λ ROBERT BAIN (BRITISH/SOUTH AFRICAN 1911-1973)THE IMACULATE CONCEPTIONBronze Signed and dated 68 Height 31cm (12in.)Provenance:Direct from the artist's family Robert Bain rose to prominence in 1948 when he beat Pietro Annigoni to the Accademia di Belle Arti Firenze's gold medal for his interpretation of Michelangelo's David. The work was later exhibited in 1962 at the Association of Arts Gallery in Cape Town. Born in Edinburgh in 1911 Bain went on to marry Mary Lochiel in 1932 and after the birth of their son Robbie they moved to South Africa. On arrival Bain took up the post of senior lecturer at the Port Elizabeth School of Art. After further study and practice in Italy Bain returned to South Africa and started as head of the Johannesburg School of Art. Bain exhibited widely throughout his career across South Africa and completed important commissions including the bronze relief doors for the South African Reserve Bank in Port Elizabeth and a monumental sculpture of King George IV, for which preparatory studies were made during the royal tour of South Africa in 1947. Robert Bain worked with wood, bronze and marble frequently experimenting with forms in Gesso before producing finished carvings in marble. Bain drew on religious topics, figural depictions and members of his local community. The Immaculate Conception cast in bronze was cast in 1968 and larger version was carved in marble in 1971. These sculptures encapsulate purity, fertility and motherhood. Transcendental flight signifies strength and power. The form twists with smooth curves creating a tall, standing structure which reflects Bain's reoccurring exploration of African iconography through tribal totems and tablets.Condition Report: Light surface dirt throughout. Some minor nicks, marks and scratches to the surface most notable to the back of the head. Otherwise appears to be in good original condition. Condition Report Disclaimer
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A group of late 20thC Swedish bronze commemorative medals, two Osvald Helmuth, and Georg Malmsten, another two, King Gustav VI, Adolf of Sweden commemorating his 90th Birthday in 1972, two further Swedish medals and a French medal commemorating the Great War for Civilisation 1914-1918, together with a copy of The Medal No 21 Autumn 1992. (6)
![An interesting ‘Colonial Service’ O.B.E. and Somaliland 1920 group of four awarded to Sir Douglas J. Jardine [K.C.M.G.], who](https://cdn.globalauctionplatform.com/01dfdb88-8fcb-46d3-a5b0-af65010dddf7/3a765766-2d6b-4661-bb7c-afb400e1c291/468x382.jpg)
An interesting ‘Colonial Service’ O.B.E. and Somaliland 1920 group of four awarded to Sir Douglas J. Jardine [K.C.M.G.], who held the posts of Governor of North Borneo, 1934-37; Sierra Leone, 1937-41 and the Leeward Islands, 1941-44. The recipient of the rare British North Borneo Company’s Medal 1937-41, he also authored The Mad Mullah of Somaliland, and went on to suggest a daring plan to assassinate Adolf Hitler The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, O.B.E. (Military) Officer’s 1st type, breast badge, hallmarks for London ‘1919’, in Garrard & Co. Ltd case of issue; Africa General Service 1902-56, 1 clasp, Somaliland 1920 (D. J. Jardine. O.B.E.); Jubilee 1935; Coronation 1937, last two mounted for wear, toned, generally good very fine (4) £800-£1,200 --- Provenance: Jardine’s K.C.M.G., British North Borneo Company’s General Service Medal 1937-1941, Ethiopian Insignia and miniature K.C.M.G., O.B.E. and A.G.S. appeared for sale with Dixons Medals in 2008. Douglas James Jardine was born in 1888, and educated at Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge. He joined the Colonial Service, and was appointed to the Chief Secretary’s Office, Cyprus in 1910. Jardine was appointed Assistant Secretary to the Government in 1912, and was employed there as Acting Chief Assistant on several occasions, 1912-1916. He was employed as Secretary to the Administration of Somaliland, 1916-1921 (O.B.E.), during which time he accompanied the mission to Abyssinia on the occasion of the coronation of Empress Zauditu (awarded Star of Ethiopia, 3rd Class, 1917). Jardine was employed as officer in charge H.Q. Services, Somaliland 1920 (A.G.S. and mentioned in despatches). Jardine was next employed as Senior Assistant Secretary Nigerian Secretariat in 1921, and as Deputy Chief Secretary, Tanganyika Territory from May 1927 (various mentions in Governor’s despatches). He was employed as Acting Governor of Tanganyika Territory, 1929-1933 (C.M.G. 1932), and as Governor and Commander in Chief, North Borneo 1934-37 (K.C.M.G.; British North Borneo Company Medal 1937-41, of which only 44 were issued). Jardine served as Governor and Commander in Chief, Sierra Leone, 1937-1941, and in the same capacity for the Leeward Islands, 1941-1944. An article written by the recipient’s daughter, that featured in The New Yorker, 28 July 1977, gives the following with regards to Jardine in Sierra Leone: ‘Amory Bradford’s letter regarding Clare Boothe Luce’s idea for the assassination of Hitler reminded me of an ingenious plan devised by my father, Sir Douglas Jardine, when he was the British Governor, in 1941. The Germans were gaining ground in North Africa, and he was secretly approached by the German High Command with a proposal that he move his troops in Sierra Leone to the wrong border when the German Army invaded the country. For this help, my father was to receive “clement treatment” in the event of a German victory. My father wrote to Whitehall suggesting that he should agree to go to Berlin to discuss the moves he might make. In his pocket he would have a box of Swan Vesta matches with yellow-fever germs sealed inside. My father had been vaccinated against yellow-fever, a fatal disease, so while talking to Hitler he would be able to light his pipe or cigarette and crush the box of matches. Whitehall replied that on no account was he to do any such foolish thing; it would not be cricket to murder Hitler.’ Jardine was the joint editor of The Cyprus Handbook, 1913-1919, wrote an article about the coronation of Empress Zauditu which appeared in Blackwood’s Magazine of October 1917, and authored The Mad Mullah of Somaliland in 1923. After he returned to the UK, he resided at “The Quarries”, Bathurst Hill, Itchingfield, Sussex and died in December 1946. Sold with copied research, including photographic image of recipient in uniform wearing his awards.
A Great War ‘Dadizeele, October 1918’ D.C.M. group of five awarded to Private E. T. Forrest, 1st Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, late South Lancashire Regiment Distinguished Conduct Medal, G.V.R. (59524 Pte. E. T. Forrest. 1/R. Innis: Fus.); British War and Victory Medals (202850 Pte. E. Forrest. S. Lan. R.); Belgium, Kingdom, Military Decoration, A.I.R., silver-gilt; Croix de Guerre, A.I.R., mounted in incorrect order, very fine (5) £1,000-£1,400 --- D.C.M. London Gazette 18 February 1919; citation published 10 January 1920: ‘For conspicuous gallantry and tenacity during an enemy counter-attack near Dadizeele on 2nd October, 1918. He was No. 1 of a Lewis gun on the left flank of a company which was heavily engaged. The No. 2 of the gun was wounded in fetching up ammunition, and he rushed across the open and carried him to cover; then bringing up more ammunition himself, put up such a heavy fire that the enemy hesitated, and gave the company time to recover and drive them back.’ Belgian Military Decoration with Croix de Guerre London Gazette 24 October 1919. Of the counter-attack near Dadizeele, the History of the 9th (Scottish) Division records: ‘Lt.-Col. Smyth saw the Germans collecting troops for a great counter-strike, and the K.O.S.B. were bracing themselves for a desperate resistance at Manhattan Farm, when the timely arrival of the 1st Inniskilling Fusiliers, who made a most heroic attack on Hill 41 from the north, scared the enemy and turned his efforts solely to defence. Though the Inniskillings failed to capture the hill, their plucky effort probably saved the K.O.S.B., and so great was the admiration of the latter and the troops of the 9th Division who witnessed the attack, that the G.O.C., at their request, wrote at once to the 36th Division expressing the admiration and thanks of the officers and men of the 9th.’ Ernest T. Forrest is believed to have been born at Prescot, Lancashire in 1897, and at the time of winning the D.C.M. was living at St Helens. His prior service in the South Lancashire Regiment and change of service number is confirmed on his Medal Index Card. Sold with copied research including Medal Index Card, gazette notices and Battalion War Diary entries for October 1918.
The Royal Navy Long Service and Good Conduct Medal awarded to Stoker Petty Officer M. W. Taylor, Royal Navy, one of just 20 Survivors from the sinking of H.M.S. Queen Mary at the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916 Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., G.V.R., 1st issue (295746. M. W. Taylor. Ch. Sto. H. M. S. Victory) contact marks, very fine £100-£140 --- Marshall William Taylor, a Stone Dresser from St. Peter Port, Guernsey, was born on 10 May 1882 and joined the Royal Navy on 6 July 1900. On 4 September 1913 he joined the new battlecruiser H.M.S. Queen Mary and was serving in her at the outbreak of the Great War, soon seeing service at Heligoland Bight on 28 August 1914. During the Battle of Jutland, on 31 May 1916, he was one of just 20 crew members to survive her sinking, with the loss of 1,266 lives. After his rescue and landing at Rosyth by H.M.S. Laurel the following day, he returned to sea two weeks later, joining the new destroyer H.M.S. Seymour. Advanced Chief Stoker on 29 July 1917, he was awarded his Long Service and Good Conduct Medal on 26 January 1920, and was shore pensioned on 19 July 1922. He died in Guernsey on 26 March 1962.
Four: Lieutenant H. E. Seales, Gloucestershire Regiment attached 4th Battalion, Nigeria Regiment, late Worcestershire Yeomanry British War and Victory Medals (Lieut. H. E. Seales.); Africa General Service 1902-56, 1 clasp, Nigeria 1918 (Lieut. H. E. Seales. Glouc. R.); Territorial Efficiency Medal, G.V.R. (1430 Sjt. H. E. Seales. Worc. Yeo.) generally extremely fine, scarce (4) £800-£1,000 --- Harry E. Seales was born in Aston, Birmingham in July 1884, and was employed as a G.P.O. clerk. He served with the Warwickshire R.G.A. Volunteers, 1904 - 1906, and as acting squadron sergeant major with the Worcestershire Yeomanry, 1906 - 1915. Seales was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the 6th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment in May 1915, and attached to the 4th Battalion, Nigeria Regiment for service as part of the West African Field Force in March 1917. He served in Nigeria April - October 1917, German East Africa November 1917 - February 1918, and Nigeria (Egba Expedition, Southern Nigeria) March - June 1918. Seales was demobilised in June 1919 (awarded T.E.M. in 1926), and resided at ‘Okywi’, Andover Road, Newbury, Berkshire. Sold with two photographs of recipient in uniform, and copied research.
An interesting Great War C.B.E. group of four awarded to Captain F. C. H. Allenby, Royal Navy, younger brother of Field Marshal Viscount Allenby, and personal friend of King George V from their time together in the Royal Navy. Often the source of ‘high-jinx’, he was affectionately known as ‘Moon Face’ to the King’s cousin Queen Marie of Romania, and was subject to a court martial for striking a Petty Officer The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, C.B.E. (Military) Commander’s 1st type, neck badge, silver-gilt and enamel, in Garrard & Co. Ltd case of issue; Egypt and Sudan 1882-89, dated reverse, 1 clasp, Alexandria 11th July (F. C. H. Allenby. Midn. R.N. H.M.S. “Alexandra”.) light pitting from Star; British War Medal 1914-20 (Capt. F. C. H. Allenby. R.N.); Khedive’s Star, dated 1882, unnamed as issued, generally very fine or better unless otherwise already stated (4) £1,000-£1,400 --- C.B.E. London Gazette 1 July 1919: ‘For valuable services in connection with the Naval Transport Service at Liverpool and Southampton.’ Frederick Claude Hynman Allenby was born in Felixstowe in September 1864, and was the son of Hynman Allenby, and the younger brother of Field Marshal Viscount Allenby. He joined the Royal Navy as a Cadet in January 1878, and was at Britannia at the same time as a young Prince George, later King George V (there is a group photograph of young sub-lieutenants posing together, including Allenby and the King, at H.M.S. Vernon in May 1885, a copy of which is included in lot research). Allenby was appointed as a midshipman to H.M.S. Alexandra (flagship of the British Mediterranean Fleet) in June 1880, and served with her during the bombardment of Alexandria in 1882. A young Midshipman Dudley De Chair (later Admiral Sir Dudley De Chair, K.C.B., K.C.M.G., M.V.O.) was also serving with the Alexandra, and he mentions Allenby in his book The Sea is Strong: ‘All was excitement then, and none of us turned in; soon after daylight on the morning of July 11th the whole fleet weighed and cleared for action. Allenby, Hay and I went to the Captain and asked if we might take the position of the quartermasters on the upper bridge during the battle. I was told off to steer the ship (a great honour we considered), Hay was told off to get the range of the forts, and Allenby was told off to work the engine room telegraphs. All our men in the batteries were stripped to the waist, with white handkerchiefs tied round their heads, and the decks had been sanded to prevent slipping on blood.’ Allenby was mentioned in despatches for being engaged in reconnaissance at Malala Junction, Egypt, 5 August 1882. He advanced to sub-lieutenant, and was subsequently posted to H.M.S. Neptune. Allenby was still, however, very much a fixture in royal circles - Prince George was appointed to H.M.S. Alexandra which had now been made the flagship of the Prince Alfred, The Duke of Edinburgh. The latter’s daughter was Princess Marie, later Queen of Romania, and she gives the following in The Story of My Life, by Marie, Queen of Rumania: ‘We made innumerable friends, mostly among the naval officers; the fleet was, so to say, at our disposal, and we were continually visiting one ship or another, H.M.S. Alexandra, papa’s flagship, being our great favourite, her midshipmen becoming our particular chums. Amongst our group of very young naval friends there was a certain Lieutenant Allenby, a round faced youth, all smiles, good humour and recklessness. Though his years counted more than ours, he was not a day older than we as to tastes and habits, there was plenty of health in him, but little wisdom. When Allenby was one of the party it was sure to be a day of adventure, frolic and merry making, a day, also, of anxiety for elders. He was also allowed in small doses only, because our association was not “de tout repos”. We called Allenby Full Moon because of the excessive roundness of his cheerful countenance. Whenever he could cousin George joined our Saturday picnics, and he was fond of declaring that the ‘dear three’ [Marie and her sisters) were much better behaved and less unruly when he was leader of the wild horde. It was certainly Allenby, or Full Moon, who was the most irrepressible. The days when he was one of the party were days of high jinks.’ Allenby advanced to lieutenant in August 1887, and was granted permission to go abroad during October of the same year to The Crown Prince and Princess of Germany. He was serving with H.M.S. Scylla, when he was subject to a court martial for striking a petty officer. Allenby was severely reprimanded and dismissed his ship in August 1897. He advanced to commander in December 1900, and retired as captain in December 1909. Allenby re-engaged for service during the Great War, and was borne on H.M.S. President as training officer, Liverpool, 1 August 1914 - 23 May 1919 (C.B.E.). B. Gardner in his book Allenby gives Viscount Allenby as recalling a visit by the then King George V to his Corps in France: ‘He was very chatty and affable, asked me a lot about Claude, and told me tales of their adventures together as sub-lieutenants.’ When Field Marshal Allenby was elevated to the peerage as a viscount, Captain F. C. H. Allenby was named as the heir to the title (the Field Marshal’s son having been killed in the Great War. Captain Allenby died in August 1934, with his elder brother dying in 1936 - the title then passed to Captain Allenby’s son. Sold with photographic images of recipient, and copied research.
Pair: E. A. Floyer, Inspector General of Egyptian Telegraphs, a scholar, explorer and scientist, who accompanied Kitchener on his mission to see the Mudir of Dongola, and subsequent disguised forays from Debba. Known to General Gordon, he corresponded with him at Khartoum, and also heavily contributed to Sir Reginald Wingate’s history of the Egyptian Campaigns Egypt and Sudan 1882-89, undated reverse, 1 clasp, The Nile 1884-85 (Insp: Genl Of Telegrs E. A. Floyer.); Khedive’s Star, dated 1884-6, unnamed as issued, generally good very fine and rare (2) £800-£1,200 --- Provenance: Dix Noonan Webb, December 1999 (when sold as a single Egypt and Sudan 1882-89 medal) Ernest Ayscoghe Floyer, the British telegraph engineer and explorer, was born on 4 July 1852, at Marshchapel, Lincolnshire, eldest surviving son of the Rev. Ayscoghe Floyer by his wife Louisa Sara, daughter of the Hon. Frederick John Shore of the Bengal Civil Service. After education at Charterhouse from 1865 until 1869, Floyer served for seven years in the Indian telegraph service, being stationed on the coast of the Persian Gulf. On receiving his long leave, in January 1876, he started for the unexplored interior of Baluchistan. His journeys there occupied him until May 1877, and his observations and surveys earned him a reputation as a bold and intelligent explorer. His results were published in ‘Unexplored Baluchistan’ (1882), with illustrations and map. The narrative describes a journey of exploration from Jask to Kirman via Anguhran. There are appendices on dialects of Western Baluchistan and on plants collected. In January 1878 he was appointed Inspector General of Egyptian telegraphs, a post which he held until his death.
He and his telegraph staff played an important part in maintaining communications with the Egyptian garrisons in the Sudan at the beginning of the Mahdist revolt. In 1884 he made a journey from Halfa to Debba, in the Dongola province with H. H. Kitchener, then in the intelligence department of the Egyptian army. He also regularly corresponded with General Gordon: ‘Dear General Gordon, I send you the above as the last public news we have heard. I have been appointed Inspector General of the Soudan Telegraph, but at present I can’t get beyond Debba to inspect them, as Mr Hudai has captured the Merowi telegraph office, and the Sirdar will not let us advance. I am ordered back to Halfa, and am leaving by boat this morning. With kind regards to Colonel Stewart. Yours sincerely, E. A. Floyer. Debba, 22 August 1884.’ (The Journals of Major General C. G. Gordon C.B. at Khartoum refers) Later in the journal Gordon writes the following having used telegraph forms for his journal, “Floyer wil be furious at this misuse of telegraph forms.” The following report from Floyer appeard in Reynolds Newspaper 24 August 1884: ‘Writing from Dongola: ‘The people here go about armed to the teeth. Even my barber comes to me with a huge spear in one hand and his shaving tackle in another. The Mudir of Dongola has ordered his men to collect and mass at Sarras, the railway terminus, 1,000 camels to aid in the transport of stores southwards; 1,500 out of the 2,000 men promised by the Mudir are on their way to Sarras, under the charge of Issedin Bey, a Vakeel of Dongola.’ Floyer so administered the department as to convert an annual loss into a substantial annual surplus. He induced the government to devote a portion of this to experiments in the cultivation of trees and plants upon the soil of the desert. He took charge of these experiments in the capacity of director of plantations, state railways and telegraphs of Egypt. He cultivated successfully cactus for fibre, casuarina for telegraph poles, Hyoscyamus muticus yielding the alkaloid hyoscamine, and other plants. Having discovered nitrate of soda in a clay in Upper Egypt, he was appointed by the government to superintend the process of its extraction. At the same time he engaged in exploration. In 1887 he surveyed two routes between the Nile and the Red Sea in about N. lat. 26°. In 1891 he was appointed by the Khedive to the command of an important expedition in a more southern part of the same desert (about N. lat. 24°). In this expedition he rediscovered the abandoned emerald mines of Sikait and Zabbara which had been worked at various epochs from early times. As the result of Floyer’s report these mines were reopened. The outcome of this expedition, antiquarian, scientific, and economic, is fully described in his official publication ‘Etude sur la Nord-Etbai entre le Nil et la Mer Rouge’ (Cairo, 1893, 4to, with maps and illustrations). For services to the military authorities Floyer received the British medal ‘Egypt 1882,’ with clasp ‘The Nile 1884-85,’ and the Khedive’s bronze star. Floyer, who was popular with his native employees, had a mastery of Arabic and possessed an ear for minute differences of dialect. He described his Egyptian explorations in ‘The Mines of the Northern Etbai’ (Trans. Roy. Asiatic Soc. October 1892); ‘Notes on the Geology of the Northern Etbai’ (Trans. Geol. Soc. 1892); ‘Further Routes in the Eastern Desert of Egypt’ (Geogr. Journ. May 1893); and ‘Journeys in the Eastern Desert of Egypt’ (Proc. Roy. Geogr. Soc. 1884 and 1887). To the Journal of the ‘Institut Egyptien’ for 1894-96 he contributed many papers on antiquarian, botanical, and agricultural matters. (Ref. Dictionary of National Biography and Biographical Dictionary of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan). Floyer died in Cairo in 1903, and is extensively mentioned in several works including Life, Letters and Diaries of Lieutenant General Sir Gerald Graham and The Story of My Life by Sir Harry H. Johnston. Sold with a copy of Notes on a Sketch Map of two Routes in the Eastern Desert of Egypt by the recipient, extensive copied research, and several photographic images of the recipient.
Five: Major Amar Singh, Patiala State Force 1939-45 Star; War Medal 1939-45 (2750 Maj. Amar Singh, Patiala S.F.); Jubilee 1935, unnamed as issued; Coronation 1937, unnamed as issued; Indian Independence Medal 1947 (2750 Capt. Amar Singh, Patial S.F.) nearly very fine Five: J. Whittaker, Australian Forces 1939-45 Star; Pacific Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45; Australia Service Medal, all officially named ‘NX60581 J. Whittaker’, mounted as worn, extremely fine 1939-45 Star; Defence Medal; India Service Medal (6206 Sep. Kartar Singh, Patiala S.F.); Coronation 1937 (4560. Hav. Bostan Khan 8th. P.R.) contemporarily engraved naming; Efficiency Medal, G.VI.R., 1st issue, India (A-C.S.M. G. E. Garhham, Cal. Prs. Bn., A.F.I.) generally very fine (15) £80-£100
A Great War ‘Givenchy/Cuinchy’ December 1914-January 1915 operations D.C.M. group of four awarded to Sergeant F. W. Marsh, 1st Battalion, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, who was killed in action on 26 January 1915, when a high-explosive shell detonated whilst ‘orderly room’ was being held in a farm yard causing many casualties Distinguished Conduct Medal, G.V.R. (1330 Sjt: F. W. Marsh.1/L.N. Lanc: Regt.); 1914 Star, with clasp (1330 Sjt. F. W. Marsh. L.N. Lan: R.); British War and Victory Medals (1330 W.O. Cl. II. F. W. Marsh. L.N. Lan. R.) mounted court-style for display, together with Memorial Plaque (Frederick William Marsh) good very fine (5) £1,400-£1,800 --- D.C.M. London Gazette 23 June 1915; citation published 30 June 1915: ‘For conspicuous gallantry and coolness on many occasions, especially during the operations at Givenchy and Cuinchy from the 27th December, 1914, to the 29th January, 1915, when he gave a fine example of courage, resource, and cheerfulness at a time when much needed, and of great devotion to duty.’ Frederick William Marsh was born at Salford, Lancashire, on 22 March 1891, and educated at St John’s Church School, Farnworth, and the Higher Grade School, Bolton; subsequently entered the engineering trade at Messrs. Dobson & Barlow’s, Bolton, with whom he served two years; then took up Marine Engineering with Messrs. Vickers & Co., of Barrow, and while serving with them, assisted in the building of H.M.S. Princess Royal and H.M.S. Dartmouth; transferred to a Birkenhead firm, and, with a view to obtaining his Board of Trade Certificate, made several voyages in the Elder Demster Liners, serving as 6th Engineer R.M.S. Karissia, and afterwards as 4th Engineer; joined the Special Reserve in March, 1909; was called up on the outbreak of war in August 1914; served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders from the following October [M.I.C. gives 20 September 1914], and was killed in action at Beuvry, near Bethune, 26 January 1915. Buried there. The adjutant wrote: “He was standing within a few yards of me in a farm-yard about two miles in the rear of the firing line at a place called Beuvry, near Bethune, when a shell fell and detonated with terrific violence quite close to us. Your son was killed instantly, and we buried him within a few yards of the spot, together with 11 other officers. I, as Adjutant of the battalion, feel the loss of Coy. Sergt.-Major Marsh very greatly. He was an excellent N.C.O. and much respected by us all. He died a true Briton, and died doing his duty manfully and well,” and Lieut. F. Tawdry: “Coy. Sergt.-Major Marsh was a very valuable man, and his loss is keenly felt by the officers of his battalion.” He was mentioned in despatches by F.M. Sir John (now Lord) French, for gallant and distinguished service in the filed and was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal. (De Ruvigny’s Roll of Honour refers). Marsh enlisted at Preston for the 1st Loyal North Lancashire Regiment and landed in France with the British Expeditionary Force on 20 September 1914. He was killed in action on 26 January 1915, and is buried in Lievin Communal Cemetery Extension. Sold with copied research.
British War Medal 1914-20 (4) (Lieut. H. A. Hartley; 3560 Pte Boti 1/KAR; 5270 Pte Chapweteka 1/KAR; 4295 Pte Salimu 2/KAR); Victory Medal 1914-19 (Lieut A. Bartlett); Bilingual Victory Medal 1914-19 (2nd C/W.O. J. S. Lowe S.A.S.C.) KAR medals locally named, the last worn, therefore fair; the rest better (6) £60-£80 --- Herbert A. Hartley attested for service with East African Mounted Rifles for service during the Great War, and was later commissioned and served with the East African Technical Centre. Ashmead Bartlett was commissioned for service during the Great War, and served with both the British South African Police and the 1st Reserve Regiment of Cavalry, attached to King Edward’s Horse.
Six: Gunner C. Maurice, Royal Field Artillery, who was reported wounded and missing at Le Cateau on 26 August 1914 Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 4 clasps, Cape Colony, Orange Free State, South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902 (14965 Gnr: C. Maurice, R.F.A.); 1914 Star, with later slide clasp (14965 Gnr: C. Maurice. R.F.A.); British War and Victory Medals (14965 Gnr. C. Maurice. R.A.); Defence Medal; Army L.S. & G.C., G.V.R., 1st issue (14965 Gnr. C. Maurice. R.F.A.) mounted as worn, light contact marks, otherwise very fine or better (6) £160-£200 --- Charles Maurice served with 28th Brigade Royal Field Artillery in France and Flanders from 19 August 1914. According to an annotation on his Medal Index Card he was reported wounded and missing on 26 August 1914 (Le Cateau).
Family Group: Three: Gunner A. Juckes, 12th Citizen Battery, South African Artillery 1914-15 Star (Gnr. A. Juckes 12th Cit. Batt.); British War and Bilingual Victory Medals (Gnr. A. Juckes. 12th Cit. Batt.) the BWM and VM both in slightly crushed named card boxes of issue, good very fine Pair: Warrant Officer Class I D. L. Juckes Rhodesia, General Service Medal, with M.F.C. bronze pick emblem on riband (597 WO 1 D. L. Juckes); Army L.S. & G.C., E.II.R., 2nd issue, Rhodesia (597 WOI Juckes D.L.) mounted as worn, extremely fine (5) £300-£400 --- Sold with various buttons and other ephemera.
Six: Lieutenant-Colonel J. C. N. Watson, Royal Artillery India General Service 1936-39, 1 clasp, North West Frontier 1936-37 (Lieut. J. C. N. Watson. R.A.); 1939-45 Star; Italy Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45, with M.I.D. oak leaf; General Service 1918-62, 1 clasp, Malaya, G.VI.R. (Major J. C. N. Watson. R.A.) together with group of six miniature dress medal, the last lacking Malaya clasp, both sets mounted as worn, nearly extremely fine (6) £500-£700 --- M.I.D. London Gazette 23 May 1946 (Mediterranean theatre). Captain Watson was promoted to Major on 1 July 1946, and retired due to disability on 27 June 1953, with Hon. rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.
The Waterloo Medal awarded to Surgeon Francis Burton, 4th Foot, later Surgeon attached to the 66th Foot at St Helena, where he was present at Napoleon’s death on 31 March 1821, presided over the subsequent post-mortem autopsy, and is renowned for having made Napoleon’s death mask Waterloo 1815 (Surgeon Burton, 4th Regiment Foot.) fitted with original steel clip and silver straight bar suspension, nearly extremely fine £5,000-£7,000 --- Francis Burton was born in Ireland in 1784 and, prior to being commissioned to the 5th Garrison Battalion on 5 March 1807, was assistant surgeon to the North Devon Militia, his subsequent appointments being assistant surgeon 36th Foot, 10 March 1808; surgeon 4th Foot, 9 September 1813; half-pay, 10 December 1818; full-pay surgeon, 66th Foot, 16 December 1819; M.D., Edinburgh 1820; surgeon 12th Lancers, 30 June 1825. Burton served in the Peninsula in 1808-09, was present in the Walcheren Expedition later in 1809, and served again in the Peninsula, with the 36th Foot from March 1811 to October 1813, including the siege and battle of Salamanca; and with the 1/4th Foot from November 1813 to January 1814, including actions in the Pyrenees, Battle of the Nive and the investment of Bayonne. He afterwards accompanied the 1/4th Foot to North America in 1814 and was present with the battalion at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Burton was one of the five army medical officers present at the autopsy of Napoleon on St Helena, where he had only arrived, as surgeon of the 66th Foot, on 31 March 1821. He was present at Napoleon’s death on 5 May 1821, and features in the famous painting by Baron Charles Steuben, based on accounts of the event. Burton not only presided over the post-mortem but is also renowned for having made Napoleon’s death mask. Burton died in London on 24 October 1828. Note: Some historical accounts contend that Dr François Carlo Antommarchi, Napoleon’s personal physician but both disliked and distrusted by Napoleon, cast the original parent mould, which would later be used to reproduce bronze and additional plaster copies. Other records, however, indicate that Dr Francis Burton, the surgeon attached to the 66th Foot at St. Helena, presided at the emperor’s autopsy and during that post-mortem procedure cast the original mould. Antommarchi obtained from his British colleagues a secondary plaster mould from Burton’s original cast and with that second-generation mould, Antommarchi in France reportedly made further copies of the death mask in plaster as well as in bronze. There have been a good number of books and articles written over the years about Napoleon’s death masks and it seems fairly conclusive that Antommarchi’s mould was indeed a copy taken from Burton’s original. Original casts from either mould are very rare and most reside in museums around the world. In 2013, one of the last remaining original death masks taken by Burton was made the subject of a U.K. export ban after selling at auction for £175,000.
Three: Gunner R. W. Holcombe, Royal Garrison Artillery Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 3 clasps, Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal (29503 Gnr: R. W. Holcombe, 15th W.D., R.G.A.); King’s South Africa 1901-02, 2 clasps, South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902 (29503 Gnr: R. W. Holcombe, R.G.A.); British War Medal 1914-20 (29503 Gnr. R. W. Holcombe. R.A.) nearly very fine (3) £120-£160 --- Entitled to 1914-15 Star trio.
Three: Captain G. St. J. Richardson, 7th Duke of Connaught’s Own Rajputs, Indian Army, who died of wounds on the first day of the Battle of Kut al Amara on 7 December 1915 1914-15 Star; British War and Victory Medals (Capt. G. St. J. Richardson); Memorial Plaque (Garnet St. John Richardson); Memorial Scroll ‘Lieut. Garnet St. John Richardson, 7th Rajputs’, with a portrait newspaper cutting photograph of the recipient and a small silver life-saving medal, all mounted in a glazed display frame, the scroll ‘corrected’ to read ‘Captain Garnet St.-John Richardson, D.C.O. 7th Rajputs. 1915’, otherwise nearly extremely fine (4) £280-£320 --- Garnet St. John Richardson, the son of Lieutenant-Colonel W. St. J. Richardson, was commissioned second lieutenant, Unattached List for Indian Army, from the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, on 8 September 1909 and was posted to the 7th Duke of Connaught’s Own Rajputs on 27 December 1910. He was promoted lieutenant on 8 December 1911, and captain on 1 September 1915 (although his promotion to captain was not formally gazetted until after his death). He died of wounds on 7 December 1915, on the first day of the battle of Kut al Amara, and is buried in Amara War Cemetery, Iraq. Note: Owing to the fact that the medals are held in a glazed display frame the reverse of the 1914-15 Star has not been seen. Consequently this lot is sold as viewed and not subject to return.
Pair: Captain D. P. Mills, Royal Artillery Coronation 1911, unnamed as issued; Army L.S. & G.C., V.R., 3rd issue, small letter reverse (14057. 3/Cl. Mr. Gunr. D. P. Mills. R.A.) engraved naming, good very fine (2) £240-£280 --- Daniel Peter Mills was born at Leith, Midlothian on 25 May 1859, and attested for the 19 Brigade, Royal Artillery on 23 September 1874 at Fyzabad, Oude, India, joining ‘D’ Battery as a trumpeter two days later. He was appointed 1st class trumpeter on 28 February 1878 and was promoted to bombardier on 1 August 1879. He was promoted to corporal on 1 September 1879 and transferred to the 1st Brigade on 10 March 1881. On 7 March 1882 he was promoted to sergeant followed by promotion to battery sergeant major on 22 July 1885. Mills was promoted to 3rd class master gunner and was transferred to the 10th Division Coast Brigade on 1 April 1890. He was awarded the Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal per Army Order 7 of January 1893 and was promoted to 2nd class master gunner on 10 April 1896. He was commissioned lieutenant on 18 July 1900, was awarded the Coronation Medal in 1911, and was promoted captain on 4 July 1913. He retired on 25 May 1914 but was re-employed for service during the Great War as a district officer on 22 September 1914 and served at home with No. 3 Depot, Royal Garrison Artillery at the Citadel in Plymouth. Sold with the recipient’s parchment Commission Document, dated 18 July 1900; two portrait photographs of the recipient; and copied research.
An extremely rare ‘Korean War’ group of three awarded to Senior Nursing Sister Miss Mary E. Hereford, Queen Alexandra’s Royal Naval Nursing Service War Medal 1939-45; Korea 1950-53, 1st issue (Snr. N.S. M. E. Hereford. Q.A.R.N.N.S.); U.N. Korea 1950-54, unnamed as issued, good very fine (3) £1,000-£1,400 --- One of only 13 Korea Medals awarded to Queen Alexandra’s Royal Naval Nursing Service. Mary Elizabeth Hereford was born in Hereford in 1917 and served with Queen Alexandra’s Royal Naval Nursing Service in Korea in H.M. Hospital Ship Maine. When the Korean War broke out the Maine was at Kobe, Japan, with units of the British Far East Fleet; the complement of nurses in the ship, under a Superintendent Matron, was six, together with six members of the Voluntary Aid Detachment. Placed under United States operational control on 14 July 1950, she was used for transporting wounded mostly from Pusan to Osaka or Kobe in Japan. Altogether nine voyages were made, the last returning to Kobe on 1 October 1950, before the ship was withdrawn for refit at Hong Kong. Those who served after the refit received the U.N. Medal only. Mary Hereford subsequently married Lieutenant-Commander R. K. Wood, R.N., and died in Plymouth on 15 August 2009. Sold with copied research including photographic images of the recipient and of H.M.H.S. Maine.
Edward Prince of Wales Visit to Bombay 1921, oval bronze medal, the obverse with bust of Edward Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII), surmounted by Prince of Wales’ feathers, the reverse inscribed ‘Visit of His Royal Highness, Bombay, November 1921’, with small ring for suspension, good very fine £60-£80 --- Referenced in Puddester 921.3
Africa General Service 1902-56, 1 clasp, Somaliland 1902-04 (A. J. Saffery, Act. Sh. Std., H.M.S. Porposie.) light contact marks, very fine £140-£180 --- Albert James Saffery was born at Minster, Isle of Sheppey, Kent, on 28 January 1879 and joined the Royal Navy as a Ship’s Steward’s Assistant on 1 November 1901. He served in H.M.S. Porpoise from 12 April 1903 to 11 February 1904, and then saw further service during the Great War, being awarded his Long Service and Good Conduct Medal on 7 December 1916. He was advanced Ship’s Steward Petty Officer on 16 November 1922, and was finally shore pensioned on 31 October 1923.
A Polish Second World War ‘Monte Cassino’ group of eight attributed to Corporal A. Kiszka, 6th (Children of Lwów) Armoured Regiment, who was captured by the Russians in September 1939 Poland, Republic, Cross of Merit, 1st issue, 3rd Class, bronze, with separate crossed swords suspension; Victory and Freedom Medal 1945, bronze; Monte Cassino Cross 1944, reverse numbered, ‘30595’; Great Britain, 1939-45 Star; Africa Star, 1 copy clasp, 8th Army; Italy Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45, minor corrosion to first two, otherwise very fine and better (8) £240-£280 --- Andrzej Kiszka was born on 30 November 1905 and served during the Second World War as a corporal with the 6th (Children of Lwów) Armoured Regiment. Initially serving with the 39th Infantry Regiment, he was captured by the Russians at StanisÅ‚awów on 18 September 1939, and after being released joined the Anders Army at Buzuluk on 2 September 1941. Emigrating to the United Kingdom following the end of the war, he died in Leeds on 8 September 1976. Sold with an enamelled riband bar (this lacing the Defence Medal); and copied research which confirms the award of the Monte Cassino Cross no. 30595.
Police L.S. & G.C., E.II.R., 2nd issue (Const. Vivian Davies) in Royal Mint case of issue, with Cardiff City Police cap badge; Special Constabulary Long Service Medal (5), G.VI.R., 1st issue (3) (Ernest A. Preston) in named ‘Kent’ card box of issue; (Harold G. Rhodes) in named ‘Nottinghamshire’ card box of issue, with Nottinghamshire S.C. lapel badge; (Thomas H. Wiseman) in named ‘Lancashire’ card box of issue, with loose ‘Long Serivce 1958’ clasp, and riband bar with rosette; E.II.R. (2), 1st issue (Robeet Mc.Lain) in named ‘Northumberland’ card box of issue; 2nd issue (Sub Div Offr Michael J. Arbin) in Royal Mint case of issue, generally nearly extremely fine (6) £120-£160
Three: Second Lieutenant H. M. Morris, 15th (1st Salford Pals) Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers, late 20th (Public Schools) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, who died of wounds on the Western Front on 17 August 1918 1914-15 Star (5342 Pte. H. M. Morris. R. Fus:); British War Medal 1914-20 (2. Lieut. H. M. Morris.); Victory Medal 1914-19, naming erased on VM; nearly extremely fine (3) £100-£140 --- Hubert Marmaduke Morris was born in Southport, Lancashire, in 1892 and ‘joined the Manchester University O.T.C. immediately on the outbreak of war, but being impatient at the length of time that would elapse before he obtained his commission, he with some of his friends joined the University and Public Schools Battalion [20th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers], which was then being formed, as a private. He trained with the battalion and went out to France in 1915. He was in various engagements and was wounded at the taking of High Wood, being shot through the left arm. When sufficiently recovered from his wounds he was commissioned second lieutenant in the Lancashire Fusiliers, and serving with the 15th (1st Salford Pals) Battalion in France was seriously wounded with gunshot in the abdomen, his left knee shot through and shattered, and a portion of his thigh had been carried away with shrapnel.’ He died as a result of his wounds in 14th General Hospital on 17 August 1918, and is buried in Terlincthun British Cemetery, Wimille, France. He is also commemorated in the British Jewry Book of Honour. Sold together with an unrelated 19th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers Regimental prize medal, silver, silver-gilt, and enamel, the reverse engraved ‘Inter Coy. Football League 1917, Winners A. Coy. 2/Lt. F. Gregory. B.E.F.’, in case of issue; and copied research. Frank Gregory was commissioned second lieutenant in the Lancashire Fusiliers on 17 January 1916, and was killed in action at Mount Kemmel, Flanders, on 16 April 1918.
Four: Second Lieutenant W. R. Garrett, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment, late Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, who died of influenza on 6 May 1919 1914-15 Star (1708 Sjt. W. R. Garrett. Oxf. & Bucks.L.I.); British War and Victory Medals (2. Lieut. W. R. Garrett.); together with an Italian Altipiani Medal 1918, silver, very fine (4) £80-£100 --- William Robert Garrett, a bank clerk from Brackley, Northamptonshire, was born on 20 June 1891 and attested for the 4th Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry on 6 December 1912, serving with them during the Great War on the Western Front from 29 March 1915. Appointed sergeant on 25 June 1916, he was commissioned second lieutenant into the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment on 30 May 1917 and received a shell wound to his left knee at Le Catlet, France, on 3 October 1918. He died at Catterick Military Cemetery on 6 May 1919 of cardiac failure following a severe attack of pneumonia, and is buried under a C.W.G.C. headstone in Brackley (St. Peter) Churchyard, Northamptonshire. Sold with copied research.
Pair: Major H. H. Nurse, 122nd Rajputana Infantry China 1900, no clasp (Captn: H. H. Nurse. 22d Bo: Infy); Africa General Service 1902-56, 1 clasp, Somaliland 1902-04 (Capt: H. H. Nurse. 122nd Rajput: Infty:) mounted as originally worn, polished, therefore good fine or better, last unique to Regiment (2) £500-£700 --- H. H. Nurse was commissioned second lieutenant in the Indian Army in 1888, and advanced to captain in 1897. He featured in the Bury and Norwich Post, 31 July 1900: ‘Troops have now been selected for duty in China, and one of the first regiments chosen, on account of its efficiency, was the 22nd Bombay Native Infantry. Bury can claim an officer in this regiment, who has arrived at Hong Kong, in the person of Captain H. H. Nurse, a well-known Bury man, being a son of Mrs F. W. King of St. Mary’s Square [and brother of the Reverend Euston J. Nurse]. The regiment arrived on the 23rd to reinforce and garrison the town of Hong Kong with the aid of the 3rd Madras Native Infantry. Captain Nurse received his education at King Edward’s School, Bury St. Edmund’s, from which school he took the Exhibition of St. John’s College, Cambridge, where he obtained a classical scholarship, and took his B.A. degree before he entered the army in the year 1887. Captain Nurse has been both quarter master and adjutant of the 22nd Bombay Native Infantry, and has been successful in winning a number of prizes for revolver shooting in India. He has also held the position of examiner in Oriental languages at Quetta.... When ordered out to China he was serving as station staff officer at Indore, when the regiment marched to Calcutta from a very short notice.’ Captain Nurse, with one Jemadar and 27 other ranks of the 122nd Rajputana Infantry, subsequently proceeded on service to the Aden Hinterland in 1903. The Jemadar and the 27 other ranks were attached to the Poona Mounted Infantry, and also received the ‘Jidballi’ clasp. Nurse was attached for service with the 102nd Prince of Wales’ Own Grenadiers - and as such his single clasp medal would appear to be regimentally unique to his parent unit. Nurse advanced to major in 1904, and retired in February 1908. He volunteered to act as a recruitment officer in 1914, and served in this capacity 5 August - 7 September 1914, before poor health forced him to relinquish his role (awarded Silver War Badge). Sold with copied research, including photographic images of recipient in later life.
Pair: Trooper G. H. Smith, Nesbitt’s Horse Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 3 clasps, Cape Colony, Orange Free State, South Africa 1901 (1892 Tpr: G. H. Smith. Nesbitt’s Horse); King’s South Africa 1901-02, 1 clasp [sic], South Africa 1902 (Tpr. G. H. Smith. Nesbitt’s H.) retaining rod replaced on KSA, nearly very fine and better (2) £140-£180 --- Note: The Queen’s South Africa medal appears entirely as issued; presumably Smith was discharged from Nesbitt’s Horse sometime in 1901, and completed the qualification period for the King’s South Africa medal (which would have been issued with both date clasps) with a different unit, and has himself removed the duplicated date clasp from the wrong medal.
Austria, Empire, Bravery Medal ‘Der Tapferkeit’, Franz Joseph, 1914-16 issue, bronze; Bravery Medal ‘Fortitudini’, bronze; Merit Cross 1849, by Vincent Mayer’s Söhne, Vienna, gilt and enamel, maker’s name on suspension ring; Karl Troop Cross, zinc; Wound Medal, white metal, nearly very fine and better (5) £140-£180
Five: Lieutenant B. H. Harding, Southern Rhodesian Forces, who served with the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) from August 1944 until its disbandment, serving in Captain J. Olivey’s eleven-man Z.1. Patrol in Greece 1939-45 Star; Italy Star; War Medal 1939-45, all unnamed as issued; Africa Service Medal 1939-45 (SR.599042 B. H. Harding.); Army L.S. & G.C., E.II.R., Rhodesia & Nyasaland (0367. Lt. B. H. Harding.) officially engraved naming, mounted as worn, very fine (5) £1,400-£1,800 --- Barend Hercules Harding was born at Bethlehem, Orange Free State on 19 December 1924 and attested for service in Southern Rhodesia on 26 May 1943, serving with the Rhodesian Recce Unit and the 49th Survey Company. He was posted to join the strength of the British Forces in the Central Mediterranean in July 1944 and joined legendary Long Range Desert Group on 4 August 1944, being a member of the Z1 Patrol. Z.1 Patrol in Greece Harding went into action in September, as part of Captain John Olivey’s 11-man Rhodesian Z.1 Patrol: ‘Olivey’s 11 jeeps arrived in Greece by landing craft on 26 September, roaring ashore in their jeeps at Katakolon, 40 miles south of Araxos. The patrol soon became bogged down, however, Olivey noting as they drove north that “the roads [are] very bad after the recent rain”. Four of the jeeps in the patrol pulled trailers, on each of which was 1,000lb of equipment for Bucket Force, and within a day of landing Olivey began to doubt that all the vehicles would stand the ordeal if the condition of the roads did not improve. On 30 September Olivey’s patrol arrived at Bucket Force’s Forward HQ, a few miles west of Patras. “L” Squadron of the S.B.S. were positioned on the high ground overlooking the port, and their commander, Major Ian Patterson, was endeavouring to persuade the garrison of 900 Germans and 1,600 Greeks from a collaborationist security battalion to surrender. During the night of 3-4 October word reached Bucket Force HQ that the Germans had started withdrawing from Patras. At first light a patrol of the S.B.S., travelling in the L.R.D.G. jeeps, raced into the port and discovered that all but a German rearguard had indeed sailed out of Patras, heading east up the Gulf of Corinth towards the Corinth Canal. The S.B.S. and the L.R.D.G. now set off in pursuit of the Germans. In a convoy of jeeps they roared along the headland overlooking the gulf, a captured 75mm German field gun hitched to the back of one of the jeeps. “Chased the enemy who were withdrawing by boat,” wrote Olivey in his log, “firing with .5 Browning and 75 mm gun, from positions on the Corinth Road.” They reached Corinth on 7 October, exchanged desultory fire with the Germans on the other side of the canal and then accepted the surrender of another battalion of Greek collaborators. From Corinth Olivey received instructions to push on to the town of Megara, several miles to the north-east over a mountain road, but to leave two jeeps’ worth of men in Corinth to help in the clearance of German mines. Olivey’s Z1 Patrol reached Megara on 9 October and at dawn the next day assisted an S.B.S. unit to “blow the escape road that the enemy were using”. With that done, they set about preparing a landing strip for the arrival of the 4th Independent Parachute Brigade led by Colonel George Jellicoe. They dropped into Megara on 12 October, a day when the wind was particularly stiff. “We were rushed to Megara airfield to help by driving alongside the paratroopers on the ground with open chutes, swinging left or right to collapse the chutes, to enable them to get to their feet”, recalled Tommy Haddon, a Rhodesian trooper in Z1 Patrol. “Even so, many parachutes were not collapsing and men were swept onto the rocks along the coast running alongside the airfield.” The next day, 13 October, Z1 Patrol was among the first Allied troops to enter the Greek capital. “We proceeded over the Corinth Canal to Athens in convoys,” recalled Haddon, “all the way being greeted by singing and joyful Greeks, shouting words of welcome.” Once in Athens, Haddon and Z1 checked into the Grand National Hotel, though it wasn’t for long. They were soon billeted in less salubrious surrounds – the old Ford factory on the main road to Piraeus. John Olivey’s patrol then “proceeded south of Florina and harassed the withdrawing enemy and proceeded to the flat country ... firing at a range of 2,000 yards, at the enemy force withdrawing up the Florina to Havrokhoma Road. Florina was occupied/captured at 1600 hours.” By mid-November the Germans had been chased out of Greece and on 12 November the L.R.D.G., together with the S.B.S., returned south to Athens for what they imagined would be some well-earned rest and recuperation. But it was quickly apparent in Athens that the indolent days of the past had evaporated. The antagonism was palpable between the government of ‘National Unity’, who were pro-monarchy, and EAM, the predominantly communist National Liberation Front, whose military wing was ELAS, the Greek People’s Liberation Army. They were still in Athens when the trouble with ELAS started and their jeep patrols rescued police from posts under fire and raided an ELAS headquarters to capture petrol and arms. Several of the party were wounded and had to be evacuated. A Greek National Guard was then being hurriedly formed, and the Rhodesians and their colleagues helped to train them while assisting in maintaining order in Athens and the neighbourhood.’ (Long Range Desert Group in the Balkans refers). Harding was returned upon the disbandment of the LRDG in late 1945. He returned for further service in Rhodesia and rose to the rank of lieutenant (quartermaster). Sold with framed photograph of the 2nd Battalion, King's African Rifles Officer's Mess, June 1962, with Harding identified; a number of photographs including the recipient; and copied research that confirms that his Africa Service Medal was his only officially named Second War medal.
Four: Warrant Officer Samuel Edwards, Middlesex Regiment, late Royal Fusiliers and Shropshire Light Infantry Hong Kong Plague 1894 (Private S. Edwards, S.L.I.); British War and Victory Medals (G-51464 W.O. Cl. 2. S. Edwards. Midd’x R.); Army L.S. & G.C., E.VII.R. (6635 Sjt: S. Edwards. R. Fus.) the first with edge bruising and contact marks, otherwise nearly very fine or better (4) £1,600-£2,000 --- Provenance: Sotheby, May 1989; Spink, May 1998. Sold with Medal Index Card confirming entitlement to W.W.I pair.
A Great War ‘Western Front’ M.M. group of four awarded to Acting Sergeant W. B. Lakin, South Nottinghamshire Hussars and Machine Gun Corps, who is believed to have survived the sinking of the S.S. Leasowe Castle on 27 May 1918 Military Medal, G.V.R. (164721 Cpl. W. B. Lakin. M.G.C.) number officially corrected; 1914-15 Star (1819 Pte. W. P. [sic] Lakin. S. Notts. Hrs.); British War and Victory Medals (1818 A. Sjt. W. B. Lakin. S. Notts. Hrs.) contact marks throughout and edge bruise to BWM, the MM polished, therefore good fine; the rest better (4) £500-£700 --- M.M. London Gazette 20 August 1919. William Ball Lakin was born at Coalville, Leicestershire, on 23 December 1895, and attested for the South Nottinghamshire Hussars. He served with the 1st/1st Battalion during the Great War in Gallipoli from 12 September 1915, and saw further service in Salonika and Egypt (attached Desert Mounted Troops); he was still on the strength of the regiment when it was merged with the Warwickshire Yeomanry in April 1918 to form ‘B’ Battalion Machine Gun Corps, and so presumably survived the sinking of the S.S. Leasowe Castle on 27 May 1918, whilst transporting troops from Alexandria, with the loss of over one hundred lives. The battalion disembarked at Taranto, Italy on 21 June 1918 and entrained for France, arriving at Etaples on 29 June, where, on the 19 August 1918, it was re-designated No. 100 Battalion Machine Gun Corps (Warwickshire and South Nottinghamshire Hussars). Assigned to 12th Division, the battalion moved to Warloy and from there to Trones Wood and thence to Bouchavesnes. Companies were distributed at various locations in support of the infantry of 12th, 47th and 58th Divisions, coming into line on the 6 September 1918. From this date until the end of hostilities the battalion was continually in action in the final advance with companies and individual sections being despatched to whichever part of the line where the need was greatest. Transferred to 25th Division on 1 November 1918, Battalion HQ was located at Les Fontaine at the time of the Armistice. Lakin was disembodied on 26 January 1919, and returning to Forest Town acquired a reputation as a promising prize-fighter when, at the age of 27 and with no experience of ring fighting, he knocked out the far more experienced fighter, Joe Brown, during a ten round £5 Purse bout at the Mansfield Boxing and Athletic Club meeting on 9 October 1922 (Mansfield Reporter refers). He also worked for many years as a masseur and following retirement from the ring became a successful amateur boxing coach. He died at Mansfield in November 1975.
Naval General Service 1915-62, 1 clasp, Palestine 1936-1939 (J.63065 G. E. Boyd. A.B. R.N.) light scratches to obverse field, good very fine £80-£100 --- George Edwin Boyd was born in Bethnal Green, London, on 3 November 1900 and joined the Royal Navy as a Boy Second Class on 18 December 1916. He was advanced Able Seaman on 23 June 1921, and was awarded the Naval General Service Medal for his service in H.M.S. Durban. He saw further service during the Second World War.
Five: Private A. W. Gray, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry 1914-15 Star (1169 Pte. A Gray. Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.) last letter of surname corrected; British War and Victory Medals (1169 Pte. A. Gray. Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.); Defence Medal; Special Constabulary Long Service Medal, G.VI.R., 1st issue, 1 clasp, Long Service 1955 (Albert W. Gray) contact marks and edge bruising, otherwise nearly very fine Four: Corporal A. Prue, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry British War and Victory Medals (2478 Cpl. A. Prue. Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.); Defence Medal; Special Constabulary Long Service Medal, G.VI.R., 1st issue (Arthur R. Prue) very fine (9) £100-£140 --- Albert William Gray attested for the Buckinghamshire Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, and served with them during the Great War on the Western front from 30 March 1915. He was discharged on 19 February 1916, but subsequently attested for the Royal Field Artillery, and served with until his further discharge, as a consequence of wounds, on 21 May 1917. He was awarded a Silver War Badge, No. 182689. Arthur Richard Prue, a Cabinet Maker from Banbury, Oxfordshire, was born on 11 November 1896. He attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry for service during the Great War, and was appointed Corporal. He died, aged 81, in Banbury, on 8 May 1978. Sold with copied research.
Service Medal of the Order of St John (2) (1199. Sgt. H. A. Risk. S.A.R. & H. Dis. S. Africa. S.J.A.B.D. 1932.; 6251. M. A. W. Fyfe. Sth Africa. S.J.A.B. 1946.) the first in silver, in box of issue, the second mounted for wear, some scratches, nearly very fine (2) £60-£80 --- Sold together with a copy I.C.C.S. medal for Vietnam, 1973; Captain Haines R.E. Bronze Medallion (No. 145156 Sapper I. C. Judges 273 Party); Johannesburg Peace Medal in Bronze, without ring; Royal Engineers Training Battalion swimming medal in Bronze (Sapper E. Hatch); RCAF medallions (3) (J. H. Tigh (2), S. A. Bending); Base metal RCAF sweetheart badge; A memorial card for Cpl. Robert Wilson, Royal Engineers, who died of wounds on 1 June 1917; and other ephemera.
Five: Lieutenant F. M. Edwards, Egyptian Camel Transport Corps, a Cross Country Blue at Cambridge, who was selected for the 3 mile team race at the 1908 Olympics, and was employed as a translator for Lord Allenby on his entrance into Jerusalem. He later served in the Egyptian Civil Service, and with the Cambridgeshire Home Guard 1914-15 Star (2. Lieut. F. M. Edwards. A.S.C.); British War and Victory Medals (2. Lieut. F. M. Edwards.); Defence Medal; Egypt, Order of the Nile, 5th Class breast badge, by Lattes, silver, silver-gilt and enamel, generally good very fine (5) £400-£500 --- Egypt, Order of the Nile, 5th Class London Gazette 16 March 1926: ‘Francis Millward Edwards, Esq., Inspector, Egyptian Ministry of Finance, Damanhur, Egypt.’ Francis Millward Edwards was born in Barton Regis, Bristol in March 1886. He studied Theology at Queens’ College, Cambridge, and was a Blue for Cross-Country - representing the university in the 3 mile race against Oxford on four occasions. Edwards was selected for the 3 mile team race at the 1908 Olympics, but was not called upon to run. An Arabic speaker, before the war he worked for the Egyptian Ministry of Education and was an assistant master at Tewfikia School. Edwards was appointed a second lieutenant with the Egypt Camel Transport Corps on 30 December 1915 and served at Kantara as Section Officer of ‘B’ Company. He was admitted to hospital at Cairo on 22 October 1916 and was found to be suffering from neurasthenia - his medical report stating: ‘... agitated; states that he is unable to control himself with natives. He is quite unfit for any work. Recommended for change to England, as he is unlikely to be fit for a long time.’ The doctor’s report was acted upon and Edwards was invalided to England in November 1916 aboard H.M.H.S. Herefordshire and thence Britannic. Recovering, he returned to Egypt in March 1917 and saw service in Palestine and Egypt with the Camel Transport Corps, where he acted as interpreter to Lord Allenby upon his entrance into Jerusalem. Edwards was released from military service on 17 June 1919 and in 1921 was granted the rank of lieutenant. Remaining in Egypt, Edwards was employed as an inspector with the Ministry of Finance and in 1926 was awarded the Order of the Nile. His life at this time in the Egyptian Civil Service is illustrated in Tales of Empire by D. Hopwood. Edwards returned to the UK, and was residing in Cambridge at the time of the Second World War. He served with the Cambridgeshire Home Guard, and his service is recalled in Adventures with Authors by S. C. Roberts: ‘Another part-time activity was service in the Home Guard. Being enrolled in the Trumpington platoon, I took part in the feverish preparation of a road-block at the junction of the Trumpington Road and Brooklands Avenue. The platoon was a healthy mix of town and gown.... As an instructor in anti-gas measures, I reached the rank of corporal. My closest friend in the platoon was F. M. Edwards, an old cross country running Blue of Queens’. He and I had many adventures together and the one Sunday morning I recall with real pleasure was that of a ‘security’ exercise in which the Trumpington platoon’s objective was to obtain a foothold on the railway bridge over the river, which would be strongly guarded by the Chesterton company. The role assigned to me, late on the Saturday night, was to pose as a staff officer. An Army car was put at my disposal and I was lent a major’s great-coat. Frank Edwards acted as my orderly and with the aid of a false moustache and a strip of red flannel round my hat, I bluffed my way through barbed wire and fixed bayonets to the bridge with considerable gusto and much to the amusement of Guy Dale, the C.O. of the Battalion.’ Edwards died in Bath, Somerset in March 1976, and his papers are held at the Middle East Centre, St. Antony’s College, Oxford. Sold with copied research.
Nine: Stoker Petty Officer A. R. Murrell, Royal Navy, who served in H.M.S. Suffolk during the first sighting and chase of German battleship Bismarck and her escort Prinz Eugen during the Battle of Denmark Strait, May 1941 1914-15 Star (K.21015, A. R. Murrell, Sto.1., S); British War and Victory Medals (K.21015, A. R. Murrell, Sto.1. R.N.); 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45; Jubilee 1935, unnamed as issued; Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., G.V.R., 2nd issue, fixed suspension, with Second Award Bar (K.21015, A. R. Murrell, S.P.O. H.M.S. Bluebell.) mounted court-style for display, the Great War awards and LS&GC heavily worn, therefore fair; the Second War awards and Jubilee Medal good very fine (9) £400-£500 --- Arthur Robert Murrell was born on at Colliers Row, Essex, on 5 April 1895 and joined the Royal Navy as a Stoker Second Class on 6 October 1913 stating his occupation as ‘Porter Great Eastern Railway.’ He served during the Great War in the Devonshire-class armed cruiser H.M.S. Antrim from 2 April 1914 to 16 December 1917 when she was decommissioned, at which point he reverted to Pembroke II. Advanced Leading Stoker on 3 May 1918, he served during the inter-War period in a variety of ships and shore based establishments; was promoted Stoker Petty Officer on 1 April 1925; and was awarded his Long Service and Good Conduct Medal with Gratuity on 8 January 1929. Shore pensioned on 5 October 1935, he was recalled for duty on 6 September 1939, and joined H.M.S. Suffolk on 10 April 1941. The Battle of Denmark Strait Murrell’s period of service with H.M.S. Suffolk would encompass the ‘Battle of the Denmark Strait’, when, alerted by aerial reconnaissance to the sighting of the German battleship Bismarck and its escort Prinz Eugen in the immediate vicinity, one of Suffolk’s look-outs sighted both enemy ships emerging from a snow squall, at 7.22 p.m. on the evening of 23 May 1941, moving fast in a South-Westerly direction parallel to the ice. Ordered to maintain contact, Suffolk increased speed and tracked the enemy ships with its RDF. One of the officers afterwards recalling; ‘We could tell by the tremendous vibration that Suffolk was putting all her reserves into the chase. I had never seen the needle touch 30 knots before, and it was difficult to use instruments on the plotting table. Every moment we expected Bismarck to open fire. At this stage however it was more important to maintain contact than force action and be annihilated’. No doubt Petty Officer Stoker Murrell was directly responsible for maintaining maximum speed during this critical period. The following account which was written by one of Suffolk’s officers, Lieutenant D. N. Paton, would echo the experiences of Petty Officer Stoker Murrell during this momentous occasion: ‘On 22 May, a naval aircraft reported that the enemy ships were no longer at Bergen, so that the stage seemed set for the battle likely to follow. Suddenly, at 7.22 in the evening of 23 May, one of the look-outs sighted Bismarck and Prinz Eugen emerging from a snow squall between Suffolk and the ice. There could be no mistaking the vastness of the battleship at the point blank range of seven miles, though the somewhat inappropriate remark of a midshipman - “Hood and Prince of Wales, I suppose” - subsequently became legendary. The enemy ships were moving fast in a S.W. direction parallel to the ice. This was the culminating moment of all those weary months of training and waiting. “Action stations” was immediately piped, full speed rung to the engine-room, and a sharp alteration of course made into the enveloping mist. Every second was vital. In a flash the first of a long stream of reports was sent out; that stream which set in motion the elaborate chase that followed. Meanwhile Suffolk had increased speed and located the enemy ships with the RDF. We could tell by the tremendous vibration that she was putting all her reserves into the chase. I had never seen the needle touch 30 knots before, and it was difficult to use instruments on the plotting table. Every moment we expected Bismarck to open fire. At this stage however it was more important to maintain contact than force action and be annihilated. Later Norfolk joined us and began to shadow too. So the pursuit continued at high speed throughout the night, moving roughly parallel to the coast of Greenland. I remember losing all sense of time, especially as in that latitude there is no true night but only a kind of pallid twilight. During this time Norfolk and Suffolk sent out a succession of enemy reports, from which the battle cruiser force of Hood and Prince of Wales was directed to engage the enemy. Admiral Tovey sailed from Scapa Flow in the battleship King George V together with Repulse and Victorious, cruisers and destroyers. Hood and Prince of Wales had expected to engage the enemy shortly after midnight on 24 May but at that time Suffolk lost contact in a snowstorm. It was feared that the enemy may have doubled back in the poor visibility to return to base. But at 2.47 a.m. Suffolk regained contact. We all knew action was imminent and it was only a question of time and place. With the pale light of the morning Hood and Prince of Wales intercepted the enemy at 5.35 a.m. and the battle opened about 6 o’clock. The orange flashes on the horizon showed the enemy had replied. In the short action which ensued Hood was hit and a great column of flame shot into the air followed by an immense pall of black smoke. In an instant the stately ship and all but three of her gallant crew of over 1400 perished. Apart from the magnitude of the disaster a dazed sense of incredulity overtook us all. Prince of Wales had suffered damage too. One gun turret was out of action and in her forward turret there was a defective gun. Shortly after 6 a.m. a hit on the bridge killed or wounded all the officers except for the captain. The ship had only recently been commissioned and owing to defects was still carrying civilian workmen. But the enemy had not escaped entirely and her speed had been reduced. There were also tell-tale patches of oil in the sea. So the chase continued with the enemy ships heading for the safety of the ocean, followed closely by Prince of Wales and the two cruisers. “After mid-day the enemy altered course to the south. At the same time the weather deteriorated and patches of mist and rain got thicker and more frequent. The range was closed so as to maintain contact. As each successive storm hid the German ships it became crucial to proceed warily. At about 6.30 in the evening of 24 May the enemy entered a particularly thick squall. An uncanny sense must have warned the captain to beware of the ambush. Suddenly the great battleship loomed through the mist about ten miles distant. Immediately we altered course and at the same time opened fire with the main armament of 8-inch guns. The noise was deafening. Bismarck, too, was firing and after what seemed an interminable wait, great fountains of water rose into the air nearby. From the comparative safety of the plotting office exploding shells sounded like extra loud machine gun fire. We made violent alterations of course and laid smoke in order to escape the fire. Prince of Wales had come to our assistance, but the enemy turned again to the south and tried to elude the British ships at high speed. What was not known at the time was that during this encounter Prinz Eugen had been detached to the south west. So the chase continued with another brief, but ineffective encounter at about 1 a.m. on 25 May. But at 3.06 a.m. Suffolk lost contact. It was apparently at this time that Bismarck had altered course eastwards seeking the shelter of a French port. Suffolk and Norfolk were ordered to s...
Pair: Warrant Officer Class II S. Allen, M.M., Canadian Field Artillery 1914-15 Star (83355 Cpl. S. Allen. Can: Fd: Art:); British War Medal 1914-20 (83355 W.O. Cl. 2. S. Allen. C.F.A.) edge bruising and contact marks, worn, therefore fair to fine (2) £50-£70 --- M.M. London Gazette 14 May 1919. Sidney Allen was born in London, England, on 4 June 1885, and having emigrated to Canada attested for service with the Canadian Field Artillery in Toronto on 1 December 1914. He served with them during the Great War on the Western Front from 14 September 1915; was advanced Warrant Officer Class II on 18 August 1917; and was awarded the Military Medal. He was discharged in Canada on 21 May 1919.
Three: Private L. A. Burton, King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, who was twice wounded during the Great War, and later served with the British South Africa Police British War and Victory Medals (39158 Pte. L. A. Burton. K.O.Y.L.I.); War Medal 1939-45; together with the recipient’s riband bar, good very fine 1939-45 Star (3); Atlantic Star (2); Africa Star; Burma Star; Italy Star; France and Germany Star (2); Defence Medal (3); War Medal 1939-45 (3); U.N. Korea 1950-54, unnamed as issued; together with an erased Naval General Service 1915-62, 1 clasp Minesweeping 1945-51, generally good very fine (21) £100-£140 --- Laurence Albert Brown attested for the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry in 1917 and served with them during the Great War on the Western Front, being wounded at Passchendaele, and then gassed at Minchy-le-Prieux. Following the end of the War he attested as a trooper in the British South Africa Police on 18 June 1920, and retired twenty years later with the rank of inspector. He died in Gwelo on 12 July 1966. Sold with a copy of the recipient’s obituary as published in Outpost, Septemebr 1966, containing a photograph of the recipient.
East and West Africa 1887-1900, 1 clasp, 1893-94 (13456. Sergt. D. Clarke. R.E.) officially engraved naming, minor edge bruising, very fine and scarce £200-£300 --- Donald Clarke was born in Golshire, Sutherland, Scotland. He was a Surveyor by trade, and joined the Royal Engineers aged 22 at Chatham in February 1876. Clarke was classed as a very superior land surveyor, and his service included the Anglo Portuguese Boundary Commission of 1892, and the Sofa Expedition, 1893-94 (entitled to L.S. & G.C.). He was discharged in February 1896, having served for 21 years and 66 days. The medal roll for this clasp gives awards to 2 officers, 2 Sergeants and 8 Sappers of the Royal Engineers. Sold with copied research.
The rare and important ‘Egypt and Sudan’ pair awarded to George Zeidan, an Interpreter attached to the Intelligence Department, who was a prolific Christian Lebanese Journalist, editor and teacher, who wrote 23 novels, and is also considered to have been one of the first thinkers to help formulate the theory of Arab Nationalism Egypt and Sudan 1882-89, undated reverse, 2 clasps, The Nile 1884-85, Abu Klea (323. Interpr. G. Zeidan.) edge bruise, scratch mark to edge after naming; Khedive’s Star, dated 1884-6, unnamed as issued, generally good very fine and rare (2) £800-£1,200 --- Provenance: J. Webb Collection, Dix Noonan Webb, December 2008 and Dix Noonan Webb, May 2019 (both times as a single Egypt and Sudan Medal). One of 11 interpreters shown on the roll as entitled to the clasp Abu Klea, and the only one entitled to this combination of clasps. George Zeidan or ‘Jurji Zaydan’, ‘Jorge Zaydan’, ‘Georgie Zeidan’ or ‘Jirji Zaydan’ was born in Beirut, Ottoman Syria (present day Lebanon) in December 1861. He was a prolific Christian Lebanese journalist, editor and teacher, most noted for his creation of the magazine al Hilal (The Crescent) in 1892, which he used to serialise his twenty-three historical novels. His primary goal, as a writer and intellectual during the Nahda (Awakening), was to make the common Arabic population know their history through the entertaining medium of the novel. He is also considered to have been one of the first thinkers to help formulate the theory of Arab nationalism. Zeidan ‘equipped with letters of recommendation... arrived in Egypt in 1883. In Cairo he soon took over the editorship of al-Zaman, a daily newspaper. He remained its editor until 1884. The reason for leaving this job are not evident. Neither are his motives clear as to why with his friend Gabr Dumit he joined Wolseley and his expeditionary corps that was to relieve Gordon at Khartoum. Zaidan [sic] was attached to this army as a dragoman, and guide. We may catch a glimpse of his life with the British Army in the description by Nasib Abdallah Sibli al Lubani, tension developed between the British officers and the Syrian dragomans. An English officer commanded Zaidan to do some menial work which Zaidan refused. It came to blows between the officer and Zaidan until a high ranking officer and friend of Zaidan re-established order. After the Wolseley expedition, sent too late, had been unable to save Gordon it returned to Egypt. Zaidan took his leave of the Army and returned in 1885 together with Gabr Dumit to Beirut where they both started studying languages.’ (Gurgi Zaidan, His Life and Thought BY T. Philip refers) Zeidan had been attached to the Intelligence Department for service in Egypt and the Sudan, and had served with Captain W. W. C. Verner who was employed in an intelligence gathering capacity. Zeidan gets several mentions in The Military Diary of Colonel W. W. C. Verner: ‘April 2nd: Sent Zaidan [sic] to Ambokul Market. He hot the usual news about revolt in Kordofan, sickness etc. and that 2,000 spearmen and 60 regulars with rifles were at Birti. April 17th: George Zaidan, my interpreter’s subordinate refused to obey an order and said “You cannot make me”. Severe crisis, ending in my having to show him my revolver and George doing as he was bid. May 4th: George Zaidan visited Ambokul in order to interview a man I had heard of recently come from Khartoum, but who was sick and unable to come and see me. His name is Mohamed Kheir Aga and he said that he left Khartoum on the day it fell and was kept a prisoner at Omdurman for two months. Gordon was killed near the church when about to blow up the magazine. He was killed with sticks, no other weapon was used. His head was cut off and taken to Omdurman. He saw it there all the time he was at Omdurman. It was there when he left about April 12th. May 28th: Drifted about 4 miles. Landed with George Zaidan and found the villagers in great fright as they had heard the ‘Bashi Bazouks’ were coming down stream and would kill their cattle!’ Zeidan died in Cairo, Egypt in July 1914, and The Zaidan Foundation based in Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.A was set up by members of his family in 2009 to enhance intercultural understanding and the dissemination of Arabic culture. Sold with copied research, and photographic images of the recipient.
Six: Signalman H. Burland, Royal Signals, late Royal West Kent Regiment 1939-45 Star; Burma Star; War Medal 1939-45; Korea 1950-53, 1st issue (22773564 Sigmn. H. Burland. R. Sigs.); U.N. Korea 1950-54, unnamed as issued; General Service 1918-62, 1 clasp, Malaya, E.II.R. (22773564 Sig. H. Burland. R. Sigs.) nearly extremely fine (6) £180-£220 --- Harry Burland was born on 2 January 1922, and was a bricklayer’s labourer living in Bury when he enlisted into the Royal Warwickshire Regiment (5126792) on 15 January 1942. Posted to the 20th Royal Fusiliers he proceeded with them to India. sailing on 14 January 1943. Arriving in March 1943 to commence jungle training, Fusilier Burland was posted to the 4th Royal West Kent Regiment on 1 December 1943. Active service followed in the Arakan including operations to capture the Razabil Fortress. On 10 March 1944, he was evacuated to 125 Indian General Hospital, re-joining the 4th Battalion in July 1944. A further period in hospital, due to jungle sickness followed in January 1945. After service in rear H.Q. 161st Brigade, he joined for the last time the West Kents. Arriving home in February 1946, he was discharged in April. Burland attested for service in the Royal Signals in October 1951, and saw service in Korea from September 1952 to October 1953, Singapore and Malaya (7 Medium Wireless Troop). Arriving home in May 1955, he served in B.A.O.R. until discharged in January 1957. He subsequently became an Air Ministry teleprinter operator and died on 18 October 1964, at his home in Bury. Sold with copied resume of service history and copied birth and marriage certificate
A Great War ‘Western Front’ O.B.E. group of six awarded to Lieutenant-Colonel H. M. Whitehead, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, O.B.E. (Military) Officer’s 1st type breast badge, silver-gilt, hallmarks for London 1919; British War and Victory Medals, with M.I.D. oak leaves (Lt. Col. H. M. Whitehead.); Jubilee 1935, unnamed as issued; Special Constabulary Long Service Medal, G.V.R., 2nd issue (Comdt. Herbert M. Whitehead.); France, Third Republic, Order of Agricultural Merit, Chevalier’s breast badge, silver-gilt and enamel, obverse centre loose on last, and this with enamel damage, otherwise generally very fine and better (6) £300-£400 --- O.B.E. London Gazette 1 January 1919: ‘For valuable service rendered in connection with military operations in France and Flanders.’ French Order of Agricultural Merit, Chevalier London Gazette 17 October 1919. Herbert Mansfield Whitehead was born in Kent on 25 May 1875, the son of Sir Charles Whitehead, and was educated at Tonbridge and Christ’s College, Cambridge. He was commissioned second lieutenant in the 1st Nottinghamshire (Robin Hood) Rifle Volunteer Corps on 14 November 1894, and having been advanced captain in the 7th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (Territorial Force), he resigned his commission on 21 November 1909. Following the outbreak of the Great War he re-joined his old unit and served on the staff of the 59th Division in both Ireland during the troubles and on the Western Front. For his services during the Great War he was Mentioned in Despatches (London Gazette 30 December 1918) and created an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. Promoted lieutenant-colonel on 29 July 1920, he relinquished his commission the following year. In civilian life Whitehead served as Divisional Surveyor to Staffordshire County Council, and was awarded the Jubilee Medal in 1935 as ‘Engineer and Surveyor, Channock Rural District Council.’ He died on 17 October 1935. Sold with copied research.
Three: Gunner J. Morrisy, Royal Garrison Artillery Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 4 clasps, Cape Colony, Paardeberg, Driefontein, Transvaal, last clasp unofficially affixed (81838 Gnr: J. Morrisy. 15th. Coy. S.D., R.G.A.); China 1900, no clasp (81838 Gr. J. Morrisy. No. 91 Co. R.G.A.); King’s South Africa 1901-02, 2 clasps, South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902 (81838 Gnr. J. Morrissey [sic]. R.G.A.) surname officially corrected on all three, generally very fine and a rare combination of award (3) £400-£500 --- One of only 35 Queen’s South Africa Medal, China Medal, and King’s South Africa Medal combinations awarded, all to Reservists of the Royal Garrison Artillery. J. Morrisy (also recorded as Morrissey) served as a Reservist with No. 15 (Siege Train) Company, Southern Division, Royal Garrison Artillery, and embarked for South Africa in R.M.S. Tantallon Castle at Southampton on 9 December 1899, reaching Cape Town on 26 December 1899. He served in South Africa during the Boer War for the next six months, with the company particularly distinguishing itself at Paardeberg on 26 February 1900, before embarking with the company for China in S.S. Antillian at Cape Town on 18 July 1900, and arrived at Wei-hai-Wei on 30 August 1900 for service in the latter stages of the Boxer Rebellion. After wintering in Hong Kong, and with the Boxer Rebellion over, the Reservists of the company returned to South Africa, landing back at Cape Town on 30 March 1901 and saw further service with No. 14 Company, Western Division, qualifying for the Transvaal clasp. Eight of the Reservists left South Africa for England before the end of the year (and so were only entitled to the South Africa 1901 clasp to their Q.S.A.), but 35 (including Morrisy) stayed in South Africa until the cessation of hostilities, and so qualified for the King’s South Africa with both clasps. On 1 January 1902 the Divisional System of the Royal Garrison Artillery was abolished, and all companies were re-numbered sequentially from 1 to 105, with 15 Company Southern Division being renumbered 91 Company. The China Medal (being issued after 1902) is correctly named to the re-numbered unit. Sold with copied research.
Pair: Armourer H. A. Stevenson, Royal Navy British War Medal 1914-20 (343614 H. A. Stevenson. Armr. R.N.); Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., G.V.R., 1st issue (343614 H. A. Stevenson., Armr. Mate. H.M.S. Dido.) very fine (2) £50-£70 --- Harry Augustus Stevenson was born in Portsmouth on 1 February 1883 and joined the Royal Navy on 2 August 1900. He served during the Great War in the depot ship, H.M.S. Dido in Essex, which confirms his British War Medal as his sole campaign medal entitlement. Awarded his Long Service and Good Conduct Medal on 27 August 1915, he was advanced Armourer on 11 February 1922 before his discharge on 9 August 1922.
A scarce Second War ‘Indian Army’ R.R.C. group of four awarded to Principal Matron Miss Leonora G. Hughes, Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service Royal Red Cross, 1st Class (R.R.C.), G.VI.R. 1st issue, silver-gilt, gold, and enamel, reverse dated 1944, on lady’s bow riband; India General Service 1908-35, 1 clasp, North West Frontier 1930-31 (Sister L. G. Hughes. Q.A.I.M.N.S.); Defence and War Medals 1939-45, extremely fine, the IGS rare to unit (4) £1,200-£1,600 --- R.R.C. London Gazette 29 December 1944. The original Recommendation, submitted by His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief India, Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck, states: ‘Miss Hughes has been Principal Matron of North Western Army since 12 October 1942 during which time the standard of nursing in this Army has been maintained in a high standard in spite of the many vicissitudes inseparable from the great shortage of nursing sisters and from the fact that a large proportion of existing staffs have been inexperienced and unqualified. She has been unremitting in her efforts to overcome these difficulties and through her own initiative, frequent personal contacts and skilful guidance has achieved an exceedingly large measure of success. In addition her devotion to duty has been further evidenced by the deep and active interest she has taken in the training of the new nursing cadre of the I.A.M.C., in the success of which has been largely due to her zeal and enthusiasm.’ Miss Leonora Gladys Hughes was born at Northwich, Cheshire, on 11 September 1890, and trained as a nurse at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London, where she obtained her nursing certificate in 1919, and passed her Central Midwives Board examination on 14 August 1920. She was appointed Staff Nurse to the Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service on 1 March 1921, having been appointed to the permanent Nursing Establishment of the Military Families and Military Isolation Hospital on 10 January the same year. Shortly thereafter, Miss Hughes volunteered for Imperial Service and embarked for Egypt in 1925, where she is recorded as serving with the Military Families Hospital, Abbassea, Cairo. Following her promotion to Sister in the Queen Alexandra’s Military Families’ Nursing Service, on 1 July 1926, she was posted to India where she served at the British Military Hospital at Peshawar during the ‘Red Shirt Rebellion’ of 1930-31, being one of only seventeen members of Q.A.I.M.N.S. to be awarded the Indian General Service Medal with clasp North West Frontier 1930-31. Appointed Matron on 25 January 1939, Miss Hughes served in India throughout the Second World War, being appointed acting Principal Matron and was awarded the Royal Red Cross, First Class. Post-War, she continued to serve in India and Burma, before returning to England on appointment as Principal Matron of the Royal Victoria Hospital, Netley, Southampton, following which she retired the service in 1947 with the honorary rank of Principal Matron. She died in Southampton on 18 April 1963. Sold with copied research.
Volunteer Force Long Service Medal (India & the Colonies), G.V.R. (Corpl. A. White Cossipore Arty: Voltr:) engraved naming, minor edge bruise, very fine £60-£80 --- A. White served with the Cossipore Artillery Volunteers and was awarded the Indian Volunteer Force Long Service Medal per Indian Army Order 128 of 9 March 1914. Sold with copied research.
Pair: Private C. B. Crook, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, who died of wounds in Mesopotamia during the Siege of Kut on 18 March 1916 1914-15 Star (9529 Pte. C. B. Crook. Oxf: & Bucks: L.I.); British War Medal 1914-20 (9529 Pte. C. B. Crook. Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.) edge bruise and some staining to VM, otherwise nearly extremely fine Pair: Private R. Smith, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, who was killed in action on the Western Front on 23 July 1916 1914-15 Star (3270 Pte. R. Smith. Oxf: & Bucks: L.I.); British War Medal 1914-20 (3270 Pte. R. Smith. Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.) very fine (4) £60-£80 --- Charles Benjamin Crook was born in Reading, Berkshire in 1889 and attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry for service during the Great War. He served with the 1st Battalion in Mesopotamia, and died of wounds during the siege of Kut-Al-Amara on 18 March 1916. He is buried in Kut War Cemetery, Iraq. Robert Smith was born in Lechlade, Oxfordshire and attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. He served with the 1st/4th Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front, and was killed in action on 23 July 1916. He is buried in Pozieres British Cemetery, France.
Volunteer Force Long Service Medal (India & the Colonies), V.R. (Corp. J. J. Richardson, G.I.P.R. Vol. Rifles.) engraved naming, good very fine £80-£100 --- Provenance: Dix Noonan Webb, December 2001. Joshua John Richardson served with the Great Indian Peninsular Railway Volunteer Rifle Corps and was awarded the Indian Volunteer Force Long Service Medal per Gazette of India on 12 November 1897. Sold with copied research.
South Africa 1877-79, 1 clasp, 1877-8-9 (2069. Sergt. J. Taylor. 2-24th. Foot.) contact marks, nearly very fine £600-£800 --- Joseph Taylor attested for the 24th Regiment of Foot and served with them in South Africa 1877-79. He was awarded his Long Service and Good Conduct Medal on 1 October 1882.
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