Lieutenant Commander John Andrew Pearson, RNR, DSC and bar was an officer in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Pearson ("Iain") was an officer in the

Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...

. His wartime service began with coastal minesweeping forces at in

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

, then as captain of the , and finally as captain of the . He ended the war with the rank of Lieutenant-Commander.

Decorations

Pearson was awarded a Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) in the New Year Honours on 1 January 1940 for minesweeping service at HMS ''Lynx''. He was awarded a Bar to his DSC on 10 November 1942 for his service during

Operation Pedestal Operation Pedestal ( it, Battaglia di Mezzo Agosto, Battle of mid-August), known in Malta as (), was a British operation to carry supplies to the island of Malta in August 1942, during the Second World War. Malta was a base from which British ...

in command of HMS ''Rye'', which included the rescue of the American

oil tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crud ...

. He was Mentioned in Dispatches (MID) in the King's Birthday Honours on 2 June 1943, and was mentioned a second time on 23 November 1943 for ''Rye''s defence of convoys against air attack. Person was mentioned in dispatches for a third time on 27 March 1945 for services during

Operation Dragoon Operation Dragoon (initially Operation Anvil) was the code name for the landing operation of the Allied invasion of Provence (Southern France) on 15August 1944. Despite initially designed to be executed in conjunction with Operation Overlord, th ...

as commander of HMS ''Welfare'', and for a fourth time on 14 August 1945 for services with ''Welfare'' during the relief of Greece.

Sources

* ''Malta Convoy'', by P. Shankland & A. Hunter, pub. Collins (1961).

External links

WWII Awards for RN Minesweeping

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearson, John Andrew Royal Navy officers of World War II Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Naval Reserve personnel