WW2 Medal Group Killed in Action Japanese Officer Captain Royal Armoured Corps

  

WW2 Medal Group to a Captain and Tank Commander from'A' Squadron of the 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of Wales's Dragoon Guards) Royal Armoured Corps who was killed in an infamous action by a. Officer with his katana / sword. To 180457 Captain Hubert Peter Cornaby who was killed in action on 2nd March 1945 when he was 24 years old. Hubert came from Chiswick in Middlesex. The group includes the following.

Named Army Condolence Slip - Captain H. Named medal box - sent to his mother Mrs R Garszynski at 14 Queen Anne's Grove in Bedford Park, London (Ruth Anna Cornaby had got divorced in 1940 had re-married Jan Garszynski in 1945). Captain Cornaby was second in command of'A' Squadron of the 7th Light Cavalry.

A Japanese officer and a private soldier had been hiding on the roadside. Whilst the tanks were engaging other targets up ahead, a Japanese officer and a private soldier ran out of cover towards Captain Cornaby's Lee tank. The private was killed by machine gun fire from another tank but the officer managed to climb onto Captain Cornaby's tank.

He killed Cornaby with his sword and he also killed the turret gunner. After Hubert and the turret gunner of the tank had been killed the Japanese officer jumped into the tank and attacked Vernon Jenkins. Trooper Vernon Jenkins was the tank loader on Captain Cornaby's tank. During the struggle Vernon managed to fire all six rounds of his revolver into the Japanese officer and three more rounds from another revolver he managed to grab before the officer fell down dead. Jenkins was awarded the military medal for bravery for his actions in killing the Japanese officer.

The katana sword that killed Hubert is one of the star items and treasures of the Scotts Dragoon Guards Museum in Edinburgh and it can be seen on their website. The sword was donated to the museum by Trooper Vernon Jenkins. Details of the attack and death of Captain Hubert Cornaby are included in the book'Tank Tracks to Rangoon by Bryan Perrett'.

There is a photo of Hubert Cornaby when he attended Old Aldenham School in Hertfordshire shown above - he is on the third row from the front, forth from the right. Hubert's father was William Basil Cornaby a Far Eastern Trader and Shipper of Hong Kong - where Hubert had been born. Captain Cornaby had joined the regiment as a 2nd Lieutenant on 15th April 1941.

He was promoted to Captain and also Temporary Major from 12th January 1944. Captain Cornaby was initially buried in Mandalay but his body, along with other servicemen, was re-buried at the Taukkyan War Cemetery in Myanmar (formally Burma). A very interesting and well documented group to an officer casualty of the Burma Campaign worthy of more research.

Please let me know if you need any additional photos or information. The item "WW2 Medal Group Killed in Action Japanese Officer Captain Royal Armoured Corps" is in sale since Friday, November 20, 2020. This item is in the category "Collectables\Militaria\World War II (1939-1945)\Medals/ Ribbons". The seller is "harrypitt69" and is located in Nottingham. This item can be shipped worldwide.

• Modified Item: No
• Country/Region of Manufacture: United Kingdom
• Country/ Organization: Great Britain
• Issued/ Not-Issued: Issued
• Type: Medals & Ribbons
• Conflict: World War II (1939-1945)
• Service: Army
• Era: 1914-1945