An Important & Historic WW2 (Battle Citation)
MILITARY CROSS (1945).




THE BATTLE OF MARK KANAAL, Holland. 3rd November 1944.

To:

Lt S.C. MALENOIR-VICKERS.
240 Field Coy, Royal Engineers.

An “IMMEDIATE’ Award for a Famous Engagement with Battle Citation.

[CITATION] London Gazette. 5th April 1945.
“Lt Vickers was in charge of a Platoon detailed to construct a footpath over KANAAL M.R. 998424 O/S No.4.for the POLISH infantry to assault over. Work commenced at 0455 hrs. 3 Nov 44. The site was under small arms fire, mortar and shell fire but Lt Vickers remained on the site directing operations, throughout the whole period and eventually left the site at 1500 hrs, a footbridge and a Bailey Bridge having been completed. He was often the target for small arms fire and rarely took cover except when after several mortar bombs it was obvious that the enemy intended to plaster the area for a period. His work enabled the Polish Division to successfully consolidate on the far bank, a task which had been foiled several times on previous days.”

[BIOGRAPHY]
By the end of 1940, Stephen Charles Malenoir-Vickers was serving as a Sapper at the Air Raid Precautions HQ, at Colchester, Essex. He was commissioned 2nd Lt on 6th February 1942.


He landed in France at 04:30am at Mike Red (JUNO) Beach, near Courcelles, on D-DAY, 6th JUNE 1944 and assembled with his men at “Elbow Frankie” assembly area.





He was mentioned in despatches 22 March 1945.




[THE BATTLE OF MARK KANAAL]
This is an important award for what was a critical battle which took place during the allied advance through Holland in November of 1944. The retreating German troops had become strongly dug in on the opposite (eastern) bank of the Mark Kanaal and were determined to prevent the allies crossing the waters. Over a number of previous days, several unsuccessful attempts had been made to get the 1st Polish Armoured Division across the canal.

So critical was the need to get troops across that the Royal Engineers were called in to build both a foot bridge and a temporary Bailey bridge at this important and heavily defended crossing at Marksluis near Oosterhout.

The two structures were built under the most intense enemy opposition and over a period of over ten hours our engineers constructed the bridges under constant bombardment, machine gun, and sniper fire from the opposite bank. One of Lt Vickers engineering sappers, 2079833, Timothy HASTINGS was also awarded an immediate MILITARY MEDAL for his bravery in completing the bridge. He was badly wounded in the right eye and had to extricate himself from under the bridge under heavy mortar fire by going hand over hand on the lashings while in the strong current.

[PAPERWORK] .....A HUGE AMOUNT OF ORIGINAL PAPERS
There is so much paperwork and other items with this group it fills a box about 12” Square. The papers include virtually everything you can imagine including D-DAY & European maps and charts, and many other important military items including two of the Original D-DAY confidence boosting letters from Ike & Monty.

Also included is a really fabulous photo album with many original and unpublished D-DAY photos of our tanks being unloaded on the beach from numbered US landing ships.

Also, many pictures of the various bridges which this officer and his men built during their advance across occupied France & Holland. A truly Herculean task completed under almost impossible odds against a most brutal and determined enemy.







A TRULY EXCELLENT “BATTLE CITATION” MILITARY CROSS GROUP WITH QUITE EXCEPTIONAL SUPPORTING PAPERS & PHOTOS.

All medals are totally “MINT STATE” and unworn. M.C. is in its original velvet, silk and leather case.

SOLD