CWGC thanks Noonans Mayfair Ltd for this story.

Alfred Blaney was born in Birmingham on 1 January 1920 and served during the Second World War as an Able Seaman in H.M.S. Valiant, being awarded an Immediate Distinguished Service Medal (D.S.M.) for his gallantry at the Battle of Cape Matapan.

D.S.M. London Gazette 29 July 1941:

‘For courage, coolness, and devotion to duty in the Battle of Cape Matapan.’

The original Recommendation states: ‘Battle of Cape Matapan. Distinguished service in action with the enemy on 28 March 1941, in connection with the efficient operation of the searchlights.’

On 27 March 1941, Admiral Cunningham took his fleet to sea, flying his flag in Warspite, to intercept the Italian fleet which had sailed to intercept Allied convoys between Egypt and Greece, in an attempt to support the German invasion of the Balkans. On 28 March the British cruisers encountered the Italian fleet and were forced to turn away by the heavy guns of Vittorio Veneto.

To save his cruisers Cunningham ordered an air strike, prompting the Italians to retreat. Subsequent air attacks damaged the battleship and the cruiser Pola, slowing the former and crippling the latter. Vittorio Veneto escaped to the west as dusk fell, but the British pursued through the night, first detecting Pola on radar and then two of her sister ships.

Warspite, Valiant, and Barham closed on the unsuspecting Italian ships and, aided by searchlights, destroyed the heavy cruisers Fiume and Zara, and two destroyers at point blank range. Pola was also sunk once her crew had been taken off. Having established by aerial reconnaissance that the rest of the Italian fleet had escaped, Warspite returned to Alexandria on 29 March, surviving air attacks without suffering any casualties.

The Battle of Cape Matapan had a paralysing effect on the Italian fleet, providing the Royal Navy with an opportunity to tighten its grip on the Mediterranean theatre.

Advanced Leading Seaman, Blaney was subsequently borne on the books of H.M.S. Dinosaur, and was killed in action during Operation Jubilee, the Dieppe Raid, on 19 August 1942.

He is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial.

Medal group comprising the Distinguished Service Medal, G.VI.R.; 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Africa Star; War Medal 1939-45.