Richard Been Stannard

The Royal Naval Reserve Officer Who Survived 31 Air Attacks

Thirty-one bombing attacks in five days. A burning wharf loaded with ammunition. A damaged armed trawler surrounded by enemy aircraft. Then, on the way out of a Norwegian fjord, a German bomber ordered him to surrender. Lieutenant Richard Been Stannard refused, held his course, waited until the aircraft came within range, and shot it down. It was the kind of defiance that would make Captain Richard Been Stannard VC, DSO, RD one of the most remarkable Royal Naval Reserve officers of the Second World War.

Richard Been Stannard was born at Blyth, Northumberland, on 21 August 1902 into a seafaring family. The dangers of the sea entered his life early. In 1912, when Richard was only nine, his father, Captain George Davis Stannard, was lost with the steamship Mount Oswald and all hands. Richard was educated at the Royal Merchant Navy School and went to sea himself in 1918 as an apprentice aboard the Port Victor. He rose through the Merchant Service before joining the Orient Line in 1929, the same year he entered the Royal Naval Reserve as a sub-lieutenant. By the outbreak of the Second World War, the merchant officer had become an experienced professional seaman whose calm judgement would soon be tested under extraordinary conditions.

His defining moment came during the Norwegian Campaign of 1940. From 28 April to 2 May, Stannard commanded the armed trawler HMT Arab during the desperate Allied operations around Namsos. German aircraft repeatedly bombed and machine-gunned the harbour and surrounding positions. When bombs ignited many tons of hand grenades on the wharf, Stannard brought Arab's bows alongside and, with only two men remaining forward with him, fought the fire with the ship's hoses for approximately two hours. Even after the effort became hopeless, his responsibility did not end. He moved his damaged vessel beneath the protection of a cliff, established an armed position ashore for the crews of three trawlers, organised defence against aircraft by day and maintained anti-submarine watch by night.

The danger kept escalating. When another trawler was hit and caught fire nearby, Stannard and two men boarded Arab and shifted her roughly 100 yards before the burning vessel exploded. Then came one of the most extraordinary moments in his story. While leaving the fjord, a German bomber signalled for Arab to turn east or be sunk. Stannard ignored the demand. He continued on course, held his fire as the aircraft approached, and opened fire at close range, bringing the bomber down. During those five days, Arab endured 31 bombing attacks, yet Stannard's carefully organised defences resulted in only one man being wounded. He eventually brought his damaged ship safely back to a British port.

For these actions, Richard Been Stannard was awarded the Victoria Cross, announced in the London Gazette on 16 August 1940. The official citation opened by recognising his "outstanding valour and signal devotion to duty at Namsos" and concluded by praising his continuous gallantry, enterprise and resource, which had saved his ship and many lives.

But Namsos was not the end of Stannard's war.

Only months later, on 3 December 1940, he was Mentioned in Despatches for "good services when a convoy was attacked by enemy aircraft" while commanding Arab. This was the first of two wartime Mentions in Despatches.

Stannard went on to command a succession of important Royal Navy vessels, including HMS Stanley, HMS Ramsey, HMS Vimy and HMS Peacock. His next major decoration came from the Battle of the Atlantic. While commanding the destroyer HMS Vimy, Stannard took part in successful anti-submarine operations during the defence of Atlantic convoys. On 18 May 1943, the London Gazette appointed Lieutenant-Commander Richard Been Stannard, VC, RD, RNR, a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order. The official citation was concise but significant: "For successful action against enemy submarines while serving in H.M.S. Vimy." His command of Vimy included the action in February 1943 in which Vimy and HMS Beverley destroyed the German submarine U-187 during the battle surrounding Convoy SC 118.

His courage at Namsos was also recognised beyond Britain. King Haakon VII of Norway conferred upon Stannard the Norwegian War Cross with Sword, Norway's premier wartime gallantry decoration. British permission to wear the award was published in the London Gazette on 13 October 1942. Stannard was listed among those decorated "for great gallantry and leadership before the enemy, during the Norwegian Campaign." The award provided international recognition of the same leadership and fighting spirit that had distinguished his command of Arab.

By 1944, Stannard was commanding HMS Peacock on the dangerous Arctic convoy route to the Soviet Union. The North Russia convoys were among the harshest naval operations of the war, combining U-boat and air attack with extreme cold, ice and violent seas. Stannard was Mentioned in Despatches for a second time on 5 December 1944 for distinguished services in the protection of convoys to North Russia in the face of U-boat attacks.

His medal group reflected a maritime career spanning both world wars. In addition to the Victoria Cross, Distinguished Service Order, Royal Naval Reserve Decoration and Norwegian War Cross with Sword, his verified group included the British War Medal, Mercantile Marine War Medal and Victory Medal for First World War service, followed by the 1939-45 Star, Atlantic Star with France and Germany clasp, War Medal 1939-45 with the oak leaf emblem for his Mentions in Despatches, the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal of 1953 and the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal of 1977. Research by the Royal Naval Patrol Service Association Museum identified twelve medals in his complete entitlement and confirmed them against a photograph of his mounted medal group.

Stannard continued to rise in the Royal Naval Reserve after the war. He became a Commander in 1947 and was promoted Captain in 1952 before transferring to the RNR Retired List in July 1954. His connection with the sea continued in civilian life. After returning to the Orient Line, he eventually became Marine Superintendent in Sydney, Australia, and later served with P&O Australia.

Captain Richard Been Stannard died in Sydney on 22 July 1977, one month short of his seventy-fifth birthday. His story is larger than the Victoria Cross alone. It is the story of a professional merchant seaman who became a fighting naval officer, survived relentless air attack, confronted fire and exploding ammunition at close quarters, fought German submarines in the Atlantic, protected Arctic convoys and earned recognition from both Britain and Norway.

What makes Richard Been Stannard VC so compelling is not a single instant of bravery. At Namsos, his courage continued for five days. In the Atlantic, it continued against the U-boat threat. In the Arctic, it continued on the convoy routes to Russia. His official Victoria Cross citation captured the quality that ran through his wartime service: sustained courage, leadership, resourcefulness and an extraordinary determination to bring his men and his ship home.