9th Mar, 2022 14:15
The Collectors' Auction
Journals of the Frank Fasson GC, Enigma codebook rescuer.
Sold for £1,700
Enigma Interest: The Midshipman's Journals of Francis (Frank) Anthony Blair Fasson GC, placing him aboard HMS Rodney, HMS Windsor, HMS Furious, from 6th September 1930 to 29th March 1932, with many well-executed drawings and cartoons; his commission certificate to Sub-Lieutenant in His Majesty's Fleet on 1st October 1935 signed by George VI; an album of family photographs and an album of family papers.
Notes: Lieutenant Francis Anthony Blair Fasson, GC (17 July 1913 – 30 October 1942), known as Tony Fasson, was a Royal Navy officer. He was posthumously awarded the George Cross "for outstanding bravery and steadfast devotion to duty in the face of danger" when on 30 October 1942 in action in the Mediterranean Sea he captured codebooks vital for the breaking of the German naval "Shark" Enigma cipher from the sinking German submarine U-559.
On 15 September 1935 he was attached to the Royal Air Force with the temporary rank of flying officer to train as a pilot at the No. 1 Flying Training School, RAF Leuchars. He returned to the navy on 16 June 1936 and joined the minesweeping sloop Salamander on 18 July 1936, receiving a promotion to lieutenant on 16th September 1936. From 19th April 1937 he served aboard the escort vessel Shoreham in the East Indies, before joining the destroyer Windsor as First Lieutenant on 5th August 1938.
Fasson was appointed First Lieutenant of the destroyer Hostile on 20 July 1939, and saw action in her on 10 April 1940 during the First Battle of Narvik, after which he received a Mention in Despatches. In early 1941 Fasson was posted to HMS Nile, the naval headquarters in Alexandria, Egypt, finally returning to sea duty in March 1942 as first lieutenant of the destroyer Petard.
On 30 October 1942 Petard, in conjunction with the destroyers Pakenham and Hero, the escort destroyers Dulverton and Hurworth, and an RAF Sunderland flying boat of 47 Squadron based in Port Said, attacked and badly damaged the German submarine U-559. The crew of the U-559 abandoned their vessel, with 7 dead and 38 survivors.
Fasson and Able Seaman Colin Grazier, along with NAAFI canteen assistant Tommy Brown, jumped from the Petard to the deck of the U-559 and entered the sinking submarine, which had water pouring in through seacocks left open by the Germans. Working in complete darkness, fully aware that the submarine could sink without warning at any time, Fasson and Grazier located documents which Brown carried up to the surface. They continued searching until the submarine suddenly – "sank like a stone," drowning Fasson and Grazier; Brown survived. Fasson and Grazier were subsequently awarded the George Cross, while Brown received the George Medal. The awards were published in the London Gazette on 14 September 1943.
The codebooks that Fasson, Grazier, and Brown retrieved were immensely valuable to the code-breakers at Bletchley Park, who had been unable to read U-boat Enigma for ten months. The captured material allowed them to read the ciphers for several weeks, and to break U-boat Enigma thereafter.
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Auction: The Collectors' Auction, 9th Mar, 2022
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