Robert Peverell Hichens Robert Peverell Hichens ( 2 March 1909 – 13 April 1943 ) was the most highly decorated officer of the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve ( RNVR ) , being awarded two Distinguished Service Order s , three Distinguished Service Crosses and three Mentions in Despatches . He was also recommended for a Victoria Cross after being killed in action in April 1943 . Before the Second World War , Hichens was a keen sportsman who rowed for Magdalen College , Oxford , and competed in the Double scull s at the Henley Regatta . He also competed in International Fourteen sailing events and three times participated in the Fastnet race . On land he raced in hill climbing events in Somerset and also entered the 24 Hours of Le Mans race three times . During the Second World War , he rose in rank to become a lieutenant commander and commanded the 6th Motor Gun Boat Flotilla and later the 8th Motor Gun Boat Flotilla . Early life . Robert Peverell Hichens was born 2 March 1909 , the son of Doctor Peverell Smythe Hichens and Constance Sawbridge Hichens . He spent his early life in Northampton , until the start of the Great War when his father — an officer in a Territorial Army unit of the Royal Army Medical Corps — was sent to France , and the rest of the family moved to St Mawes in Cornwall . It was when living in Cornwall that Hichens and his sister Loveday were taught how to sail , eventually sailing their dinghy " Arethusa " on Carrick Roads . Education . In 1919 , following the Great War , the family returned to the Northampton area , and Hichens was sent to a prep school nearby until 1921 , when he was enrolled in Marlborough College . In 1922 , Hichens ' father , by now a consulting physician at Northampton General hospital , retired and the family moved to Guernsey in the Channel Islands , purchasing Havelet House just outside Saint Peter Port . Hichens entered Magdalen College , Oxford , to read law in 1927 . A keen sportsman , he started rowing and within six months was in the Magdalan second eight ; by the following year he made the first eight as stroke oarsman . In the Eights Week races ( the annual summer Head of the River race at Oxford ) , when Hichens was at Magdalen , they came third in 1928 , sixth in 1929 and eighth in 1930 , which was the college ' s lowest position in the race since 1876 . While at university he also joined the Officers Training Corps , receiving a commission as second lieutenant in the infantry on 2 June 1929 . In 1929 , the Hichens family had purchased Bodrennick House at Flushing , Cornwall , which they moved into in 1930 , after the death of Hichens ' father . Married life . Robert Hichens met his future wife , Catherine Gilbert Enys of Flushing , Cornwall , in 1928 ; they were married at St Gluvias church , Penryn , Cornwall , in April 1931 . The following year he joined a firm of solicitors , Reginald Rodgers and son of Falmouth , Cornwall , as an articled clerk to be instructed as a solicitor . Hichens also trained in London with Mackrell ' s of Bedford Square ; it was when working in London that he competed at the Henley Regatta in the Double scull s . In June 1933 , after his mother ' s death , Hichens inherited half of his father ' s estate and Bodrennick House , and at the same time completed his articles . He became a junior partner with Reginald Rodgers on 1 January 1934 . Robert and Catherine had two sons : Robert , born in 1932 , and Anthony , born in 1936 . Competitive sailing . During this time Hichens had continued to sail ; he joined the Royal Cornish Yacht Club and started to race in International Fourteen events in his own dinghies called " Venture " and " Venture II " . He competed in the Fowey Regatta and the Prince of Wales Cup , coming fifth on the River Clyde in 1936 . He also entered the competition at Lowestoft in 1937 and at Falmouth in 1938 . Hichens had also taken up offshore yacht racing and was a member of the Royal Ocean Racing Club , competed three times in the Fastnet race , and crewed in the Channel race in June 1939 . Motor racing . In 1935 , he purchased a 1 . 4 litre Aston Martin touring car and a Riley which he used to compete in hill climbs at Beggers Roost in Somerset . Then in 1936 , he purchased a 2 litre Aston Martin Speed Model — one of six built for the Ulster TT and 24 Hours of Le Mans race that year . With assistance from Aston Martin he entered the car for the 1937 24 Hours of Le Mans , with Mortimer Morris - Goodall as his co - driver . They finished eleventh place overall but did win the Rudge Whitworth Cup . They competed again in the 1938 24 Hours of Le Mans but did not finish . They returned for the 1939 24 Hours of Le Mans where they finished twelfth . Second World War . Robert Hichens applied to transfer from the Territorial Army to the RNVR in the summer of 1930 , and eventually transferred to the Royal Naval Volunteer Supplementary Reserve in 1936 , which was formed from yachtsmen sufficiently knowledgeable about the sea to be considered suitable for a commission . After the declaration of war he was ordered to join HMS " King Alfred " on 27 October 1939 , and after passing an interview and medical was promoted to sub lieutenant RNVR , completing his training in six weeks instead of the normal three months . Phoney war and Dunkirk . Having completed training in December 1939 , he was promoted to lieutenant and appointed to HMS " Halcycon " , part of the 5th Minesweeping Flotilla and later the 4th Minesweeping Flotilla . He moved ship to HMS " Niger " in April 1940 , during the Phoney war period both flotilla s were kept busy minesweeping in the North Sea and the only action seen was on 15 May 1940 , when HMS " Hussar " was holed by a German bomber . On 29 May 1940 , Hichens was informed that the British Expeditionary Force were being evacuated from Dunkirk in Operation Dynamo and that " Niger " would be leaving to assist . Arriving off Dunkirk on 31 May , Hichens organised the small boats and yachts used to evacuate the army from the Dunkirk jetty . When " Niger " was ordered home with a full complement of soldiers , Hichens asked to be left behind to continue with the evacuation . He was given permission but also informed he would have to find his own way home . Arriving back in Dover on the yacht " Chico " he rejoined " Niger " on 1 June . HMS " Niger " returned to Dunkirk another three times , Hichens once more went ashore to arrange the evacuation before the end of the operation . For his work on the beaches in the withdrawal of the Allied armies from Dunkirk , Hichens was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross ( DSC ) . Coastal forces . Having asked for a transfer to Coastal Forces Hichens was sent to HMS " Osprey " at Portland for training on Motor Anti - Submarine Boats ( MASB ) . He was appointed to his first command , MASB 16 , on 4 November 1940 , which he held until 18 November 1940 , when he was appointed commander of MASB 18 . His final MASB command was MASB 14 , which he took up 23 December 1940 . These boats were lightly armed with two twin Vickers . 50 machine gun s and depth charges and had a top speed of 40 knots . In January 1941 , Hichens was given a new command , Motor Gun Boat 64 , becoming the first RNVR officer to command a MGB , and the only RNVR crewed boat in the 6th MGB Flotilla . It was when in command of MGB 64 that Hichens got his nickname " Hitch " . As each boat needed to select a radio call sign , Hichens could not think of anything suitable and Lieutenant Arty Shaw suggested " Hitch " , which stuck and remained with him for the rest of his time with the coastal forces . The 6th MGB Flotilla was based at HMS " Beehive " in Felixstowe from April 1941 , where they were tasked to engage German E boat s raiding east coast convoys . At this stage in the war MGBs were armed with a mixture of weapons , which could be Lewis machine gun s , Vickers machine gun s , Oerlikon 20 mm cannon or four barrelled Boulton Paul gun turrets . The armament was soon standardized with two twin Vickers . 50 machine guns each side of the bridge , an Oerlikon 20 mm cannon mounted aft , and depth charges . The boats had a crew of 18 , consisting of two officers , two petty officer s and 14 rating s . Flotilla commander . When Robert Hichens was appointed senior officer in command of the 6th MGB Flotilla from September 1941 , he became the first RNVR officer to command a flotilla in the Second World War . Along with the new command came a promotion to lieutenant commander . As flotilla commander his first successful action took place the night of 19 / 20 November 1941 , when his flotilla was ordered to patrol off the Hook of Holland to engage E boat s returning to base . The flotilla engaged five E boats , causing damage to all five boats , damaging two severely and forcing them to disperse . One E boat was later found abandoned by the crew and boarded . This was the first E boat captured and Hichens ' crew obtained valuable information and equipment before the boat sank . For this action Hichens was awarded a bar to the DSC , for " . . . [ c ] oolness skill and readiness when in action against enemy E boats sinking one and damaging others " . Other members of the flotilla were awarded one Distinguished Service Medal ( DSM ) and five others were Mentioned in Dispatches ( MID ) for the action . The flotilla ' s second success was the night of 19 / 20 December 1941 , again in the North Sea off the Dutch coast , when two boats engaged two R boats and one E boat . They passed twice at high speed before losing contact , but twice during the night they located them and eventually carried out depth charge attacks . Hichens received a MID for this action , the commander of the other boat was also MID . The third major action Hichens was involved in during this period was the action during the night of 21 / 22 April 1942 , off Ostend , when they engaged six E boats , forcing the superior force to scatter and run for port after severely damaging one boat and causing slight damage to the others . After this action the E boats were moved to a safer harbour to operate from . Hichens was awarded the Distinguished Service Order ( DSO ) following this action . 8th MGB Flotilla . Hichens was next appointed commander of the 8th MGB Flotilla . These new boats were armed with a twin Oerlikon mount aft , a QF 2 - pounder Mark XIV forward , twin Lewis or later twin Vickers machine guns either side of the bridge and depth charges . The flotilla was moved to Dartmouth , Devon in July 1942 . The first action they were involved in was during the night of 14 / 15 July . Ordered to engage E Boats using Cherbourg as a base they found a convoy of naval trawler s escorting a small tanker . The flotilla engaged the two rear escort trawlers and carried out a depth charge attack . The tanker was last seen to be on fire as the flotilla reformed off Alderney . After this action Hichens was awarded a bar to the DSO . Both the DSO and the bar were presented during the same investiture at Buckingham Palace on 22 September 1942 , while other members of the flotilla were awarded a Conspicuous Gallantry Medal and four MID ' s for the action . The flotilla was next in action during the night 29 / 30 July again off Ostend , when the flotilla in company with two Motor Torpedo Boat s ( MTB ) engaged a convoy of three Flak trawlers and two merchant ships . One of the merchant ships was hit by torpedo es from the MTBs while the MGBs engaged the other by dropping depth charges . With those ships destroyed they then engaged the Flak trawlers . During the night 1 / 2 August , under orders to patrol north west of Guernsey , the flotilla again located enemy shipping . Following them towards the port of Cherbourg they silently passed a German torpedo boat lying at anchor , and located four E boats waiting to enter harbour . Having caught them by surprise they opened fire on the stationary boats and after a short engagement withdrew leaving two of the enemy boats on fire . For this action Hichens received a second MID , other members of the flotilla were awarded one DSC , two DSMs and four MIDs . The flotilla was ordered back to Felixstowe in Autumn 1942 . Their first contact with the enemy was on the night 14 / 15 September when they engaged a small convoy off the Hook of Holland . They followed a convoy that was escorted by four Flak trawlers almost into harbour before inflicting considerable damage to it . For this , Hichens was awarded a second bar to the DSC . Other members of the flotilla were awarded one DSC , two DSMs and one MID . Hichens , now the recipient of two DSOs , three DSCs and two MIDs , was offered promotion to commander in command of HMS " Bee " at Weymouth , Dorset and a training post ashore . Feeling unsuited for such a role , he declined and remained commander of the 8th MGB flotilla . Casualties . Hichens lost the first boat under his command during the night action 2 / 3 October 1942 . Engaging four trawlers MGB 78 went in for a depth charge attack and was lost to enemy fire . Another boat , MGB 76 , was lost during the night of 5 / 6 October 1942 , when the flotilla was ambushed by two German torpedo boats and a number of E boats . The winter months of 1942 – 43 were uneventful , and Hichens started to write his unfinished account of the war . " We fought them in Gunboats " was published posthumously in 1944 . The flotilla , accompanied by four MTBs and escorting mine laying Motor Launch es ( ML ) , were next in action over the night of 27 / 28 February 1943 . The mixed flotilla engaged a convoy escorted by two trawlers and a minesweeper , and lost MGB 79 to enemy fire . Hichens closed with the stricken boat , which was on fire , to remove the crew . They managed to rescue seven of the crew before being forced to withdraw under fire . Hichens ' own boat , MGB 77 , was also set on fire during the rescue . On the night of 12 / 13 April 1943 , the flotilla was ordered to escort mine laying MLs off the Dutch coast . Detecting two trawlers they engaged them leaving one on fire , but as they withdrew MGB 77 was hit , killing Hichens outright and wounding three others on the bridge . Hichens received a posthumous MID for these actions . Victoria Cross recommendation . Hichens was recommended for the Victoria Cross for his actions during the night of 27 / 28 February . When informed by his commanding officer , Commander Kerr , of the intention to recommend him , Hichens requested that the recommendation be dropped as he now felt he had endangered two of the boats in the flotilla trying to rescue his friends . Kerr , respecting his views , dropped the recommendation , only for it to be resubmitted six weeks later after his death . The recommendation was endorsed by Commander Kerr , Admiral Lyon ( the Commander - in - chief at Nore ) and Rear Admiral Rogers ( the Flag officer in charge at Harwich ) . The recommendation was rejected by the Admiralty , citing the same reasons Hichens had himself given .