepers, he also helped to sink a U-boat. He later recalled the dramatic moment in the war when he single-handedly saved seven lives: “The crew of seven had apparently launched their dinghy, which would not inflate. Two of the aircraft crew were injured and had been put into the middle of the dinghy; the remaining five were in the sea holding on to the outer edge. “When I got to them, I recollect one saying ‘Thank Christ we have a Navy’ which made my efforts seem more worthwhile. Other ships had by then sailed to our assistance and positioned themselves to give me and the ditched airmen some protection from the wind and waves. “After having been helped aboard (my ship) and numb with cold, I was hosed down with warm water which turned out to be the worst thing they could have done since, as a result, I experienced excruciating pain as my circulation slowly returned to normal.” Mr Kavanagh was discharged on February 15, 1946. It is not known what happened to him after the war. The Second World War also destroyed Mr Kavanagh’s chances of becoming a professional footballer. In 1937, he had a trial with Manchester United.
Read more at: menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1212015_fearless_dday_heros_medals_go_under_the_hammer
A medal awarded to a war hero who rescued the crew of a plane shot down off the French coast on D-Day is likely to fetch up to £2,200 at auction. Salford-born Naval Petty Officer Wireman William ‘Wires’ Kavanagh won the Distinguished Service Medal after he swam in the freezing sea to rescue the seven-man crew of a Halifax bomber. The plane had been shot down and ditched in the sea off the coast of Normandy on June 6, 1944. Mr Kavanagh, born in Pearson Street, Greengate, in 1917, swam out to the airmen, two of whom were injured, and even though he was suffering from exhaustion and severe cold he managed to bring the whole crew safely back to his ship. Now 66 years later, Mr Kavanagh’s DSM – along with his three other war medals – is up for sale and is expected to fetch between £1,800 and £2,200 at Spink in London,on April 22. The medal is worth double the usual Second World War DSM because it is for an incident which took place on D-Day. If Mr Kavanagh had been killed in the incident, the medal would have been worth roughly another £1,000. Known as Wires for his work as an electrician on minesweepers, he also helped to sink a U-boat. He later recalled the dramatic moment in the war when he single-handedly saved seven lives: “The crew of seven had apparently launched their dinghy, which would not inflate. Two of the aircraft crew were injured and had been put into the middle of the dinghy; the remaining five were in the sea holding on to the outer edge. “When I got to them, I recollect one saying ‘Thank Christ we have a Navy’ which made my efforts seem more worthwhile. Other ships had by then sailed to our assistance and positioned themselves to give me and the ditched airmen some protection from the wind and waves. “After having been helped aboard (my ship) and numb with cold, I was hosed down with warm water which turned out to be the worst thing they could have done since, as a result, I experienced excruciating pain as my circulation slowly returned to normal.” Mr Kavanagh was discharged on February 15, 1946. It is not known what happened to him after the war. The Second World War also destroyed Mr Kavanagh’s chances of becoming a professional footballer. In 1937, he had a trial with Manchester United.
Read more at: menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1212015_fearless_dday_heros_medals_go_under_the_hammer
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