Captain Edward Stephen Fogarty Fegen, R.N., was awarded the Victoria Cross in 1940. He was the third Irishman to receive the award in this war. Captain Fogarty Fegen was Commander of the armed merchant cruiser “Jervis Bay”, escorting thirty-eight merchantmen in the North Atlantic, when a powerful German warship was sighted. Captain Fogarty Fegen drew out from the convoy and made straight for the enemy. He brought his ship between the raider and the convoy so that the merchant ships were able to scatter. Thirty-three of them were saved. For nearly an hour the “Jervis Bay” held the enemy fire. She then blew up and sank, and Captain Fogarty Fegen went down with this ship. Captain Fogarty Fegen was born in 1892, son of the late Vice-Admiral Fogarty Fegen. He came from Ballinunty, Co. Tipperary. In the last war he was a destroyer Commander. After the war, while on the China Station as Commander of H.M.S. “Suffolk”, he won commendation for rescuing fourteen of the crew of the German motor-ship “Hedwig” which had run aground in rough weather. The National Archives | DocumentsOnline | Image Details Edward Stephen Fogarty Fegen - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Victoria Cross awarded to Edward Stephen Fogarty Fegen CWGC :: Casualty Details Captain EDWARD STEPHEN FOGARTY FEGEN V C, H.M.S. Jervis Bay, Royal Navy who died age 49 on 05 November 1940 Son of Frederick Fogarty Fegen and Catherine Mary Fegen, of Knightsbridge, London. Remembered with honour CHATHAM NAVAL MEMORIAL Grave/Memorial Reference: 34, 1. See this thread for reference: http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/research-material/19413-volunteers-eire-who-have-won-distinctions.html :irishflag[1]:
He took on the Admiral Scheer , rather like Ludovick Kennedy's father action against Scharnhorst and Gneinsenau.
In Memory of Captain EDWARD STEPHEN FOGARTY FEGEN V C H.M.S. Jervis Bay, Royal Navy who died age 49 on 05 November 1940 Son of Frederick Fogarty Fegen and Catherine Mary Fegen, of Knightsbridge, London. Remembered with honour CHATHAM NAVAL MEMORIAL Allied Warships of WWII - Armed Merchant Cruiser HMS Jervis Bay - uboat.net On 5 November 1940, HMS Jervis Bay (A/Capt. Edward Stephen Fogarty Fegen, RN) was shelled and sunk in position 52º41'N, 32º17'W by the German pocket-battleship Admiral Scheer while engaging the superior enemy ship in a heroic, if hopeless, fight to give the 37 merchants in the convoy HX-84 a chance to escape, because the armed merchant cruiser was the sole escort. Her sacrifice allowed many ships of the convoy to scatter and escape in the night. Capt. E.S.F. Fegen (RN) was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. Citation: "For valour in challenging hopeless odds and giving his life to save the many ships it was his duty to protect. On the 5th of November, 1940, in heavy seas, Captain Fegen, in His Majesty's Armed Merchant Cruiser Jervis Bay, was escorting thirty-eight Merchantmen. Sighting a powerful German warship he at once drew clear of the Convoy, made straight for the enemy and brought his ship between the raider and her prey, so that they might scatter and escape. Crippled, in flames, unable to reply, for nearly an hour the Jervis Bay held the German's fire. So she went down; but of the Merchantmen all but four or five were saved." 190 men were lost, while 65 survivors were picked up by the Swedish merchant Stureholm that had turned back during the night to search for survivors.
WW2 sailors remembered in Chatham A memorial service has taken place in Kent today for sailors who lost their lives when their ship came under attack by the Germans during the Second World War. Around 180 people gathered in Chatham to pay tribute to the 186 crewman and their captain who died on board HMS Jervis Bay - on this day in 1940. The lightly-armed merchant cruiser took the full force of a surprise German attack as she escorted a supplies convoy from Canada to the UK.
If memory serves me correctly he was/is the only person to be awarded a VC purely on a recommendation from the enemy.
If memory serves me correctly he was/is the only person to be awarded a VC purely on a recommendation from the enemy. I think Lt-Cdr Gerard Roope VC was decorated in a similar fashion after ramming his ship HMS Gloworm into the Admiral Hipper. As far as I can remember reading the Germans actually passed a message to the British Government via the Red Cross to stress how brave he had been, but it was not until the survivors from the Gloworm were liberated that Roope was finally recommended for the VC.
Wasn't there one at St Nazaire, Op Chariot? Many of my (what I like to think of as well informed) fiends have never heard of the Jervis Bay. Sadly lack of knowledge that I seem to accumulate. Mike
A few articles below The Royal Gazette Islanders pay tribute to war heroes - Bermuda Sun... Beyond the Headlines - Hamilton, Bermuda
http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/59475-remembering-today-51140-able-seamanleonard-baker-cldx-4510-royal-naval-volunteer-reserve-hms-jervis-bay/
Name: Edward Stephen Fogarty Fegen Birth Date: 8 Oct 1891 Birth Place: Southsea, Portsmouth, Hampshire Death Date: 5 Nov 1940 TD
