The very rare 'Easter Rising' M.I.D. group of three awarded to Lieutenant H. E. Archer,...

The very rare ‘Easter Rising’ M.I.D. group of three awarded to Lieutenant H. E. Archer, Royal Navy, whose ship Adventure carried Lieutenant Spindler and the captured crew of the German Steamer Aud after their ill-fated attempt to deliver arms to Roger Casement for use in the Sinn Fein Rebellion 1914-15 Star (Lieut. H. E. Archer, R.N.); British War and Victory Medals, with small M.I.D. oak leaves (Lieut. H. E. Archer. R.N.) good very fine (3) £500-£700 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- Provenance: Dix Noonan Webb, February 1999. M.I.D. London Gazette 24 April 1917. Lieutenant Spindler arrived at the rendezvous at Tralee Bay off the West Coast of Ireland at 4:15pm on 20 April 1916. It was here that he was due to meet Roger Casement aboard a German U-boat and deliver his cargo of arms for use by the Sinn Feiners in the proposed uprising. He was in command of the German Steamer Aud, which was disguised as a Norwegian vessel. Upon arrival he found to his bitter disappointment that there was no U-boat in sight. According to the orders he had been issued with he was to wait just half an hour, at which point if the other party failed to put in an appearance, the Aud could either run into Fenit, or turn back home. In point of fact, Roger Casement was at the rendezvous aboard the U22 Commanded by Lieut. Commr. Weisbach, but from a distance the dark outline of the Aud had been mistaken for a British destroyer and as such, little more attention was paid to it. Spindler steamed about the bay till after dusk, displaying the prearranged green signal, but it soon became clear that there was no one at all to meet him. At 5am the following morning, the Setter II, skippered by John Donaldson, R.N.R. came alongside and boarded the Aud. Spindler, however, successfully deceived Donaldson into believing his disguise and showed him the cargo which at first sight appeared to be nothing more than a consignment of pots and pans. Donaldson, satisfied with the Aud’s innocence, went on to inform Spindler that the area was surrounded by all sorts of naval vessels as they were expecting some sort of trouble. Spindler therefor resolved to wait under the island till dark, then get 30 miles out into the Atlantic and steam south to Spain. But soon after 1pm, he was once again approached, this time by the Lord Heneage, a large armed trawler. It was at this point that Spindler realised the game was up, and he ordered the cargo to be thrown overboard. The Aud was now fleeing for her life, and Lord Heneage was joined in pursuit by Setter II. After some distance, H.M.S. Zinnia and H.M.S. Bluebell took up the chase, eventually catching up with the Aud and escorting her into Queenstown. At 9:25am the next morning (Saturday 22 April), the Aud - when just outside Queenstown and still under escort - suddenly stopped her engines and lowered her boats into which every member of the crew clambered. Spindler ordered the German naval ensign to be hoisted and then proceeded to detonate explosives with the effect that the Aud sank. The Bluebell stopped and picked up the entire crew, consisting of the Captain, two Warrant Officers and 19 Petty Officers and men. That evening, the prisoners were transferred to H.M.S. Adventure and taken to Milford Haven en route for Chatham. Spindler admitted that he was treated with great courtesy and kindness whilst aboard the Adventure and was given an officer’s cabin. In his published memoir he wrote ‘discipline, order and cleanliness were simply perfect aboard the Adventure.’ This incident, which also resulted in the capture of Roger Casement, had the net result of stamping out the rising which should have swept across Southern Ireland, and to localise the trouble about to flare up in Dublin. (Danger Zone, The Story of The Queenstown Command, by E. Keble Chatterton refers.) Humphrey Edward Archer was born in London on 15 April 1890, and joined the Navy aboard the training ship Britannia on 15 January 1905, becoming Midshipman on 15 May 1906, and Sub Lieutenant on 15 August 1909. Promoted to Lieutenant on 15 November 1910, he joined the Adventure in July 1913, becoming First and Gunnery Lieutenant in her from 29 November 1914, and remained as such until 11 August 1916, when he removed to Renown. He was promoted to Lieutenant-Commander on 15 November 1918, and was placed on half-pay in June 1928. He died on 2 April 1944. Sold with copied record of service and confirmation of ‘M.I.D. for services in connection with the Sinn Fein rising in Ireland, April 1916’.