A General Service Medal 1962 with clasp Dhofar, named to: 24...

Hammer

£190

A General Service Medal 1962 with clasp Dhofar, named to: 24068855 Sig A L Curle R Signals.
The clasp Dhofar was awarded in relatively small numbers to members of the British armed forces engaged in supporting Sultan Qaboos bin Said in his efforts to reform the state of Oman and to defeat the communist-inspired insurgents of the Popular Front for the Liberation of the Occupied Arab Gulf (PFLOAG), whose aim was, inter alia, to bring about the separation of the region of Dhofar from the state of Oman. The relevant period was 1 October 1969 to 30 September 1976, and individuals seconded to, or employed on contract to the Sultan’s Armed Forces were not eligible.
The British Special Air Service (SAS) was deployed to Oman to provide specialist military support and training to the Sultan’s Armed Forces (SAF) and their skilled use of tactics and support weapons proved highly effective against the rebel forces. In an attempt to retrieve the military situation the rebels mounted a major attack on the coastal town of Mirbat on 19 July 1972, when 250 rebel fighters attacked a group of 100 local militia (firqat under-training and paramilitary askars) co-located with a 9-man training detachment of the Special Air Service. During the ensuing ‘Battle of Mirbat’ (sometimes referred to as ‘the SAS’s Rorke’s Drift’) the SAS added to its reputation by their heroic defence against the greatly superior enemy force and, in particular, the single-handed operation of a 25-pounder field gun (normally a 4-6-man task) by the Fijian Sergeant Talaiasi Labalala. After being wounded, Labalala was assisted by a fellow Fijian, Trooper Sekonaia Takavesi, and they continued to fire directly on the advancing enemy by sighting through the barrel of the gun. The arrival of air support finally forced the enemy to retire, by which time Labalala had been hit again and killed and Takavesi severely wounded. For their actions that day, the officer commanding the detachment, Captain Mike Kealy, received the DSO, Trooper Takavesi the DCM and Troopers Barrett and Taylor each received the MM. Sergeant Labalala was posthumously Mentioned in Despatches, although his comrades believed his conduct fully deserved the award of the Victoria Cross.
The GSM 1962 with clasp ‘Dhofar’ represents some severe fighting against a determined enemy and is only infrequently offered for sale.
Extremely Fine (EF) condition.