A Second War Mercantile Marine O.B.E. group of eight awarded to Captain...
A Second War Mercantile Marine O.B.E. group of eight awarded to Captain Matthew McK. Brown, late Royal Naval Reserve and Royal Indian Marine, three times sunk by enemy submarines
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, O.B.E. (Civil) 2nd type breast badge; British War Medal (Lieut. M. McK. Brown. R.N.R.); Mercantile Marine War Medal (Matthew McK. Brown); Victory Medal (Lieut. M. McK. Brown. R.N.R.); 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45, mounted as worn, good very fine or better (8) £500-£600
Footnote
Matthew McKirdie Brown was born in 1890, and served with the Donaldson Line from 1915 to 1951. He was 4th and 3rd Mate of the S.S. Athenia, which was sunk on 16 August 1917, by a torpedo from an enemy submarine, seven miles north of Inishtrahull Island, off Co. Donegal. 15 lives were lost, but the Captain was amongst the survivors. From late 1917, Lieutenant Brown commanded the patrol vessel Hye Leong, based in Rangoon, returning in late 1919 to study for his Master’s ticket which he passed in Glasgow on 1 March 1920. Between the wars he was Chief Officer of the S.S. Corinaldo from 1921 to 1925, and then Master of the S.S. Corrientes, which was torpedoed and sunk in September 1940. He was next appointed Master of the S.S. Cortona until 11 July 1942, when this vessel was also sunk by a torpedo from an enemy submarine. The attack took place midway between the Canary Islands and Gibraltar. 30 of the crew were killed and one was wounded, but Captain Brown was again amongst the survivors.
Captain Brown’s subsequent commands were S.S. Cordillera in 1942-43; S.S. Norwegian in 1943-44; S.S. Salacia (III) from 1944 to 1947; and S.S. Cortona (II) from 1947 to 1951. He was awarded the O.B.E. in January 1946 for war services and retired in 1951.
Sold with the following original documentation: diary/letter book for the period December 1917 to July 1920, describing service of the patrol vessel Hye Leong out of Rangoon; Commission as Lieutenant, R.I.M. (1917); Commission as Lieutenant, R.N.R. (1918); Board of Trade Certificate of Competency (1920); Guildhall Library letter confirming service; various letters and news cuttings covering his career; The Donaldson Line history; and a pair of Captain’s gilt cuffs and O.B.E. case of issue.
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A Second War Mercantile Marine O.B.E. group of eight awarded to Captain Matthew McK. Brown, late Royal Naval Reserve and Royal Indian Marine, three times sunk by enemy submarines
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, O.B.E. (Civil) 2nd type breast badge; British War Medal (Lieut. M. McK. Brown. R.N.R.); Mercantile Marine War Medal (Matthew McK. Brown); Victory Medal (Lieut. M. McK. Brown. R.N.R.); 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45, mounted as worn, good very fine or better (8) £500-£600
Footnote
Matthew McKirdie Brown was born in 1890, and served with the Donaldson Line from 1915 to 1951. He was 4th and 3rd Mate of the S.S. Athenia, which was sunk on 16 August 1917, by a torpedo from an enemy submarine, seven miles north of Inishtrahull Island, off Co. Donegal. 15 lives were lost, but the Captain was amongst the survivors. From late 1917, Lieutenant Brown commanded the patrol vessel Hye Leong, based in Rangoon, returning in late 1919 to study for his Master’s ticket which he passed in Glasgow on 1 March 1920. Between the wars he was Chief Officer of the S.S. Corinaldo from 1921 to 1925, and then Master of the S.S. Corrientes, which was torpedoed and sunk in September 1940. He was next appointed Master of the S.S. Cortona until 11 July 1942, when this vessel was also sunk by a torpedo from an enemy submarine. The attack took place midway between the Canary Islands and Gibraltar. 30 of the crew were killed and one was wounded, but Captain Brown was again amongst the survivors.
Captain Brown’s subsequent commands were S.S. Cordillera in 1942-43; S.S. Norwegian in 1943-44; S.S. Salacia (III) from 1944 to 1947; and S.S. Cortona (II) from 1947 to 1951. He was awarded the O.B.E. in January 1946 for war services and retired in 1951.
Sold with the following original documentation: diary/letter book for the period December 1917 to July 1920, describing service of the patrol vessel Hye Leong out of Rangoon; Commission as Lieutenant, R.I.M. (1917); Commission as Lieutenant, R.N.R. (1918); Board of Trade Certificate of Competency (1920); Guildhall Library letter confirming service; various letters and news cuttings covering his career; The Donaldson Line history; and a pair of Captain’s gilt cuffs and O.B.E. case of issue.
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