Sold by Order of the Family an outstanding Second World War bomb disposal George Cross group of eight awarded to Brigadier W. M. Eastman, Royal Army Ordnance Corps: with little relevant training, Eastman and a fellow officer rendered safe some 275 UXBs on Malta in 1940 - ‘Their courage was beyond all praise and it was a miracle that they both remained alive’ George Cross (Lieut. William Marsden Eastman, R.A.O.C., 24th December 1940); 1939-45 Star; Africa Star, clasp, 8th Army; Italy Star; Defence and War Medals; Coronation 1953; Jubilee 1977, mounted court-style as worn, lacquered, very fine and bettter (8) £15000-20000 g.C. London Gazette 24 December 1940: ‘For most conspicuous gallantry in carrying out very hazardous work.’ The original recommendation - written in conjunction with that for fellow R.A.O.C. officer, Captain R. L. J. Jones - states: ‘On various dates Lieutenant Eastman, with Captain R. L. J. Jones, R.A.O.C., worked under dangerous and trying conditions and performed acts of considerable gallantry in dealing with large numbers of various unexploded bombs, some of which were in a highly dangerous state and of the German delay type. on one occasion, these officers showed particular gallantry in dealing with an 1100lb. German bomb. Two attempts were made to explode this bomb but it failed to detonate; at the third attempt when it was in a most dangerous state, they succeeded in detonating it. on a second occasion, these officers, assisted by a Master Rigger of H.M. Dockyard, succeeded in removing a 400lb. high explosive Italian unexploded bomb which had been under water for a week in a 20ft. deep well inside a house. This bomb, fused at both ends, was in a dangerous state. It had to be raised to the ground floor by means of a gin, tackle, sling and ropes. This operation was doubly dangerous, as: (a) There was a possibility of the sling slipping while the bomb was being hauled up and (b) The bomb was two and half ft. long, the mouth of the well three ft. one inch wide, and for safety the bomb had to be kept horizontal, if possible, and pulled up thus. Lieutenant Eastman assisted the Master Rigger, guided the bomb from the floor of the well, and Captain Jones went to the top to guide it through the opening. They succeeded in getting the bomb out although there was only a six inch clearance as it came through the mouth of the well.’ William Marsden ‘Bill’ Eastman was born in Brentford in October 1911 and was educated at Uppingham and Cambridge University, but had to leave the latter seat of learning on his father’s death, in order to take over the family dyeing and dry-cleaning business. And it was as a result of his knowledge of chemicals drawn from that business that he was recommended for a commission in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps on volunteering shortly before the outbreak of hostilities. Having then attended the Inspecting Ordnance Officer’s course at Bramley, he was embarked for Malta in March 1940. Subsequent events are best summarised by Brigadier Sir John Smyth, V.C., in The Story of the George Cross: ‘At this period of the war in Malta, no expert Royal Engineer Bomb Disposal units had been formed and the job of attending to unexploded bombs and mines dropped on the Island had to be handled by the R.A.O.C. - in fact Jephson Jones and Eastman. They had no great special equipment, no trained staff and very little knowledge of the mechanism of German and Italian missiles. They just had to learn as they went along. they were told that they would have to deal with all unexploded bombs and mines which fell on the Island except those which dropped in the dockyard area and on airfields, which were dealt with by the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. No one imagined - or at any rate no one in Malta had imagined - that Malta would become such a target for the venom, first of the Italian Air Force and then of the Germans. But between 10 June and mid-November 1940, when their job was taken over by a properly constituted and trained R.E. Bomb Disposal unit, Jephson Jones and Eastman dealt with some 275 unexploded bombs. Their courage was beyond all praise and it was a miracle that they both remained alive. they were awarded the George Cross on Christmas Eve 1940 and were given a choice of receiving the decoration immediately from the Governor or waiting until they were posted back to the Middle East or the United Kingdom. They both chose the latter and were invested together by the King at Buckingham Palace in December 1944.’ A number of anecdotes survive from Eastman’s hair-raising sojourn in Malta, one of them recounting the occasion he worked in his shirt-sleeves on a hot day as a UXB was dug out, but then donned his tunic and Sam Browne before returning to diffuse it - when asked why by an onlooker, he replied, ‘If I have to die, I might as well die decent’; while another describes the occasion he journeyed to a UXB site on a motorbike, with his girlfriend, Yvonne Vassallo, along for the ride - she unhesitatingly accepted his invitation to sit on the UXB and steady it as he went about his perilous work! eastman was posted to G.H.Q., Cairo as Chief Ordnance Officer in 1942, but not before carrying out further gallant deeds, a case in point being his ‘clearance’ - over three days - of the valuable cargo of ammunition, kerosene and aviation fuel aboard the merchantman Talabot, which ship was eventually sunk at her moorings in Marsaxlokk harbour; so, too, on a later occasion, his clearance of a cargo of ‘infamous Dutch Anti-tank Mines’ from the holds of no less than seven ships, all the while conscious of the fact a mere 18-inch drop would set-off their hyper-sensitive detonators. remaining in the Regular Army after the War, he was latterly a popular Commandant of the R.A.O.C. Training Centre at Blackdown, and finally retired as Brigadier in 1966. Settling in Malta in the same year, he died at Sliema in April 1980 and is buried in Ta’ Braxia Cemetery; see One Step Further, Those Whose Gallantry Was Rewarded With The George Cross, by Marion Hebblethwaite, for further details. sold with a quantity of original documentation, including four ‘Investiture Day’ photographs and a later portrait, in uniform, as a Brigadier, wearing his Honour & Awards; his Buckingham Palace investiture letter and admittance ticket, dated 12 December 1944; his membership certificate for the Royal Society of St. George, dated 14 May 1942; his M.O.D. retirement letter, dated 19 October 1966; some post-war V.C. & G.C. Association tickets, invitations and programmes, etc., and several newspaper cuttings. £15000-£20000
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Family group: the inter-war C.M.G., O.B.E. group of three awarded to H. M. G. Jackson, Chief Native Commissioner for Southern Rhodesia, late Lieutenant, Gifford’s Horse the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George, C.M.G., Companion’s neck badge, silver-gilt and enamel; The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, O.B.E. (Civil) Officer’s 1st type breast badge, silver-gilt, hallmarks for London 1919; British South Africa Company’s Medal 1890-97, reverse Rhodesia 1896, no clasp (Lieut. H. M. G. Jackson, Gifford’s Horse), enamel slightly chipped on motto on first, otherwise generally good very fine the Great War campaign service pair awarded to Private H. G. Jackson, Rhodesian Regiment, attached 1st South African Infantry Brigade, who was taken P.O.W. in March 1918 british War and Victory Medals, bi-lingual issue (Pte. H. G. Jackson, Rhodns. 1st S.A.I. Bgde.), officially impressed later issues, extremely fine the post-war M.B.E. awarded to Miss Natalie Jackson, Southern Rhodesia Civil Service the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, M.B.E. (Civil), Member’s 2nd type breast badge, on Lady’s riband bow in its Royal Mint case of issue, extremely fine (6) £1700-1900 Ex A. A. Upfill-Brown collection, 4 December 1991 (Lot 208). c.M.G. London Gazette 3 June 1930. o.B.E. London Gazette 3 June 1924. hugh Marrison Gower Jackson was born in Natal in September 1870, the son of John Otter Jackson, a J.P. and Regional Magistrate, and was educated at Ardingly College, Sussex. Returning to South Africa, he joined the Natal Native Department, becoming conversant with the language and cultural customs of the Zulu nation and earning himself the nickname ‘Matshayisikoba’ - The Owl Slayer. In 1895, at the invitation of the newly appointed Chief Native Commissioner in Rhodesia, Jackson became Assistant Native Commissioner at Umzingwane in Matabeleland, making his way to Bulawayo via Port Shepstone and Pretoria in the famous ‘Zeederburg Coach’. soon after his arrival in Matabeleland, he was warned by a former warrior, Sikwaba, a survivor of the Imbizo Regiment, which body had been corporately sentenced to death for disobedience by King Lobengula, that he had had a vision in which the latter unleashed ‘supernatural forces’ on the European settlers - a vision that found credence by way of the rebellion that erupted a few months later. Jackson and a small party were cut off deep in the Matabele stronghold, the Matopos Hills, when the rebellion broke out, and, in the absence of any news, it was reported that he had been killed - luckily, as it transpired, he made good his escape and reached Bulawayo. quickly enlisting in Gifford’s Horse, he was appointed a Lieutenant in ‘B’ Troop, commanded by Captain H. P. Flynn, a fellow Native Commissioner, and boasting among its number a future Prime Minister of Southern Rhodesia, Howard Moffat. The unit had been raised by the Rt. Hon. Captain (afterwards Lieutenant-Colonel) Maurice Gifford, who was severely wounded in the action at Fonseca’s Farm on 6 April 1896, wounds that resulted in the amputation of his right arm. Nonetheless, Gifford’s Horse continued to lend valuable service with regular patrol work until a peace settlement was negotiated by Cecil Rhodes that August. having in 1900 been appointed a J.P., Jackson enjoyed a spate of appointments over the coming years, among them Assistant Magistrate for the Bulawayo District, as Superintendent of Gwelo, Selukwe, Insiza and Belingwe, and, in 1908, as a Native Commissioner and Additional Magistrate at Gwelo. Then in 1913, he became Native Commissioner and Superintendent of Natives for Bulawayo District, while in 1921 he was appointed Acting Chief Native Commissioner in Salisbury. awarded the O.B.E. in 1924, in which year he was advanced to Assistant Chief Native Commissioner, Jackson was given the portfolio of Chief Native Commissioner and Head of the Southern Rhodesia Native Department in 1928, on the retirement of Sir Herbert Taylor. And in 1930, the year of his own retirement, he also served as Chairman of the Native Affairs Committee and as Government Representative on the Board of the Native Labour Bureau. He was appointed C.M.G. jackson, who retained the ‘keenest interest in all matters affecting natives and native welfare’, and who was blessed with a ‘fantastic sense of humour’, died at his residence in Borrowdale in November 1934; sold with a large file of related research and several evocative (copy) photographs from his time as a young officer in Gifford’s Horse, so, too, with a long list of archive references to articles he published in his lifetime. hugh Gower Jackson was born in August 1898, soon after his father had returned to his duties as a Native Commissioner following service in Gifford’s Horse. Educated at Lancing College in Sussex, young Hugh returned home and enlisted in the Southern Rhodesia Volunteers in June 1916, aged 17 years. Standing a little under six feet, he was posted to the 2nd Battalion, Rhodesia Regiment, and attached to the 1st South African Infantry Brigade in France, where he was taken P.O.W. in March 1918. According to one family source, he was very badly treated during captivity, as a result of which his health suffered terribly, and he died in July 1944; sold with further details. natalie Kate Jackson was born in February 1900, about the time her father was appointed a J.P., and, having obtained a degree at Cape Town University, joined the Southern Rhodesia Civil Service in 1923. And she remained employed in a similar capacity until her retirement in 1955, the year in which she was awarded her M.B.E., and by which stage she had risen to the office of Women Inspector and Senior Women Officer on the Public Services Board. She died in December 1992; sold with portrait photographs and a file of related research. £1700-£1900
A rare Second World War D.S.C. group of seven awarded to Lieutenant (A.) R. A. Wiltshire, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, a Fleet Air Arm pilot who was decorated for his part in ‘Operation Dragoon’: he had earlier participated in ‘Operation Tungsten’, the famous attack on the Tirpitz in April 1944 distinguished Service Cross, G.VI.R., the reverse officially dated ‘1945’ and privately engraved, ‘Lieutenant (A.) Reginald Alfred Wiltshire, D.S.C., R.N.V.R.’, hallmarks for London 1947, in its Garrard & Co. fitted case of issue; 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star, clasp, France and Germany; Pacific Star; Italy Star; Defence and War Medals, these last in their original card forwarding box, together with embroidered Fleet Air Arm ‘Wings’ (2) and a set of tunic ribands, generally extremely fine (7) £4000-5000 D.S.C. London Gazette 27 March 1945. The original recommendation states: ‘Sub. Lieutenant Wiltshire joined H.M.S. Pursuer on 26 November 1943. Since that date he has carried out 25 operational missions and 71 deck-landings. During ‘Operation Dragoon’, he led five fighter bomber missions of four or more aircraft and took part in 10 missions. He is always cheerful, quite imperturbable and sets a fine example. He leads in the air well. For courage, skill, leadership and a fine example.’ Reginald Alfred Wiltshire, who was born in Enfield, Middlesex in January 1923, completed his pilot training at the U.S. Naval Air Stations at Pensacola and Miami, and returned to the U.K. in the aircraft carrier H.M.S. Biter in June 1942. following a brief posting to No. 762 (F.A.A.) Squadron, and appointment to the rank of Acting Sub. Lieutenant, he removed to No. 896 (F.A.A.) Squadron in August 1942, in which unit he carried out deck-landings in Martlet IVs on the U.S.S. Charger, before removing to the aircraft carrier Victorious in February 1943, the whole in preparation for a six-month operational tour in the Pacific, where the Victorious was on loan to the U.S.N. returning home towards the end of the year, Wiltshire and his fellow 896 pilots transferred to the Pursuer in November, an appointment that would lead to frequent convoy patrol work in Wildcat Vs and their participation in the famous attack against the Tirpitz in Kaafjord 3 April 1944 - a.k.a. ‘Operation Tungsten’ - an attack in which the escorting Wildcats were credited with knocking out most of the enemy’s fire-control systems, and one that resulted in 440 casualties among the Tirpitz’s crew. in June 1944, Wiltshire transferred to 881 (F.A.A.) Squadron, a busy month for patrols and ‘flaps’ and one that included an encounter with a Ju. 88 - ‘Unable to catch it’. In July, the Pursuer having arrived in the Mediterranean, he carried out several dive-bombing attacks on Comino and Filfa Islands, while in August, as part of the carrier force acting in support of the landings in the South of France, he flew 10 operational sorties in Wildcat VIs, five of them as force leader. And, according to accompanying press cuttings, he was responsible for inflicting severe damage on enemy transport and troops. A fellow pilot described how in one attack they destroyed 14 military vehicles and damaged another 20, yet, as confirmed by Wiltshire’s flying log book, enemy flak was a constant threat: ‘19 August: Armed Recce. Strafed Orange aerodrome, near Avignon, damaged Fw. 190. Intense flak - Banks, Sherbourne and Sharp shot down. Went on to bomb oil tanks at Berre L’Etang and strafed rolling stock at Rognac. Destroyed Arado 196 on water.’ ‘21 August: Bombed M./T. on road near Uzes. Destroyed 7 personally whilst strafing. Damaged one Loco. Hit by flak 5 times. P.O. Brittain shot down.’ At the end of the month, Wiltshire was recommended for the D.S.C., while in September - the Pursuer having made her way to the Aegean - he flew further operational sorties in the face of heavy opposition. Thus a night shipping strike in which two enemy ships and a U-Boat were sunk, a dive-bombing attack on merchantmen in Rhodes harbour and, if needed, a reminder of the hazards of flak - ‘Intensive flak near Suda Bay. Hit in windscreen whilst strafing.’ Returning once more to the U.K. in mid-November 1944, 881’s pilots were attached to R.N.A.S. Grimsetter and the Trumpeter in the following month, in which capacity they flew occasional operational sorties off Norway. Then in February 1945, Wiltshire was posted to No. 3 Flying Instructors School, and he ended the War at No. 1 Naval Air Fighter School. He was released in January 1946. sold with a quantity of original documentation, including Admiralty letter of notification for the award of the recipient’s D.S.C., dated 28 March 1945, and related Buckingham Palace forwarding letter; his Flying Log Books (2), covering the periods September 1941 to December 1944, and January 1945 to January 1946, the former including several gun-camera images of targets attacked in the South of France in August 1944, and a copy of the King’s and Prime Minister’s congratulatory signals for participants in ‘Operation Tungsten’, as sent via the Admiralty on 4 April 1944; together with a photograph album covering the period 1937-45, quite a few images lacking but nonetheless a good wartime record and also including related newspaper cuttings; his application papers for a Visa to the U.S.A., American identity card, etc., including portrait photograhs, dated 21 July 1941, and his Graduation Certificate from the U.S. Naval Air Station at Miami, dated 14 May 1942. £4000-£5000
A fine Second World War D.S.M. group of five awarded to Able Seaman H. L. Bray, Royal Navy, a long served member of Coastal Forces who was decorated for his gallant work as an M.T.B. twin-Oerlikon gunlayer in a firefight with E-Boats in January 1945 distinguished Service Medal, G.VI.R. (A.B. H. L. Bray, P/JX. 314097); 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Defence and War Medals, the first with one or two edge bruises and surface scratches, otherwise good very fine or better (5) £1200-1500 D.S.M. London Gazette 24 April 1945: ‘For leadership, daring and resource whilst serving in Light Coastal Forces, in successfully repelling an attack on a convoy by E-Boats.’ The original recommendation states: ‘This rating was twin-Oerlikon gunlayer on M.T.B. 446 during an action with E-Boats on the night of 22 January 1945. His fire was accurate and well controlled and he scored repeated hits on one of the E-Boats. His bearing throughout the action in the face of heavy return fire was cool and courageous. Able Seaman Bray has served in Motor Gun Boats and Motor Torpedo Boats for two and a half years, taking part in numerous actions against the enemy. At all times his conduct has been exemplary and his gunlaying of the highest order.’ Hammond Leslie Bray, a native of Bilston, Staffordshire, was one of three crew members of M.T.B. 446 to be honoured for the above cited action off the Thames Estuary, the other two, both ratings, being awarded ‘mentions’. That evening, three groups of E-Boats set out to attack our convoys, one of them being engaged by M.T.Bs of the 35th Flotilla near Tongue Sand - a confused action ensued in which one enemy boat, S-119, was sunk, most probably as a result of a collision. sold with a portrait photograph of him, the reverse captioned, ‘Wolverhampton, wounded.’ £1200-£1500
A rare Fall of France 1940 D.F.M. group of four awarded to Flight Lieutenant L. S. Pilkington, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, who was credited with 5 ‘kills’ as a Hurricane pilot in No. 73 Squadron prior to transferring to Spitfires of No. 111 Squadron and being killed in action on a Channel offensive sweep in September 1941: he was to have been married just six days later distinguished Flying Medal, G.VI.R. (741935 Sgt. L. S. Pilkington, R.A.F.); 1939-45 Star; Air Crew Europe Star; War Medal 1939-45, together with related dress miniature for the first, generally extremely fine (5) £5000-6000 d.F.M. London Gazette 16 July 1940: ‘For exceptional gallantry and devotion to duty in the air from January 1940, and especially from the 10-15 May 1940, during which period this airman pilot displayed unflagging zeal and courage in the face of superior forces of the enemy. He has shot down five enemy aircraft.’ Lionel Sanderson Pilkington, a native of Hull, entered the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in 1938, qualified as a Sergeant Pilot and was posted to No. 73 Squadron, a Hurricane unit, and a component of 67 Wing, Advanced Air Striking Force, in early 1940 - records reveal him embroiled in a combat in Flight Lieutenant E. J. ‘Cobber’ Kain’s red section as early as 25 January. another followed on 26 March, when he fired all of his ammunition in a protracted dogfight with Me. 110s and Dorniers, one of the former hitting his propeller with return fire and causing him to drop 10,000 feet with a ‘spluttering engine’; so, too, on 21 April, when he got in a brace of attacks on 109s, one of them rolling over on its back. but it was after the ‘Phoney War’, on the advent of the German invasion of the Low Countries in May 1940, that No. 73 embarked upon a period of constant action, Pilkington noting in his diary as early as the 11th how he had to dive for cover at Reims-Champagne airfield, two bombs having landed yards from his quarters. Indeed his diary is extensively quoted in Twelve Days in May, by Brian Cull and Bruce Lander, with Heinrich Weiss (Grub Street, London, 1995): ‘[May 11] I get a Messerschmitt 110 but one also gets me! A cannon shot in the tailplane passes through the fuselage and out the other side! Bullets in the engine, shot away throttle control; cannot close throttle and bullet hits in cockpit, beside rudder bar. Land on [Rouvres] ‘drome by cutting switches, rudder control wire practically sheared.’ This action took place over Mourmelon, Pilkington flying Hurricane P2569/D - his victim was an aircraft from II/KG53, while ‘Cobber’ Kain also claimed a Bf. 110 on the same occasion. at first light on the 13 May, with the war correspondent Charles Gardner on hand to record events, Pilkington added a shared Do. 17 to his tally, in company with fellow pilots P./Os R. F. ‘Dickie’ Martin and D. S. ‘Don’ Scott, but the enemy aircraft’s rear-gunner was a good shot - ‘We all came back very riddled’. Again in combat that evening, this time against a brace of Heinkels near Vouziers, Pilkington saw one of them downed by Squadron Leader J. W. C. More - the crew managed to bale out but were lined up and shot by French troops on landing, or certainly according to Gardner. the very next day, in an early morning patrol over the Sedan battlefront, Pilkington and Flying Officer ‘Fanny’ Orton both seriously damaged Do. 17’s of 3/KG76, the former noting that large pieces came away from his Dornier’s starboard engine before his windscreen was covered in oil - ‘Also damage port engine and get the gunner ... Shots in my plane and I fly home as I cannot use my gunsight owing to the oil.’ The Dornier made it back to base, but with three of its crew wounded. later on the 14th, as one of six 73-pilots on a similar patrol, he engaged seven Stukas of I/StG76 over Malmy, his particular target diving into the ground and exploding, but then 73’s Hurricanes were jumped by 109s of III/JG53 and Pilkington’s fellow Sergeant Pilots, Basil Pyne and George Dibden, were both shot down and killed: ‘This is a hell of a blow to me. Hell!’ Notwithstanding such losses, 73’s punishing agenda continued apace, Pilkington sharing a claim for a Do. 17 with his C.O. on the following day: ‘Panic take-off. First off, chase some Heinkels but do not catch them. Come back to base and chase five Dorniers. Get starboard engine then jettison bombs. Crossfire gets me in oil and patrol tanks, also glycol. Get back to drome, glycol tank melted and run into engine. Face slightly burnt and eyes sore from glycol. C.O. says a good show.’ And in the air battles over Lille on the 19 May, again witnessed by the war correspondent Charles Gardner, he added another ‘probable’ to his tally - but as a result of damage caused by return fire was compelled to make a force-landing: ‘Think I got a He. 111 but one of the rear-gunners gets my oil tank and I fly back. See three He. 111s doing dive-bombing 200 yards away; also run into 15 Me. 110s. Fly back in cloud and land at French bomber drome. Given a fine lunch. Ken calls in a Maggie for me in the afternoon.’ His He. 111 was in fact most likely a Ju. 88 of KG51. at the end of the month, the first of 73 Squadron’s pilots were recalled to the U.K., but in common with No. 1 Squadron, their gallant part in the defence of France had been recorded for posterity by Noel Monks, another war correspondent who had followed their story from late 1939, and who subsequently published Squadrons Up! with such valuable combat experience under his belt, Pilkington was posted to No. 7 Operational Training Unit (O.T.U.) at Hawarden, Cheshire that July - and survived a prang with a student pilot in a Miles Master on the 17th. Far more unusually, he is credited with bringing down a Ju. 88, even though still based with No. 7 O.T.U., that September - an accompanying Tangmere Military Aviation Museum letter refers. sometime thereafter joining No. 111 Squadron, most probably in early 1941, when it commenced cross-Channel offensive patrols and escorts, he was shot down and killed by Me. 109s in a sortie to Hazebrouck in Spitfire AB-962 on 20 September 1941 - as Flight Lieutenant Keller concluded in his combat report for that date, ‘The Me. 109s on this occasion seemed to me to be making a far more concerted effort than usual and were present in greater numbers than hitherto’. Pilkington, by then a 22-year old Flight Lieutenant, was due to have been married on the 26th. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. sold with a quantity of original documentation, including Buckingham Palace condolence message; four wartime photographs, one a framed portrait, and another of a page in his Flying Log Book, carrying an endorsement from his 73 C.O., ‘Has proved himself a gallant and successful Fighter Pilot’, in addition to details of a claim for an He. 111 above; an R.A.F. permanent pass, for St. Athan, No. 11 Group, in the name of ‘741935 Sgt. L. S. Pilkington’, dated 21 November 1939; together with the remnants of his embroidered cap badge, his uniform ‘Wings’ and, most poignantly, his fiancee’s R.A.F. sweetheart’s brooch, gold and enamel. £5000-£6000
Three: Gunner’s Mate John Farrell, Royal Navy, later Chief Boatman in the Coast Guard china 1857-60, no clasp, unnamed as issued; New Zealand 1845-66, reverse dated 1863 to 1864 (John Farrell, Gr’s Mate, H.M.S. Esk) officially impressed naming; Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., V.R., narrow suspension (J. Farrell, Chf. Boatn. H.M. Coast Guard) impressed naming, together with his Naval officer’s sword by Stillwell & Sons, complete with leather scabbard, and sepia cabinet portrait photograph by Russell of Kirkwall of Farrell in uniform wearing medals, contact marks, otherwise toned, good very fine (4) £700-900 farrell's New Zealand War medal was issued on 2 January 1871. 119 medals (16 to R.N. officers, 79 to R.N. ratings, one to R.M. officer, and 23 to R.M. N.C.Os. and men) were issued to H.M.S. Esk for the Second New Zealand War, of which 48 are known including 4 with reverses undated (all to R.N. ratings) and the rest with reverses dated 1863-1864. john Farrell was born in 1820 at Bandon, Cork. His earlier service records have not been sought but his later record is annotated for earlier service ‘Traced 89/116’. He served in the Coast Guard as Commissioned Boatman, Trained Man, from 1 January 1873 on the Audacious, Newcastle, Endymion, Iron Duke, Endymion again, and finally the Audacious again from which he was Shore Pensioned on 22 March 1881. His record is additionally annotated ‘Traced P 14.10.1879’ and ‘Traced, Civil Superannuitant’. £700-£900
Waterloo 1815 (Capt. & Bre. Maj. A. Kuckuck, 3rd Line Batt.) fitted with original steel clip and small ring suspension, together with a fine oval miniature portrait of the recipient in uniform wearing his Waterloo medal, oils on ivory, unsigned; a gilt badge with GRV cypher from his later Hannoverian service; ‘Peacock’s Polite Repository or Pocket Companion’ for 1818, with hand written eulogy to the K.G.L. with reference to their services at Waterloo given by the Duke of Cambridge, bound in red leather; a wax seal impression, and a group photograph of officers in the Hannoverian service, the reverse inscription identifying ‘Grandfather Kuckuck-Wahren’, nearly extremely fine £4000-5000 johann Augustin Julius Kuckuck was born in the Kingdom of Hannover in about 1767. He was married at Einbeck on 18 August 1788, and subsequently had five children. He joined the newly formed King’s German Legion on 15 September 1804, being appointed as Captain of a Company to the 3rd Line Battalion, and served in the expedition to Hannover in 1805-06. In 1807 he took part in the expedition to the Baltic, and from 1808 to 1814 he was stationed on the island of Sicily in the Mediterranean. Promoted to Brevet Major in the 3rd Line Battalion in June 1814, he was stationed in the Netherlands during the latter part of that year, and took part in the campaign of 1815 and the battle of Waterloo. He was promoted to substantive Major in the 5th Line Battalion in September 1815 and placed on half-pay on 25 April 1816, upon the reduction of the King’s German Legion. For his services at Waterloo he was awarded the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle, 4th Class, and the Hannoverian Wilhelm’s Cross. He was later promoted to Colonel on the half pay by brevet and became Commandant at Hildesheim. Sold with copy statement of service in which he points out that of his three Christian names only August, contracted from Augustin, had ever been inserted in his Commissions, and that he would continue to do the same until further orders; dated Hildesheim, 22 December 1828. £4000-£5000
China 1842 (P. A. Helpman, Lieut. H.M.S. Columbine), with replacement silver mount and contemporary gold swivel straight bar suspension, with gold buckle and brooch bar, edge bruising, very fine £750-850 Philip Augustus Helpman entered the Royal Navy on 19 July 1821; passed his examination in 1828 and obtained his first commission on 26 March 1839, following service aboard the gig Fair Rosamund and an attack on a pirate brig off Benin. On 3 January 1840 he became an Additional- Lieutenant of the Wellesley, on the East India Station; and on 19 Jan. 1841, was there appointed to the Columbine. He served in the China campaign, where, besides sharing in the actions of May 1841 against Canton, he served on shore in those of March 1842 against Tsekee, and further participated in the attack of 16 June on the batteries at Woosung. For his services in the campaign Helpman was advanced to the rank of Commander on 23 December 1842. On 20 Feb. 1846 he was appointed Coast Guard Inspecting Commander at Sunderland and placed on Retired Pay on 5 February 1858. king John VI of Portugal's Jewel: Portrait Badges Awarded to Officers of H.M. Ships Windsor Castle and Lively for a 'Nasty Occurrence'. Ref K. Douglas-Morris Naval Medals 1793-1856, p. 209 records the names and ranks of all officers aboard H.M. Ships Windsor Castle and Lively on 13 May 1824, and therefore probable recipients of King John VI of Portugal's 'Portrait Badges'. Philip Helpman is shown as Midshipman on the Windsor Castle with a footnote for his entitlement to the China Medal 1842. Whilst the Portuguese Jewel is not known to Helpman, other ‘Portrait Badges’ are known to other Midshipmen on the Windsor Castle and it is therefore possible that Helpman also received one. Sold with copied research. £750-£850
Canada General Service 1866-70, 1 clasp, Fenian Raid 1870 (Lt. W. La Rue, 61st Bn.) extremely fine £300-350 la Rue served in No. 2 Company at Levis in April-May 1870, thereby qualifying for one of 20 such Medals awarded to his unit, the 61st Montmagny and L’Islet Battalion; sold with an original portrait photograph. £300-£350
1914-15 Star (2) (G-2104 Sjt. P. Paulson, R. Suss. R.; 1066 Gnr. J. A. Summers, R.F.A.); Coronation 1902, Metropolitan Police (P.C. J. White, V. Div.); Special Constabulary Long Service, G.V.R., 1st issue (James P. Duke); Silver War Badge (B.168330) and (4193), this re-numbered, both lacking pins; other unofficial medals (6), very fine and better (10) £70-90 Medal to Summers sold with original (damaged) medal card box of issue, with envelope addressed to ‘Mr J. A. Summers,78 Violet St., Sth. Penwell, Newcastle’; a large portrait photograph of the recipient in uniform; a group photograph of the recipient and others in uniform; an envelope bearing a message to his wife, and copied m.i.c. silver War Badge ‘B.168330’ awarded to Private George William Martin, Labour Corps, late Middlesex Regiment, who enlisted on 1 May 1916 and was discharged due to sickness on 23 January 1919. Silver War Badge ‘4193’ awarded to Private John Samuel Worsley, Army Service Corps, who enlisted on 20 December 1912 and was discharged due to sickness on 28 January 1915. £70-£90
The extremely rare badge of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert bestowed upon Blanche Julia, Dowager Countess of Mayo, upon her appointment as Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria in 1872 the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert, 3rd Class badge (1880-1902) [2nd Class when awarded in 1872], comprising a shell cameo of the conjoined busts of Queen Victoria and Prince Consort, signed J. Ronca of Chelsea, surrounded by a gold border set with twenty half pearls and four diamonds, surmounted by gold and enamel crown set with rubies, emeralds and diamonds, small gold loop for suspension, mounted on Lady’s bow as worn, contained in a later case with gold blocked inscription, minor scratches to cameo, otherwise extremely fine and of the highest rarity £12000-15000 provenance: Sotheby March 1995. the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert was instituted by Queen Victoria in 1862 as a private family award to commemorate Prince Albert. A second class was added in 1864, and the Order was extended to four classes in March 1880, but limited to the Sovereign and forty-five ladies. The first two classes were reserved for Royal Ladies [the second class being specifically for those of Queen Victoria’s granddaughters who were not British princesses], the third class for the Mistress of the Robes and Ladies of the Bedchamber, and the fourth class for Women of the Bedchamber. The fourth class badge did not have a cameo portrait but comprised the entwined ciphers of VR and A, set with brilliants and half-pearls, surmounted by a gold and enamel crown set in diamonds. The Order ceased to exist in May 1902, but its members survived into the present reign. Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, the last surviving member of the 1st Class, died in 1962, and Queen Victoria’s last surviving granddaughter, Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, the last surviving recipient of the 2nd Class, died in 1981. approximately 34 Ladies were awarded the 2nd Class (3rd Class from 1880) of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert during the period of its existence from 1862 until the death of Queen Victoria in 1901. Insignia from this Order very rarely comes on the market and some price comparisons from three decades ago make surprising reading. A 3rd Class badge sold at Sotheby in June 1973 for £4200, whilst in the same sale the Victoria Cross group to Colonel J. C. Daunt sold for £2300 [Magor Collection, DNW July 2003, £126,500]. Another 3rd Class badge was sold by Sotheby in February 1975 for £6500, on which occasion the Victoria Cross group to Major John Cook realised £3700 [Ritchie Collection, DNW September 2004, £94,300]. the Honourable Blanche Julia Wyndham was born on 21 November 1826, daughter of the 1st Baron Leconfield. She married in 1848 to the 6th Early of Mayo, later Viceroy of India, who was assassinated in February 1872. She was appointed to the 2nd Class of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert on 11 May 1872, to coincide with her appointment as a Lady of the Bedchamber to the Queen. She became an Extra Lady of the Bedchamber in 1874 and remained as such until the Queen’s death in 1901. In 1878, she was appointed one of the founding Companions of the Imperial Order of the Crown of India, established to commemorate the Queen becoming Empress of India (see Lot 524). The Dowager Countess of Mayo died on 31 January 1918. £12000-£15000
The Companion of Honour group of three awarded to Harold Arthur, Viscount Dillon, first Curator of the Tower of London Armouries, Chairman of the Trustees of the National Portrait Gallery, President of the Royal Archaeological Institute and of the Society of Antiquaries, Trustee of the British Museum and of the Wallace Collection, a leading authority on the history of arms and armour and medieval costume the Order of the Companions of Honour, G.V.R., neck badge, silver-gilt and enamel, the reverse inscribed ‘Harold Arthur Viscount Dillon 1921’, with length of neck ribbon; Jubilee 1897 (Harold Arthur Viscount Dillon PSA, PRIA); Coronation 1911, unnamed as issued, good very fine (3) £2500-3000 Ex Hayward’s Gazette, December 1975. harold Arthur Lee Dillon was born on 24 January 1844, and was educated at a private school at Eltham, Kent, and at Bonn University. He joined the Rifle Brigade in 1862, was promoted to Lieutenant in 1866, and served in India and Canada during the Fenian troubles of 1868-71. He left the regular army in 1874, but was promoted to Captain in the Oxfordshire Militia and eventually retired with the rank of Major in 1891. In the following year he succeeded his father as the 17th Viscount Dillon of Costello-Gallen. on leaving the army Dillon became interested in modern military subjects such as equipment and dress, which eventually led him to the history of arms and armour and medieval costume. Dillon traced hundreds of illuminated manuscripts and illustrated works and made a series of brass rubbings. When he would enter a gallery he would focus only on those paintings with military themes, concentrating on sword hilts, armour and horse trappings, and skillfully copied them. his first works were published shortly after he left the army. These articles related to his home, Ditchley in Oxfordshire and described flint tools excavated from the area and objects from the collections in the house. He published many articles on the subjects of arms and armour and military history which appeared in academic journals such as the Archaeological Journal and Archaeologia as well as journals of popular and military general interest such as Antiquary and Colburne's United Service Magazine. He would also write on the subjects of arms and armour in pictures, on monuments and in Shakespeare, on tournaments, military equipment, soldier's arms, equipment and life. His first major undertaking was a revised edition of F. W. Fairholt's two volume Costume in England, published in 1885. Three years later he published a paper on the sections of the great 1547 Inventory of the possessions of Henry VIII. In his writings Dillon focused on the defensive and offensive characters of armour rather than as a work of art. many of his articles appeared under his own name, but he would sometimes use the pseudonym 'Armadillo.' The animal was so closely linked with Lord Dillon that the designer of a commemorative medal produced for the National Portrait Gallery used an image of an armadillo for the reverse of a medal bearing the portrait of Lord Dillon. although Dillon was associated with the Tower of London Armouries from 1892, serving as the consultant scientific expert, he was not officially appointed curator of the Armoury until 1895. He was tasked with producing an accurate and up to date catalogue of the collection. As curator he was able to reduce historic inaccuracies that had built up over the previous years. In 1827 Samuel Meyrick had brought expert knowledge to the collection, but it had then fallen into the hands of the War Office storekeepers and unfortunately most his work was lost. Labels were misplaced, and suits wrongly mounted and erroneous traditions had been established for public amusement. his research led him through the State Papers, especially those of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, in which he discovered interesting and valuable details about the making and issue of arms and armour. Dillon dismantled nearly every piece of armour in the collection to see how it was worn and the reason for certain constructional details. Most of the pieces were those of Henry VIII. Dillon even tried them on himself to see how the rivets and the joints of the harness worked and discovered that many of the suits had been wrongly assembled This exercise enabled him to rectify countless inaccuracies. He also examined the internal mechanisms of the crossbow, pistol and gunlocks. in 1910 Dillon's Illustrated Guide to the Armouries was published, being a summary catalogue of the arms and armour as he had arranged and exhibited them, and the various manuscript inventories of the collection. Dillon carried out a complete reorganisation of the collection in preparation for the new catalogue, and made a detailed examination of all the major pieces as well as identifying a number of those with important historical associations, and corrected inaccuracies. The catalogue was more in the format of a guided tour rather than a systematic catalogue. dillon considered his task to be one of preserving and studying a closed collection rather than expanding it and spreading knowledge of it outside the Tower. His two significant acquisitions for the collection were a pistol of Prince Charles, purchased in 1898 and a part visor of King Henry VII found in St James' Palace in 1906. One of his most valuable contributions was the Armourer's Album which appeared for sale in Paris and by Dillon's efforts was purchased and preserved in the Victoria & Albert Museum. The album contained a number of watercolour drawings of suits of armour of the Elizabethan period that were made at Greenwich, many of which were in the Tower, together with the names of the owners, which proved invaluable for establishing provenance and for identifying pieces in the Tower, Windsor and other private collections. lord Dillon contemplated retiring in 1909, but finally retired from his post of Curator in 1912, and handed the Armouries over to Charles Foulkes. Dillon left the Armouries on its way to becoming a modern museum. A catalogue had been completed, a programme of inspections of loans had been established, and regular inventory checks were carried out. Armour and weapons were displayed according to the techniques of the day, with labels and a guidebook describing the displays. he received an honourary degree of Doctor of Civil Law from the University of Oxford and the Order of Companion of Honour by the King in 1921. Dillon served as a trustee to the British Museum, secretary to the Royal Commission on Westminster Abbey, President of the Royal Archaeological Institute of the Wallace Collection, Trustee and Chairman of the Board of the National Portrait Gallery, Honourary Member of the Armourers and Brasier's Company of London, Fellow of the British Academy and Antiquary of the Royal Academy. Harold Arthur Lee Dillon died on 18 December 1932. The group is sold with a ‘Souvenir Album of the Tower of London, with Historical and Descriptive Notes by The Viscount Dillon P.S.A.’ £2500-£3000
A rare Second World War Fall of France 1940 D.C.M. awarded to Regimental Sergeant-Major C. W. J. Roby, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry distinguished Conduct Medal, G.VI.R. (5378576 Sjt. C. W. J. Roby, Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.), good very fine £3000-3500 d.C.M. London Gazette 20 August 1940: ‘For gallant and distinguished services in action in connection with recent operations.’ Christopher William James Roby, a reservist who rejoined the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Regiment on the outbreak of war, was decorated for his gallantry as a Sergeant in ‘C’ Company of the 4th Battalion, in May-June 1940, and, more specifically, for holding his position at Mai Cornet: ‘As the light tanks [of the 13th/18th Hussars] reached the houses on the north side of the road at Mai Cornet, they found Sergeant Roby with two sections of his platoon of ‘C’ Company, some of whom were wounded, still holding his post. His presence had been unknown to Regimental H.Q. He himself had made several attempts to get across during the attack to report, but was driven back to cover by fire. He accordingly held his post, unconcerned by what was happening, until the counter-attack appeared. For his gallantry, Sergeant Roby was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.’ Regimental records also refer to the fact that Roby and his men drove off several determined attacks before the arrival of the 13th/18th Hussars. his subsequent award of the D.C.M. was one of 12 to the Regiment for the 1939-45 War, three of which stemmed from operations in France and Belgium in 1940, but it was Roby who was chosen by his seniors to sit for the artist Eric Kennington, in 1942, when a candidate was required to represent the courage of the Regiment’s N.C.Os and men during the stand at Cassel, and elsewhere, on the retreat to Dunkirk. Described as a very fine portrait in pastel, it was purchased by the officers of the Regiment after being exhibited in London. regimental records describe a further act of bravery by Roby: ‘On the 13 January 1941 occurred an incident which caused the Divisional Commander to direct that an appropriate entry should be made on the conduct sheet of C.S.M. Roby in accordance of paragraph 1718 (B) of the King’s Regulations, 1940. The following extract from the war diary describes the occasion: no. 5378576 C.S.M. C. Roby, D.C.M., was instructing in the throwing of live grenades on Willsworthy ranges on Monday, 13 January 1941, when a soldier, who had withdrawn the safety pin from a grenade, failed to hold the lever down with his fingers, with the result that it flew away, thus actuating the firing mechanism. The soldier was in the throwing position when this occurred and, apparently losing his nerve, he dropped the grenade on the floor of the throwing pit, in which he and C.S.M. Roby were standing. About four seconds had then elapsed from the time the lever had sprung clear, but C.S.M. Roby, with great presence of mind, kicked the grenade round the corner of the wall between the bays, at the same time pulling the soldier with him on the ground. The grenade immediately exploded and C.S.M. Roby’s presence of mind undoubtedly prevented a serious, if not fatal, incident.’ Roby, who by one account was best described as ‘fit and fearless’, was advanced to Regimental Sergeant-Major at Petworth, Sussex, in 1944, where the Regiment was based on the eve of its departure for North-West Europe, and he was serving as R.S.M. of the 1st Gloucester Battalion in Germany at the War’s end. £3000-£3500
Her Majesty Queen Victoria (1819-1901) An etching after HRH Prince Albert depicting Henry VIII and other figures, and a second etching with other figure studies, both signed in the plate and dated 1840 12 x 16 cm and 16 x 14 cm (5 x 6 in and 6 1/2 x 5 1/2 in), unframed together with an engraving, signed 'EF' and dated Oct 18th 1844, of an inkstand 'In the King's State Drawing Room, W. Castle', a pencil drawing of cattle also by EF, a drawing attributed to Joshua Cristall in pen, ink and pencil of rustic firgures, a slip of paper addressed to George Scharf, Curator of the National Portrait Gallery and a letter from the Royal Librarian dated 1946 regarding the etchings
Henry Jones Thaddeus (Irish, 1860-1929) A portrait of the Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia, aged four, oil on canvas, signed and dated 1886 left centre, with the Romanov arms upper right, the canvas 97 x 66 cm (38 x 26 in), in a gilt gesso rococo frame. Note: An old label on the stretcher identifies the subject as Grand Duchess Olga, younger daughter of Tsar Alexander III and sister of Tsar Nicholas II. In fact, the subject is Elena, the daughter of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich, Alexander III's younger brother, and therefore Nicholas II's first cousin. Born in 1882, she married Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark and died in 1957. Thaddeus painted her at her father's house in Cannes and his memoirs record her as being 'a bright-eyed, fascinating child, but rebellious and hot-tempered'. He recounts how one day during the sitting she 'pouted the whole time', before attacking her nanny and then Thaddeus himself with a paper-knife.
18th Century English School - Half length portrait of a middle aged gentleman wearing a scarlet uniform and the breast badge of the Order of the Garter, canvas 30ins x 25ins, in contemporary deep gilt moulded frame (frame later overpainted) Note : Thought to be a member of the Mackeson Family from Hythe, Kent
Early 19th Century English School - Half length portrait of a young lady with dark hair wearing a cream Empire line dress with muslin over-jacket, holding a book in her right hand and seated by her work table, canvas 31ins x 26ins, unsigned, in contemporary deep gilt moulded frame (frame later overpainted) Note : Thought to be a member of the Mackeson Family from Hythe, Kent
Early 19th Century English School - Half length portrait of a young woman with auburn hair wearing a cream Empire line dress, seated playing a harp, canvas 31ins x 26ins, unsigned, in contemporary deep gilt moulded frame (frame later overpainted) Note : Thought to be a member of the Mackeson Family from Hythe, Kent
19th Century Continental School (in the Primitive Manner) - Half length portrait of a young woman with her hair in ringlets wearing a blue dress and lace trimmed blouse seated in a spoon back armchair, canvas 35.5ins x 28.75ins, signed “Cambien” and dated 1853, in plain gilt frame Note : Vendor is of the opinion this may be American
Peter Cushing (1913-1994) - “Design for Lady’s Headscarf” - Rectangular silk panel painted by Peter Cushing with a portrait of Charles Dickens and images of various Dickens characters, the edges finely embroidered by his wife, Helen Cushing, 25.5ins x 22.5ins, mounted on brown cloth, in modern aluminium frame and glazed Note : One of a set of four produced for Northern Supplies to be retailed by Marks & Spencer
ENGLISH SCHOOL 19TH CENTURY OVAL MINIATURE PORTRAIT of a Gentleman wearing white necktie and black jacket, on ivory, unsigned, in original ebonised frame, size of portrait 7cms x 5.5cms together with another oval miniature portrait of a woman, on ivory and in ebonised oval frame (damaged) (2)
Early 18th Century English School-Portrait of Colonel John West seated, he wears armour over his burgundy frockcoat, in one hand a book at his elbow, oil on canvas, inscribed Colonel John West 1740, 127cm x 102cm (50Ó x 40Ó). (Front Cover Illus.)Footnote: . The Suffolk Regiment has a history stemming back to 1685 when it was called up by the Duke of Norfolk as the 12th Regiment of Foot to curb the threatened Monmouth Rebellion. John West joined the 1st Foot Guards as an ensign in 1694 and served in the Battle of Blenheim in 1704 (the first decisive victory over Louis XIV). He was appointed Major in Colonel Thomas Stanwix's Regiment of Foot in 1706 (until 1751 British Regiments were designated by the name of their colonels, and regimental names changed accordingly with the colonels) with whom he fought in Spain, and then appointed Lieut. Col in 1711. Stanwix's Regiment was disbanded in 1713 and West eventually returned to Bury St Edmunds and became a Governor of Bury Grammar School. He passed away in 1750 and is buried in St Mary's Church at Bury St Edmunds with the following monumental inscription; Ô...Here lie the remains of Colonel John West who served the Crown with reputation in various ranks of Command from Ensign to Lieut. Colonel having distinguished himself at all the memorable battles & sieges in the glorious reigns of King William & Queen Ann from the year 1693 to 1723...' For Suffolk Regiment veterans and enthusiasts St Mary's Church is of particular interest because the main memorials of the Regiment are here. Colonel John West is also related, through his mother, to the famous Killigrew family of Cornwall which includes Thomas Killigrew, the celebrated wit of King Charles II reign, Sir William Killigrew & Dr Henry Killigrew, both dramatic writers, Ann Killigrew the poet, Admiral Killigrew a celebrated naval officer and General Robert Killigrew who died in 1707 and has a monument in Westminster Abbey. The family were staunch Royalists through the English Civil War and after losing Alwenack House in Falmouth to Parliamentary forces in 1646 took part in the historic six month siege at Pendennis Castle.
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