ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINT SIGNED BY CORRAN PURDON

The print is from the well-known original image of the famous lend-lease destroyer HMS CAMPBELTOWN wedged in the dry dock at St. Nazaire as part of Operation CHARIOT. Shortly after the picture was taken the timed charges aboard the vessel detonated, destroying the remains of the ship, causing significant enemy casualties and rendering the dock inoperable for the remainder of the war. Major General Corran Purdon had a military career worthy of a Hollywood film script. He volunteered for the Commandos and received the Military Cross for his part in raids on Norway and - perhaps the most daring raid of the war - on St Nazaire, where he was wounded and captured. After imprisonment at Spangenburg POW camp, he escaped and remained on the run for ten days before being recaptured and transferred to Oflag IVC at Colditz Castle, where his companions included Airey Neave and double amputee air ace Douglas Bader. He retired as General Officer Commanding Near East Land Forces in 1976 and subsequently served as deputy commissioner of the Royal Hong Kong Police Force between 1978 and 1981. With certificate of authenticity. VERY SCARCE.