*The Queen’s Gallantry Medal and M.i.D. Pair for Northern Ireland awarded to Sergeant Kevin Southart, Parachute Regiment, who initially served with 3 Para in Northern Ireland in 1974 and afterwards took on a dangerous special forces role with the highly-secretive 14 Intelligence Company, also known as the Special Reconnaissance Unit, for which he received both awards. His Q.G.M. was reputedly awarded for his valuable work in the undercover operations which led to the S.A.S. raid upon an I.R.A. safe house run by the ‘M60 Gang’ in North Belfast, and the killing of Captain Richard Westmacott on 2 May 1980, comprising: Queen’s Gallantry Medal (24261253 Cpl. Kevin Southart, Para.), with case of issue and original ribbon; General Service 1962-2007, single clasp, Northern Ireland (24261253 Pte. K. Southart Para.), bearing bronze M.i.D. oakleaf upon ribbon; Pair court-mounted as worn, toned, extremely fine (2) Q.G.M.: London Gazette: 21 October 1980 – ‘In recognition of services in Northern Ireland during the period 1st February 1980 to 30th April 1980.’ M.i.D.: London Gazette: 21 March 1978 - ‘In recognition of meritorious service in Northern Ireland during the period 1st August 1977 to 31st October 1977’. While the specific details of this award and others like it were not published in the London Gazette in the interest of secrecy, the citation was apparently read out to the recipient at the time by his commanding officer, and reportedly included the information ‘for services whilst undertaking intelligence surveillance duties’ with ‘14 Int’ over a 5 year period. Southart concluded two tours of plainclothes undercover work operating strictly under a given codename (even amongst fellow colleagues), prior to leaving ‘14 Int’ in 1981-2. According to information given to the original vendor by the recipient in 1995, Sergeant Southart first joined the army in 1971 and saw service in Northern Ireland with 3 Para in 1974. He subsequently served for almost seven years in the province, many of them in an undercover roll with 14 Intelligence Company, arguably a more clandestine unit than the S.A.S., also variously known as ‘The Det’ or the ‘Special Reconnaissance Unit’, or formerly the M.R.F. (Military Reaction Force). The ‘Det’ was engaged in long-term surveillance and intelligence gathering, and when sufficient hard information was gathered they would work closely with the Special Air Service (specifically 22 S.A.S., with a troop permanently stationed in Ulster), who would then be used to engage the I.R.A. cells. As mentioned in ‘The Operators – On The Streets with 14 Company’ by James Rennie, members of this unit were ‘highly trained in skills including lock-picking, advanced weapon handling, covert surveillance and infra-red photography’. Southart was serving with ‘14 Int’ at the time of winning both his awards, and his Q.G.M. was awarded for his part in the undercover intelligence operations which ultimately led to the killing of Captain Richard Westmacott of the S.A.S., on 2 May 1980, with Southart’s award being announced in the same Gazette as Westmacott’s posthumous Military Cross. Just three days before the Iranian Embassy siege, another important S.A.S. raid had taken place in North Belfast. The ‘M60 Gang’ was an active service unit of the I.R.A. (Joe Doherty, Robert Campbell, Paul Magee, Angelo Fusco), taking their name from their possession of an M-60 machine gun – one of six which had originally been stolen from an armoury in Denver, U.S.A. This heavy machine gun was capable of destroying helicopters and armoured vehicles, and it was placed in the hands of these picked men of the I.R.A. The ‘M60 Gang’ had already used the weapon with brutal effect during an ambush upon troops of the R.U.C. on 9 April 1980, killing one soldier and wounding two others, and they were known to be planning further attacks. As a result, intelligence forces such as ‘14 Int’ were tasked with locating the weapon as soon as possible, and once it had been tracked down to a house on Antrim Road in North Belfast (presumably by the undercover work of Southart and his unit), around the clock surveillance was set up under Operation Artichoke. According to an article published by the Sunday Mail, when the house was known to be empty, a squad of 14 Int operatives broke into the house and ‘jarked’ the weapon, placing a tracking device inside it and modifying it slightly in an attempt to make it more prone to jamming when used. Intelligence was received that the gang intended to use this weapon to ambush and R.U.C. Land Rover at a nearby crossroads, and while constantly monitoring the weapon’s position, an 8-man plainclothes S.A.S. team from 24 Troop, under the command of Captain Richard Westmacott, was told to prepare to confront the gang and seize the weapon. Undercover operators, presumably from 14 Intelligence Company (and perhaps including Southart himself), visited the newsagent below the I.R.A. held flat on Antrim Road and used a locator to ‘fix’ the position of the weapon in the flat above. The S.A.S. team was then sent in using two cars, one with five men to the front of the building, and another with three men to the rear of the building to prevent any attempt at escape. As Westmacott’s car pulled up to the forecourt a lady with a pram walked in front, causing the car to pull up just short. As he and his team emerged from the car and made a dash for the door, the M60 emerged from the first floor window and opened a rapid fire (and, tragically, did not jam), killing Westmacott instantly with pistol and stun grenade in hand, and causing the front-most team to retreat under fire toward the car. As the rear-most team sledgehammered the back door, Magee ran out to prepare a van for escape but was knocked unconscious by an S.A.S. soldier. The remaining gang members remained inside and after a short siege, during which time further reinforcements had arrived, the gang surrendered. They were taken to Belfast’s Crumlin Road Gaol and were subsequently convicted of murder, but all four managed to effect a violent escape two days before sentencing. Westmacott later became the first recipient of a posthumous Military Cross. Ex D.N.W. 22 September 2000, lot 828; and 27 September 1994, lot 588.
Estimate: £8000-£12000