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Click here to subscribeBritish War Medal 1914-20 (3) (4855 Dvr. P. Lewis 12 F.A.B. A.I.F.; 15088 Pte. R. O’N. Kelly. 6-M.T.C. A.I.F.; 80349 Rflm. W. L. N. Forster. N.Z.E.F.) last officially re-impressed, nearly very fine (3) £70-£90 --- Robert O’Neill Kelly attested for the 6th Motor Transport Company, Australian Imperial Force, on 8 August 1917, and returned to Australia on 1 April 1919.
British War Medal 1914-20 (3) (Burg. H. G. A. Nortje. Heidelberg Kdo.; Sjt. W. J. Smith. C.P.G. Rgt.; Pte. D. A. Sales. C.P.G. Rgt.); Bilingual Victory Medal 1914-19 (Burg. C. J. Liebenberg. Krugersdorp Kdo.) good very fine (4) £70-£90 --- W. J. Smith and D. A. Sales both served with the Cape Peninsular Garrison Regiment.
British War Medal 1914-20 (26053-385 Dvr. Allah Ditta, E.A. Rys.); Victory Medal 1914-19 (4) (17055 Jemdr. Pehlwan. E.A. Rys.; 15117. Crptr. Gurdit Singh. E.A. Rys.; Pts. Man. Sundar, Meso. Rys.; 76260 Br. Noor Mohd. Meso. Rys.) test cut and edge bruising, generally nearly very fine (5) £100-£140
A rare British War Medal awarded to Belgian Agent Miss Valerie van Kwikkelberghe British War Medal 1914-20 (V. van Kwikkelberghe.) good very fine, rate to unit £300-£400 --- Miss Valerie van Kwikkelberghe was born in 1898 and served during the Great War as a Belgian Agent as part of the Volunteer Service attached to the British Army in France, working for the organisation ‘Moreau/transmission SA’. Her address in given as Overalag, Wachtebeke, a village near the Belgian/Dutch border. She died on 27 October 1946. Sold with copied Medal Index Card and medal roll extract; as well as a file of copied research in which the recipient is mentioned.
Victory Medal 1914-19 (3) (222 Gnr. Fazal Din. In. Coast Arty.; 1102 Civ-Sar. Ghulam Mohd, C.B.C.P.; 1366 Civ. Sar. Sher Baz, C.D.C.P.) edge bruising, generally nearly very fine, the latter two both scarce to unit (3) £80-£100 --- Fazal Din served with the Indian Coastal Artillery. Ghulam Mohammed and Sher Baz both served with the Civil Defence Calcutta Port.
Victory Medal 1914-19 (2121 Pte. E. Bell. 22-Bn. A.I.F.); Australia Service Medal (WX39766 G. A. Teates) minor edge bruising to first, this very fine, the second nearly extremely fine (2) £70-£90 --- Ernest Bartrop Bell was born at Sheffield, Yorkshire, and having emigrated to Australia attested for the Australian Imperial Force on 26 January 1915. He served in the 22nd Battalion, Australian Infantry, 4th Reinforcement, embarking from Melbourne in H.M.A.T. Hororata on 27 September 1915. Wounded in the leg, he was later killed in action on the Western Front when a shell exploded in his dugout on 30 June 1916. He is buried at Ration Farm Military Cemetery, La Chapelle d’Armentieres, France. Sold with copied research. George Arthur Teates was born at Wonnerup, Western Australia, on 3 August 1924 and served during the Second World War as a Lance Corporal with the 2nd/48th Australian Infantry Battalion. He was killed in action at Tarakan, Borneo, on 2 June 1945, aged 20, and is buried at Labuan War Cemetery, Malaysia. Sold with copied research including a photographic image of the recipient.
Territorial Force War Medal 1914-19 (1526 Pte. F. G. Griffin. Wilts. R.) heavy verdigris spotting to obverse and some staining, otherwise nearly very fine £200-£240 --- Frederick George Griffin was born at Westbury, Wiltshire, and attested for the Wiltshire Regiment. He served with the 1st/4th Battalion during the Great War, and was killed in action at the Battle of Tel-el-Khuweilfe in Palestine on 22 November 1917. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Jerusalem Memorial.
Pair: Private R. C. Johnson, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, who was taken Prisoner of War during the Retreat to Dunkirk on 17 June 1940 1939-45 Star; War Medal 1939-45, mounted as worn, good very fine (2) £70-£90 --- Robert Cowes Johnson was born on 15 November 1918 and attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. He served with the British Expeditionary Force during the Second World War in France from 4 March 1940, and was captured and taken Prisoner of War during the retreat to Dunkirk on 17 June 1940. Held at at Stalag 344, Labinowice, Poland, he was released on 3 May 1945. Sold with the recipients Soldier’s Service and Pay Book.
1914 Star, with copy clasp (8710 Pte. W. Down. 2/Oxf: & Bucks: L.I.); 1914 Star (6547 Pte. H. Thomas. 2/Oxf: & Bucks: L.I.) nearly very fine (2) £80-£100 --- William Down was born at Saltwood, Kent, and attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry at Shorncliffe, Kent. He served with the 2nd Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front from 21 September 1914, and was killed in action during the Battle of the Somme on 30 July 1916. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, France. Harry Thomas attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and served with the 2nd Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front from 21 September 1914. He was discharged in July 1915, no longer physically fit. He had previously served in the Boer War and had received the Queen’s South Africa Medal with 3 clasps.
Gulf 1990-91, 1 clasp, 16 Jan to 28 Feb 1991 (SNO S A Deneen QARNNS) extremely fine, rare to unit £400-£500 --- Shun A. Deneen joined the Royal Navy in 1974 and was appointed a Senior Nursing Officer, Queen Alexandra’s Royal Naval Nursing Service, with seniority from 9 March 1985. He served predominately at the Royal Naval Hospital, Haslar, and was awarded the Gulf Medal for service in the Primary Care Receiving Ship R.F.A. Argus. He transferred to the Emergency List on 8 September 1993. Sold with two Ministry of Defence letters to the recipient, and four photographs.
Operational Service Medal 2000, for Afghanistan, 1 clasp, Afghanistan (LCpl I Dodds REME 25141486) in named box of issue, nearly extremely fine £120-£160 --- I. Dodds was medically discharged from the 8th Field Company (Parachute), Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, 7 September 2011. Sold with a photocopy of Interim Certificate of Discharge.
Imperial Service Medal, G.V.R., Star issue, the reverse privately engraved ‘Daniel Fryer 1877-1917’, contained in its Elkington, London case of issue, case scuffed and with defective catch; together with Memorial Plaque (Thomas Kavanagh) the reverse privately engraved ‘6220 Pte. T. Kavanagh 5 Bn. Connaught Rangers. Salonica 30 Nov. 1915’, good very fine (2) £60-£80
The Imperial Service Medal awarded to Mr C. R. Hill-James, for services to 22 Special Air Service Regiment at Bradbury Lines, Hereford Imperial Service Medal, E.II.R., 2nd issue (Cyril Richard Hill-James) impressed naming, in its Spink & Son Ltd case of issue, nearly extremely fine £160-£200 --- Sold with original letter from Captain C. R. Oliver on official 22 Special Air Service Regiment, Bradbury Lines, Hereford headed paper addressed to Mr C. R. Hill-James at Kivernoll Cottage, Much Dewchurch, Herefordshire, dated 25th August 1976, which states: ‘1. I have the honour to inform you that Her Majesty the Queen has approved the award of the Imperial Service Medal in recognition of the services you have rendered. 2. In accordance with Ministry of Defence letter of the 18th August, 1976 I have been requested to ask you if you would like your award presented by the head of this establishment or do you wish the award to be sent to you through the post.’ Also with a ‘fair copy’ of Mr Hill-James’ letter of thanks, dated 28th July 1976, to all members of “B” Squadron for their retirement gift of an inscribed tankard, ‘Thanks also to every one for their past gifts, and for contributing towards making the nigh on 11 years with “B” well worth while.’ Cyril Richard Hill-James, affectionately known in the Regiment as ‘Pop’, was for many years caretaker of “B” Squadron accommodation in Bradbury Lines (later renamed Stirling Lines).
The 1914-15 Star awarded to Private T. Bytheway, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, attached 178th Tunnelling Company Royal Engineers, who was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for great gallantry in rescuing several men underground on two separate occasions 1914-15 Star (11209 Pte. T. Bytheway. Oxf: & Bucks: L.I.) nearly extremely fine £80-£100 --- D.C.M. London Gazette 29 November 1915: 11209 Pte. T. Bytheway, 2nd Bn., Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, att. 178th Tunnelling Company Royal Engineers ‘For conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty on 20 October 1915. After the Germans had exploded a mine in front of our trenches, damaging our galleries, Private Bytheway, without hesitating and with great courage, went down one gallery and and rescued three men who had been gassed. He then carried out underground explorations at great risk, and ascertained that there was no one in the galleries. On the second occasion he was severely burnt by a tongue of blue flame, which shot along the gallery from the enemy’s side, and he was also gassed. Nevertheless, he continued his hazardous duties till overcome, when he had to be hauled unconscious to the surface. On 10 October, on a similar occasion, he rescued two men who were gassed in a gallery, saving their lives.’ Thomas Bytheway was born in 1885 and attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry on 31 August 1914. He served with the Second Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front from 27 April 1915, and was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal whilst attached to the 178th Tunnelling Company, Royal Engineers. He was discharged due to sickness, as a result of chronic bronchitis from the effects of gas inhalation, on 15 May 1916 and was awarded a Silver War Badge, no. 13322.
Victoria Faithful Service Medal, silver, the reverse officially engraved ‘To Mr. Thomas Beaumont, Established Helper, for faithful services to the Queen during 35 years, 1900’, edge embossed as usual ‘Presented by Queen Victoria 1872’, complete with original tartan riband with integral ‘VR’ suspension device and top riband bar, in Wyon, London, fitted case of issue, extremely fine, scarce £800-£1,000 --- Provenance: Buckland Dix & Wood, June 1991 (Auction No. 1). Thomas Beaumont was born at Fulbourne, Cambridge, in 1841 and entered Royal Service in 1865. He retired in 1900, having latterly served as an Established Helper at the Royal Mews. One of the very last Victoria Faithful Service Medals awarded.
Army Meritorious Service Medal, G.V.R., 2nd issue with fixed suspension (7387. C.Q.M. Sjt. A. R. Shearman. R.E.) a somewhat later issue, surname partially officially corrected, otherwise extremely fine £60-£80 --- M.S.M. London Gazette 17 June 1918: ‘In recognition of valuable services rendered with the Forces in France during the present War.’ Alfred R. Shearman attested for the Royal Engineers and served with them during the Great War on the Western Front from 15 June 1915.
Army L.S. & G.C., V.R., 2nd issue, large letter reverse, engraved naming (Edward Russell, 23rd. Regt. 1854) with original steel clip and rectangular bar suspension, minor edge bruising, very fine £140-£180 --- Edward Russell was born in Colchester, Essex, in 1815 and attested for the 23rd Royal Welsh Fusiliers at Westminster on 1 April 1829, aged 14. He was awarded his Long Service and Good Conduct Medal in 1854, and was discharged on 11 July 1856, after 21 years and 103 days’ service, of which 16 years were spent abroad, in Gibraltar (5 years and 11 months), North America (6 years and 8 months), and India (3 years and 5 months).
Army L.S. & G.C., V.R., 3rd issue, small letter reverse (1494. Sergt. G. Keigwin. R.W. Fus:) engraved naming, edge bruise, very fine £80-£100 --- George Keigwin was born in Plumstead, Woolwich, in 1849 and attested for the 23rd Royal Welsh Fusiliers on 24 September 1864. He served with the Regiment during the Ashantee campaign 1873-74 (entitled to a no clasp medal), and was promoted to Corporal on 13 May 1874 and Sergeant on 4 December 1875. He transferred to the Flint and Caernarvon Rifle Volunteers on 1 October 1882, and was promoted Colour Sergeant on 24 September 1885. He retired on 23 September 1893, after 29 years’ service.
Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., Anchor obverse (John Bradford, Sailmaker, H.M.S. Vestal 23 Years) fitted with usual rings for suspension, brooch marks to reverse but naming unaffected, otherwise nearly very fine £400-£500 --- Provenance: Dix Noonan Webb, February 1998. John Bradford was born in Plymouth in c.1803 and joined the Royal Navy in August 1821. He was awarded his Long Service and Good Conduct Medal on 1 July 1847, whilst serving as a Sailmaker in H.M.S. Vestal. His previous ships are recorded as H.M. Ships Doris, Pandora, Orestes, Portland, Belleisle, Calcutta, and Thunderer. Sold with some service details.
Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., V.R., narrow suspension, engraved naming (Edwd. Bloor Pte. R.M. H.M.Yht. Victoria & Albert) nearly extremely fine, engraved naming issue scarce to the Royal Yacht £160-£200 --- Edward Bloor was born in Bristol and joined the Royal Marines on 22 January 1857, aged 20. He served in the Royal Yacht Victoria and Albert, and it was whilst serving with this vessel that he was awarded a Long Service and Good Conduct Medal. He was discharged dead from Royal Naval Hospital, Haslar, on 24 September 1875. Sold with copied service papers.
Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., G.V.R., 3rd issue, coinage head (K.63548 W. Davies. Sto. 1. H.M.S. Mackay.); Volunteer Force Long Service Medal, V.R., unnamed as issued; together with Northumberland Fusiliers Order of Merit Medal 1836, 34mm, bronze, for 7 years’ service, the obverse featuring St. George slaying the Dragon, ‘Quo Fata Vocant’ on scroll above, the reverse inscribed ‘V Northumberland Fusiliers Merit March 10th. 1767’ within wreath, unnamed with steel clip and small ring for suspension, the first two good very fine, the last worn (3) £80-£100
1914-15 Star (9) (12334 Pte. F. E. Baglin. Oxf: & Bucks: L.I.; 5858 Pte. J. English. Oxf: & Bucks: L.I.; 18406 Pte. C. Joynes. Oxf: & Bucks: L.I.; 16398 Pte. A. Parker, Oxf: & Bucks: L.I.; 11639 Pte. A. G. Pratt. Oxf: & Bucks. L.I.; 17851 Pte. F. Turner. Oxf: & Bucks: L.I.; 8620 Pte. W. J. Veale. Oxf: & Bucks: L.I.; 9960 Pte. B. F. Ward. Oxf: & Bucks: L.I.; 18368 Pte. T. Wyatt. Oxf: & Bucks: L.I.) generally very fine and better (9) £140-£180 --- Frederick E. Baglin attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and served with them during the Great War on the Western Front from 26 May 1915. He later transferred to the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, and was re-numbered 025917. He was discharged to the Army Reserve on 26 March 1919. Joseph English attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and served with the 2nd Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front from 29 November 1914. Re-numbered 24577, he was discharged on termination of his engagement on 23 October 1915. He had previously served in the Boer War and had received the Queen’s South Africa Medal with 4 clasps. Charles Joynes attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry on 7 September 1910 and served with the 2nd Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front from 20 November 1914. He later transferred to the Durham Light Infantry, and was re-numbered 66221. He was discharged on 6 October 1917, and was entitled to a Silver War Badge, no. 501165. Albert Parker attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry at Oxford on 19 November 1914 and served with the 8th (Pioneer) Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front from 18 September 1915. Alban George Pratt was born at Blockley, Worcestershire, and attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry at Nuneaton, Warwickshire. He served with the 6th Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front and died of a gun shot wound to the head on 21 February 1917. He is buried at Grove Town Cemetery, Meaulte, France. Frederick Turner was born at Witney, Oxfordshire, and attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry at Oxford. He served with the 5th Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front from 10 June 1915, and died of wounds at Delville Wood, Somme, on 25 August 1916. He is buried at Dernancourt Communal Cemetery Extension, France. William James Veale was born at Iffley, Oxford, and attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry at Oxford. He served with the 2nd Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front from 29 November 1914, and was killed in action at Bethune on 28 August 1915. He is buried at Guards Cemetery, Windy Corner, Cuinchy, France. Sold with the named lid of the card box of issue, and the named Record Office enclosure. Bertie Francis Ward was born at Old Marston, Oxford, and attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry at Oxford. He served with the 2nd Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front from 23 November 1914 (thereby missing out on a 1914 Star by a single day), and was killed in action at Festubert on 16 May 1915. He has no known grave and is commemorated on Le Touret Memorial, France. Thomas Wyatt was born at King’s Sutton, Banbury, Oxfordshire, and attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry at Oxford. He served with the 5th Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front from 18 July 1915; wounded, he was evacuated to the U.K., and died of wounds at at the Military Hospital, Colchester, Essex, on 14 October 1915. He is buried under a C.W.G.C. Headstone at King’s Sutton Cemetery, Oxfordshire.
Imperial Yeomanry L.S. & G.C., E.VII.R. (150 Sjt: J. E. Nicholls. Denbighs: I.Y. Husrs.) toned, light contact marks, very fine £400-£500 --- Approximately 19 Imperial Yeomanry Long Service and Good Conduct Medals awarded to the Denbighshire Hussars. John Edward Nicholls was born in Everton, Liverpool, and attested for the Imperial Yeomanry at Wrexham on 12 January 1900, having previously served in the 1st Volunteer Battalion, Liverpool Regiment, a fine art dealer by profession. He served with the 29th (Denbighshire) Company, 9th Battalion, Imperial Yeomanry in South Africa during the Boer War from 9 February 1900 to 28 January 1901 (entitled to a Queen’s South Africa Medal with clasps for Cape Colony, Orange Free State, and South Africa 1901), and was awarded his Imperial Yeomanry Long Service Medal per Army Order 24 of February 1906. Sold with copied service papers.
Territorial Decoration, E.VII.R., silver and gilt, hallmarks for London 1909, the reverse contemporarily engraved ‘Capt. F. W. G. Gore Impl. Yeo.’, with integral top riband bar, nearly extremely fine £100-£140 --- Francis William George Gore was born on 22 June 1855, the son of the Rev. George Gore of Newton St. Loe, Somerset, and was educated at Harrow and Christ Church, Oxford. He served in the Boer War as a Staff Captain in the Imperial Yeomanry, being present in operations in Transvaal east of Pretoria, July to August 1900; operations in Transvaal west of Pretoria, including the action at Zihkats Nek; operations in the Orange River Colony, July 1900, and operations in Cape Colony south of the Orange River, May-July 1900. During the Great War he again served with the Yeomanry, with the London Mounted Brigade. Latterly he was Lieutenant-Colonel of the City of London Yeomanry (Roughriders). In later life he was a Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Glamorgan and a Justice of the Peace for both Glamorgan and Monmouth. He died on 17 July 1938. Sold with copied research. Note: The recipient’s Queen’s South Africa Medal with clasps for Cape Colony, Orange Free State, and Transvaal was sold in these rooms in June 2008.
British War Medal 1914-20 (3) (Capt. J. D. B. Warwick; 2. Lieut. A. Bennett.; 2. Lieut. W. H. Flory.); Victory Medal 1914-19 (Lieut. S. Wiseman) generally very fine and better (4) £100-£140 --- John Douglas Barford Warwick was born in 1894 and was educated at King’s School, Peterborough and Gresham’s School, Holt. He first obtained a commission in the 5th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment on 3 November 1910, and transferred to the Huntingdonshire Cyclist Battalion on its formation in the Spring of 1914, being promoted Captain on 31 August that year. He served during the Great War on the Western Front attached to the 1st/1st Buckinghamshire Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry from 10 September 1916, and commanded ‘A’ Company. He was killed by a gas shell exploding in his dugout on 10 March 1917 - it is recorded in the Regimental History that on 10 March the Battalion was at Barleux, and on that date a gas shell, fired from a German Minenwerfer, landed and exploded inside the entrance of ‘A’ Company Headquarters’ dugout. There were at the time inside the dugout three officers (Captain J. D. B. Warwick, Second Lieutenant S. Wiseman, and Second Lieutenant R. B. Cooper-Smith), as well as Company Sergeant Major Watts, two corporals, five orderlies, three signallers, and four batmen. The first impression of those inside (presumably caused by the flash of the shell) appears to have been that the dugout was on fire, and a large dose of poison was inhaled before they adjusted their box respirators, while those who were asleep were killed. Warwick is buried at Hem Farm Military Cemetery, Hem-Monacu, France, and is included in the De Ruvigny Roll of Honour, together with his portrait photograph. Archie Bennett attested originally for the Leicestershire Regiment and served with the 1st Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front from 9 September 1914. Advanced Sergeant, he was subsequently commissioned Second Lieutenant in the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry on 22 August 1917, and for his services during the Great War was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (London Gazette 3 June 1919). Note: Although the medal is believed to belong to his Archie Bennett, there are several other possible recipients with this rank, initial and surname. William Henry Flory, a member of Fitzwilliam Hall, Cambridge University, who was preparing to take Holy Orders, was the son of the Revd. Henry William Flory, Vicar of Isleham, Cambridgeshire, and attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. He served with the 1st/4th Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front from 16 September 1917, and was killed in action on 21 March 1918. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Pozieres Memorial, France. His two brothers also fell. Stanley Wiseman was born in 1885 and was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the 4th Battalion, Essex Regiment, but served during the Great War on the Western Front attached to the 1st/1st Buckinghamshire Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry fro 12 September 1916. He was killed by a gas shell exploding in his dugout on 10 March 1917, in the incident referred to in Captain Warwick’s biographical entry above, and is buried at Hem Farm Military Cemetery, Hem-Monacu, France.
The scarce Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners Royal Benevolent Society Medal in gold awarded to Captain Edward Salmund, Merchant Navy Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners Royal Benevolent Society, 1st type, gold (Edward Salmund Esq, 1855) straight bar suspension, slight edge bruising, good very fine, scarce £2,400-£2,800 --- Provenance: Dawson Collection; ref. Spink Exhibition 1985, No. 89; Fevyer Collection, Dix Noonan Webb, September 2008. The hired transport Charlotte had left Queenstown, bound for Calcutta, carrying five officers and 163 men of the 27th Regiment; 14 women; 26 children and a crew of 24. On 19 September 1854 she put in to Port Elizabeth, South Africa, for water. At 5 p.m. on the following day she parted both her anchors in Algoa Bay, and in an attempt to beat out, ran ashore on a dangerous reef of rocks nearby. The Society’s report records: ‘Eventually, and after every attempt to re-establish a communication with the Charlotte had failed, it was resolved to strive to reach her with the Life Boat, for which purpose she had to be launched some distance higher up the bay, and then to pull down between heavy rollers or breakers, until opposite the stranded ship, and in the narrow channel between the vessel and the rocks. The seamen generally refused to embark on so dangerous an enterprise, until Capt. Edward Henry Salmond, formerly a master mariner, and now a merchant at the bay, and three others guaranteed them the sum of £100. At length when the crew was obtained, another difficulty arose, the steersman, a man of courage and decision, refused to go off without Capt. Salmond accompanied them, and the latter gentlemen, not to mar so noble a design, immediately consented. It would be difficult to describe the intense anxiety which ensued, when the Life Boat, in the depth of night, manned by its daring crew, shot out amidst the breakers... and after threading the dangerous path amidst the rollers, pulled alongside the Charlotte. No effort having been made to prepare a line on the fore-part of the ship, the Life Boat was compelled, after pulling three times alongside, to drift to the stern of the ship where a line was being prepared by the Captain. In this last desperate attempt the boat filled, and was driven into the breakers, dashed on the reef of rocks and finally stove, the crew, including Captain Salmond being washed overboard, and narrowly escaped with their lives, in spite of assistance rendered by people who lined the shore. For the next hour or two, faint hopes were entertained that the ship might hold together until daylight and the fall of the tide. Meanwhile, the surf at the approach of high water increased in violence, and symptoms of breaking up became more painfully evident, while the groans and shouts for that help which it was impossible to render, were doubled in intensity... At about 2 a.m. one heavy sea swept over her and rent her in twain... Then arose the death shriek - the cry of agony - the wailing moan, high above the roar of the elements, which were heard distinctly... appalling sounds, which will ring in the ears of many an inhabitant of Port Elizabeth for years to come. Here and there a solitary individual, who had strength enough remaining to struggle against the current, was rescued from the jaws of death. Shortly after this occurance, the stern portion of the wreck was observed to be adrift, and nearing the shore... it was discovered that the poop deck was providentially crowded with people. This portion of the wreck being detached from the bottom and consequently drawing little water, came close in, and by means of spars, the survivors were enabled to step upon the rocks. The doors of several houses near the spot were generously thrown open to receive the numbed and shivering creatures, many of whom were without covering... ‘Captain Warren and Dr Kidd, the only officers on board... one hundred soldiers, five women, the Captain and his son, the first Officers, Steward, Cook, Butcher and two seamen, are all that have been saved out of 233 souls. All the children perished -[together with] eleven women and 63 soldiers. Many instances of personal daring and devotion may be cited... Capt. Salmond’s great coolness and courage on the present occasion, was but one of a long series of gallant efforts in which he has freely risked his life to save those of others. The Committee of the Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society unanimously voted Capt Samond their gold medal, as an expression of the high sense they entertained of his heroic and philanthropic exertions... The Committee likewise fully appreciated the conduct of the Life Boat’s crew, whose gallant services were however remunerated in the sum of £100.’ The above was one of 40 gold medals awarded by the Society.
Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners Royal Benevolent Society, silver (Thos. Lee.) with ‘double-dolphin’ suspension, edge prepared prior to naming, suspension slightly loose, nearly extremely fine £300-£400 --- Provenance: Spink, December 1971; Spink, April 2009. James Lee was born in Stoke, Devon, on 1 March 1841 and joined the Royal Navy as a Boy Second Class on 31 August 1855. He was serving as a Sailmaker’s Mate in H.M.S. Bombay, and was awarded the Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners Royal Benevolent Society’s Silver Medal for his gallantry in saving the lives of his crew when the Bombay caught fire in the River Plate and sank off Montevideo on 22 December 1864. Of the crew of 619, over 500 were saved, but 93 lives were lost, in one of the Royal Navy’s worst peacetime disasters. Sub-Lieutenant Henry Mandeville was awarded the Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners Royal Benevolent Society’s Gold Medal for this action; and 13 ratings, including Lee, were awarded the Silver Medal. Sold with copied record of service, and other research relating to the sinking of the Bombay.
The C.Q.D. Life-Saving Medal awarded to First Class Bedroom Steward H. Roberts, S.S. Republic, for his assistance in the rescue of over 1,700 lives from the Republic and the Italian liner “Florida”, following their collision off Nantucket in January 1909; subsequently transferring to the R.M.S. Titanic, he was drowned when the ill-fated vessel struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic on her maiden voyage on the night of 14-15 April 1912, and sank with the loss of over 1,500 lives C.Q.D. Medal 1909, silver (Hugh Roberts. First Class Bedroom Steward. S.S. Republic.) contemporarily engraved naming, edge nicks, nearly extremely fine £1,000-£1,400 --- Hugh Roberts was born in Holyhead in c.1873 and served as a First Class Bedroom Steward in the White Star Line’s S.S. Republic. In the early morning of 23 January 1909, the Republic, sailing from New York to Gibraltar, collided with the Italian liner S.S. Florida in fog off the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts. The White Star Line’s R.M.S. Baltic responded to the C.Q.D. call sent out by radio. Three passengers died in the collision; the remaining passengers from the Republic were transferred, first to the less-damaged Florida, and then, on her arrival, to the Baltic. The Republic sank the next day whilst under tow to New York. The saloon passengers of the two White Star Liners subscribed to a fund to provide medals to the crews of the three ships involved, in recognition of the fact that they saved more than 1,700 lives. This was the first occasion on which the C.Q.D. distress call had been sent by wireless transmission. Roberts remained in the employ of the White Star Line, and was aboard the Titanic for her delivery trip from Belfast to Southampton. He signed on again for the Titanic in Southampton on 4 April 1912, giving his last ship as the Baltic, and was employed upon the ill-fated liner’s maiden voyage as a first class bedroom steward, with monthly wages of £3 15s. He was amongst those drowned when, having struck an iceberg, the Titanic sank in the North Atlantic on the night of 14-15 April 1912 with the loss of over 1,500 lives. His body was recovered from the ocean by the Mackay-Bennett, and he was subsequently buried at sea on 23 April 1912. When recovered from the sea he is recorded as wearing the following cloths: ‘Black Coat; Steward’s Cast; two waistcoats; brown and blue striped pyjamas; black boots; false teeth top jaw’. Sold with copied research.
The mounted group of six miniature dress medals worn by Warrant Keeper and Steward A. Skipworth, M.V.O., Royal Navy, who served in the Royal Yacht Victoria and Albert almost continuously from 1909 to 1945 British War and Victory Medals; Royal Victorian Medal, G.V.R., silver; Jubilee 1935; Coronation 1937; Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., G.V.R., 1st issue, mounted court-style as worn, the ribands somewhat frayed, good very fine (6) £100-£140 --- M.V.O. London Gazette 1 January 1946. Albert Skipworth was born in Theddlethorpe, Lincolnshire on 24 April 1884 and joined the Royal Navy as an Officer’s Steward First Class on 26 August 1909, giving his occupation as Footman. He was appointed to the Royal Yacht Victoria and Albert on 9 October 1912, and continued to serve in her until 1945 (bar a brief period during the Great War). Posted to H.M.S. Glory on 7 November 1918, being advanced Chief Officer’s Steward on the same day, he served in her until 4 June 1919, during which period she was the Flagship, Rear Admiral, British North Russia Squadron, based at Archangel to protect supplies arriving there for the Russian Army. Skipworth returned to the Royal Yacht on 1 July 1919, and was awarded his Long Service and Good Conduct Medal on 15 June 1926. He was awarded his Royal Victorian Medal on 23 June 1936, whilst serving as Keeper and Steward, Royal Cabins, and the rolls for the Jubilee and Coronation Medals show him as ‘Warrant Keeper and Steward.’ He was finally shore discharged on 30 October 1945, and was created a Member of the Royal Victorian Order in the 1946 New Year’s Honours’ List, backdated to the date of his retirement. Note: The recipient did not receive his M.V.O. until after his retirement from Royal Service, and therefore, understandably, it is not included in his worn miniature group For the recipient’s related full-sized awards, see Lot 101.
The mounted group of six miniature dress medals worn by Mr. G. Icke, a Gentleman Porter at Windsor Castle Royal Household Faithful Service Medal, G.V.R., 1st issue, suspension dated ‘1910-1930’; Royal Victorian Medal, G.V.R., silver; Jubilee 1897, bronze; Coronation 1902, bronze; Coronation 1911; Spain, Kingdom, Order of Merit, Silver Cross of the Order, with crown suspension, on peace time riband; Portugal, Kingdom, King Carlos I Medal 1889, bronze; Sweden, Kingdom, Royal Household Medal, Gustaf V, silver, with crown suspension; Persia, Empire, Medal of the Order of the Lion and the Sun, silver; Japan, Empire, Order of the Rising Sun, Eight Class breast badge, silver, mounted court-style as worn in this order, good very fine and better (10) £140-£180 --- George Edward Icke served in the Royal Household as a Gentleman Porter at Windsor Castle. He was awarded the Royal Victorian Medal in silver on 13 July 1926, and received his Royal Household Faithful Service Medal in 1930. Sold with a portrait photograph of the recipient. For the recipient’s related full-sized awards, see Lot 148.
The mounted group of seven miniature dress medals worn by Troop Sergeant Major D. Fegan, 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards, later King’s Bodyguard Coronation 1902, bronze; Coronation 1911; Army Meritorious Service Medal, G.V.R., 1st issue; Egypt and Sudan 1882-89, undated [sic] reverse, 1 clasp, Tel-El-Kebir; Army L.S. & G.C., V.R., 3rd issue, small letter reverse; Khedive’s Star, dated 1884 [sic]; Territorial Force Efficiency Medal, G.V.R., mounted as worn in this order and suspended from a silver riband bar, generally very fine and better (7) £120-£160 --- For the recipient’s related full-sized awards, which feature a dated Egypt and Sudan Medal, and an 1882 Khedive’s Star, see Lot 178.
British War Medal 1914-20 (7) (11055 A. Cpl. C. E. Daniels. Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.; 1540 Pte. F. H. Andrews. Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.; 15928 Pte. G. H. Chandler. Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.; 30766 Pte. S. A. Douglas. Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.; 10660 Pte. C. J. Kilby. Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.; 21572 Pte. G. T. Skuse. Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.; 28724 Pte. S. Vickery. Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.) contact marked and edge bruising, generally nearly very fine (7) £120-£160 --- Charles Edward Daniels was born at Wellingborough, and attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry at Rugby. He served with the 5th Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front from 20 May 1915, and was killed in action on the Ypres Salient on 25 September 1915. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Belgium. Frank Herbert Andrews was born at Stoney Stratford and attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry at Wolverton, Buckinghamshire. He served with 2nd/1st (Buckinghamshire) Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front and was killed in action in France on 19 July 1916. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Loos Memorial, France. George Henry Chandler was born at New Hinksey, Oxfordshire, and attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry at Oxford. He served with the 6th Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front, and was killed in action on 16 February 1916. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Belgium. Sydney Arthur Douglas, a native of Brighthampton, Witney, Oxfordshire, attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and served with the 2nd Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front from 23 December 1917. He was discharged on 23 September 1919. Charles James Kilby attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and served with the 5th Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front from 20 May 1915. He later transferred to the Labour Corps. George Thomas Skuse was born at Easton, Gloucester, and attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry at Bristol, having previously served with the Somerset Light Infantry. He served with the 1st Battalion in Mesopotamia, and was killed in action in the Persian Gulf on 6 April 1916. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Basra Memorial, Iraq.
Visit of the Prince of Wales to New Zealand Medal 1920, by Elkington, 51mm, silver, the obverse featuring crowned plumes within a Garter and the collar chain of the Order of the Star of India, the reverse inscribed ‘The Visit of H.R.H. The Prince of Wales to New Zealand 1920’, within laurel wreath, unnamed, unmounted, very fine, rare £140-£180
Visit of the Prince of Wales to India Medal 1921-22, by Elkington, 51mm, silver, hallmarks for Birmingham 1921, the obverse featuring the bust of the Prince of Wales facing left, ‘Edward Prince of Wales, India 1921-1922’ around, the reverse featuring crowned plumes within a Garter and the collar chain of the Order of the Star of India, unnamed, with claw and ring suspension, complete with neck riband, very fine, rare £300-£400 --- Approximately 84 of these silver medals were presented to Indian officers and police in connection with the Royal Tour of India, 1921-22.
Edward Prince of Wales Visit to Bombay Medal 1921, bronze, the obverse featuring the bust of Edward Prince of Wales facing right, surmounted by Prince of Wales’ feathers, the reverse inscribed ‘Visit of His Royal Highness, Bombay, November 1921’, with ring suspension; together with an Edward Prince of Wales Welcome Home Medal 1922, bronze, the obverse featuring the bust of Edward Prince of Wales facing left, the reverse featuring the Prince of Wales’ feathers, and inscribed ‘Welcome Home 1922’, with integral loop suspension, good very fine (2) £140-£180
30th Foot Medal 1811, a circular engraved medal with multi stepped border, 57mm, silver, hallmarks for London 1810, the obverse featuring a crown above ‘XXX’, above a sphinx, with ‘Egypt’ on plinth, ‘The Cambridge Regt.’ around’, the reverse engraved ‘Award of Merit to Sergt. J. Boyle from the Officers of the Regiment Jan. 4. 1811.’, with loop suspension, good very fine £180-£220 --- Provenance: Day Collection, Sotheby’s, April 1910. Referenced in Balmer, R.282. Note: Owing to the uncertainty that exists with the original provenance and manufacture of some early engraved Regimental Medals, this lot is sold as viewed.
A Great War Church Memorial Tablet to Captain S. H. Christy, D.S.O., 20th Hussars Memorial Tablet, 490mm x 127mm, bronze, inscribed ‘Captain Stephen Henry Christy D.S.O. 20th. Hussars. Killed in action Sept. 3rd. 1914.’, with six small fixing holes around edge, original white paint from inscription almost all lost, otherwise good condition £80-£100 --- D.S.O. London Gazette 24 January 1905: ‘In recognition of services during the Sokoto-Burmi operations, Northern Nigeria, 1903.’ Stephen Henry Christy was born on 27 April 1879, the son of Stephen Christy Esq., of Stockport, Cheshire, and was educated at Harrow and Christ Church, Oxford. He was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the 20th Hussars on 20 December 1899 and was promoted Lieutenant on 10 August 1900. He served in South Africa during the Boer War from 1901, latterly on the Staff as Signalling Officer, and was present at the operations in the Transvaal and the Orange River Colony (entitled to the Queen’s South Africa Medal with clasps for Orange Free State, Transvaal, and the two date clasps). Christy saw further service in Northern Nigeria in 1903, taking part in the Sokoto-Burmi operations, during which he was slightly wounded. Mentioned in Despatches (London Gazette 2 January 1905, for his services he was created a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order. He retired from the Active List in 1906, and later became Master of the South Shropshire Foxhounds. Following the outbreak of the Great War Christy rejoined his old Regiment, with the rank of Captain, on 16 August 1914, and served with them during the Great War on the Western Front from 18 August 1914. He was killed in action at Ussy-sur-Marne on 3 September 1914, and is buried at Perreuse Chateau Franco-British National Cemetery, France.
British War Medal 1914-20 (8) (5934 Pte. A. J. Bennett. Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.; 6797 Pte. E. Hine. Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.; 11436 Pte. W. Jackson. Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.; 13442 Pte. F. Knight. Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.; 4916 Pte. T. Madden. Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.; 2172 Pte. W. Peacock. Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.; 19382 Pte. A. Serman. Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.; 22144 Pte. W. T. Turner. Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.) generally nearly very fine and better (8) £120-£160 --- Arthur James Bennett was born at Fritwell, Oxfordshire, and attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry at Oxford. He served with the 2nd/4th Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front, and was killed in action on 21 March 1918. He is buried at Chapelle British Cemetery, Holnon, France. Edward Hine was born at St. Clements, Oxford, and attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry at Gosport, Hampshire. He served with the 2nd Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front from 2 September 1914, and was killed in action on 28 April 1917. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Arras Memorial, France. William Jackson was born at Smethwick, Staffordshire, and attested there for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. He served with the 2nd Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front, and was killed in action during the Battle of the Somme on 30 July 1916. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, France. Frederick Knight was born at Birdingbury, Warwickshire, and attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. He served with the 2nd Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front, and was killed in action on 23 October 1918. He is buried at Poix-Du-Nord Communal Cemetery Extension, France. Thomas Madden attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry at Oxford, and served with the 1st/4th Battalion during the Great War. He died of wounds in Italy on 16 June 1918, and is buried in Montecchio Precalcino Communal Cemetery Extension, Italy. William Peacock attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and served with the 2nd/4th Battalion during the Great War, being re-numbered 200386. Albert Serman attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and served with the 1st Garrison Battalion, the British War Medal being his sole medal entitlement. He was discharged on 2 December 1919. William Tuffrey Turner was born at Old Woodstock, Oxfordshire, and attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry at Bicester, Oxfordshire. He served with them during the Great War on the Western Front, and died of wounds on 8 May 1917. He is buried at Bruay Communal Cemetery Extension, France.
The Sir Gilbert Blane, Bt., Gold Medal awarded to Fleet Surgeon O. Rees, Royal Navy The Sir Gilbert Blane, Bt., Gold Medal (Surgeon Owswald Rees, M.D., H.M.S. “Jackdaw” 1897-98) gold (22ct., 53.60g), fitted with a contemporary claw and small ring suspension, housed in its original presentation case, extremely fine, rare £2,000-£2,400 --- In 1830 Sir Gilbert Blane, Bt., established a fund, vested in the Corporation of the Royal College of Surgeons of London, in trust, for the purpose of conferring a gold medal once in every two years on each of the two Medical Officers (Fleet, or Staff Surgeons, or Surgeons) who shall produce the most approved journals of their practice ‘in the form in which they have been kept from day to day’ while in Medical charge of a ship of war in the Royal Navy. Oswald Rees received his medical training in Glasgow, and joined the Royal Navy as a Surgeon on 15 May 1895. He served in H.M.S. Jackdaw from 1 October 1897 to 14 February 1899, for which work he was awarded the Gilbert Blane Medal. He was subsequently stationed at the Royal Marine Depot at Deal from 1 April 1900 to 4 March 1901, before joining H.M.S. Gibraltar, and proceeded in her to South Africa (Queen’s South Africa Medal, no clasp). Employed at the Royal Naval Hospital Simonstown, he was promoted Staff Surgeon on 9 October 1903, before returning to the U.K. and serving in H.M.S. Mercury from 24 April 1906 to 18 May 1908, where he was one of the first doctors to look at diving medicine, and during this period worked on submarine escape apparatus. The Hall-Rees submarine breathing apparatus with built-in sodium peroxide oxygen generation was partially developed and named after him. Rees was appointed to H.M.S. Fox on 19 May 1908, and served in her for the next two years (Africa General Service Medal with clasp Somaliland 1908-10, and Naval General Service Medal with clasp Persian Gulf 1909-14). He saw further service as a Fleet Surgeon during the Great War, initially in H.M.S. Aboukir, and survived the loss of the ship on 22 September 1914; he later served in H.M. Ships Powerful and Dominion (1914-15 Star trio). His final appointment was Fleet Surgeon at Sheerness Dockyard, from 5 April 1918 until his retirement on 11 April 1920. Sold with copied record of service.
North Persian Forces Medical Officers Memorial Medal 1921, 57mm, silver, hallmarks for London 1934, the obverse featuring a snake coiled around a staff, branches of laurel and scimitars to either side, the sun in splendour in the background, scroll below, ‘North Persian Forces’ and on outer band, ‘Memorial Medal’, the reverse inscribed ‘Presented by The Medical Officers N.P.F. 1921, Awarded for the Best Contribution to Tropical Medicine during the Year 1933 to Surgeon Lieutenant-Commander S. G. Rainsford R.N.’, nearly extremely fine £80-£100 --- The North Persian Forces Medical Officers Memorial Medal was awarded annually for the best paper, published in any journal, on Tropical Medicine ad Tropical Hygiene. The prize was open to Medical Officers of under 12 years’ service of the Royal Navy, Royal Army Medical Corps, Royal Air Force, and Colonial Services. Seymour Grome Rainsford was born in 1900 and was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He joined the Royal Navy on a Short Service Commission in 1922 and after initial courses at the Royal Naval Hospital Haslar saw service on the China station until 1925 in which year he transferred to the Permanent List. Having served as a specialist in bacteriology in 1929, and receiving the North Persia Forces Memorial Prize in 1933 for work on brucellosis in the Mediterranean area, he embarked on a successful career in preventative medicine. He proceeded Doctor of Medicine at Dublin University in 1932, obtained the Diploma in Public Health in 1937, gained the degree of Doctor of Science in 1939 and was elected MRCP in 1949. He was awarded the Sir Gilbert Blane Medal in 1938. Rainsford’s Second War appointments included employment with the Royal Navy Blood Transfusion Service (where he was promoted Surgeon Captain), the Tropical Research Unit at Bombay, work investigating the effects of environmental heat on working efficiency, and finally s Staff Medical Officer to Supreme Commander, South East Asia Command, Lord Louis Mountbatten, until 1945, in which year he was awarded the Chadwick Gold Medal and prize for outstanding work in Naval Hygiene. There then followed a year investigating methods of submarine escape and three years as Liaison Officer with the US Naval Medical Research Unit No. 3 in Egypt. In 1949 he was appointed Director of Studies and Medical Research at the Royal Naval Medical School, Alverstoke. Promoted Surgeon Rear-Admiral in 1952 Rainsford was a created a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 1955 Birthday Honours’ List (London Gazette 9 June 1955). He was placed on the Retired List that same year, and died in 1994. Sold with copied research.
A Selection of Miscellaneous Nursing Badges. Comprising Newcastle General Hospital cape badge, silver and enamel, the reverse engraved ‘N. A. Milburn.’, with ‘City of Newcastle upon Tyne’ brooch bar; Central Middlesex Group Hospital Management Committee cape badges, silver an enamel, unnamed, with ‘Neasden Hospital’ brooch bar; General Nursing Council of England and Wales lapel badge, enamelled base metal, the reverse engraved ‘I. G. Cummings. S.R.N. 116299 30.6.42; Queen’s Institute of District Nursing cape badge (2), the first silver-gilt and enamel, the reverse engraved ‘Catherine Bedford for 21 Years Service’; the second bronze, the reverse impressed ‘17676’, both with pin back suspensions; Royal Medico-Psychological Association Medal for Proficiency in Mental Nursing, silver, the reverse engraved ‘S. Wanless’; Student Nurses Association lapel badge, silvered and enamel, unnamed; West Sussex County Council Home Care Service lapel badge, enamelled base metal, unnamed; Society of Health and Beauty Therapists lapel badge, enamelled base metal, unnamed; West Bromwich Sons of Rest lapel badge, enamelled base metal, unnamed, suspension pins all intact, generally good very fine (10) £80-£100
A small collection of British Red Cross Society Nursing Badges and related ephemera. Comprising a British Red Cross Society Medal for Proficiency in Red Cross Nursing, the reverse engraved ‘47147 E. R. Steffens’, in card box of issue; a British Red Cross Society Life Member’s lapel badge, the reverse officially numbered ‘L 619’; a British Red Cross Society 3 Years’ Service Medal, the reverse officially numbered ‘28679’; Red Cross Surrey metal unit insignia; A.R.P. Women’s Voluntary Services and W.V.S. Civil Defence lapel badges, the latter with cloth insignia; Civil Nursing Reserve lapel badge; Girl Guides lapel badge; Royal Life Saving Society Respiration Service lapel badge; together with various other unrelated badges, including a Haberdashers’ Aske’s School Actors lapel badge with cloth insignia; and an American Pilot’s Badge in silver, generally very fine and better (lot) £100-£140
Clasp: Azoff, in its original card box of issue with printed label ‘AZOFF’, the lid inscribed in ink ‘Capt E M Lyons’, extremely fine and extremely rare £300-£400 --- Edmund Moubray Lyons was born on 27 June 1819, second and youngest son of Admiral Lord Lyons. He entered the Royal Naval College on 10 July 1829, passed his examination in 1838, and obtained his first commission on 11 June 1841, as Mate in the Melville. In this ship he was present at the capture of the forts at the Bocca Tigris, and subsequent operations against Canton in 1841 (China medal). He was promoted to Lieutenant on 11 June 1841, and subsequently served in various ships on the Mediterranean station. As first of the Siren, to which he was appointed on 10 April 1846, under Captain Harry Edgell, Lyons took part in operations against the Moorish pirates, and, later that year, the boats of the Siren, under his command, captured four piratical craft, with sixty men, near the Turkish island of Stanchio. For these services he was promoted to Commander on 9 November 1846. Serving once more on the China station as Commander of the Pilot cruiser, Lyons was actively engaged against the Chinese pirates. In the spring of 1849 the main pirate fleet, consisting of more than seventy sail, under Shap’n’gtzai, made its rendezvous at Tienpakh, and ravaged commerce and the coast from Macao to the Gulf of Tongking; while another part of it, forty sail strong, under Chuiapoo, made its headquarters in Bias Bay, and preyed upon the trade between Hong Kong and Amoy. On 13 May 1849, Lyons chased six pirate junks, and, with his boats, captured and destroyed two. On 25th May, he destroyed a third, and two days later, a fourth. On 2nd June, a fifth, and on the 3rd the sixth fell to him. A little later, three more of Chuiapoo’s squadron having been reported against, he went in chase, and, on the 25th, destroyed one in Red Bay, and another off the Lamyat islands. All these affairs cost him only three people wounded. In consequence, Chuiapoo, with his division, returned to Bias Bay. For his services against these pirates, Lyons was made post-captain on 4 October 1849. In May 1854, shortly after the outbreak of the Russian war, Lyons was despatched in command of the Miranda, as part of a small squadron, with Eurydice and Brisk, to Arctic waters with the purpose of blockading the Russian ports in the White Sea, including Archangel and other places in the Kola Inlet. Archangel was considered to be too strong for attack by so small a force, but on 18th July, while the Miranda and Brisk were rounding Solovetskoi island, it was perceived that troops and artillery were stationed in the woods there. The following morning, after unavailing negotiations, the ships opened fire. A smart action followed, the Russians replying from a battery, from two towers of the monastery, and with small arms from the beach. Fire continued until the early evening, by which time red-hot shot, shell, and musketry had silenced all opposition. On 31st July a landing was effected on Shayley island, where the public buildings were burnt, and nine guns were taken or destroyed. On 23rd August, Lyons took his ship up to Kola and anchored her off the town, which was fortified and contained large storehouses. Lyons sent Lieutenant Cecil Buckley, under a flag of truce, to demand a surrender, to which no answer had been received by the dawn of the following day. Lyons accordingly opened fire from the Miranda, the Russians briskly replying. “The guns,” says Lyons in his despatch, “were shortly dismounted, and the battery reduced to ruins; but, although our shells burst well into the loopholed houses and stockades, an obstinate fire of musketry was kept up from various parts of the town. This allowed me no alternative, and I was obliged to destroy it. It was soon in flames from our shell and red-hot shot, and burned furiously, being fanned by a fresh breeze. The ship, at this time, became critically situated. The violence of the tide caused her to drag the bower and stream anchors, and the two kedges laid out to spring her broadside; and, the passage being too narrow for her to swing, she grounded at less than three hundred yards from the burning town, fragments from which were blown on board. However, by keeping the sails, rigging and decks well wetted until the ship was hove off, no bad consequences ensued.” The squadron returned to England in October 1854, and, for unknown reasons, the Miranda appeared in the Admiralty list of ships eligible for the Baltic Medal, despite never having sailed or steamed anywhere near those particular waters. On 25 May 1855, Admiral Sir Edmund Lyons despatched a light squadron, comprising 14 vessels under the overall command of Captain Lyons, in the Miranda, into the Sea of Azoff. Captain Lyons proceeded to inflict tremendous losses on the enemy. Within four days after the squadron passed the straits of Kertch they had destroyed 245 Russian vessels employed in carrying provisions to the Russian army in the Crimea, many of them of large size and fully equipped and laden. Immense magazines of corn, flour and breadstuffs were destroyed at Berdiansk and Genitchi, comprising altogether more than 7 million rations, and the stores at Taganrog were set on fire and much corn destroyed. Arabat was bombarded and the powder magazine blown up. At Berdiansk the enemy were forced to run on shore and burn four war steamers, under the command of Rear-admiral Wolff. At Kertch the enemy destroyed upwards of 4 million pounds of corn and 500,000 pounds of flour. The allied fleet seemed able to strike with impunity at any Russian town, depot, fishery or fortification and destroyed staggering quantities of shipping, armaments, equipment, provisions and stores of all kinds, destined for use by the Russian forces in the Crimea or in the Caucasus. Their success had a decided effect on the ability of the Russians to supply and reinforce their armies in the Crimea, and Lyons’ services in the Sea of Azoff repeatedly drew the admiration and approbation of the Admiralty. These commando type raids on the northern shores of the Sea of Azoff were recognised by the award of no fewer than nine Victoria Crosses, two of them going to the Miranda. On 15th June, the troops and major line-of-battle ships which had successfully taken Kertch and Yenikale, were recalled to the Crimea in view of a planned assault on the Redan and Malakoff bastions of Sebastopol on 18th June. In the naval bombardment on the 17th June, that preceded the assault planned for the following day, the gallant Captain Lyons was severely wounded. He was sent to hospital at Therapia, and, though he at first made light of his injury, gangrene set in and he died of his wounds on the 23rd June.
British War Medal 1914-20 (8) (26242 Pte. C. L. Brooks. Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.; 27800 Pte. J. W. Puddifoot. Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.; 17401 Pte. A. G. Rawlings. Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.; 9473 Pte. F. Robinson. Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.; 11270 Pte. W. Timms. Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.; 22712 Pte. F. Waddup. Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.; 19226 Pte. J. Wingrove. Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.; 27972 Pte. C. F. Woodley. Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.) contact marks and edge bruising, generally nearly very fine and better (8) £120-£160 --- Christopher Lawrence Brooks was born at Eynsham, Oxfordshire, and attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry at Oxford. He served with the 2nd Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front, and was killed in action on 4 February 1918. He is buried at Metz-En-Couture Communal Cemetery British Extension, France. Alfred George Rawlings attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and served with the 6th Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front. He later transferred to the Royal Berkshire Regiment, was re-numbered 50726, and was awarded the Military Medal (London Gazette 19 March 1918). Frank Robinson was born at Wolverton, Buckinghamshire, and attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry at Oxford. He served with the 1st Battalion during the Great War in Mesopotamia, and died on 22 November 1915. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Basra Memorial, Iraq. Frank Waddup was born at Fritwell and attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry at Deddington, Oxfordshire. He served with the 5th Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front and was killed in action on 3 May 1917. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Arras Memorial, France. John Wingrove attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and served with the 5th Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front. He later transferred to the 2nd Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment, and was re-numbered 45402. Charles F. Woodley attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and served with the 6th Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front. He later transferred to the 14th Entrenching Battalion, attached 9th Battalion, Scottish Rifles (Cameronians), and was re-numbered 43740.
Renamed and Defective Medals: Naval General Service 1793-1840, 2 clasps, Algiers, Syria (Lewis Tobias Jones, H.M.S. Princess Charlotte.) naming re-engraved in upright serif and plain capitals, pitting to obverse, otherwise nearly very fine £200-£300 --- Original medal forms part of a group in the Douglas-Morris Collection at the Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth.
Renamed and Defective Medals (7): Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902 (3), 1 clasp, Cape Colony (2212 Pte. A. Galliers. 1st Oxf. L.I.) renamed; 3 clasps, Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal (3172 Pte: F. Saunders. 1/Oxfd. L.I.) surname crudely re-engraved; 3 clasps, Cape Colony, Orange Free State, South Africa 1902 (6529 Pte. S. Harvey. Oxford: L.I.) officially renamed, clasp block detached but present; King’s South Africa 1901-02, 2 clasps, South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902 (2212 Pte. A. Galliers. 1st Oxf. L.I.) renamed, clasp block detached but present; Army L.S. & G.C., V.R. (2212 Pte. A. Galliers. 1st Oxf. L.I.) renamed, reverse engraved to appear as a DCM; Territorial Force Efficiency Medal, G.V.R. (751 Pte J. Adams. 4/Oxf: & Bucks: L.I.) suspension removed and the reverse brooch mounted; Territorial Force Efficiency Medal, G.V.R., naming erased; suspension claws reaffixed on the majority, generally nearly very fine or better (7) £80-£100
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