An interesting Second World War group of six medals attributed to Paymaster Lieutenant John Francis

An interesting Second World War group of six medals attributed to Paymaster Lieutenant John Francis Storey, Royal Naval Reserve: 1939-45 Star, Atlantic Star with France and Germany Bar, Africa Star, Burma Star (no entitlement*), Italy Star, War Medal 1939-45 with Mention in Despatches Emblem, unnamed as issued, mounted for wearing, good very fine, [6]; together with an enamelled Chief Steward's badge by Gaunt & Son, and a good collection of associated ephemera, including: the recipient's M.I.D. certificate, correspondence relating to the wartime operations that he was involved in, certificates relating to sevices in other units as a yound man, photographs including views of Landing Ship Prins Albert, other vessels, and various personnel carrying out landing operations including the Normandy Landings; photographs of the recipient, and other items.

John Francis Story was born in Ryde on the Isle of Wight on the 22nd of October 1901. He entered public service at an early age, enlisting in the 3rd Cadet Battalion Hampshire Regiment (Isle of Wight) in 1916. In 1921 he served as a Private in the 8th Battalion Hampshire Defence Force during the miners' strikes of that year. He made a career in the Merchant Navy, as a Steward in the ferries that served the Isle of Wight. In wartime, he served in the Paymasters branch of the Royal Naval Reserve, spending much of the war in the Infantry Landing Ship Prins Albert (a converted Belgian cross-channel ferry). In Prins Albert Storey appears to have been a participant in and witness to some of the most dramatic episodes of the Second World War, including Operation Anklet (the successful commando raid on the Lofoten Islands, which resulted in the capture of an Enigma coding machine), Operation Biting (the magnificent airborne and commando raid on the enemy radar station and Bruneval in France), the tragic Dieppe Raid in August 1942, various landings in the Mediterranean theatre, and Operation Neptune (the Normandy Landings). In July 1944 Prins Albert sailed to the South of France to land French Foreign Legion troops, and it was in respect of this operation that Storey was mentioned in Despatches (London Gazette 27/03/1945).

* It is not known why a Burma has been included in this mounted group. Entitlement is confirmed to the other medals.