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James Joseph Magennis
DetailsHe was 25 years old, and an Acting Leading Seaman in the Royal Navy during the Second World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 31 July 1945 in the Straits of Johor, Singapore, Leading Seaman Magennis, a diver in the midget submarine XE.3, attached limpet mines to the Japanese cruiser Takao under particularly difficult circumstances. He had to squeeze through a narrow space in the partly-open diving hatch, and then scrape barnacles off the bottom of the cruiser before attaching the limpets. During this time his breathing apparatus was leaking and he returned to the submarine after completion of his task very exhausted. On withdrawing, his commander (lan Edward Fraser) found that one of the limpet carriers which was being jettisoned, would not release itself and Magennis immediately volunteered to free it. This he did, after five minutes of nerve-racking work with a heavy spanner. Further information
A STATUE was unveiled in Belfast yesterday in much-delayed honour of a man whose wartime exploits brought him a Victoria Cross but not, in his lifetime, civic recognition from his native city. James Magennis, a submariner, was the only native of Northern Ireland to be awarded a VC for services during the Second World War. The honour marked his courage in attaching limpet mines to ships of the Japanese Imperial Fleet in Singapore harbour in July 1945. However, Mr Magennis was from the nationalist Falls Road in west Belfast and some of his supporters have long blamed institutionalised sectarianism for denying him freedom of the city, or a fitting memorial. One Ulster journalist claimed that a civil servant told him of the "turmoil" at Stormont after confidential word was received that it was about to be announced that a working-class Catholic had won the VC. Mr Magennis's biographer, George Fleming, also a former Royal Navy submariner, said he was a "political pawn". However, the present Lord Mayor, Bob Stoker, a Unionist and Orangeman, who unveiled the bronze and stone statue in the grounds of the City Hall yesterday, pointed out that VC winners from the First Wold War had also been denied memorials. Although a public collection raised more than £3,000 for Mr Magennis on his demobilisation, he struggled to earn an income in Belfast and moved to England in the Fifties. He died in 1986. His son, Paul, 50, who travelled from Bradford for yesterday's ceremony, said: "It means a lot to us that the city where my father was born and lived has honoured him. He never talked much about what he did in the war but he would have been more touched by this than by the VC." Mr Magennis's former commanding officer, Ian Fraser, now 78, who also won the VC for his part in the operation, said: "Jim gave me bother from time to time. He liked his tot of rum, but he was a lovely man and a fine diver. I have never met a braver man. It was a privilege to know him and it's wonderful to see Belfast honour him at last."
The medalplease update if you know where his medal is publicly displayed
The owner of James Magennis VC is Michael Ashcroft who owns 100 VC's. Magennis VC was his first buy from Sotheby's in 1986, SO the secret is out? The name of the Victoria Cross collector, who, it is believed, buys most of the VCs that have come on the market in recent years-both at auction and through private sale-was revealed in a Sunday Times news item as being businessman Michael Ashcroft. His name may be especially familiar to readers of the financial press over the last ten or so years, as his security business, ADT, one time sponsor of the London Marathon, went through a number of ups and downs, particularly connected with control of the company as a result of involvement from Canadian business interests. Michael Ashcoft's name also made financial news when it was revealed that he was making significant purchases of Christie shares, which he subsequently sold. More recently his position as a Deputy Treasurer and benefactor of the Conservative Party has also been the subject of press reporting. Michael Naxton, formerly Head of the Medal Department and Auctioneer at Sotheby's, and now an independent medal consultant, apparently bids on behalf of Mr Ashcroft and has been seen to buy the majority of VCS at auction over the past few years, which are believed to form part of the Ashcroft collection. The collection is rumoured to be nudging up towards 100 Crosses and The Sunday Times also alleged what has been whispered for some time that this includes the posthumous Falklands VC to Sgt Ian Mackay, Parachute Regiment. However in the early days, Michael Ashcroft did sometimes bid in person. The first MEDAL NEWS can remember his appearance at an auction was at the sale of the Leading Seaman J. J. Magennis "Midget Submarine" VC at Sotheby's in 1986, at which time his identity was unknown to possibly all of the medal fraternity, although a financial programme broadcast on television that same week about his company, which included a photograph of Mr Ashcroft, did reveal his identity to MEDAL NEWS. He subsequently appeared at the sale of Assistant Commissary Dalton's Rorke's Drift VC at Spink later the same year, although on this occasion he did not purchase the Cross. A couple of years later he went on to attend the Christie sale of the Royal Flying Corps VC to Lieutenant William Leefe Robinson which he purchased for more that £100,000. Generally speaking, since this time he has either bid through an agent or, it is strongly suspected, on the telephone. In the early years it is believed that he did not buy quite so many of the Crosses on offer as he has come to do in recent years. Why did his identity remain a secret so long? Obviously many of those who have been aware of his identity were silenced by client confidentiality-as auctioneers or dealers. Outside this circle there can be very few who knew, and as far as MEDAL NEWS is concerned, although not bound by client confidentiality, as identification of the buyer was simply the result of keeping our "eyes open", there has never seemed to be any purpose served by announcing the identity of a collector whom we had very good reason to believe wanted it to remain confidential. We have, however, frequently indicated in our auction reports that it was our belief, backed up with good evidence, that one individual was the buyer of most VCS in recent years. Now that Michael Ashcroft has been identified as the probable purchaser of VCS, where does that take us? Will he continue to bid so regularly? If not, what difference, if any, will it make to prices? Will Mr Ashcroft now be willing to speak publicly about his interest in the UK's supreme award for gallantry, and, it is understood, in other superb gallantry groups for famous military engagements? What are his intentions for this superb and unrivalled collection? It is thought that about 20 VCS is the previous maximum that has ever been in the hands of one collector, with perhaps about12"14 being the average held by the most prominent previous VC collectors, several of whom have lived overseas. Maybe this story will unfold further in coming weeks. First edition of 'MAGENNIS VC' 1998 by History ireland has long been sold out. However a few Signed copies can still be obtained from the author. Contact George Fleming, 545A Lisburn Road, BELFAST, BT9 7GQ. Telephone. 02890 664629 Email. <george9.fleming@ntlworld.co> for details.
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