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Lot 620
A fine ‘Napoleonic Wars’ group of six awarded to Paul Lambert Van den Maesen France, First Empire, Legion of Honour, 3rd type, Chevalier’s breast badge, 56 x 36mm., silver, gold and enamel, lacks reverse centre, severe enamel damage, points bruised; Reign of Louis Philippe, Legion of Honour, Chevalier’s breast badge, 65 x 44mm., silver, gold and enamel, enamel damage; St. Helena Medal, bronze; ‘Veterans Cross’, 41 x 41mm., silver-gilt cross surmounted by crossed sabres, obverse centre with ‘N’ with military hat above, reverse centre bearing the cypher, ‘PVDM’; Emperor Napoleon I Funeral Commemorative Medal 1840, 41mm., bronze, unnamed, edge bruise; Netherlands, ‘St. Barbara Gilde Medal’, 55mm., silver, with ornate suspension, obverse inscribed, ‘Ste. Barbara Gilde aan P. L. Vandermaesen, Ridder van het Eerelegioen’, reverse engraved with crossed riffles and the inscription, ‘Ter gelegenheid van Zijn Vijftigjarig lidmaatschap 1827-1877 (?)’; pair of miniature dress medals: France, St. Helena Medal, bronze; Legion of Honour, First Empire, 4th type, silver, gold and enamel, enamel damage, mounted as worn from a gold brooch bar; Daguerreotype, of the recipient within a gilt oval frame, the clarity of the image is poor; fine and better (9) £600-800 The above mounted on an old pad by Gontier, Brussels, with damaged gilt frame surmounted by an imperial eagle. A label on the pad reverse reads, ‘Paul Lambert Van den Maesen, 1791-1881’.
Lot 622
Eleven: Chef de Bataillin Achille LŽonard Boniface Villermain, French Army France, Third Republic, Legion of Honour, 5th Class, silver, gold and enamel, severe enamel damage; Order of Agricultural Merit, Chevalier’s breast badge, silver-gilt and enamel; Croix de Guerre 1914-1917, bronze star on ribbon; Colonial Medal 1893, 1 clasp, Tunisie; War Commemorative Medal 1914-18; Victory Medal 1914-18, official type; French Society of War Wounded Medal 1864-66, silver; ‘U.N.C.’ Medal; Belgium, Order of Leopold I, Chevalier’s breast badge, silver, silver-gilt and enamel; Order of the Crown, Officer’s breast badge, gilt base metal and enamel; Romania, War Commemorative Cross 1916-18, no clasps, generally good very fine except where stated (11) £180-220 Achille LŽonard Boniface Villermain was born in Antibes, Alpes Maritimes, on 14 February 1848. He volunteered for military service in Paris on 5 February 1866. He attained the rank of Sergeant-Major in 1869 and in the following year was commissioned Adjutant and Sous Lieutenant. Promoted to Captain in 1883, he subsequently served as Acting Major and latterly attained the rank of Chef de Bataillon of Infantry. Sold with a quantity of original documents and papers, approximately 36, including: Service Book, recording Villermain originally in the 3rd Regiment de Voltigeurs, Garde ImpŽriale; Wound Certificate 1886; notification of the award of the Legion of Honour, dated 1890; Colonial Medal award document, dated 1894; commission documents; military certificates.
Lot 633
Iraq, Arab-Israeli War Medal 1948, enamelled; Jordan, Medal for the Great Ramadan War 1974, white metal; Morocco, Medals (2); Syria, Medal, gilt and enamel; Turkey, Imtiaz Medal, 37mm., silver, inscribed in arabic on reverse; other ‘Middle Eastern’ medals (3), nearly very fine and better (9) £70-90.
Lot 640
An Order of the Crown awarded to Dott. Romolo Casorati, Chief Secretary of the Regia Procura Italy, Kingdom, Order of the Crown, Knight’s breast badge, gold and enamel, enamel damage, nearly very fine £60-80 Sold with award document to Dott. Romolo Casorati, Chief Secretary of the Regia Procura (equivalent of the English Crown Prosecution Service) of Alessandria, Piedmont, signed by Italian Minister Boselli, dated 25 August 1924.
Lot 642
An Order of the Crown awarded to Infantry Lieutenant Francesco Colacino Italy, Kingdom, Order of the Crown, Knight’s breast badge, silver-gilt and enamel, good very fine £50-70 Sold with award document to Infantry Lieutenant Francesco Colacino, signed by Admiral Revel, Duca del Mare, dated 24 April 1935.
Lot 661
Latvia, Order of the Three Stars, Knight’s breast badge, silver-gilt and enamel, in case of issue, extremely fine £80-100 Sold with Buckingham Palace document granting restricted permission to wear to Miss Mary Hamlin, 163B Sutherland Avenue, W.9, dated 3 January 1939. Mary Hamlin was a musician - sold with some music sheets of songs arranged by her.
Lot 666
Rhodesia, General Service Medal (R101117T L. Cpl. E. Granger); District Service Medal (D.A/IINjanina V.); Three: Constable J. Kanyemba, Zimbabwe, Independence Medal (16048); Rhodesia, General Service Medal (26328 Cst.); Zimbabwe Long Service Medal, for 10 Years (26328 Cst.); U.S.S.R., 60th Anniversary Armed Forces Medal 1918-78; Medal for Irreproachable Service in the Armed Forces, for 10 years; Bulgaria, Peoples Republic, 25 Years Anniversary Medal 1944-69, gilt and enamel; other ‘Communist Block’ medals (3), enamelled, enamel damage; lapel badge (1); buttons (5), very fine and better (17) £50-70.
Lot 668
Russia, Order of St. Anne, 2nd Class neck badge with swords by Eduard, St. Petersburg, 44 x 44mm., gold and enamel, manufacturer’s name on reverse, ‘56’ zolotnik mark on eyelet, kokoshnik marks for St. Petersburg 1908-17 on eyelet and sword hilts, with modern neck cravat, in case of issue, good very fine £2600-3000.
Lot 669
Russia, Order of St. Anne, 3rd Class breast badge, with swords, by Osipov, St. Petersburg, gold and enamel, manufacturer’s initials on reverse, ‘56’ zolotnik mark for 1909-17 on eyelet, and other stamp marks on sword hilts, good very fine £2000-2400 Provenance Colonel C. U. Price, Indian Army. See Lot 1164.
Lot 673
Russia, Order of St. Stanislaus, 3rd Class breast badge, 42 x 42mm., gold and enamel, ‘56’ zolotnik mark and kokoshnik mark for 1896-1908 on eyelet, unclear manufacturer’s marks on the reverse, centres slack, minor enamel damage, good very fine £700-900 Sold with forwarding letter and official award document (in Russian) dated 1910, named to ‘Oscar Wolleben’.
Lot 696
The Army Distinguished Service Medal and Silver Star group of five awarded to Major-General Philip Bradley Peyton, 61st Infantry Regiment, 5th Division Army Distinguished Service Medal, edge officially numbered ‘397’, bronze and enamel; Silver Star, edge officially numbered ‘4055’, reverse inscribed ‘Philip B. Peyton’; Victory Medal 1918, 3 clasps, Defensive Sector, Meuse-Argonne, St. Mihiel, official type 2 medal; France, Third Republic, Legion of Honour, Chevalier’s breast badge, silver, silver-gilt and enamel, blue enamel with some damage and repair; Croix de Guerre 1914-1918, with bronze star on ribbon and with lanyard complete with gilt fitting, generally good very fine (13) £1200-1500 Distinguished Service Medal citation: ‘For exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services. He took command of a regiment which had undergone six days of shell fire and commanded it with such unusual skill as to enable the regiment to capture Aincreville, Bois de Babiemont, Doulcon, and, after crossing the Meuse, to capture Hill 292, Dun-sur-Meuse, Milly-devant-Dun, Lion-devant-Dun, Cote St. Germain, Chateau Charmois, and Mouzey, thereby displaying the highest order of leadership and exhibiting the masterful qualities of a commander’. Silver Star, cited by Divisional Commander; Cunel and Bois-de-la-Poultiere. Citation: ‘For exceptional devotion to duty, energy and zeal. In the attack on Cunel and the Bois-de-la-Poultiere, 14th October 1918, by his presence, coolness, personal bravery, and excellent example under intense artillery and machine-gun fire, after not only the officers, but also the non-commissioned personnel of his Battalion had been decimated in this particular attack by seventy-five per cent, inspired the members of his command to advance against an enemy strongly fortified in the jungle of underbrush and trenches. He repeatedly disregarded his own safety in making personal reconnaissance ahead of his forces when they were held up by enemy fire’. Philip Bradley Peyton was born in Nashville, Tennessee on 22 January 1881, son of A. Newman Peyton. He was educated at the Virginia Military Institute and following his graduation in 1901, served as an Instructor in the Institute during 1901-03. During his second year at the Institute, he was a room mate of George C. Marshall - who was later, at various times, Army Chief of Staff, General of the Army, Secretary of State and Secretary of Defence. Peyton was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant of Infantry in 1904 and was promoted to Lieutenant in 1911, Captain in 1916, Temporary Major, August 1917-August 1918 and Major in 1920. Serving in France with the 61st Infantry during the Great War, he was awarded the American Distinguished Service Medal and Silver Star and the French Legion of Honour and Croix de Guerre. As Commanding Officer of the 61st Infantry Peyton was decorated with the Distinguished Service Medal by General Pershing on 30 April 1919. Postwar he graduated from the Infantry School in 1925, the Command and General Staff School in 1926, the Army War College in 1931 and Tank School in 1932 - being promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in 1927, Colonel in 1935, Brigadier-General in 1937 and Major-General in 1941. He served as Commanding Officer, 12th Brigade, 1937-38; Commanding Officer, Hawaiian Separate Coast Artillery Brigade, 1938; Commanding Officer, 21st Brigade, 1939; Commandant of the Army War College, 1939-40; Commanding General, 8th Infantry Division, June-December 1940, and Commanding General I Corps, 1941-42. Following a heart attack, Peyton retired from the Army on 28 February 1942. Residing in Charlottesville, Virginia, he died on 23 June 1949 and was buried in the Arlington National Cemetery. Sold with a riband bar and seven metal uniform badges, a copied photograph of the recipient and copied research.
Lot 700
Vatican, Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, Knight Commander with Star set of insignia, neck badge, 78 x 45mm., gold and enamel; breast star, 77 x 77mm., silver, gold and enamel, the reverse bearing the cartouche of ‘Lemaitre, 27 Rue Nve. des Bons Enfans, Paris’, excellent quality, extremely fine (2) £600-800.
Lot 729
An M.V.O. 4th Class pair to Engineer-Captain Walter K. Williams, Royal Navy, who died in the explosion aboard H.M.S. Bulwark, 26 November 1914 The Royal Victorian Order, M.V.O., Member’s 4th Class breast badge, silver-gilt and enamel, reverse officially numbered ‘789’; East and West Africa 1887-1900, 1 clasp, Witu August 1893 (Engr., R.N., H.M.S. Blanche) very fine and better (2) £700-900 Walter Kent Williams was born in St. Davids, Pembrokeshire on 24 October 1863. He was educated at the Propietary School, Cardiff and the Royal Naval College, Keyham, Devonport. In July 1885 he was appointed an Assistant Engineer and in April 1887 was advanced to Engineer. He served as such aboard the Blanche, December 1890-July 1894 and landed with the Naval Brigade at Witu in August 1893, for service in the Pumwani and Jongeni Campaign. 93 men from the ship received the ‘Witu August 1893’ clasp. He was promoted to Chief Engineer in August 1897, Engineer-Lieutenant in April 1889 and Engineer-Commander in August 1901. On 19 October 1910 he was awarded the M.V.O. 4th Class for services as Engineer at Royal Naval College, Osborne - on the occasion of His Majesty’s visit to the college in July. On 1 January 1912 he attained the rank of Engineer-Captain. He was posted to the old battleship Bulwark in July 1914. He was killed in the internal explosion which destroyed the ship whilst at anchor in the Medway near Sheerness on 26 November 1914. With original M.V.O. bestowal and associated documents and copied research.
Lot 742
A Great War O.B.E. group of four awarded to Commander Henry Montague Rundle, Royal Navy The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, O.B.E. (Military) Officer’s 1st type breast badge, silver-gilt, hallmarks for London 1919; East and West Africa 1887-1900, 1 clasp, Benin 1897 (Lieut., H.M.S. Magpie) edge bruising; British War Medal 1914-20 (Commr., R.N.); France, Third Republic, Legion of Honour, Chevalier’s breast badge, silver, gold and enamel, mounted as worn, last with enamel damage to arms, nearly very fine and better (4) £700-800 O.B.E. London Gazette 7 June 1918. Awarded ‘for services in improvements in operational minesweeping.’ Invested by the King at Buckingham Palace on 12 December 1918. Henry John Montague Rundle was born at Stoke, Devonport, on 29 October 1874. He was educated at Stubbington House, Fareham and H.M.S. Britannia. He joined the Royal Navy as a Midshipman in February 1890, becoming Sub-Lieutenant in November 1893, and Lieutenant in November 1895 when serving aboard the Magpie. As Lieutenant of Magpie he served in the punitive expedition commanded by Rear Admiral Rawson, C.B., and landed from the Squadron to punish the King of Benin for the massacre of the political expedition 1897, ending in the capture of Benin City on 18 February 1897. He was awarded the medal with clasp ‘Benin 1897’ - one of 73 members of the ship to be so awarded. The following is a letter signed by Captain H. V. Elliott:- ‘H.M.S. Hannibal at Devonport, 15th January 1909. Lieutenant Rundle, when with me in the Magpie performed a very praiseworthy act. During the Benin Expedition, in February 1897, I was steaming up the Benin River when the engines were brought up all standing through the propellor fouling a wire hawser. Mr Rundle stripped and went down without diving dress, and after considerable time and exertion succeeded in clearing the screw, and the ship was able to proceed. I consider Mr Rundle to have acted with much courage and great skill, for in order to clear the wire he had to work many feet below the surface of the water, and as the river was muddy he worked in total darkness.’ Rundle also received thanks from the Portuguese Governor-General of Mozambique for personal services rendered at a fire at the customs house at Lourenco Marques, East Africa, where a quantity of dynamite was stored. In May 1904 he was promoted to Lieutenant-Commander. During the Great War, Rundle was an Intelligence Officer on the Staff of the Commander-in-Chief, Naval Centre Rosyth, August 1914 to March 1917. The Centre was commended by the Admiralty for ‘efficiency and alertness’ on the occasion of the sinking of the German Submarine U-12. In March 1917, he was appointed as Assistant Director of Minesweeping, on the Naval Staff at the Admiralty. He retired with the rank of Cimmander in October 1919. In 1926 Commander Rundle was appointed Deputy Chief Inspector of the Coast Guard. Re-appointed to the Admiralty in 1939, he returned to the Retired List in December 1943. Sold with copy service papers and confirmation of all medals.
Lot 769
The important Ashanti 1895-96 expedition K.C.B., Southern Nigeria 1892 operations K.C.M.G. group of eleven awarded to Major-General Sir Francis Scott, Inspector-General of the Gold Coast Constabulary, who, command of two important expeditions aside, had earlier seen extensive action with the 42nd Highlanders and been wounded in the head in the Ashantee War 1873-74 The Most Honourable Order of The Bath, K.C.B. (Military) Knight Commander’s insignia, comprising neck badge, silver-gilt and enamels, hallmarks for London 1894, and breast star, silver, gold and enamel centre; The Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George, K.C.M.G. Knight Commander’s insignia, comprising neck badge, silver-gilt and enamel, and breast star, silver, gold and enamel centre; Crimea 1854-56, 3 clasps, Alma, Balaklava, Sebastopol (Captain F. C. Scott, 42nd Royal Highalnders), contemporary engraved naming; Indian Mutiny 1857-59, 1 clasp, Lucknow (Capt. F. C. Scott, 42nd Rl. Highlanders); Ashantee 1873-74, 2 clasps, Coomassie, 1892 (Major F. C. Scott, 42nd Highds., 1873-4); Ashanti Star 1896; Jubilee 1887, silver; Turkish Order of Medjidie, 5th class breast badge, silver, gold and enamel; Turkish Crimea 1855, Sardinian issue, together with a portrait miniature in oval gilt-metal glazed case, and an old leather case which once housed the recipient’s awards, the lid gilt embossed, ‘Lieut. Coll. F. C. Scott’, the K.C.B. and K.C.M.G. insignia added for display purposes, the Crimea Medal with refixed suspension claw and contact wear, good fine, the Turkish Crimea similarly worn, but otherwise generally very fine and better (12) £6000-8000 Francis Cunningham Scott was born in India in August 1834, the eldest son of Carteret Scott, late of Balerno, Midlothian and Emily, a daughter of Admiral Francis Coffin. Appointed an Ensign in the 42nd Highlanders in November 1842, he was advanced to Lieutenant shortly before witnessing active service in the Crimea 1854-55, when he was present at Alma and Balaklava, the siege and fall of Sebastopol, and in the expeditions to Kertch and Yenikale - and awarded the Turkish Order of Medjidie, 5th class. Having then been advanced to Captain, he witnessed extensive action in the Indian Mutiny, being present in the battle at Cawnpore on 6 December 1857, several subsequent skirmishes, and the siege and fall of Lucknow, including the assault on the Martiniere and Bank’s Bungalow. He was afterwards present in the attack on Fort Rooyiah and at the capture of Bareilly. Advanced to Major in March 1868, Scott next witnessed active service in the Ashantee War 1873-74, picking up a head wound in the battle at Ordahsu, but nonetheless taking command of the 42nd at the capture of Coomassie - he then commanded the rear-guard after that place had been destroyed by fire. Mentioned in despatches and awarded the C.B., he was also given the Brevet of Lieutenant-Colonel. Having then been appointed a member of H.M’s Gentlemen-at-Arms, Scott was placed on the Retired List in the rank of Colonel in July 1881, but retained his links with the military establishment as Colonel of the 4th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment and also served as a J.P. for Midlothian. In 1891, however, he returned to West Africa as Inspector-General of the Gold Coast Constabulary and it was in this capacity - and later as a Major-General - that he would be given command of two major expeditions, the first of them in the following year, against the rebellious Jebus in Southern Nigeria, and the second against the Ashantis in 1895-96. The former expedition, which arose when the Jebus refused to keep their roads open to foreigners, took place in May 1892, Scott commanding a force of 55 men of the West India Regiment, 344 Lagos and Gold Coast Hausas, a levee of 100 Ibadan warriors and 343 carriers, the whole under the command of 11 officers - and supported by three 7-pounder guns, a brace of Nordenfeldts and a maxim. Embarked at Lagos aboard assorted yachts, tugs, steam launches and canoes, the force made its way down the Lagos Lagoon and landed at Epe, some 30 miles distant, where a further 186 carriers were collected. Heavy fighting ensued in the thick forest and a protracted engagement ensued at the crossing of the Yemoji River, British casualties amounting to two officers wounded, and five other ranks killed and 40 wounded, while the Jebus claimed to have lost 17 chiefs and around 1000 men killed. Scott was appointed K.C.M.G. Then in 1895, as relations with the Ashantis deteriorated amidst claims of human sacrifice, he was once more called upon to lead a punitive expedition, this time in the rank of Major-General. Little else need be added here about such a well-recorded chapter of Empire - not least in George Musgrave’s To Kumassi with Scott, which was published in London in 1896 - but for the record he and his 2000-strong force traversed some 140 miles of jungle and swamp ‘fraught with perils more to be dreaded then the arms of the savage Ashantis’, and, as a result, lost numerous men to fever and dysentery - among them Queen Victoria’s son-in-law, Prince Henry of Battenberg, whose widow is said to have designed the Ashanti Star. And when, at length, the capital Kumassi was reached, King Prempeh and his warriors had no wish to risk repeating the outcome of the 1873-74 operations. When, cringing and trembling, Prempeh stood before Scott, the latter addressed a few words to him via an interpreter: ‘Tell him, I am glad to see him here, and that there has been no fighting. I think he and his people have shown very good sense in not resisting the advance of the Queen’s forces. I don’t want any of those noises or disturbances at night, as we had when I was here 22 years ago in the last war. He must tell his people to bring things and form a market, and everything will be paid for. The town must be kept clean .. We want good order, and I have told my people that they must not plunder anyone. The Governor, who is Her Majesty’s representative, will be here tomorrow. He will arrange a day of palaver, and you must take your submission to him in native custom. That is all. I wish you a good evening.’ As it transpired, the Governor was not quite so well disposed, and King Prempeh and all his court were taken to the Gold Coast capital and thence deported. For his own part, Scott received the thanks of the Secretary of State for the Colonies, the Secretary of State for War, and the Commander-in-Chief, and was appointed K.C.B., and shortly afterwards became Commandant of Local Forces and Inspector-General of Police in Trinidad and Tobago. He died suddenly, back in London, in June 1902, aged 67 years; sold with an early edition of Musgrave’s To Kumassi with Scott.
Lot 892
Seven: Warrant Officer Class 1 F. Day, Royal Army Medical Corps, late Medical Staff Corps Egypt and Sudan 1882-89, undated reverse, 1 clasp, Suakin 1885 (5267 Bugr., M.S. Corps); Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 4 clasps, Cape Colony, Orange Free State, South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902 (5267 Sjt. Maj., R.A.M.C.); British War Medal 1914-20 (57913 W.O. Cl.1, R.A.M.C.); Army L.S. & G.C., V.R., 3rd issue (5267St. Sgt. 1st Cl., R.A.M.C.); Khedive’s Star 1884-6, unnamed; Montenegro, Medal for Zeal, Nicholas I, silver-gilt, unnamed, mount and ring suspension; British Red Cross Society’s Balkan War Medal 1912-13, for Montenegro (Frank Day), silver-gilt and enamel, unmounted, first pitted, with edge bruising, fine; the others nearly very fine and better (7) £550-650 Sergeant-Major Frank Day, Royal Army Medical Corps, served with the British Red Cross Society’s Unit 1 in Montenegro during the Balkan War of 1912-13. One of 31 recipient’s of the B.R.C.S. Medal for Montenegro. Sold with copied research.
Lot 952
Three: Warrant Officer Class 2 D. M. Glass, Royal Highlanders, who died on 31 March 1916 1914 Star , with clasp (1461 Sjt., R. Highrs.); British War and Victory Medals (1461 W.O. Cl.2, R. Highrs.); Memorial Plaque (David Menzies Glass) pitted, fine; Black Watch Prize Medal, 1 clasp, 1912, reverse inscribed, ‘Inter-Coy. Challenge Shield won by ‘D ‘Coy. Cpl. D. N.(sic) Glass’, silver and enamel, hallmarks for Birmingham 1912, minor enamel damage; good very fine except where stated (5) £250-300 David Menzies Glass was born in Newburgh, Fifeshire and enlisted at Dundee. Serving as a Serjeant in the 1st Battalion Royal Highlanders (Black Watch) he entered the France/Flanders theatre of war on 13 August 1914. As a Warrant Officer Class 2 with ‘D ‘Company 1st Battalion Royal Highlanders he died in France on 31 March 1916, aged 27 years. He was buried in St Sever Cemetery, Rouen. He was the son of Alexander and Christina Glass of 28 King Street, Dundee. Sold with commemorative scroll mounted on card and forwarding slips for the 1914 Star, clasp and war medals. Also with copied m.i.c. and other research.
Lot 996
An unusual and interesting group of nineteen awarded to Alexander Gault MacGowan, an accredited War Correspondent in the 1939-45 War, whose extraordinary career commenced with service as a subaltern in the Manchester Regiment and as an R.A.F. Observer in the Great War: having been wounded in North Africa in 1943, he was captured by the Germans in France in 1944, but escaped ‘through a series of adventures that would make a Hollywood scenarist bite his nails with envy’ - and briefly fought alongside the Maquis 1914-15 Star (2 Lieut., Manch. R.); British War and Victory Medals (Lieut., R.A.F.); 1939-45 Star; Africa Star; Italy Star; France and Germany Star; War Medal 1939-45; France, Third Republic, Legion of Honour, Chevalier’s breast badge, silver, silver-gilt and enamel; France, Croix de Guerre 1939-1940, with bronze star on ribbon; Academic Palms, Officer’s breast badge, gilt metal and enamel, with rosette on riband; War Commemorative Medal 1914-18; Somme Commemorative Medal; Colonial Medal, 2 clasps, Algerie, Maroc; War Commemorative Medal 1939-45, 1 clasp, Liberation; Medal of Liberated France 1947; Morocco, Order of Ouissam Alaouite Cherifien, Officer’s breast badge, gilt metal and enamel, with rosette on riband; Portugal, Republic, Military Order of Christ, Officer’s breast badge, silver-gilt and enamel, with rosette on riband; U.S.A., Purple Heart, gilt metal and enamel, the Legion of Honour severely chipped in places and the Portuguese piece less so, otherwise generally good very fine (19) £3000-3500 Ex Sotheby’s 6 March 1986. Alexander Gault MacGowan, who ‘crammed more dangerous adventures into his lifetime than most men would care to experience’, was born February 1894 and was educated at Manchester Grammar School. Mobilised as a pre-war member of the Cheshire Yeomanry on the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914, he was commissioned into the 24th (Oldham) Battalion, Manchester Regiment in October 1915 and is believed to have been wounded by rifle-grenade fragments in the head and legs on the Somme in July 1916. Declared as ‘unfit for anything other than mounted duty’, he transferred to the Royal Air Force and went on to serve as an Observer on the Italian front in 1918. Commencing his career as a journalist in 1922, when he worked as a correspondent for the Associated Press out in India (where MacGowan also held a commission on the Indian Army Reserve of Officers), he moved to a new appointment in Mesopotamia in the following year. Indeed for much of the 1920s and 1930s he travelled extensively, working variously for The Times and Daily Express, and others newspapers, and was credited with discovering a new pass into Little Tibet, for which he received the thanks of the Survey of India, in addition to participating in the first flight over the Orinoco Delta and the Venezuelan Ilanos, between Trinidad and Maracay, and the first flight between Trinidad and British Guiana. Added to which he had further adventures during an epic motor car trip across the desert from Kurdistan and Mosul to Syria, the first of its kind. He later reported, ‘Hold ups were frequent, and an officer who tried it after me was stripped of everything and had to walk naked into the Lebanons! ‘In 1934 MacGowan joined the New York Sun, for whom he reported on the Spanish Civil War and produced two controversial features entitled ‘The Scarlet Pimpernel of Spain ‘and ‘The Red Vultures of the Pyrenees ‘, for he had no time for the Spanish loyalists and their left-wing sympathisers. He also had an assignment with the French Foreign Legion out in Algeria and Morocco in 1937, in addition to covering the coronation of George VI in the same year. In fact, MacGowan was still working in London on the renewal of hostilities, and accordingly he was assigned to cover the events of the Battle of Britain, in addition to acting as ‘Press Observer with the Commandos in the raid on Dieppe’. As an accredited War Correspondent with the American forces, he next travelled to North Africa and was with the French when they attacked Jabel Mansour in April 1943, when he was ‘wounded in the leg .. and was awarded the Purple Heart by special order of President Roosevelt. For the same incident he was cited for bravery and awarded the Croix de Guerre by General Henri Giraud.’ Both awards were announced in the New York Times. In the following year he reported on the Allied landings in Normandy and was attached to General Omar Bradley’s forces, riding in the jeep of the first American to reach the historic island of Mont Saint Michel. But, as subsequently confirmed by German radio, such scoops were shortly thereafter curtailed, for he was captured at Chatres on 15 August 1944: ‘MacGowan’s experience, following his capture, was unusual. Upon arrival at Chalons-sur-Marne with Makin [another correspondent who had been mortally wounded when their jeep was originally fired upon by two German armoured cars], he was placed in the temporary custody of a group of German war correspondents of the Presse-kompanie. They treated him well, but eventually delivered him to a prisoner of war camp on the line of the German retreat. From there he was started on a journey eastward aboard a train, en route to Germany. At 2 a.m., after six hours in the slow-moving train, and as the guards drowsed, MacGowan opened the compartment door and jumped from the car, fell and ran, with bullets flying about him. Still in France, he was fortunate in reaching a group of Maquis, or French resistance forces. Once he had established his identity, they hid him until the U.S. forces had advanced to the area in September. Interviewed for the World’s Press News after his return to England, the publication described British-born MacGowan as the only ‘British correspondent ‘ever known to have escaped after capture, with the exception of Winston Churchill in his escape from the Boers during the South African War in 1899’ (Europe Made Free: Invasion 1944 refers). Having ‘lived a life like Robin Hood’s’ with the Maquis, and accompanied them with the advancing Americans at the capture of a local town, MacGowan duly reported to the bar of the Paris hotel that served as a press H.Q. - the rest of his colleagues almost dropped their glasses, ‘for the usually immaculate MacGowan was dressed in borrowed French civilian clothes that fitted him like Europe fits Hitler - too big in some places, too tight in others’. In October he returned to the Sun’s offices in New York, for the first time in five years, where he was hailed as a conquering hero, ‘trim and fit in his war correspondent’s uniform, with a chest full of campaign ribbons and decorations from two World Wars.’ Returning to N.W.Europe in the Spring of 1945, MacGowan accompanied General Patton’s forces and visited the scene of Hitler’s ‘Eagle’s Nest ‘at Berchtesgaden at the War’s end. He subsequently reported on the ‘Big Three ‘Potsdam conference. MacGowan - a ‘tall, dark-haired man, with a ‘devil-may-care ‘look in his eyes ‘‘ - was European Manager of the New York Sun 1946-50, during which period he reported on U.N.O. and N.A.T.O. forces, and latterly editor and publisher of European Life. In so far as his foreign Honours and Awards are concerned, it would be impossible to ascertain the validity of his entitlement to the French War Comemmorative Medal 1914-18 and Colonial Medal, although given his Great War services were purely with the British, the former seems unlikely. However, relevant editions of Who’s Who do verify the following: ‘Officier de l’Instruction Publique, 1930 [a.k.a. Palms Academic]; Officer of Military Order of Christ, Portugal, 1933; Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur, 1934; Officer of the Order of Ouissam Alaouite, Morocco, 1938; Croix de Guerre, 1943; Medaille de la France Liberee, 1949’, together with mention of his Purple Heart. Sold with an extensive file of research, including correspondence with MacGo
Lot 1041
A most unusual group of six awarded to Captain H. V. Dorey, Rhodesian Forces, late Tientsin Volunteer Fire Brigade and Army Service Corps British War and Victory Medals (Capt. H. V. Dorey); War Medal 1939-45; Tientsin Volunteer Fire Brigade Long Service, silver, with gold engraved centre and gold-faced fire axes between arms, by Vaughton, hallmarks for Birmingham 1907, the reverse engraved, ‘Tientsin, 1909 to 1914, Presented by the British Municipal Councils for Long Service to H. V. Dorey’, complete with ‘T.V.F.B.’ riband buckle for wearing, in a fitted Merry Weather & Sons Ltd., London case of issue, with gilt ‘T.V.F.B.’ title to lid; China, Medal for Military Academy Excellence, silver-gilt and enamel, obverse, portrait of Marshal Wu Pei-Fu, reverse, enamelled Chinese flags and characters, complete with original riband and hook-fastener for wearing, in a Spencer & Co., London case; China, a silver-gilt and enamel star-shaped award, the enamelled obverse with Chinese characters and flowers, the plain reverse officially numbered ‘1101’, complete with integral loop, chain and hook device for wearing, in a Spencer & Co., London case, upper reverse centre on the fifth with chipped enamel, otherwise good very fine or better (6) £800-1000 Harry Vaughan Dorey, who was born in London in July 1892, was otherwise employed at a General Storekeepers and Gentlemens Outfitters in Victoria Road, Tientsin, during the period of his service in the local Volunteer Fire Brigade. Returning to the U.K. from Taku, China at his own expense in early 1916, he enlisted in the Army Service Corps that April, and was commissioned shortly thereafter. Ordered to France in July 1916, he was attached to 129th Siege Battery, R.G.A., until invalided home in the following year as a result of ‘an explosion of an ammunition dump through enemy action at Roclincourt on approximately 24 May 1917 .. I was in the New Zealand Hospital at Hazebrouke from 11 June until evacuated to England on 19 July to the 5th Southern General Hospital.’ Demobilised as a Captain, Dorey arrived in Rhodesia ‘from China with his sister (Mrs. Thompson) and four children’ in June 1926, and settled there as a farmer at Bromley. Recalled in the 1939-45 War, he was appointed a Lieutenant and Platoon C.O. at Bromley in August 1940, Quarter-Master of the 1st Battalion, Rhodesian Regiment in January 1942, and placed on the War Emergency Reserve of Officers in August 1942; sold with a quantity of related research.
Lot 1044
A group of five awarded to Captain A. F. Watts, Canadian Expeditionary Forces, awarded the Order of St. Stanislaus for services in North Russia British War and Victory Medals (Capt.); War Medal 1939-45, Canadian issue in silver; Canadian Volunteer Service Medal, no clasp, these two unnamed; Russia, Order of St. Stanislaus, 3rd Class breast badge with swords, by Eduard, St. Petersburg, 39 x 39mm., gold and enamel, ‘56’ gold and St. Petersburg mark for 1908-17 on eyelet, manufacturer’s name on reverse, lower left interarm eagle with sword hilt replaced; together with a mounted set of five miniature dress medals, the C.V.S.M. with clasp, the Order of St. Stanislaus in silver-gilt and enamel, with handle of one sword missing; together with two identity tags, Capt. A. F. Watts, CE. Cdn.’, good very fine and better (12) £1600-2000 Alexander Francis Watts was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba on 4 May 1894. An Accountant by occupation and a member of the 90th Winnipeg Rifles, he was commissioned into the 90th Battalion at Winnipeg on 1 November 1915. Posted overseas in June 1916 he was transferred to the 8th Battalion and in March 1917 to the 18th Reserve Battalion. He was on command to the Royal Flying Corps, 1 June-20 November 1917. He proceeded overseas to North Russia in September 1918 and was promoted to Acting Captain. He remained in North Russia until September 1919 at which time he was ranked as Temporary Captain and had been awarded the Order of St. Stanislaus 3rd Class. Returning to Canada he was discharged at Winnipeg on 4 October 1919. Living in Vancouver and employed as an Investigator, whilst on the Reserve of Officers attached to the Winnipeg Rifles, he re-engaged on 16 November 1940. He served with the South Alberta Regiment in Canada and was honourably discharged on 25 July 1946. Captain Watts died on 29 January 1964. Sold with original letter with envelope from Alexander Watts to Janet Walters (they married in 1921), written on paper headed, ‘The Canadian Syren, Northern Russia Expeditionary Force, Army Post Office, London, dated 14 May 1919: ‘My Dearest Janet, No I have’nt forgotten about my little girlie, how could I, but the reason I have’nt written is that we have been on the move rather fast lately and have been sleeping under the stars most of the time .. For the last three weeks we have been pushing on and have taken three small villages and the train has only just caught up to us. They had to repair the track as they came on, which was blown up in almost every hundred yards and all the bridges either blown or burned. .. The American Railway Troops are working at it and we have taken over all the railway ahead of Saroka. At present we are only two miles or so from Lake Onega, so you see we are getting on a bit. However I think our time is getting short out here as there are any amount of English troops and we are about the only ones left who are not regulars. ..’ With framed ‘Notary Public, Seattle, Washington, 1920, certificate of award for the Order of St. Stanislaus, written in Russian and English: ‘Order 278, dated Sept. 13th 1919. In recognition of valuable services rendered to the Russian Army, and activities within the Northern Region, I award the Order of St. Stanislaus, 3rd Class, with Swords and Bow,- to Captain Alexander F. Watts, of the British Army, Canadian Detachment. Signed (Printed) Miller, Lieutenant-General, General Staff’. Also with framed Statement of Service in the Canadian Armed Forces (2) - for World Wars I and II; photographs of the recipient; photographs of his and his wife’s memorial stone; copied service papers and copied war history extracts.
Lot 1163
The important group of awards to Field-Marshal Sir John Michel, G.C.B., Colonel of the 86th Foot, who commanded the Malwa Field Force in the pursuit of Tantia Topee in Central India, and in China commanded the 1st Division which burned the Summer Palace at Pekin in retaliation for the murder of European captives The Most Honourable Order of The Bath, G.C.B. (Military) Knight Grand Cross set of insignia by R. & S. Garrard & Co., comprising sash badge in 18 carat gold and enamels, hallmarked London 1870; and breast star in silver, gold and enamels, one green enamelled stalk lacking; South Africa 1834-53 (Lieut. Colonel John Michel, 6th Regt.) renamed; Indian Mutiny 1857-59, 1 clasp, Central India (Majr. Genl. Jno. Michel, C.B.) ‘Jno.’ re-engraved otherwise officially impressed naming; China 1857-60, 2 clasps, Taku Forts 1860, Pekin 1860 (Major Genl.Sir J Michel, K.C.B. 1st Dvn. Staff) officially impressed naming; Turkish Crimea, British issue, unnamed; Order of the Medjidie, 2nd class set, comprising breast star in silver, gold and enamel, 94mm; and badge in silver, gold and enamels, 57mm, this lacking suspension, the star with old repair to red enamel and other minor chips; Field-Marshal’s Baton, the surviving staff only of the Field-Marshal’s Baton presented by the Queen to Michel in 1886, comprising velvet covered wooden staff with fourteen gold lions, the original gold finials apparently lost in a burglary and replaced with silver-gilt caps to each end, these hallmarked London 1946, velvet worn overall, the campaign medals with contact marks but generally very fine or better £12000-15000 John Michel was born on 1 September 1804, eldest son of General John Michel by his second wife, Anne, daughter of the Hon. Henry Fane, M.P., and granddaughter of the eighth Earl of Westmoreland. John was educated at Eton and obtained an ensigncy in the 57th Foot by purchase on 3 April 1823, passing through the 27th to the 64th Foot, joining that corps at Gibraltar, and obtaining his lieutenancy in it on 28 April 1825. He purchased an unattached company in December 1826, and in the following February exchanged back to the 64th Foot at Gibraltar. In February 1832 he entered the senior department of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, and in November 1833 passed his examination and received a first certificate. He then rejoined his regiment and served with it in Ireland until February 1835, when he exchanged to the 3rd Buffs in Bengal, where he was aide-de-camp to his uncle, General Sir Henry Fane, G.C.B., while commander-in-chief in India in 1835-40. In May 1840 Michel was promoted to a majority by purchase in the 6th Foot, over the heads of many old officers in the regiment, an appointment which provoked much criticism at the time, and in April 1842, a few weeks after the arrival of the regiment in England, he purchased the lieutenant-colonelcy. He commanded the 6th Foot at home and at the Cape of Good Hope until 1854. He was in command of a brigade during the Kaffir war of 1846-47, and during part of the war of 1852-53 was in command of the 2nd division of the army in the Waterkloof (medal). At the close of the campaign he was made C.B. ‘for distinguished service in the Kaffir wars of 1846-7 and 1851-3.’ He became brevet colonel in January 1854 and was appointed to command the York recruiting district, but exchanged to half-pay in the 98th Foot, on appointment as Chief of Staff of the Turkish Contingent. With local rank of Major-General in Turkey, he held this post until the end of the Crimean war (2nc class of the Medjidie and Turkish medal). In 1856 he was appointed to a brigade at Fort Beaufort, Cape of Good Hope, at a time of great danger and threatened war, owing to the expected fulfilment in February 1857 of an old Kaffir prophecy of the destruction of the whites. The danger was hardly over before Michel was ordered to China for a command there. He was shipwrecked in the Transit steamer in the Straits of Sunda on 10 July 1857, and carried to Singapore. His services were subsequently diverted to India and he was placed on the Bombay Staff in February 1858. In June of that yera the troops in Rajputana were concentrated at Nusseerabad and Nimach, under Major-General H. G. Roberts, Bombay Army, those at Mhow consisting of a brigade under Brigadier Honner. The latter, reinforced from Bombay, were formed into a division, as the Malwa Field Force, under Michel, the command of the troops in Rajputana being added thereto in August 1858, when Roberts was promoted to the command in Gujerat. Michel became Major-General on 26 October 1858. Impressed with the necessity of cutting off from the towns the bodiesof rebels under Tantia Topee, Rao Sahib, and other leaders, and compelling them to seek the jungles, Michel adopted a strategy which proved eminently successful, despite serious physical obstacles, for the rains at this season had converted the soil at Malwa into a sea of black mud, and the heat was phenomenal. He distributed his troops in lightly equipped columns at salient points in Rajputana and Malwa, with orders to follow the rebels without intermission. Starting himself from Mhow, Michel came up with Tantia Topee at Beorora on 5 September 1858. Tantia and the cavalry fled, pursued by the British cavalry. The infantry and guns made a stand, but did not await the British onset, and leaving thirty guns behind them, eight thousand well trained troops were put to flight without the loss of a man. Michel again defeated Yantia at Mingrauli on 9 October, marched against Rao Sahib the next day, and defeated him at Sindwaha on 15 October. On 5 December he anihilated one wing of Tantia’s force near Saugor, the other escaping across the Narbada into Nagpur. Other defeats of bodies of rebels followed and they began to lose heart and creep away to their homes. Between 20 June 1858 and 1 March 1859, the field force traversed an aggregate distance of over three thousand miles, of which Michel himself marched seventeen hundred miles. The operations ended with the capture of Tantia Topee, who was taken by a small column under Brigadier Meade, was at once tried by court-martial, and was hanged on 18 April 1859 for being in arms against the British. The legality of the sentence was questioned but he was admitted to have been one of the most bloodthirsty of Nana Sahib’s advisers. Michel, who was made K.C.B., remained in command of the Mhow division untilo the end of 1859, when he was appointed to the army under Sir James Hope Grant, proceeding to the north of China. Michel commanded the 1st Division at the action at Sinho, and at the occupation of Pekin on 12 October 1860. On 18 October his division burned the Summer Palace at Pekin, in return for the treacherous treatment of Mr (afterwards Sir Harry) Parkes and some other captives. The palace had already been looted by the French and most of the Imperial treasures which found their way to England were bought from French soldiers. Sir John Michel was appointed Colonel of the 86th (Royal County Down) Regiment (later 2nd Royal Irish Rifles) on 19 August 1862. From 1865 to 1867 he commanded the British troops in North America, becoming lieutenant-general in June 1866, and general in March 1874. He was advanced to G.C.B. in 1871, and selected to command the troops in the first ‘autumn manoeuvres’ in the south of England in 1873. In 1875 he was appointed commander of the forces in Ireland, and was sworn of the Irish privy council. He held the Irish command from 1875 to 1880, his social qualities and ample means rendering him extremely popular. He was a J.P. for Dorset and was made a Field-Marshal on 27 March 1885. Sir John Michel died at his seat, Dewlish, Dorset, on 23 May 1886, aged 82. The medals are accompanied by an ivorine label which records the original inscription on the base of Michel’s baton: ‘From Her Majesty Alexandra Victoria Queen of the United Kin
Lot 1164
A rare Great War East Africa operations C.M.G. group of nine awarded to Colonel C. U. Price, Indian Army, C.O. of Jacob’s Rifles and a successful Column Commander whose forces captured Dar-es-Salaam in September 1916 The Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George, C.M.G., Companion’s neck badge, silver-gilt and enamel; East and Central Africa 1897-99, 1 clasp, Uganda 1897-98 (Lieut., 3/Baluch L.I.); China 1900, no clasp (Captain, 30/Baluch L.I.); 1914-15 Star (Lt. Col., 1/130 Baluchis); British War and Victory Medals, M.I.D. oak leaf (Col.); Delhi Durbar 1903, impressed naming, ‘Colonel C. V. Price, 130th Baluchis’; Delhi Durbar 1911, unnamed as issued; Russian Order of St. Anne, ribbon only, mounted court style for wear, generally good very fine (8) £1800-2200 C.M.G. London Gazette 26 June 1916. Mention in despatches London Gazette 30 June 1916, 7 March 1918 and 6 August 1918 (all East Africa). Russian Order of St. Anne, 3rd Class London Gazette 15 February 1917. Charles Uvedale Price was born in May 1868 and was educated at the United Services College, Westward Ho! and the R.M.C., Sandhurst. Originally commissioned into the Royal Dublin Fusiliers in February 1888, he transferred to the Indian Army in January 1890 and served in the Zhob Valley on the North West Frontier in the same year, afterwards gaining an appointment as a Wing Officer in the 30th Regiment of Bombay Infantry (3rd Baluchis). In January 1897, however, he was attached to the 27th Bombay Infantry (1st Baluchis) as Adjutant, and went on to win his first campaign medal with them in the Uganda operations of 1897-98. During this latter campaign he was engaged against the Sudanese mutineers, including the operations at Jeruba and Kijangute, and in Budda and Ankoli, gaining a mention in despatches. Shortly afterwards he sailed for China, and served as a Captain in the course of the Boxer Rebellion. Then in 1903, back in India, Price attended the Delhi Durbar, attached as a Political Officer to His Highness the Mir of Khairpur. He was advanced to Major in February 1906. Appointed a Double Company Commander in the 130th K.G.O. Baluchis (Jacob’s Rifles) in October 1911, Price assumed command of the regiment in the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in April 1915, and went on to serve with distinction in the operations in East Africa. In July 1915, in the fighting in the Mbuyuni region, he was appointed to the command of the flanking column, comprising Jacob’s Rifles, the 4th K.A.R. and Cole’s Scouts, sent by Brigadier-General Malleson to envelop the enemy’s left. Carrying out a well timed circuitous night march, Price attacked at daybreak on the 14th, but by 8 a.m. his force was checked by strong enemy resistance, and it became necessary to await more positive news from the main attacking force to the Germans’ front. This initiative, however, also lost momentum, and by the time Malleson’s order to call off the assault reached Price, his force had been under a lively hostile fire for at least an hour. Unperturbed, Price disengaged and ‘brought away his force in a steady and well-executed withdrawal, with slight loss’ (Official history refers). In early July 1916, as C.O. of a 500-strong force, comprising the 5th Light Infantry and a company of the 101st Grenadiers, Price was given the task of capturing Tanga. Carrying out a successful landing on the southern shore of Manza Bay on the 5th, he moved his force inland towards Amboni, ‘which was reached next day after disposing of some slight resistance on the way’. And on the 7th, he and his men crossed the Zigi River, the final natural barrier between them and their goal. Tanga, however, was found to have been deserted by the enemy, although some had remained behind in the surrounding bush from where they sniped at the British with good effect. Flushing out such opposition by means of frequent patrolling, Price moved on to Kange on the 17th. Then in early August, he was given overall command of two columns, numbering in total some 1400 men, to secure the crossings of the Wami River. This he successfully accomplished in little more than a week, thereby assisting in opening up the way forward to attack Dar-es-Salaam. For the final advance on the seat of government and principal port of German East Africa, Price’s force was bolstered in strength by some 500 men and equipped with 20 machine-guns. The whole was assembled at Bagamoyo at the end of the month, and on the 31st, in two columns, it advanced on Dar-es-Salaam, while two smaller parties penetrated north to secure the railway line and some important bridges. Just four days later, having encountered little opposition, Price’s main force was assembled on the heights near Mabibo, from which the port could be seen less than three miles away. And early on that morning, after the Royal Navy had despatched a delegation aboard the Echo with a formal summons to surrender, the 129th Baluchis, which had acted as Price’s advanced guard throughout the operation, entered and took over the town. Once again, the Germans had made a hasty retreat, leaving behind 80 hospital patients and 370 non-combatants. For his part in some of the above related operations in German East Africa, Price was awarded the C.M.G and mentioned in despatches, in addition to gaining appointment to the Russian Order of St Anne. And in the later operations of that theatre of war between 1917-18, he again distinguished himself and was twice more the recipient of a ‘mention ‘. The Colonel, who retired to South Africa, died in May 1956. For the recipient’s Order of St. Anne, see Lot 669.
Lot 1165
The Great War C.B.E. and foreign order group of four awarded to Instructor Captain G. V. Rayment, Royal Navy The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, C.B.E. (Military) Commander’s 1st type neck badge, silver-gilt and enamel, in Garrard, London case of issue; British War Medal 1914-20 (Inst. Commr. G. V. Rayment, R.N.); China, Republic, Order of the Striped Tiger, 4th Class breast badge, 70mm., silver-gilt and enamel, three stars above centre, unmarked, enamel damage to centre and one ray, these two mounted as worn; Japan, Order of the Sacred Treasure, 3rd Class neck badge, silver, silver-gilt and enamel, complete with neck cravat and fitments, in lacquer case of issue, complete with cord with tassels, very fine and better (4) £900-1100 C.B.E. London Gazette 12 February 1919. Thailand, Order of the White Elephant, 3rd Class London Gazette 17 January 1919. China, Order of the Striped Tiger, 4th Class London Gazette 17 January 1919. Japan, Order of the Sacred Treasure, 3rd Class London Gazette 8 March 1920. Guy Varley Rayment was born on 27 January 1878. He was educated at the Royal Naval School and Trinity College Cambridge where he obtained a B.A. He was gazetted a Naval Instructor on 7 June 1901. His first posting was on the armoured cruiser Cressy on the China Station, June 1901-November 1904, followed by service on the Glory and Sutlej, to November 1905. Posted to Japan in December 1905 and learning Japanese, he was passed an Interpreter in March 1907. Based at Pembroke he was posted as Instructor in Japanese and Interpreter during a visit of a Japanese ship to the Chatham base, June-August 1907. He then served on the staffs of the Royal Naval Colleges at Greenwich and Dartmouth, training junior officers in Japanese who were destined for the China Station. With the onset of war he was posted to the Admiralty Intelligence Division as an Interpreter of Japanese. For his wartime services as Instructor Commander he was granted honours from the British, Thai, Chinese and Japanese governments. Postwar, his services as Interpreter were formally appreciated as a member of Naval Staff attending the Washington Naval Conference of 1922. He was employed as Fleet Education Officer on the Staff of the C-in-C Mediterranean, 1927-31 and was Dean and Professor of Navigation at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, 1931-33. Placed on the Retired List in 1933, he latterly lived at Daisy Lodge, North Holmwood, Surrey and died on 10 August 1951. Sold with copied service paper, obituary and gazette extracts.
Lot 1166
A Civil C.B.E. group of three awarded to Major H. B. McCance, General List and Royal Engineers The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, C.B.E. (Civil) Commander’s 2nd type neck badge, silver-gilt and enamel, with neck cravat, in Garrard, London case of issue; British War and Victory Medals, M.I.D. oakleaf (Major) medals mounted as worn; together with a corresponding set of three miniature dress medals, nearly extremely fine (6) £200-250 C.B.E. London Gazette 1 January 1958. ‘Henry Bristow McCance, Esq., Chairman of Council, Linen Industry Research Association’. M.I.D. London Gazette 29 May 1917. Lieutenant Henry Bristow McCance, General List, entered the France/Flanders theatre of war on 12 January 1916. In March 1917 as a Temporary Captain he was transferred to the Royal Engineers for duty as Chemical Advisor with Xth Army Corps and was later promoted to Major. Sold with copied research.
Lot 1170
A Great War O.B.E. group of seven awarded to Major St. J. E. Montagu, Northumberland Fusiliers The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, O.B.E. (Military) Officer’s 2nd type breast badge, silver-gilt, hallmarks for London 1919; Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 4 clasps, Belmont, Modder River, Orange Free State, Transvaal (Capt., North’d. Fus.); King’s South Africa 1901-02, 2 clasps (Cpt., Northd. Fus.); 1914 Star (Capt., North’d. Fus.); British War and Victory Medals, M.I.D. oak leaf (Major); France, Third Republic, Legion of Honour, Chevalier’s breast badge, silver, gold and enamel, some enamel damage, slight contact marks, very fine and better (7) £750-850 O.B.E. London Gazette 3 June 1919. ‘Capt. (T./Maj.) r.p. North’d. Fus.’ M.I.D. London Gazette 11 April 1902; 17 February 1915; 20 December 1918; 5 July 1919 Legion of Honour, Chevalier Edinburgh Gazette 28 February 1916. ‘Captain (retired pay)’. St. John Edward Montagu was born on 26 January 1878, the son of The Right Hon. Lord Robert Montagu, P.C. (2nd son of the 6th Duke of Manchester). Educated at Charterhouse, he entered the Northumberland Fusiliers as a 2nd Lieutenant in January 1899 and was promoted to Lieutenant in February 1900 and Captain in December 1901. On the Staff in the Boer War, he was present in the advance on Kimberley, including actions at Belmont, Enslin, Modder River and Magersfontein. Present in operations in the Orange Free State, March-May 1900; in the Transvaal, west of Pretoria, July-November 1900, including the action at Venterskroon; in the Orange River Colony, May-July 1900, including the action at Rhenoster River; in Transvaal, December 1900, September-December 1901 and March 1902; in Cape Colony, December 1900-January 1901 and July 1901-May 1902. He commanded 200 men of the 1st Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers in the action at Tweebosch (De Klipdrift), 7 March 1902. For his services in that battle he was mentioned in Lord Methuen’s despatches. He was subsequently awarded the Queen’s medal with four clasps and the King’s medal with two. Captain Montagu was placed on Half Pay in November 1910. Recalled for service in the Great War, he entered the France/Flanders theatre of war on 20 September 1914 and served as A.D.C. to the Inspector General of Communications. Serving throughout the war he was three times mentioned in despatches and awarded the O.B.E. and Legion of Honour. Sold with copied m.i.c., gazette entries and research.
Lot 1178
A post-war M.B.E., O. St. J. group of eight attributed to the Reverend Canon J. F. W. Hardy, Royal Army Chaplain’s Department, Honorary Chaplain to H.M. The Queen and Chaplain to the Lord Mayor of London 1974-75 The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, M.B.E. (Military) Member’s 2nd type breast badge; The Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Serving Brother’s breast badge, silvered-metal and enamel; 1939-45 Star; France and Germany Star; Defence and War Medals, the last privately inscribed, ‘Rev. J. F. W. Hardy, R.A. Ch. D.’; Coronation 1953; Efficiency Decoration, G.VI.R., the reverse dated ‘1950’, with three Bars, one G.VI.R., and two E.II.R., cleaned and lacquered, good very fine and better (8) £180-220 Ex A. A. Flatow collection, Spink, 25 November 1998 (Lot 1433), when sold in company with his wife’s 1939-45 awards. M.B.E. London Gazette 13 June 1957. John Francis Wrangham Hardy served as a Chaplain to the Forces (Territorials) 1939-65 and was awarded his Efficiency Decoration in 1950 (London Gazette 21 April of that year refers), Also an Honorary Chaplain to H.M. The Queen 1962-64 (and again from 1967), he was appointed Assistant Chaplain to the Order of St. John in May 1965, in which capacity he was elevated to Sub. Chaplain in July 1980 and to Chaplain in May 1985, and employed as Chaplain to the Lord Mayor of London 1974-75. After spending most of his ministry in various Yorkshire livings, Hardy’s final incumbency was as Rector of Green’s Norton, Towcester, Northemptonshire, where he died aged 81 years in July 1993.
Lot 1184
The Order of St. John group of four awarded to Warrant Officer F. R. Day, Capetown Defence Rifle Association, late Imperial Yeomanry The Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Serving Brother’s breast badge, silver and enamel, unnamed; Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 2 clasps, Cape Colony, South Africa 1902 (42918 Pte., 132nd Coy. Imp. Yeo.) minor solder marks; British War Medal 1914-20 (2nd C/W.O., Capetown D.R.A.); St. John Service Medal (1622 D/Supt. S.A.R. & H. .. S.J.A.B.O. 1934); together with an engraved silver medal, ‘Duke of Edinburgh’s Own Volunteer Rifles Long Range Cup 1908’ and ‘L. Cpl. F. R. Day’, 35mm., silver, hallmarks for Birmingham 1908, the last two with solder marks; with edge bruising, contact marks, fine and better (5) £120-160 Francis Reginald Day was born in Dublin. A Fitter by occupation, he enlisted into the Imperial Yeomanry at Dublin on 18 January 1902, aged 21 years. Serving with the 132nd Company Imperial Yeomanry (Irish Horse) he served in South Africa, 10 May-10 October 1902. He was discharged at his own request at Stellenbosch on 10 October 1902. During the Great War he served with the Capetown Defence Rifle Association and was employed on Garrison Duty at Simonstown. Latterly he was Divisional Superintendent of the South African Railways and Harbours District of the St. John’s Ambulance Brigade Overseas. Sold with copied service papers.
Lot 1187
A Great War ‘1914’ D.S.O. group of four awarded to Captain James Reginald Russell, Royal West Kent Regiment Distinguished Service Order, G.V.R. , silver-gilt and enamel, complete with brooch bar, minor enamel damage; 1914 Star, with clasp (2 Lieut., R.W. Kent R.); British War and Victory Medals (Lieut.) nearly extremely fine (4) £1600-2000 D.S.O. London Gazette 1 December 1914. ‘For exceptional grit and gallantry in the trenches near Neuve Chapelle between 23 and 29 Oct.’ M.I.D. London Gazette 1 December 1914 & 17 February 1915. James Reginald Russell was born in Westonbury, Pembridge, Herefordshire on 9 October 1893, the son of Henry Freeman Russell, J.P., of Southfield, Leominster, Herefordshire. He was educated at Bromsgrove and Sandhurst and was gazetted into the Royal West Kent Regiment in July 1914, being promoted to Lieutenant in October 1914. He served with them at the Battle of the Marne, being for some weeks at Missey. It served also at the Battles of the Aisne and Neuve Chapelle. Such was the action in the latter battle, that Lieutenant Russell was one of only two officers left out of the original fourteen. For their great services, Lieutenants Russell and White received the congratulations of General Smith-Dorien, were mentioned in despatches and each awarded the Distinguished Service Order - one of the first to be gazetted for the Great War. In a speech to the 1st Battalion R. W. Kent Regiment on 8 November 1914, General Smith-Dorien said of the two officers, ‘I have received from the brigadier-general commanding your brigade an appreciation of the gallant conduct of Lieut. White and the other young officer (2nd Lieutenant Russell), who is not on parade today. The way these two young officers handled the regiment after all your officers had fallen; how they stuck to it and how eventually when the time came they brought the regiment out of it. I have brought their names to the notice of the Field Marshall Commanding the Troops and sincerely hope they will receive the reward they so richly deserve’. Russell was invalided to England in November 1914 suffering from a serious illness. In August 1919 he married Gwendolen Edith Lawson, daughter of Rev. G. W. Lawson. The following year the two travelled to America. Catching Influenza in New York, Captain Russell died of Pneumonia in Los Angeles, aged 26 years. Sold with D.S.O. bestowal document; the book, The First Seven Divisions, by Ernest W. Hamilton - this signed and marked by Russell; the magazine, T.P.’s Journal of Great Deeds of the Great War, 5 December 1914, which contains the article, ‘Gallant West Kents’; together with a number of newspaper cuttings re. Russell’s marriage and obituary. .
Lot 1190
A Great War ‘Western Front’ D.S.O. group of six awarded to Major H. Cottee, Royal Field Artillery Distinguished Service Order, G.V.R., silver-gilt and enamel, complete with brooch bar; 1914-15 Star (Capt., R.F.A.); British War and Victory Medals, M.I.D.oak leaf (Major); Defence; Special Constabulary Long Service, G.VI.R., 1st issue (Herbert Cottee), mounted for wear, cleaned and lacquered, good very fine (6) £900-1100 D.S.O. London Gazette 4 June 1917. ‘Second Lieutenant (acting Major), Royal Field Artillery’ M.I.D. London Gazette 4 January 1917 & 18 May 1917. Herbert Cottee was born on 19 October 1880. He received a commission in the Royal Field Artillery in April 1915 and was promoted to Lieutenant in April 1917 having earlier held the rank of Acting Major. On 31 December 1916 he is recorded as being the officer commanding (Major) of ‘C ‘Battery, 168th Brigade R.F.A. He retired from the Royal Artillery on 17 October 1920 and was granted the rank of Major in November 1920. Sold with D.S.O. bestowal document; D.S.O. Statutes; M.I.D. certificates (2) in original envelopes, bearing the address ‘1 Rose Valley, Brentwood, Essex’; original postcard photograph of the recipient bearing his signature; together with copied gazette and War Diary extracts.
Lot 1192
A Great War D.S.O. group of five awarded to Major V. A. Jackson, York and Lancaster Regiment Distinguished Service Order, G.V.R., silver-gilt and enamel, complete with brooch bar, in Garrard, London case of issue; 1914-15 Star (Capt., York & Lanc. R.); British War and Victory Medals (Major); Belgium, Croix de Guerre, ‘A’ cypher; together with a mounted set of five miniature dress medals, nearly extremely fine (lot) £1000-1200 D.S.O. London Gazette 1 January 1917. M.I.D. London Gazette 15 June 1916, 4 January 1917, 11 December 1917 & 20 May 1918. Croix de Guerre London Gazette 12 July 1918. V. A. Jackson was born on 1 September 1892 and was educated at Wellington College. He married D. E. Garthside Spaight, of Derry Castle, Killaloe, Co. Clare. He was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the York and Lancaster Regiment in January 1902 and was promoted to Lieutenant in March 1903, Captain in September 1911 and Major in January 1917. During the Great War he served as Adjutant for the 1/4th Battalion York and Lancaster Regiment to October 1915. He was afterwards on the Staff as Brigade Major for the 154th Infantry Brigade, October 1915-January 1916, and for the 164th Infantry Brigade, January 1916-March 1917. He was then G.S.O. 2nd Grade with the 55th Division, March-November 1917 and with 8 Corps, November 1917-June 1918. For his services he was four times mentioned in despatches, awarded the D.S.O. and Belgian Croix de Guerre and given the brevet of Lieutenant-Colonel. Sold with ‘2nd York and Lancaster’ Prize Medal, silver and enamel, reverse inscribed, ‘Cross-Country Running, Lieut. & Adj. V. A. Jackson, 1910’; British Legion Badge (3), enamelled, one in card box of issue; National Reserve Lapel Badge, silver; 84th Regiment cap badge; other badges and buttons (10).
Lot 1195
An extremely rare Boer War R.R.C. pair awarded to Nursing Sister H. Hogarth, Army Nursing Service Reserve, one of just three such decorations granted for services in hospital ships in the Boer War, in her case as a hand-picked member of staff aboard the Princess of Wales Royal Red Cross, 1st Class, V.R., silver-gilt and enamel, with original riband and brooch-pin for wearing; Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, no clasp (Nursing Sister H. Hogarth), enamel slightly chipped on upper arm of the first, otherwise good very fine (2) £2000-3000 R.R.C. London Gazette 26 June 1902: ‘Miss H. Hogarth, Army Nursing Service Reserve, Hospital Ship Princess of Wales.’ Mention in despatches London Gazette 17 June 1902 (Lord Roberts’ final despatch). Helen Hogarth was one of just four nursing staff hand-picked by H.R.H. Princess Christian to serve on the royal hospital ship Princess of Wales and the only ‘Nursing Sister ‘to receive the Royal Red Cross for services in such circumstances. ‘The Princess of Wales ‘Much of the history behind the creation of the Princess of Wales is well documented in the columns of The Times, Lord Wantage having corresponded with the newspaper in October 1899 about the creation of the Central British Red Cross Committee, including the Army Nursing Service Reserve, whose President was H.R.H. Princess Christian. In turn she became Honorary President of the newly formed Committee, out of which emerged the funding for a fully equipped hospital ship. The vessel in question, the well-known yachting steamer Midnight Sun, was chartered for the purpose and sent to the Armstrong works for the necessary alterations into a 200-bed hospital ship, ready to leave for South Africa by the end of November 1899. In addition to assisting with the cost of fitting the ship, Her Royal Highness spent more than £1,000 in luxuries and comforts for the sick and wounded soldiers and, at the express wish of the Central British Red Cross Committee, consented that the ship be called the Princess of Wales. In the company of her husband, she visited the ship at Tilbury Docks in late November, just before her departure for South Africa - painted white, the Princess of Wales had the Geneva Cross ‘standing out in bold relief on her side’. The Times continues: ‘The interior fittings have been swept away, commodious wards taking the place of dining room, music room, and so on, and the ship now represents a perfectly equipped floating hospital. There are three large wards, and one small one, the last being for officers, and altogether cots are provided for about 200 patients .. The operating room is on the lower deck, in the middle of the ship, and is fitted, not only with a cluster of electric lights showing right down on the operating table, but with the Rontgen rays, as well. Then there is a well-arranged dispensary and also an isolation ward. In addition to the wards already spoken of there are some private cabins available for sick and wounded officers. Three refrigerating rooms with a total capacity of 2,200 feet, have been arranged, in order to allow of an adequate supply of fresh meat being carried for the long voyage. The Principal Medical Officer will be Major Morgan, of the Royal Army Medical Corps, and he will have three assistants from the same corps. Of nursing sisters there will be four Ð one, who will superintend, from the Army Nursing Service, and three from the Army Nursing Service Reserve of the Central British Red Cross Committee. The three have been personally selected by Princess Christian, who has taken the greatest interest in the arrangements .. The nurses (Sisters Chadwick, Brebner, Hogarth, and Spooner), the staff and the men of the Royal Army Medical Corps who go out with the vessel were drawn up on deck as the Royal party came on board. Passing through commodious wards the Royal visitors entered the officers’ ward, into which the dining and music rooms have been converted, and inspected the numerous appliances provided for the relief of the patients .. To the personnel as well as to the vessel the Princess of Wales devoted much attention. Her Royal Highness presented to each nurse a distinguishing badge and addressed to them individually a few words of encouragement and approbation .. The Princess then proceeded along the line of R.A.M.C. men, 23 in number, and to each she handed a badge. To a similar number of the St. John Ambulance Brigade Her Royal Highness also gave badges and expressed special interest in this branch of the hospital staff, who, for the first time, are being sent abroad for service.’ And those services were much required by the time the Princess of Wales reached South Africa in the wake of ‘Black Week ‘in December 1899, unprecedented British casualties having emerged from the battles of Magersfontein, Stormberg and Colenso. In all, the Princess of Wales made three voyages to South Africa and on each occasion that she berthed back at Southampton the Princess of Wales made private visits to the ship to meet the nursing staff and the sick and wounded. And the first such occasion was in February 1900, when she was cheered into port by nearly 500 men about to depart for South Africa in the Goorkha. The Times once more covered events in detail. ‘Then away to the Empress Dock close to the embarkation office where the Princess of Wales, formerly the Midnight Sun, was being slowly warped up to the quayside. Her bulwarks were lined with as healthy looking a lot of men in blue uniform as ever I saw, but one imagined that below there must be many worse cases. But it was comforting to find on asking Major Morgan, who was the R.A.M.C. surgeon in charge, that, as a matter of fact, there was only one man out of the 174 who was not on deck, and that he was carried on deck every day. In fact, the state in which the men arrived did every credit to Major Morgan and Miss Chadwick, the superintendent nursing sister, and to the nurses, female and male, who have been in charge of them. Of limbs lost there appeared to be but a small percentage, but of a sort of partial paralysis following upon a wound from a Mauser bullet there were a good many cases among these victims of Magersfontein and the Modder River .. ‘The Prince and Princess of Wales visited the officers, nursing staff and wounded men on board the ship the day after it had docked at Southampton, carrying out a ‘friendly inspection ‘of each and every ward, The Times’ correspondent reporting that ‘there is not one of the 176 men on board the Princess of Wales who cannot boast that the wife of the Prince of Wales has spoken to him words of comfort and encouragement.’ On 14 April 1900 the Princess of Wales left Southampton for Table Bay, Cape Town, where she worked as a floating hospital until returning home with more wounded and invalids that July - as was the case before, the Princess of Wales inspected the ship and met all of the 170 casualties and the nursing staff, Major Morgan and the Nursing Sisters being presented to the Princess as she arrived on board. So, too, on her return from her third and final trip in December 1900, when the Princess of Wales was introduced to two particularly bad cases: ‘The cases that aroused the deepest sympathy of Her Royal Highness were those of two men named Stoney, of the Liverpool Regiment, and Dyer, of the Scots Guards. Stoney was wounded in eight places, most of the bullets having been fired into him after he had been knocked down; while Dyer was shot through the head and paralysed in both legs and one arm.’ Moreover, The Times report continues: ‘Before leaving the ship she presented the four nursing sisters Ð Misses Chadwick, Brebner, Hogarth, and Spooner Ð with a souvenir brooch. The brooch consists of a white enamel cross surmounted by a gold crown, and the front of the cross bears the initial ‘A’ in gold.’ In the course of this visit, the Princess was presented with an official rec
Lot 1199
A Great War M.C. group of eight awarded to Lieutenant Norman McCracken, Royal Sussex Regiment, late Royal Fusiliers Military Cross, G.V.R., unnamed; 1914-15 Star (1805 Pte.,R. Fus.); British War and Victory Medals, M.I.D. oak leaf (Lieut.); Defence and War Medals, unnamed; Belgium, Order of Leopold II, Knight’s breast badge, silvered metal and enamel, silver palm on ribbon; Belgium, Croix de Guerre, ‘A’ cypher, good very fine (8) £850-950 M.C. London Gazette 18 July 1917. ‘Temp. 2nd Lt., R. Suss. R.’ ‘For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He has performed valuable work when on patrol. He twice took out patrols under very heavy fire and came in contact with the enemy each time. He also organised the cutting of our own wire, which was carried out under heavy shell fire’. Norman McCracken was born in Kilburn, London on 13 November 1881 and was educated at Highgate School. By occupation a Mercantile Clerk, he attested for service in the Royal Fusiliers at Westminster on 2 September 1914. Posted to the 18th Battalion, he entered the France/Flanders theatre of war on 14 November 1915. He was posted to No.4 Officer Cadet Battalion in the U.K. on 20 May 1916 and on 25 September 1916 was discharged to a commission in the Royal Sussex Regiment. Returning to France McCracken won the Military Cross for his bravery in action. Serving with the 7th attached 3rd Battalion Royal Sussex Regiment McCracken was wounded at Epehy on 21 September 1918 - suffering a gunshot wound to the left thigh. Sold with copied service papers, gazette extracts and m.i.c. The M.I.D. and Belgian decorations not confirmed.
Lot 138
Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 2 clasps, Cape Colony, Orange Free State (6460 Pte. J. Day, S. Lanc. Regt. ) good very fine (3) £90-110 Sold with British Empire Service League Canadian Legion Badge, bronze-gilt and enamel, reverse inscribed, ‘James S. Day, Salmon Arm (B.C.52) 1941-5’, with Past President - Branch’ brooch bar; also with South African War 60th Anniversary Badge 1962, with paper insert named to ‘James T. Day’, complete with ribbon. With copied roll extract.
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