Beschreibung:

A poignant family group to two brothers: ‘During the short time that we were together he was an inspiration to all, in everything that he did. He was a superb leader and at all times set a very high standard. He was very popular and was held in very high esteem by all who came into contact with him ... He was a man whose courage and leadership I have always remembered and whenever we get together at a reunion his name invariably comes up in conversation.’ A former member of ‘L’ Detachment, S.A.S., recalls a gallant comrade, Corporal Anthony Drongin. The Palestine and Second World War campaign group of four awarded to Corporal A. Drongin, Special Air Service (S.A.S.), formerly a Sergeant-Major in the Scots Guards, who died of wounds received in ‘L’ Detachment’s raid on Benghazi in September 1942: recalled by other old comrades as a ‘very hard soldier, with a harsh voice, who would take no nonsense’, and as ‘one of Stirling’s ideal selfless men’, he displayed indomitable courage during his final ordeal, telling the M.O., “I’m sorry to have given you so much trouble, sir” General Service 1918-62, 1 clasp, Palestine (2695218 Gdsmn. A. Drongin, S. Gds.); 1939-45 Star; Africa Star; War Medal 1939-45, mounted for display, nearly extremely fine A Second World War M.M. group of six awarded to Sapper F. Z Drongin, Royal Engineers, who was decorated for gallantry during the siege of Tobruk on the night of 9-10 November 1941 - he subsequently died of wounds in Burma in April 1944, while attached to Wingate's Chindits in 77th Infantry Brigade Military Medal, G.VI.R. (1878357 Spr. F. Z Drongin, R.E.); 1939-45 Star; Africa Star; Burma Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45, mounted for display, nearly extremely fine (10) £4,000-£6,000 Footnote Provenance: Dix Noonan Webb, May 2016. Anthony Drongin - actually Antanao Dronginis - was born at Wishaw, Lanarkshire in February 1915, the son of a Lithuanian miner, Leopolda Drongonis and his wife, Anna. Enlisting in the Scots Guards in Glasgow in June 1935, Anthony witnessed active service in Palestine in 1936 and gained rapid advancement to Lance-Sergeant in the following year. By the outbreak of hostilities he was serving as an Instructor on the Regimental Depot Staff but in November 1940 he transferred to No. 8 Commando as a Company Sergeant-Major. Re-designated 4 Special Service Battalion, the Commando embarked for the Middle East in February 1941, where it became part of ‘B’ Battalion of ‘Layforce’. On the force’s disbandment towards the end of the same year, Drongin was appointed a Staff Sergeant in the Military Provost Staff Corps. Having then rejoined the Scots Guards on 4 June 1942, he transferred to ‘L’ Detachment, S.A.S. on the 22nd, on which date - at his own request - he reverted to the rank of Corporal. Thus his subsequent part in Operation “Bigamy” in September 1942, when ‘L’ Detachment was charged with capturing and holding Benghazi until a relieving force arrived by sea from Malta. Operation “Bigamy” Allocated to ‘X’ Force with 45 jeeps and 33 trucks, the S.A.S. men were divided into three patrols, namely an advance party under “Paddy” Mayne and two larger parties under David Stirling and Captain W. J. “Bill” Cumper (see DNW, 19 September 2003, Lot 1247). Drongin accompanied Stirling’s patrol. Of subsequent events, as the attacking force reached the perimeter of Benghazi, Fitzroy MacLean takes up the story in Eastern Approaches: ‘For the first hour or two the country was familiar. We were following the route that Melot and I had taken to the edge of the escarpment. The maps were inaccurate and we found our way through a maze of wadis largely by the help of landmarks; a burnt-out German truck; a Mohammedan shrine; the unusual outline of a hilltop. Clearly it was going to be no easy matter for a convoy the size of ours to negotiate the precipitous escarpment, especially as our choice of routes was limited by the latest enemy troop dispositions. Melot's Arab, who claimed to know a good w