Help us bring historic medals home to Falmouth

Help us bring historic medals home to Falmouth

This month, we’ve launched a Crowdfunder campaign with a powerful mission: to display a collection of naval medals awarded to war hero, Captain Stephen Halden Beattie. The collection includes Beattie’s Victoria Cross, one of the rarest and most prestigious honours of the Second World War.

The ‘Greatest Raid of All Time’

On 26^th March 1942, Lieutenant Commander Stephen (Sam) Halden Beattie left Falmouth with over 600 other men to undertake what is often referred to as ‘The Greatest Raid of All’, the St Nazaire Raid (Operation Chariot).

Beattie commanded HMS Campbeltown, the First World War destroyer, in a seemingly impossible mission to prevent the German pocket battleship Tirpitz from entering Atlantic shipping lanes and disrupting the vital convoy system sustaining Britain’s war effort.

The dock at St Nazaire was the only facility on the Atlantic coast that had a dry dock capable of servicing Tirpitz.

Beattie’s ship was transformed into a floating bomb – stripped of weight to navigate the shallow estuary, disguised to resemble a German destroyer, and laden with nearly five tons of delayed-action explosives concealed in a steel and concrete casing.

He led a small fleet of motor launches carrying over 600 military personnel along the Loire estuary. At 01:22, German searchlights illuminated the entire convoy and unleashed a maelstrom of fire. Campbeltown was hit repeatedly, but Beattie maintained his course with unwavering determination.

“The raid in the early hours of the 28 March was an incredibly dangerous one – it was essentially a suicide mission for all involved. They’d been told beforehand that many of them would not return, and indeed, two thirds of them didn’t.” Jonathan Griffin, ex Director of NMMC and now volunteer archivist.

The raid achieved its main objective, Beattie’s successful mission confined Tirpitz to Norwegian waters, where it could be contained by British naval forces, but the mission came at a price. Of the men who departed Falmouth two days previously, only 228 returned. 169 were killed in action and 215 became prisoners of war, including Beattie.

The Medals

Following the raid, 89 decorations were awarded, of which five were Victoria Crosses.

Beattie remained a Prisoner of War until April 1945. He was awarded a Victoria Cross, ‘in recognition not only of his own valour but also of that of the unnamed officers and men of a very gallant ship’s company, many of whom have not returned.’ He also received the French Legion d’honneur and Croix de Guerre.

Captain Beattie’s family has kindly granted permission for the Museum to bring the medals back to Cornwall. Given their rarity and significant historical value, they must be housed in a secure, specialist display case.

We need to raise £29,151 for a new specialist case that will protect the medals and ensure they can be enjoyed by all. If the target is achieved, the medals will be on display from March 2027, to commemorate the 85th anniversary of the raid.

You can help us honour the courageous efforts of the men who left from Falmouth that fateful day, and ensure their story is told for generations to come. Donations can be made via the Crowdfunder.

SUPPORT THE CAMPAIGN