The extremely rare Great War Q-ship operations D.S.M. and Bar group of eleven awarded to Ldg. Smn. James McHardy, R.N., who won both awards for his gallantry on the Q-Ship Stock Force, the second of them on the same occasion that his skipper, Harold Auten, won a famous Victoria Cross.

 

James McHardy was born on 18th October 1889 at Aberdeen, Scotland. He joined the Royal Navy in 1908, and saw service in the Middle East on HMS Fox for which he was awarded the Africa GSM  and the Naval GSM.  In 1911 James was posted to HMS Prince George before transferring to HMS Roxburgh, in June 1912. At the outbreak of the First World War, HMS Roxburgh was assigned to the Grand Fleet. It was during a North Sea patrol in mid-1915 that the Roxburgh was torpedoed by a German U-Boat and forced to return to the UK for repairs. James left the Roxburgh in November 1915, and in June 1916 he was posted to HMS Active, a fast scout cruiser. Perhaps eager for more action, James applied for ‘special service’ in March 1917 and was posted to HMS Vala, a merchant ship converted into a Q-Ship employed to counter the German U-boat threat in the North Atlantic. During his short period of service on the Vala, the ship was engaged in several actions against German submarines off the south coast of the UK. James transferred off the Vala in June 1917 which turned out to be a fortuitous posting as, in August 1917, the Vala was lost with all hands in action with U-54.

James subsequently served on HMS Heather, an Aubretia-class sloop Q-Ship. The Heather was commanded by Captain Harold Auten and he had noted how German u-boat captains had become very wary of ships like the Heather, so towards the end of 1917 Auten left and organised the conversion of a small coastal collier, the Stock Force, into a Q-Ship. In December 1917 James transferred to HMS Stock Force under his erstwhile captain. During the first six months of 1918 the Stock Force was engaged in numerous anti-submarine patrols in the waters of the North Atlantic, Irish Sea and English Channel. 

 

Luck for the Stock Force ran out on 30th July 1918. Much of the following is taken from Auten’s book. On that day, Stock Force was ‘on patrol’ in the English Channel, near enough to Guernsey to see the island’s dim outline peeping through the early morning mist. Hours passed with no sign of any prey until, around 4:45pm, when a “slight disturbance” on an otherwise calm sea was spotted. This was the track of a torpedo and it was headed straight for Stock Force. Auten scurried onto the bridge in time to see the torpedo barely 50 yards away. “She was coming very slowly in the end, having been fired at a long range and appearing to have very nearly run her distance”, he later reported. “It looked to everybody on the bridge as if the torpedo would pass ahead; but suddenly, to my amazement, it took a turn intowards the ship and struck us abreast of No.1 hatch”. The resulting explosion was devastating. L.S. T. Cunningham, gun-layer on one of the 4-inch guns, wrote: “The ship shuddered from stem to stern.  The forward end of the bridge was entirely blown away. The whole of the foredeck was badly bent and the derricks scattered to the four winds". Many suffered fractured limbs but no one was killed.

T/Lt. Workman lead Stock Force’s so called ‘panic party’ in a well-rehearsed pantomime of organised chaos. As they abandoned ship, Auten headed aft through the shambles to find the roof of the buckled ‘gun house’ being propped up by boats’ oars and the two gun crews crouching beside their weapons. The wounded Lt. Grey was in charge of one of them, and he whispered orders to his men to prepare their gun for action and then to lie “flat down” and not “to speak a word”. There was already three feet of water swilling in the forward magazine and every passing minute saw the ship’s foredeck sinking lower.

 

Taking this as their cue, the ‘panic party’ rowed slowly down Stock Force’s port side, deliberately leading the U-boat into Auten’s field of fire. "It seemed ages before she got on the beam where both the 4-inch guns could bear....at last she reached the fatal spot. ‘Submarine bearing, red 90, range 300yds, stand by’, I whispered through the voice pipes; then a second or so later, ‘Let go’. The hatches dropped and a shell screamed towards the submarine. The opening shot appeared to “skim the conning tower”, carrying away the periscope and wireless mast before exploding beyond. By then, the other gun had joined in, with Grey claiming further hits, including one “that hit her just where the conning tower had been”. In the midst of the mayhem, Cunningham saw one of the submarine’s crew blown “high into the air”. With shells bursting all around the submarine a pall of blue smoke began pouring out from the seemingly crippled craft. “Her bow went up in the air a bit, making a better target”, noted Grey. “She remained absolutely stationary. We continued to fire, putting shells in as hard as ever… until the submarine was finally smashed up and disappeared.” In all, Auten recorded 20 hits, seven from Grey’s gun alone, and all among Stock Force’s crew were convinced the U-boat had been destroyed.

 

For an action that was cited as one of the finest examples of coolness, discipline and good organisation in the history of “Q” ships, Captain Auten was awarded the Victoria Cross. Numerous other members of the crew were decorated including James McHardy, who received a bar to his DSM.

After a period of recovery, James was posted to Auten’s last Q-Ship - Suffolk Coast. This ship put to sea from Queenstown on November 10th 1918. She later became a ‘show ship’, demonstrating the principals of Q-Ship operation to the general public during a fund-raising tour of UK ports. This included Auten and his crew featuring in a silent film.

James came to New Zealand in 1924 on posting to the N.Z. Division of the Royal Navy. He was promoted to P.O. before taking his shore pension in 1930 and transferring to the Royal Fleet Reserve. In June 1940 he received the RFR Long Service and Good Conduct Medal. He was subsequently mobilised for service, and was posted to HMNZS Monowai in August 1940. The Monowai had been converted into an armed auxiliary cruiser and saw service throughout the Pacific, including a defensive action against a Japanese submarine in 1942. James served on the Monowai until June 1943, during which time he was promoted to Chief Petty Officer. He transferred to HMNZS Philomel on promotion as T/A/Boatswain. James McHardy DSM* died on 12th April 1956 at Kerikeri.

 

Distinguished Service Medal, G.V.R., with Second Award Bar, the reverse officially dated ‘30, JULY 1918.’(J10485 J McHARDY, LDG. SEA. 1ST JAN - 30 JUNE 1918); Africa General Service 1902-56, 1 clasp,Somaliland 1908-10 (S.S. 2282 ORD. H.M.S. FOX); Naval General Service 1915-62, 1 clasp, Persian Gulf1909-1914 (S.S. 2282 ORD. H.M.S. FOX); 1914-15 Star (J.10485, J. MC.HARDY, L.S., R.N.); British Warand Victory Medals (J10485 J. MC HARDY. L.S. R.N.); 1939/45 Star; Pacific Star; 1939/45 War Medal; NewZealand War Service Medal; Royal Fleet Reserve L.S. & G.C., G.VI.R., 1st issue (DEV. A. 8916 J. McHARDY.P.O. R.F.R.).

Comes with his original certificate of service and a copy of Auten's biography, inscribed to McHardy and signed by Harold Auten V.C. WW2 medals are with the group (not photographed). Full bio available on request.