6
GROUPS AND SINGLE DECORATIONS FOR GALLANTRY
Description
The intriguing C.M.G. group of seven awarded to William F. A. Rattigan, H.M. Diplomatic Service, whose infidelity with Princess Elizabeth of Romania (later Queen of Greece) brought to an end his distinguished diplomatic career; by his wife he was the father of the celebrated playwright Terrence Rattigan
The Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George, C.M.G., Companion’s neck badge, silver-gilt and enamel, with neck cravat, in its damaged Garrard, London case of issue; 1914 Star (W. F. A. Rattigan); British War and Victory Medals (W. F. A. Rattigan); Coronation 1911; Coronation 1937; Romania, Kingdom, Commemorative Cross 1916-18, the six medals mounted as worn, good very fine and better (7) £1400-1800
---
C.M.G. London Gazette 5 June 1920. ‘First Secretary in His Majesty’s Diplomatic Service’.
William Frank Arthur Rattigan was born on 11 April 1879 and educated at Harrow and Magdalen College, Oxford. Nominated an Attaché, 23 December 1902, he was appointed to Vienna in April 1904 and transferred to The Hague in June the same year. Promoted to 3rd Secretary, August 1905 and 2nd Secretary, May 1909. Was a Gold Staff Officer at the Coronation of George V. Served in Cairo, 1912 and Berlin, 1913. With the start of the Great War, Rattigan was loaned to the War Office for service with the General Staff of the Army, attached to the 6th French Army and the Belgian Army, and was in France and Flanders from 13 August to 6 November 1914, being slightly wounded in an explosion at the front. He was transferred to Bucharest in February 1915 and was promoted to 1st Secretary in May 1916. With the collapse of Romania, Rattigan and his wife, Vera, were forced to make their way back to England. But they did not complete their escape from Eastern Europe until November 1917. By the time they arrived back in London, having survived starvation after the collapse of Romania and a spell in hospital in revolutionary Petrograd, Frank was so ill that he was unfit for service during most of 1918. Vera had cared devotedly for her injured husband throughout their hair-raising adventures in Romania and their protracted and dangerous journey home across Russia, then in the throes of the Revolution.
After the war he acted as Chargé d’Affaires at Bucharest, 22 April 1919-15 October 1920. For his services he was awarded the C.M.G. Promoted to be Counsellor of Embassy in the Diplomatic Service, November 1920, and transferred to Constantinople in February 1921, where he acted as Chargé d’Affaires, May-July 1921. He retired on a Pension on 1 December 1922 and died on 9 March 1952.
William Rattigan married Vera Houston in 1905. By her he had two sons, one of which was the celebrated playwright, Terence Rattigan (1911-77). Frank Rattigan’s life as a diplomat is vividly portrayed in his autobiography, Diversions of a Diplomat, 1924. An account of Terence Rattigan’s early life with his parents is given in Terence Rattigan a Biography, by Geoffrey Wansell. In the latter is a story of an affair his father had with Princess Elizabeth of Romania (later Queen of Greece) which resulted in a pregnancy and secret abortion. It suggests that this was one of the reasons behind his early (forced) retirement from the Diplomatic Service.
Sold with an original edition of Diversions of a Diplomat, by Frank Rattigan, copied m.i.c., Foreign Office List and Gazette extracts, and other research.
For the miniature dress medals worn by the recipient, see Lot 1099.
-----
Click here to view this lot plus any additional images on the auctioneer's website.
The Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George, C.M.G., Companion’s neck badge, silver-gilt and enamel, with neck cravat, in its damaged Garrard, London case of issue; 1914 Star (W. F. A. Rattigan); British War and Victory Medals (W. F. A. Rattigan); Coronation 1911; Coronation 1937; Romania, Kingdom, Commemorative Cross 1916-18, the six medals mounted as worn, good very fine and better (7) £1400-1800
---
C.M.G. London Gazette 5 June 1920. ‘First Secretary in His Majesty’s Diplomatic Service’.
William Frank Arthur Rattigan was born on 11 April 1879 and educated at Harrow and Magdalen College, Oxford. Nominated an Attaché, 23 December 1902, he was appointed to Vienna in April 1904 and transferred to The Hague in June the same year. Promoted to 3rd Secretary, August 1905 and 2nd Secretary, May 1909. Was a Gold Staff Officer at the Coronation of George V. Served in Cairo, 1912 and Berlin, 1913. With the start of the Great War, Rattigan was loaned to the War Office for service with the General Staff of the Army, attached to the 6th French Army and the Belgian Army, and was in France and Flanders from 13 August to 6 November 1914, being slightly wounded in an explosion at the front. He was transferred to Bucharest in February 1915 and was promoted to 1st Secretary in May 1916. With the collapse of Romania, Rattigan and his wife, Vera, were forced to make their way back to England. But they did not complete their escape from Eastern Europe until November 1917. By the time they arrived back in London, having survived starvation after the collapse of Romania and a spell in hospital in revolutionary Petrograd, Frank was so ill that he was unfit for service during most of 1918. Vera had cared devotedly for her injured husband throughout their hair-raising adventures in Romania and their protracted and dangerous journey home across Russia, then in the throes of the Revolution.
After the war he acted as Chargé d’Affaires at Bucharest, 22 April 1919-15 October 1920. For his services he was awarded the C.M.G. Promoted to be Counsellor of Embassy in the Diplomatic Service, November 1920, and transferred to Constantinople in February 1921, where he acted as Chargé d’Affaires, May-July 1921. He retired on a Pension on 1 December 1922 and died on 9 March 1952.
William Rattigan married Vera Houston in 1905. By her he had two sons, one of which was the celebrated playwright, Terence Rattigan (1911-77). Frank Rattigan’s life as a diplomat is vividly portrayed in his autobiography, Diversions of a Diplomat, 1924. An account of Terence Rattigan’s early life with his parents is given in Terence Rattigan a Biography, by Geoffrey Wansell. In the latter is a story of an affair his father had with Princess Elizabeth of Romania (later Queen of Greece) which resulted in a pregnancy and secret abortion. It suggests that this was one of the reasons behind his early (forced) retirement from the Diplomatic Service.
Sold with an original edition of Diversions of a Diplomat, by Frank Rattigan, copied m.i.c., Foreign Office List and Gazette extracts, and other research.
For the miniature dress medals worn by the recipient, see Lot 1099.
-----
Click here to view this lot plus any additional images on the auctioneer's website.
Auction Details
Shipping
T&Cs & Important Info
Ask seller a question
The intriguing C.M.G. group of seven awarded to William F. A. Rattigan, H.M. Diplomatic Service, whose infidelity with Princess Elizabeth of Romania (later Queen of Greece) brought to an end his distinguished diplomatic career; by his wife he was the father of the celebrated playwright Terrence Rattigan
The Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George, C.M.G., Companion’s neck badge, silver-gilt and enamel, with neck cravat, in its damaged Garrard, London case of issue; 1914 Star (W. F. A. Rattigan); British War and Victory Medals (W. F. A. Rattigan); Coronation 1911; Coronation 1937; Romania, Kingdom, Commemorative Cross 1916-18, the six medals mounted as worn, good very fine and better (7) £1400-1800
---
C.M.G. London Gazette 5 June 1920. ‘First Secretary in His Majesty’s Diplomatic Service’.
William Frank Arthur Rattigan was born on 11 April 1879 and educated at Harrow and Magdalen College, Oxford. Nominated an Attaché, 23 December 1902, he was appointed to Vienna in April 1904 and transferred to The Hague in June the same year. Promoted to 3rd Secretary, August 1905 and 2nd Secretary, May 1909. Was a Gold Staff Officer at the Coronation of George V. Served in Cairo, 1912 and Berlin, 1913. With the start of the Great War, Rattigan was loaned to the War Office for service with the General Staff of the Army, attached to the 6th French Army and the Belgian Army, and was in France and Flanders from 13 August to 6 November 1914, being slightly wounded in an explosion at the front. He was transferred to Bucharest in February 1915 and was promoted to 1st Secretary in May 1916. With the collapse of Romania, Rattigan and his wife, Vera, were forced to make their way back to England. But they did not complete their escape from Eastern Europe until November 1917. By the time they arrived back in London, having survived starvation after the collapse of Romania and a spell in hospital in revolutionary Petrograd, Frank was so ill that he was unfit for service during most of 1918. Vera had cared devotedly for her injured husband throughout their hair-raising adventures in Romania and their protracted and dangerous journey home across Russia, then in the throes of the Revolution.
After the war he acted as Chargé d’Affaires at Bucharest, 22 April 1919-15 October 1920. For his services he was awarded the C.M.G. Promoted to be Counsellor of Embassy in the Diplomatic Service, November 1920, and transferred to Constantinople in February 1921, where he acted as Chargé d’Affaires, May-July 1921. He retired on a Pension on 1 December 1922 and died on 9 March 1952.
William Rattigan married Vera Houston in 1905. By her he had two sons, one of which was the celebrated playwright, Terence Rattigan (1911-77). Frank Rattigan’s life as a diplomat is vividly portrayed in his autobiography, Diversions of a Diplomat, 1924. An account of Terence Rattigan’s early life with his parents is given in Terence Rattigan a Biography, by Geoffrey Wansell. In the latter is a story of an affair his father had with Princess Elizabeth of Romania (later Queen of Greece) which resulted in a pregnancy and secret abortion. It suggests that this was one of the reasons behind his early (forced) retirement from the Diplomatic Service.
Sold with an original edition of Diversions of a Diplomat, by Frank Rattigan, copied m.i.c., Foreign Office List and Gazette extracts, and other research.
For the miniature dress medals worn by the recipient, see Lot 1099.
-----
Click here to view this lot plus any additional images on the auctioneer's website.
The Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George, C.M.G., Companion’s neck badge, silver-gilt and enamel, with neck cravat, in its damaged Garrard, London case of issue; 1914 Star (W. F. A. Rattigan); British War and Victory Medals (W. F. A. Rattigan); Coronation 1911; Coronation 1937; Romania, Kingdom, Commemorative Cross 1916-18, the six medals mounted as worn, good very fine and better (7) £1400-1800
---
C.M.G. London Gazette 5 June 1920. ‘First Secretary in His Majesty’s Diplomatic Service’.
William Frank Arthur Rattigan was born on 11 April 1879 and educated at Harrow and Magdalen College, Oxford. Nominated an Attaché, 23 December 1902, he was appointed to Vienna in April 1904 and transferred to The Hague in June the same year. Promoted to 3rd Secretary, August 1905 and 2nd Secretary, May 1909. Was a Gold Staff Officer at the Coronation of George V. Served in Cairo, 1912 and Berlin, 1913. With the start of the Great War, Rattigan was loaned to the War Office for service with the General Staff of the Army, attached to the 6th French Army and the Belgian Army, and was in France and Flanders from 13 August to 6 November 1914, being slightly wounded in an explosion at the front. He was transferred to Bucharest in February 1915 and was promoted to 1st Secretary in May 1916. With the collapse of Romania, Rattigan and his wife, Vera, were forced to make their way back to England. But they did not complete their escape from Eastern Europe until November 1917. By the time they arrived back in London, having survived starvation after the collapse of Romania and a spell in hospital in revolutionary Petrograd, Frank was so ill that he was unfit for service during most of 1918. Vera had cared devotedly for her injured husband throughout their hair-raising adventures in Romania and their protracted and dangerous journey home across Russia, then in the throes of the Revolution.
After the war he acted as Chargé d’Affaires at Bucharest, 22 April 1919-15 October 1920. For his services he was awarded the C.M.G. Promoted to be Counsellor of Embassy in the Diplomatic Service, November 1920, and transferred to Constantinople in February 1921, where he acted as Chargé d’Affaires, May-July 1921. He retired on a Pension on 1 December 1922 and died on 9 March 1952.
William Rattigan married Vera Houston in 1905. By her he had two sons, one of which was the celebrated playwright, Terence Rattigan (1911-77). Frank Rattigan’s life as a diplomat is vividly portrayed in his autobiography, Diversions of a Diplomat, 1924. An account of Terence Rattigan’s early life with his parents is given in Terence Rattigan a Biography, by Geoffrey Wansell. In the latter is a story of an affair his father had with Princess Elizabeth of Romania (later Queen of Greece) which resulted in a pregnancy and secret abortion. It suggests that this was one of the reasons behind his early (forced) retirement from the Diplomatic Service.
Sold with an original edition of Diversions of a Diplomat, by Frank Rattigan, copied m.i.c., Foreign Office List and Gazette extracts, and other research.
For the miniature dress medals worn by the recipient, see Lot 1099.
-----
Click here to view this lot plus any additional images on the auctioneer's website.
Orders, Decorations, Medals & Militaria
Sale Date(s)
Venue Address
16 Bolton St
London
W1J 8BQ
United Kingdom
General delivery information available from the auctioneer
If you are successful in purchasing lot/s being auctioned by us and opt for the item/s to be sent to you, we will use the following methods of shipment:
Within the UK
If you live within the UK, items will be despatched using Royal Mail Special Delivery. This service provides parcel tracking (via the Royal Mail website) and next weekday delivery (betwen 9am and 1pm). Items delivered within the UK are covered by our insurance company. Heavy and bulky lots will be sent by courier, in discussion with the client.
Outside of the UK
If the item/s being sent are worth under £1000 in total they are sent using Royal Mail’s Signed For International service. This ensures the item must be signed for when it is delivered.
If the item/s being sent are valued at over £1000 in total they will be sent using FedEx. This service allows next day delivery to customers in many parts of the US and parcels are fully trackable using the FedEx website.
Shipping Exceptions
Certain lots such as those containing glass or sharp implements, etc., may not be suitable for in-house shipping within or outside of the UK. Please contact Noonans with any queries.
Important Information
Buyers Premium: 20%
Other Information: Please visit www.dnw.co.uk for more information
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR ALL BUYERS
All lots in DNW auctions are automatically reserved at the bid step which reflects 80% of the lower estimate figure, unless otherwise instructed by the vendor.
All multiple lots (lots containing two or more items) with the exception of designated sets of notes, are sold as viewed and not subject to return. Buyers are recommended to view such lots.
Lots marked ‘x’ in dark blue are subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the EU.
Important Notice Advance Bidding Facility
Please note that our easy-to-use advance bidding facility, which replaces the ‘old-fashioned’ commission bid system, provides all bidders with total control over their bids right up to the point that the lot is offered for sale.
Bids made online cannot be seen by others and do not go live until the actual moment that the lot in question is being offered for sale. All bids can be easily altered or cancelled by the bidder prior to this point. An automated confirmatory email will be sent confirming all bids and alterations.
Anyone with a valid email address can easily register to bid online.
There is no additional charge for online bidding and it is not necessary to pre-register a payment card in order to do so.
It is recommended that all bidders execute their own bids, either prior to the auction by using this facility or live as the auction is taking place.
Whilst we are still happy to execute all bids submitted in writing or by phone, fax or any other method, it should be noted that all bids left with us will be entered at our offices using the same bidding facility to which all our clients now have access. There is, therefore, no better way of ensuring the accuracy of your advance bids than to place them yourself online.
For any support queries please contact: Ian Anderson ian@dnw.co.uk (+44) 20 7016 1751
