Museum seeks £29k for WW2 'greatest raid' medals

Fundraising is under way to help move a collection of medals belonging to the man who led World War Two's "Greatest Raid of All" from London and keep them in Cornwall.

Lt Cdr Stephen Beattie left Falmouth, Cornwall, with more than 600 men in March 1942 to undertake the St Nazaire Raid, also known as Operation Chariot.

The "incredibly dangerous" operation prevented the German pocket battleship Tirpitzfrom entering Atlantic Ocean shipping lanes and disrupting the convoy system sustaining Britain's war effort.

The National Maritime Museum Cornwall (NMMC) said it was hoping to raise £29,151 for a specialist case to house the medals, including Beattie's Victoria Cross, to display them next year.

Jonathan Griffin, volunteer archivist for the NMMC, said the raid, in the early hours of 28 March 1942, after their ship left Cornwall two days before, was "essentially a suicide mission for all involved".

He said: "[Beattie], as the captain, drove his ship head on into a dock gate, packed with nearly five tonnes of explosives.

"Its explosion meant that the raid had achieved its main objective - but at the cost of many lives.

"Eighty-nine decorations were awarded, of which five were Victoria Crosses: five out of 183 during the whole war.

"That's why it's known as the greatest raid of all."

Of the men who left Falmouth, only 228 returned.

A total of 169 were killed in action and 215 were taken as prisoners of war, including Beattie.

His son Tim Beattie said: "None of them would have seen themselves as heroes.

"It's not for us to concentrate on the heroism of people on the raid. I think it more important to concentrate on the fact that they were willing to sacrifice."

The family has given permission for Beattie's medals to be moved from the Imperial War Museum in London.

If the fundraising target is achieved, they were due to go on display from March 2027 to commemorate the 85th anniversary of the raid, the NMMC said.

Follow BBC Cornwall on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@bbc.co.uk.