Groups and Single Decorations for Gallantry

A G.C.V.O. and Boer War D.S.O. group of four awarded to Colonel Viscount FitzAlan of Derwent, K.G., G.C.V.O., 11th Hussars, the last Viceroy of Ireland The Royal Victorian Order, G.C.V.O., Knight Grand Cross set of insignia, comprising sash badge, silver-gilt and enamels, suspension ring a little distressed, and breast star, silver, silver-gilt and enamels, fitted with gold pin for wearing, both pieces officially numbered ‘461’, complete with sash in Collingwood, London case of issue, this scuffed and catch broken; Distinguished Service Order, V.R., silver-gilt and enamel, with integral top ribbon bar; Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 5 clasps, Relief of Kimberley, Paardeberg, Driefontein, Johannesburg, Diamond Hill (Colonel Lord E. B. Talbot, D.S.O.); Coronation 1902, silver; Jubilee 1935, mounted court-style as worn, very fine or better (6) £5,000-£6,000 --- M.V.O. 4th Class, 22 August 1902, for services at the Coronation of the King. G.C.V.O., 3 June 1919, for services as Deputy Earl Marshal of England. Edmund Bernard Talbot (né FitzAlan-Howard), later 1st Viscount FitzAlan of Derwent, K.G., G.C.V.O., D.S.O., was born on 1 June 1855, the second son of the 14th Duke of Norfolk, and educated at the Oratory School, Edgbaston, prior to being commissioned into the 11th Hussars in 1875. Named as the principal beneficiary in the will of Bertram Arthur Talbot, 17th Earl of Shrewsbury provided he took the surname and arms of ‘Talbot’, he duly did so by royal licence in 1876. However, the late earl's distant relatives contested the will, and the peerage and concomitant property were awarded after much litigation to Henry Chetwynd-Talbot, 3rd Earl Talbot, leaving Lord Edmund Talbot with only scattered minor lands. Acting as Adjutant of the 11th Hussars from 1881-83, Lord Edmund Talbot served in a similar capacity in the Auxiliary Forces from 1883-88, and was promoted to Major in 1891. In 1894 he was elected MP for Chichester and remained in Parliament until 1921. When war broke out in South Africa he was involved in operations leading to the relief of Kimberley and at Paardeberg, in addition to the actions at Poplar Grove, Driefontein, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Diamond Hill, and Colesburg. He was awarded the D.S.O. (London Gazette 19 April 1901) and mentioned in Despatches. On 17 June 1900, he was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel although he did not command the 11th Hussars. Returning to politics he held various appointment, as: Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for War and India, and between 1905-06 he was Junior Lord of the Treasury and Whip. Also between 1915-21 he was Joint Parliamentary Secretary at the Treasury. He was appointed Deputy Earl Marshal of England in 1917 as his nephew, the 16th Duke of Norfolk, was too young. In 1921 he was Lord Lieutenant and the last Viceroy of Ireland, the first Roman Catholic to hold the post since 1685, but the position only lasted until 1922 when the Irish Free State came into being. In his capacity as Viceroy of Ireland he was appointed as the very last Honorary Grand Master of the Order of Saint Patrick, which Order became obsolete in 1922. In 1925 he was honoured with the appointment of Knight of the Garter. He reverted to his name of FitzAlan in 1921 and was raised to the peerage as the Right Hon. The Viscount FitzAlan of Derwent in the County of Derby. On 5 August 1879, he was married to Lady Mary Bertie, daughter of the Earl of Abingdon. They had two children, a daughter and a son, and lived at Cumberland Lodge in Windsor Great Park. Viscount FitzAlan died on 18 May 1947.