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WATKINS TaskerMareMagnum
A.L.s from Tasker Watkins VC.
Single sheet measuring 8.0 x 6.5 ins (approx. 20.0 x 17.0 cms), on stationery of 53 (W) Divisional Dinner Club printed in red and black, and dated 20 November 1995; near fine state. THE LETTER IS WRITTEN, DATED AND SIGNED ENTIRELY IN SIR TASKER'S HAND, AND IS SOLD WITH A BRIEF RESUME OF HIS POST-WAR CAREER AND A POOR QUALITY PHOTOGRAPHIC PORTRAIT. Sir Tasker Watkins was gazetted for the Victoria Cross on 2 November 1944. The citation reads: 'On 16 August 1944 at Barfour, Normandy, Lieutenant Watkins' company came under murderous machine-gun fire while advancing through corn fields set with booby traps. The only officer left, Lieutenant Watkins led a bayonet charge with his 30 remaining men against 50 enemy infantry, practically wiping them out. Finally, at dusk, separated from the rest of the battalion, he ordered his men to scatter and after he had personally charged and silenced an enemy machine-gun post, he brought them back to safety. His superb leadership not only saved his men, but decisively influenced the course of the battle'. Sir Tasker Watkins (1918-2007) was commissioned into the Welch Regiment in 1941 and was the first Welshman to win the Victoria Cross in WWII. He retired from the Army as a major in 1946 and entered the law. He was called to the bar in 1948 at the beginning of a distinguished legal career that culminated in his serving as Deputy Chief Justice of England from 1988-1993. He was knighted in 1971 and appointed a CBE in 1990. Watkins was President of the 53 (W) Divisional Dinner Club.
Antiquarian Bookshop Island Books · Thakeham, GB164,91 €
