[Bcma-l] Sale of Ted Simmons medals at auction

[bcma-l@museumsassn.bc.ca]

Would you please post the following to your members? 

Clare Sugrue
Administrative Assistant/Webmaster/Volunteer Coordinator |Assistant Administratif/Webmaster/Coordonnateur Volontaire
CFB Esquimalt Naval & Military Museum | Musée naval et militaire, Base des Forces canadiennes Esquimalt
Victoria, BC V9A 7N2
Sugrue.CE@forces.gc.ca
Telephone | Téléphone 250-363-4312/ Facsimile | Télécopieur 250-363-4252
www.navalandmilitarymuseum.org



The medals of a Canadian war hero, Commander Edward Theodore "Ted" Simmons, DSO DSC RCNVR, are being sold at auction in the UK on 18 Nov. 2008, along with memorabilia relating to his distinguished naval career. 
His son John "Joe" Simmons, who lives in Grand Valley, Ontario, wants to save his father's medals for Canada by purchasing them at auction and donating them to CFB EsquimaltNaval & MilitaryMuseum. He's launched a website - 
www.etsimmons.ca -
to try and attract public donations and through this effort, hopes to raise enough money to successfully bid on the items, which are expected to fetch $40,000 Cdn.
"To lose something of this value that is part of the fabric of Canada's military history would indeed be a tragedy," he said.
Ted Simmons received the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) for his "bravery and enterprise" in boarding a sinking U-501 after two corvettes of the Royal Canadian Navy forced the U-boat to the surface with a depth charge attack in September 1941. This was (thought at the time) to be the RCN's first ever U-boat sinking. Simmons was subsequently in command of his own corvette, HMCS Port Arthur, and while in the Mediterranean in January 1943, sank the Italian submarine Tritone in what was described as a "classic engagement." This time Simmons was cited for the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) "...for courage, gallantry, and skill in action with submarines." Simmons subsequently commissioned HMCS Beacon Hill, one of 17 frigates built by Yarrows in Esquimalt and  took her to join the final phases of the Battle of the Atlantic. By war's end Simmons was in command of a Canadian support group of 4 frigates.
Having started his naval service in HMCS Kings in 1940 Simmons had a remarkable wartime career which encapsulates the achievements of the over 80,000 civilians who served in the RCNVR. He was one of the first RCNVRs to command a corvette, one of the first to command a frigate, and one of only two to command a support group. Repatriating his medals to Esquimalt for permanent display will ensure that his story will provide a window onto the achievements of wartime volunteers for future generations of Canadians.