Richard Been Stannard
Encyclopedia
Captain
Richard Been Stannard VC
DSO
RD
(21 August 1902 – 22 July 1977) was an English
recipient of the Victoria Cross
, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British
and Commonwealth
forces.
in the Royal Naval Reserve
during the Second World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
From 28 April to 2 May 1940 at Namsos
, Norway
, HMT Arab
survived 31 bombing attacks in five days. On one occasion during this period Lieutenant Stannard and two of his crew tackled for two hours a fire on the jetty caused by a bomb igniting ammunition. Part of the jetty was saved, which proved invaluable at the subsequent evacuation. Later feats included the destruction of an enemy bomber whose pilot, thinking that he had HMT Arab at his mercy, ordered that she be steered into captivity.
of 5 December 1944 he was Mentioned in Dispatches
"For distinguished services while operating, from, or serving in, H.M. Ships Vindex, Striker, Mermaid, Keppel, Peacock and Whitehall in the protection of convoys to North Russia in the face of attacks by U-boats"
A blue plaque to Stannard has been erected by Loughton
Town Council on his house in The Avenue, Loughton, Essex.
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
Richard Been Stannard VC
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
RD
Decoration for Officers of the Royal Naval Reserve
The Decoration for Officers of the Royal Naval Reserve was a medal awarded in the Royal Naval Reserve of the United Kingdom to officers with at least fifteen years of active duty...
(21 August 1902 – 22 July 1977) was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
recipient of the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
forces.
Details
He was 37 years old, and a lieutenantLieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in the Royal Naval Reserve
Royal Naval Reserve
The Royal Naval Reserve is the volunteer reserve force of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. The present Royal Naval Reserve was formed in 1958 by merging the original Royal Naval Reserve and the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve , a reserve of civilian volunteers founded in 1903...
during the Second World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
From 28 April to 2 May 1940 at Namsos
Namsos
is a town and municipality in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Namdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Namsos. Other villages in the municipality include Bangsund, Klinga, Ramsvika, Skomsvoll, and Spillum....
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, HMT Arab
HMT Arab
HM Trawler Arab was a trawler launched in 1936. At the outbreak of World War II, she became a naval trawler serving in the Royal Naval Patrol Service during World War II. Lieutenant Richard Been Stannard won the Victoria Cross while serving as her commander during the Namsos campaign in 1940...
survived 31 bombing attacks in five days. On one occasion during this period Lieutenant Stannard and two of his crew tackled for two hours a fire on the jetty caused by a bomb igniting ammunition. Part of the jetty was saved, which proved invaluable at the subsequent evacuation. Later feats included the destruction of an enemy bomber whose pilot, thinking that he had HMT Arab at his mercy, ordered that she be steered into captivity.
VC Citation
MID citation
In the London GazetteLondon Gazette
The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...
of 5 December 1944 he was Mentioned in Dispatches
Mentioned in Dispatches
A soldier Mentioned in Despatches is one whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which is described the soldier's gallant or meritorious action in the face of the enemy.In a number of countries, a soldier's name must be mentioned in...
"For distinguished services while operating, from, or serving in, H.M. Ships Vindex, Striker, Mermaid, Keppel, Peacock and Whitehall in the protection of convoys to North Russia in the face of attacks by U-boats"
A blue plaque to Stannard has been erected by Loughton
Loughton
Loughton is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of Essex. It is located between 11 and 13 miles north east of Charing Cross in London, south of the M25 and west of the M11 motorway and has boundaries with Chingford, Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell and Buckhurst Hill...
Town Council on his house in The Avenue, Loughton, Essex.