Peeps’ recent series on Victoria Cross recipients has prompted an intriguing query from a reader about a decorated D-Day hero who gave his life in the bitter fighting just a week after the landings.
“I am carrying out some research into World War Two and am interested in gaining more information about Arthur Edward Charles Sippets who died during the Battle of Normandy,” writes Trevor Bass.
“I wonder if any of your readers might have memories/photos of him as Sippets is a Farnham name? He lived at 2 Pharo's Cottages, Upper Hale Road and is commemorated on the Aldershot war memorial.”
There was famously just one Victoria Cross awarded for actions on D-Day. But many other medals for gallantry were awarded, including the Military Medal.
One such recipient was a certain Corporal (Acting Sergeant) Arthur Edward Charles Sippetts, from Farnham, Surrey, while serving with the Hampshire Regiment.
“The King has been graciously pleased to approve the following awards in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Normandy,” begins the supplement to the London Gazette dated September 28, 1944.
It goes on to list Sippett before mournfully noting the local man was “since killed in action”.
Sippett’s original recommendation states: “At Le Hamel on 6 June 1944 at about 07:30 hours, this N.C.O. landed with an assault company, and showed great dash and determination in clearing enemy posts overlooking the beach. When his platoon commander became a casualty he led the platoon on with great success.
“Later in Le Hamel he led a section of seven on to a house from which enemy were firing with Machine Guns. During this assault three casualties were sustained; nevertheless, by his fine example in leadership the position was captured and 12 prisoners were taken.”
The regimental diaries reveal 1st Battalion Hampshire Regiment, of which Sippetts was part, played a pivotal role on D-Day, tasked with assaulting Jig Green Beach between Arromanches and Le Hamel to secure a foothold for the British 2nd Army.
Landing under intense fire, the battalion faced significant challenges, including heavy machine gun resistance and minimal promised support from assaulting arms.
Despite these obstacles, the regiment displayed exceptional determination, capturing key positions such as Le Hamel, Asnelles, and a coastal radar station, while neutralising enemy gun emplacements.
By evening, they successfully cleared Arromanches, completing their vital objectives and cementing their place as the first British troops ashore during the historic Operation Overlord.
The fighting didn’t get any easier in the following days and weeks, however, and Sippetts was killed in action a week later on June 13, 1944. Little is recorded about his final action, but the Farnham man is buried in Bayeux War Cemetery, France.
In 2001, a group of seven medals awarded to Acting Sergeant AEC Sippets, Hampshire Regiment, was sold at auction by Noonans in Mayfair, London for £6,000, far exceeding its £1,800-£2,200 estimate.
This lot revealed further information about Sippetts’ service career.
Despite being aged just 28 at the time of his death, by 1944 Sippetts would have been a veteran by the standards of his fellow soldiers - and these medals reveal he had already fought hard campaigns in North Africa and Italy before arriving in northern France.
Alongside his Military Medal, the lot included the 1939-45 Star, a campaign medal awarded for operational service during the Second World War; the Africa Star, reflecting his participation in the North African Campaign where British forces fought to defeat Axis powers in critical battles like El Alamein; the Italy Star, recognising his service in the Italian Campaign; and the France and Germany Star, commemorating his involvement in the liberation of Western Europe.
As Trevor points out, Sippetts was a traditional Farnham name so I wonder if any descendants of the great D-Day hero still call the town home?
If you can shed any light on the life and times of AEC Sippets, drop an email to [email protected]