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*A FINE & RARE CASED 14-BORE DOUBLE-BARRELLED PATENT PERCUSSION PRIMER SPORTING GUN BY WESTLEY RICHARDS, LONDON, serial no. 7762, circa 1852, with 30in. browned twist sighted barrels signed 'WESTLEY RICHARDS. 170. NEW BOND ST. LONDON.', case-hardened border and scroll engraved patent breeches each with slotted platinum plug and patent nipple, border and scroll engraved case-hardened tang and locks, the latter each signed 'WESTLEY RICHARDS', well figured walnut half-stock with chequered grip and fore-end, engraved iron mounts including blued trigger-guard with serial numbered grip safety, silver escutcheon and barrel-bolt escutcheons, and original serial numbered brass-mounted ramrod with worm, retaining virtually all its original finish, Birmingham proof marks, in original fitted brass-cornered mahogany case (lid with repaired crack) lined in green baize with some accessories including an original cloth bag of patent primers, leather pouch with two spare conventional percussion nipples, and a modern bullet mould with plug for hollow-based conical bullets, the lid with trade label of Westley Richards, Gun Manufacturer to His Royal Highness Prince Albert, and two further labels referring to the patent primers and touch-holes, the exterior with flush-fitting brass carrying handle and circular brass escutcheon.

A RARE .577 MONT-STORM BREECH-LOADING PERCUSSION SERVICE RIFLE OF WAR DEPT. TRIALS TYPE, serial no. 3, the lock dated '1859', with 36 3/4in. sighted barrel rifled with three grooves, tip-up breech-block stamped on the inner surface 'A BRAENDLIN MAKER', dated lock marked 'ENFIELD' and with 'VR' cypher, walnut three-quarter stock, brass mounts, iron barrel-bands, sling mounts, and iron ramrod (some external corrosion, especially to barrel), War Dept. inspection marks and obsolete / sold out of service marks.

A RARE .550 WILSON PATENT BREECH-LOADING PERCUSSION RIFLE OF WAR DEPT. TRIALS TYPE, serial no. A103, dated '1861', with 33 1/4in. blued barrel sighted to 300 yards, sliding bolt with locking catch signed 'T. WILSON'S PATENT', dated border engraved lock retaining traces of case-hardened finish and with a crown on the tail, walnut three-quarter stock, blued iron mounts including two barrel bands, the front band incorporating the bayonet lug, iron sling mounts, and iron ramrod, Birmingham proof marks.

A RARE 100-BORE BAILEY'S PATENT FIVE-SHOT DOUBLE-ACTION SIDE-HAMMER PERCUSSION REVOLVER, serial no. 115, circa 1850-60, 10 1/4in. overall, with octagonal sighted barrel, grooved top-strap, the barrel and top-strap pivoting forwards to remove the cylinder, frame marked 'BAILEY'S PATENT' within a cartouche on the right side, chequered figured walnut butt marked 'J.L.G.' on the base, and under-barrel rammer (reblued throughout, hammer retaining screw missing), Birmingham proof marks.

A RARE .577 (SNIDER) CARTER EDWARDS PATENT BOLT-ACTION SERVICE RIFLE OF WAR DEPT. TRIALS TYPE, serial no. 402, based on a Navy rifle, with 30 3/4in. blued barrel with Metford five-groove rifling and sighted to 1,200 yards, bayonet lug on the right side towards the muzzle, blued receiver marked 'CARTER EDWARDS / CE / PATENT / 402', sling safety-catch locking the cocking-piece, walnut three-quarter stock, brass trigger-guard and butt-plate, two iron barrel bands, iron ramrod, Birmingham proof marks.

A VERY RARE SPRINGFIELD ARMORY .45 (ACP) 'MODEL 1911' SELF-LOADING SERVICE PISTOL, serial no. 119692 for 1915, 5in. barrel, slide marked with an eagle, 'SPRINGFIELD ARMORY / U.S.A.' and 'MODEL OF 1911. U.S. ARMY', the frame marked 'UNITED STATES PROPERTY' on the left side, chequered walnut grips, retaining some blued finish throughout, the slide and frame each marked with Springfield 'flaming bomb' inspectors mark.

A RARE .303 SOPER PATENT TARGET RIFLE, serial no. 576, rebarrelled to .303 during its working life, with 30 5/8in. blued barrel fitted with a Parker-Hale tunnel fore-sight, finely scroll engraved case-hardened action signed 'W. SOPER / INVENTOR / PATENTEE & MANUFACTURER / READING' on the left side and 'W. SOPER'S PATENT' on the breech-block, 13 3/4in. figured pistolgrip half-stock with chequered grip and fore-end, the left side of the stock beneath the action fitted with a metal plate bearing a folding B.S.A. target sight, the heel of the butt fitted with the base-plate for a back-position rear-sight, silver escutcheon, finely scroll engraved heel and toe plates, pistolgrip-cap and trigger-guard, green horn fore-end cap, single iron sling eye.

A RARE W. SOPER .450 (2 5/16IN. SOPER) SOPER PATENT TARGET RIFLE, serial no. 654, 33 3/4in. black powder only blued barrel signed 'W. SOPER. RIFLE & GUN MAKER, READING, ENGLAND' and with block for fore-sight, finely scroll engraved action retaining some original faded case-hardened finish, marked with the entwined initials 'WS' and decorated on the left side with a vignette depicting a red stag being chased down by a hound and on the right with a tiger in a jungle setting, the breech-block signed 'W. SOPER'S PATENT', the tang with base for aperture rear-sight, 12 1/4in. figured pistolgrip stock with chequered grip and fore-end, the butt inlet for a back-position sight, trigger-guard engraved with scrollwork and a further scene of a tiger pouncing out of jungle undergrowth, silver escutcheon, shaped green horn fore-end cap, sling eyes.

A RARE WESTLEY RICHARDS 20-BORE 'LONG RANGE "THE FAUNETA"' HAND-DETACHABLE LOCK BOXLOCK EJECTOR BALL & SHOT GUN, serial no. T6452, 28in. nitro reproved barrels with matt sight-rib, leaf sights for 100, 150, 200, 250 and 300 yards and bead foresight, sight-rib re-engraved 'THE FAUNETA', tubes re-engraved 'WESTLEY RICHARDS & CO. LONDON.', 2 3/4in. chambers, rifled muzzles, scroll-back treble-grip action incorporating J. Deeley and L.B. Taylor patent hand-detachable locks, patent no. 17731 of 28th July 1897, with improved 'lighter pull-off' modification, patent no. 10567 of 7th May 1907, use number 2726, hinged floorplate, automatic safety with gold-inlaid 'SAFE' detail, fine scroll engraving, retaining virtually full renewed colour-hardening and finish, 15in. highly-figured replacement semi-pistolgrip stock and replacement fore-end, weight 6lb. 8oz.

A RARE AND MAGNIFICENT MARCEL THYS & SONS .600 NITRO EXPRESS SIDELOCK EJECTOR DOUBLE RIFLE WITH EXTRA .375 H&H MAG. BARRELS, serial no. 0102, 26 1/4in. nitro chopperlump .600NE barrels with matt sight rib, gold-inlaid in gothic script 'M. Thys. Liege. Belgium.', open sights with folding leaf sights and engraved ramp-mounted bead foresight, with beavertail fore-end with finely floral and scroll-engraved grip-catch release lever, 26in. nitro monobloc chopperlump .375 H&H barrels with matt sight rib, gold-inlaid in gothic script 'M. Thys. Liege. Belgium.', open sights with folding leaf sights and engraved ramp-mounted bead foresight, the breech end with a Zeiss Diavari-ZA 1,5...6x42 telescopic sight in quickly-detachable mounts, with beavertail fore-end with finely floral and scroll-engraved grip-catch release lever,. Holland & Holland style bolstered treble-grip action, removable striker discs, manual safety, elongated top-strap, cocking-indicators, articulated front trigger, boldly relief engraved with best bold acanthus scroll and floral motifs on a matt background, retaining much original colour-hardening, 14 1/4in. very highly-figured pistolgrip stock with cheekpiece, engraved and colour-hardened pistolgrip-cap (with trap) and including 1in. rubber recoil pad, weight 13lb. 14oz. (.600NE) and 13lb. 4oz. (.375 H&H, not including scope), in its brass cornered oak and leather case with accessories, together with a quantity of empty brass .600 cases by WR and a quantity of .600 bullets

bles (J.) Rare English Glasses of the 17th & 18th Centuries, n.d. lg. 4to., 1st ed., cl.; Bradbury (F.) History of Old Sheffield Plate, 1912, 4to., cl.; with Four Other Volumes related (6)

Daphne Du Maurier - Autograph of the famous writer mounted with photograph. Christopher Lee and Ingrid Pitt - Signature sheet of 'Classic Movie Monster' American postage stamps - rare in this form.

India General Service 1908-35, 1 clasp, Waziristan 1919-21 (6838190 Pte. G. E. Eyre, K.R.R.C.) contact marks, nearly very fine, rare to regiment £120-140 Private Giles E. Eyre, King’s Royal Rifle Corps, entered the France/Flanders theatre of war on 25 August 1915. The I.G.S. medal with this clasp to the K.R.R.C. is rare as there was no battalion of the regiment present; only a small detachment serving at India at the time qualified. In the 1924 K.R.R. Chronicle, an officer and six men of the 1st Battalion are listed as being presented with the medal and clasp at a church parade on 3 February 1924. Sold with copied m.i.c. confirming the award of the 1914-15 Star, British War and Victory Medal; also with an extract from the rolls which confirms the I.G.S. medal and clasp to Private Eyre as ‘4/K.R.R.C. attached Hd. Qrs. Waziristan Force. Dera Ismail Khan’. £120-£140

India General Service 1908-35, 1 clasp, Waziristan 1921-24 (5840941 Rfmn. H. Brooks, K.R.R.C.) edge bruising, otherwise good very fine, rare to regiment £120-140 The I.G.S. medal with this clasp to the K.R.R.C. is rare as there was no battalion of the regiment present; only a small detachment serving at India at the time qualified. In the 1926 K.R.R. Chronicle, thirteen men of the K.R.R.C. are listed as being presented with the medal and clasp at a parade. Sold with copied m.i.c.; also with an extract from the rolls which confirms the I.G.S. medal and clasp to Rifleman Brooks, 1st Battalion K.R.R.C. The recipient was a prize winner in a musketry competition in Baluchistan in 1923. He died on 29 September 1930. £120-£140

Three: Lieutenant-Colonel J. Maguire, 60th Rifles, late 55th Regment, a Military Knight of Windsor china 1842 (Ensign, 55th Regiment Foot); Punjab 1848-49, 2 clasps, Mooltan, Goojerat (Lieut., 1st Bn. 60th R. Rifles); Indian Mutiny 1857-59, no clasp (Capt., 60th Rifles), each with silver buckle on ribbon; together with a mounted set of three contemporary miniature dress medals, full-size medals with edge bruising, contact marks, nearly very fine, rare combination (7) £1800-2200 John Thomas Maguire purchased the rank of Ensign in the 55th Regiment in February 1840. Serving with them in the 1st China War, he was present at the attack and capture of Amoy, the second capture of Chusan, the attack and capture of Chinhae and the operations up the Yangtsekiang. Promoted to Lieutenant in June 1843 and Captain in July 1854, he served with the 60th Rifles throughout the 2nd Sikh War, including the siege and capture of Mooltan, the battle of Goojerat, the pursuit of the Sikh Army until its surrender at Rawal Pindi, the occupation of Attock and Peshawar, and the expulsion of the Afghan Force beyond the Khyber Pass. During the supression of the Indian Mutiny, he served throughout the campaign of Rohilcund in 1858, including actions at Bugawalla and Nugena, the relief of Moradabad, the action in the Dojura, the assault and capture of Bareilly, the bombardment of Shahjehanpore, the capture of the Fort of Bunnal, the pursuit of the enemy across the River Goomtee, and the destruction of the Fort of Mahomdee. he commanded a wing of the 1st Battalion of the 60th Rifles at the attack and destruction of Shahabad, for which he received the brevet of Major on 20 July 1858, and he commanded the Battalion in the action of Bungagong. During the campaign he was three times mentioned in despatches and recommended for an unattached Majority by Lord Clyde for his services in the field. He subsequently obtained the Brevet of Lieutenant-Colonel. Appointed a Lieutenant-Colonel in August 1864, he was placed on Half Pay in April 1866. Lieutenant-Colonel Maguire was a Miltary Knight of Windsor, 1895-1904. He died in his 85th year. Sold with copied research and with newspaper cuttings bearing his obituary. The medals, miniatures, badge and framed newspaper cuttings, mounted within an ornate gilt frame. £1800-£2200

Pair: Captain E. H. Hobart, King’s Royal Rifle Corps east and West Africa 1887-1900, 1 clasp, 1897-98 (Lt. & A/Insptr., 9/K.R.R.); Ashanti 1900, no clasp, high relief bust (Captain, 9th K.R.R.C.), mounted on pad for display, some edge bruising and contact marks, very fine and rare (2) £800-1000 captain Hobart, K.R.R.C., is several times mentioned in A History of the Gold Coast and Ashanti by W. W. Claridge (Sold with copied extracts). £800-£1000

Four: Sergeant H. Lanning, King’s Royal Rifle Corps 1914-15 Star (Y-246 Sjt., K.R. Rif. C.); British War and Victory Medals (Y-246 Sjt., K.R. Rif. C.); Africa General Service 1902-56, 1 clasp, Nigeria 1918 (Y/246 Sjt., K.R.R.C.) nearly very fine and better, last rare to regiment (4) £300-360 Serjeant Harry Lanning, K.R.R.C. entered the France/Flanders theatre of war on 4 August 1915. He served in East Africa, November 1917-February 1918, and entered Nigeria on 16 March 1918. It is probable he acted as an instructor to the native troops involved in the Abudi War, June/July 1918. Sold with copied m.i.c. and roll extract. £300-£360

Gulf 1990-91, 1 clasp, 16 Jan to 28 Feb 1991 (24314544 Cpl. A. C. Honer, Para.) extremely fine and rare £600-800 One of just 29 such awards to the Parachute Regiment. £600-£800

Six: Staff Sergeant J. P. Jones, Parachute Regiment, late Royal Marines, who won a ‘mention’ with 3 Commando Brigade in Malaya in 1952 naval General Service 1915-62, 2 clasps, Malaya, Near East, M.I.D. oak leaf (RM. 8119 A./Sgt., R.M.); General Service 1918-62, 1 clasp, Cyprus (23542136 Pte., Para.); U.N. Medal, UNFICYP riband; General Service 1962, 1 clasp, South Arabia (23542136 S. Sgt., Para.); Coronation 1953; Army L.S. & G.C., E.II.R., Regular Army (23542136 S. Sgt., Para.), mounted court-style as worn, together with a set of related miniature dress medals, very fine and better and rare (6) £800-1000 John Patrick Jones, who was born in Sutton, Surrey in September 1930, was awarded his mention in despatches ‘for gallant and distinguished service with 3 Commando Brigade, Royal Marines in Malaya during the period 1 January to 30 June 1952’ (London Gazette 21 October 1952 refers), most probably as a member of 42 Commando. Having then attended the Coronation Day parade in 1953, he participated in ‘Operation Musketeer’ in the Near East in 1956 and transferred to the Parachute Regiment towards the end of the decade. Thereafter, he witnessed further active service in Cyprus 1958-59 and in South Arabia in the 1960s, in addition to a tour of duty in the former country under the the auspices of the U.N. £800-£1000

Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 1 clasp, Elandslaagte (4148 Pte. A. Flannagan, Manch. Regt.) very fine and a rare single clasp £400-450 The recipient was wounded at Elandslaagte on 21 October 1899, while serving in the 1st Battalion; sold with Medal & clasp roll verification. £400-£450

Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 1 clasp, Elandslaagte (4187 Pte. J. Heath, Manchester Regt.) nearly extremely fine and a rare single clasp £600-700 The recipient was killed in action at Elandslaagte on 21 October 1899, while serving in ‘D’ Company of the 1st Battalion, Manchesters. £600-£700

Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 4 clasps, Relief of Mafeking, Elandslaagte, Defence of Ladysmith, Transvaal (271 Serjt. A. A. Apps, Imp. Lt. Horse) unit officially corrected, good very fine and a rare combination of clasps £500-550 Alfred Albert Apps was wounded at Lanier’s Nek on 3 November 1899 and was discharged in November 1900. £500-£550

Five: Major W. L. Forbes, Royal Fusiliers and Imperial Light Horse, who was severely wounded at Elandslaagte afghanistan 1878-80, 1 clasp, Kandahar (2nd Lieut., 2/7th Foot); India General Service 1854-95, 2 clasps, Burma 1885-7, Burma 1887-89 (Lieut., 2d Bn. R. Fus.); Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 4 clasps, Cape Colony, Elandslaagte, Orange Free State, Transvaal (Capt., R. of O.); King’s South Africa 1901-02, 2 clasps, South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902 (Capt., R. of O.); Coronation 1911, privately engraved, ‘Major W. L. Forbes, Gold Staff Officer, Westminster Abbey’, edge brusing, generally very fine or better and a rare combination of awards £1600-1800 william Lachlan Forbes was born in Aberdeenshire in August 1859, the son of General Sir John Forbes, G.C.B., and was educated at Clifton and the R.M.C. Sandhurst. Originally commissioned in the 106th Foot, he transferred to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Foot in March 1879, and quickly saw action at the defence of Kandahar and in the battle of September 1880, when he served as Orderly Officer to Colonel Daubeny. advanced to Lieutenant in July 1881, he next witnessed active service as an Assistant to the Brigade Commissariat Officer in the Burma operations of 1886-87, and received advancement to Captain in July of the latter year. Having then been placed on half-pay, he served as Adjutant of the 1st (Volunteer) Battalion, Gordon Highlanders 1890-96 and was transferred to the Reserve of Officers in 1898. but with the outbreak of hostilties in South Africa, he gained appointment as a Lieutenant in the Imperial Light Horse, and was severely wounded at Elandslaagte. Thereafter, he was employed in the Remount Service, and was granted the rank of Major on being placed back on the Reserve of Officers. Onetime a J.P. for Aberdeenshire, Forbes died in the 1930s. £1600-£1800

A most unusual Spanish War 1898, Boer War and Great War group of five awarded to Major S. Norton-Taylor, 10th Canadian Infantry, late 1st Florida Infantry and Imperial Light Horse queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 5 clasps, Cape Colony, Elandslaagte, Defence of Ladysmith, Orange Free State, Transvaal (Lieut., I.L.H.); 1914-15 Star (Lieut., 10/Can. Inf.); British War and Victory Medals (Major); U.S.A., Spanish War Service Medal 1898, the edge officially numbered ‘30475’, generally good very fine and rare (5) £1200-1500 seymour Norton-Taylor, who was born at Bovey Tracey, Devon in November 1878, first saw active service as a Private in ‘C’ Company, 1st Regiment of Florida Infantry in the Spanish War of 1898, having enlisted in that corps at Tampa, Florida that May. Discharged at Tallahassee at the end of the same year, he next travelled to South Africa, where he enlisted in the 1/Imperial Light Horse and was present at Elandslaagte and the defence of Ladysmith, and participated in later operations after being commissioned in the 2nd Battalion. having then made his way to Canada where he worked as a rancher, Norton-Taylor volunteered for the Overseas Expeditionary Force at Valcartier, Quebec in August 1914 and was quickly commissioned as a Lieutenant in the 10th Battalion Canadian Infantry. Embarked for England in the following month, and thence for France, he was wounded by shrapnel in his right hand on 13 March 1915, and evacuated to the U.K. rejoining his unit in the Field as a Temporary Captain a month or two later, he was seriously wounded by an explosion in his dugout at Ploegsteert on 23 October 1915: ‘During the month of October 1915, Private Clutterbuck found a nose-cap of a shell. He took it into the dugout, where he accidentally dropped it. An explosion followed with the result that Captain Norton-Taylor, who was in the dugout, was severely wounded in the legs and Private Clutterbuck was also severely wounded - he afterwards died as a result of his injuries’ (an official witness statement refers). rushed to a Casualty Clearing Station at Bailleul, and thence to the Red Cross Hospital at Le Touquet, both of Norton-Taylor’s legs were amputated below the knee, but, after gangrene set in, it was necessary to amputate the right leg above the knee. Yet the latter still caused problems by the time he was strong enough to be transferred to a hospital in the U.K., and a further ‘shortening operation’ took place in December 1916. Indeed Norton-Taylor did not return to duty until May 1917, having by then mastered the use of his artificial limbs, and was seconded to the Adjutant-General’s Branch as, appropriately enough, a Hospital Representative. He was honourably discharged as a Major in October 1919, and, given his terrible wounds, lived to a ripe old age, dying at Westgate, Kent in December 1963; sold with a quantity of research. £1200-£1500

A rare Napoleonic Wars Guelphic Medal group of four awarded to Corporal Frederick Armstadt, 1st Hussars, King’s German Legion, for gallantry at the bridge of Gallegos in July 1810 and also at the battle of Toulouse in April 1814 guelphic Medal for Bravery 1815 (Ferdinand Almstedt, Corporal im 1t. Hus. Rt. K.D.L. zu N’olle) a few letters of naming obscured through contact wear; Military General Service 1793-1814, 9 clasps, Talavera, Busaco, Fuentes D’Onor, Salamanca, Vittoria, Pyrenees, Nivelle, Orthes, Toulouse (Fredk. Armstadt, 1st Hussars, K.G.L.); Waterloo 1815 (Frederick A-mstadt, 1st Reg. Hussars, K.G.L.) fitted with original steel clip and ring suspension, one letter of surname obscured through contact wear; Hannoverian Medal for Volunteers of the K.G.L. 1814, unnamed as issued, edge bruising and contact marks to the earlier awards, fine or better, the M.G.S. nearly extremely fine £6000-8000 guelphic Medal for Bravery announced in the 1819 list, for bravery at Gallegos, 4 July 1810, and Toulouse, 10 April 1814. the citation published in Beamish’s History of the German Legion reads: ‘At the bridge of Gallegos, 4th of June 1810, when the rear-guard under captain Krauchenberg, opposed the superior numbers of enemy with such persevering bravery, corporal Almstedt particularly distinguished himself. He was always one of the foremost in repelling the attacks, and saved the life of serjeant Bergmann, who, surrounded and wounded, was rescued by his cutting down several of those who were taking the serjeant away a prisoner, and putting the rest to flight. In general, upon all occasions when volunteers were required, Almstedt was the first to offer himself.’ The citation published in German by von Wissel also adds, ‘This exceptionally brave soldier was always first to step out when volunteers were needed and he also distinguished himself at the battle of Toulouse 1814’. ferdinand/Frederick Almstedt/Armstadt joined the 1st Dragoons (Hussars from 1814) K.G.L., a recruit from England, on 28 February 1807. He fought with his regiment in Portugal, Spain and France from June 1809 until the end of the war in 1814, and the campaign of 1815 in France and Flanders, including the battle of Waterloo. He returned to Hannover shortly afterwards and was discharged there on 24 February 1816, when the regiment was disbanded. Sold with full research including extracts from medal roll and muster and pay lists. £6000-£8000

A rare Kelat-i-Ghilzie group of four to Sepoy Emambux Khan, 43rd Bengal Native Light Infantry defence of Kelat-i-Ghilzie 1842 (Sepoy Emambux Khan, 43rd regt. N.I.) fitted with steel clip and straight bar suspension; Ghuznee Cabul 1842 (Sepoy Emambux Khan, 43rd regt. N.I.) fitted with steel clip and straight bar suspension; Maharajpoor Star 1843 (Sepoy Emam Bux Khan, 43rd Regt. N.I.) with brass hook suspension; Sutlej 1845-46, for Sobraon 1846 (Sepoy Emambux Khan, 43rd L.I.) impressed naming, light contact marks, otherwise better than very fine and a very rare group (4) £3500-4000 First sold by Debenham’s in August 1900. 55 Europeans and 877 Indian troops took part in the defence of Kelat-I-Ghilzie, including 247 men of the 43rd Bengal Native Infantry. sepoy Emambux Khan is confirmed on the roll of the 2nd Company 43rd N.I., under the command of Lieutenant R. A. Trotter, as being ‘present during the investment and blockade of the Fort of Khelat i Ghilzie in 1842’. following the disastrous retreat of the British from Cabul in January 1842, Ghuznee was retaken by the Afghans, and the isolated garrison at Kelat-i-Ghilzie was invested. The garrison consisted of 600 of the Shah’s 3rd Infantry, three companies of the 43rd N.I., totalling 247 men, forty-four European and twenty-two native artillery, twenty-three Bengal Sappers and Miners, and seven British officers, all under Captain John Halkett Craigie. the total strength of the garrison of Kelat-i-Ghilzie, situated about eighty miles north east of Candahar, was fifty-five Europeans and 877 natives. In spite of ‘cold and privation unequalled by any of the troops in Afghanistan’ the garrison put up a successful defence through the whole winter till relieved on 26 May 1842. On the 21st May, however, the garrison had repulsed a particularly determined attack by some 6,000 Afghans: ‘Khelat-i-Ghilzai was attacked at a quarter before four o’clock’, reported Craigie, ‘The enemy advanced to the assault in the most determined manner, each column consisting of upwards of 2,000 men, provided with 30 scaling ladders, but after an hour’s fighting were repulsed and driven down the hill, losing five standards, one of which was planted three times in one of the embrasures ... The greatest gallantry and coolness were displayed by every commissioned and non-commissioned officer, and private (both European and Native) engaged in meeting the attack of the enemy, several of whom were bayoneted on top of the sandbags forming our parapets ...’ Colonel Wymer and his relieving force consequently were only engaged in destroying the defences and caring for the sick and wounded, until the 1st of June when they returned to Candahar. £3500-£4000

Three: Private John Willis, Royal Marines south Africa 1834-53 (Private, R.M.); China 1857-60, 1 clasp, Taku Forts 1860, unnamed as issued; Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., V.R., wide suspension (Pte., 93rd Coy. R.M., 21 Yrs.), all fitted with contemporary riband buckles for wearing, contact marks, edge bruising and a little polished, nearly very fine or better and rare (3) £800-1000 John Willis was born near Haverhill, Essex and enlisted in the Royal Marines at Newmarket in November 1847, aged 22 years. Assigned to the Chatham Division, his subsequent seagoing appointments included H.M.S. Castor, May 1849 to February 1853, in which period he was one of around 140 seamen and marines landed in South Africa in 1851, the majority to man the garrison constructed at the mouth of the River Buffalo (see roll in Naval Medals 1793-1856, by Captain K. J. Douglas-Morris, R.N.). So, too, the Comus, May 1853 to June 1858, and the gunboat Havock, from July 1859, in which former ship he qualified for his Second China War Medal and later the clasp ‘Taku Forts 1860’. Having then removed to the Sanspareil, he was awarded his fifth Good Conduct Badge in November 1868 and his L.S. & G.C. Medal in January 1869, shortly before he was pensioned ashore in July of that year. £800-£1000

Six: Paymaster-in-Chief Frederick Lima, Royal Navy india General Service 1854-95, 1 clasp, Pegu (Fredk. Lima, Clerk, ‘Cleopatra’); Baltic 1854-55 (F. Lima, H.M.S. Princess Royal, 1854), contemporary engraved naming; Crimea 1854-56, 1 clasp, Sebastopol (F. Lima, H.M.S. Princess Royal), contemporary engraved naming; Egypt 1882-89, dated reverse, no clasp (F. Lima, Paymr., R.N., H.M.S. Achilles); Turkish Crimea 1855, Sardinian die (F. Lima, R.N., H.M.S. Princess Royal, 1855), contemporary engraved naming; Khedive’s Star 1882, the first with attempted erasure of rank, generally good very fine and a rare combination of awards (6) £800-1000 Frederick Lima entered the Royal Navy as an Assistant Clerk in November 1841, was advanced to Clerk in July 1847 and joined H.M.S. Cleopatra in the latter rank in January 1851. Having then witnessed active service in the same ship in the Pegu operations in 1853, he removed to the Princess Royal in November of the latter year, and went on to serve in the Baltic and Crimea 854-56, including the bombardment and capture of Bomarsund, and participation in the Kilburn and Sebastopol operations. Promoted to Assistant Paymaster immediately following these operations, he was advanced to Paymaster in November 1859 and witnessed further active service in the Achilles off Egypt in 1882. Lima was placed on the Retired List at his own request in January 1883, aged 59 years, in which month he was also granted the rank of Paymaster-in-Chief; sold with a file of research, including copy medal roll verification. £800-£1000

Pair: Drill Corporal G. Robertson, Bengal Artillery india General Service 1854-95, 1 clasp, North West Frontier (6900 Gunr., Bengal Arty.); Indian Mutiny 1857-59, no clasp (Drill Corpl., 1st Bn. Bengal Art.) minor contact marks, good very fine and a rare rank (2) £360-400 £360-£400

Eight: Victualling Chief Petty Officer William Brumham, Royal Navy india General Service 1854-95, 1 clasp, Burma 1885-7 (S.S. Asst., H.M.S. Bacchante); Egypt and Sudan 1882-89, dated reverse, 1 clasp, Alexandria 11th July (S.S. Asst., H.M.S. Alexandra); China 1900, no clasp (Shp. Std., H.M.S. Centurion); 1914-15 Star (107858 S.S., R.N.); British War and Victory Medals (107858 V.C.P.O., R.N.); Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., V.R., narrow suspension (Ship’s Stewd., H.M.S. Euphrates); Khedive’s Star 1882, contact marks, generally very fine and a rare combination of awards (8) £800-1000 William Brumham was born in Portsmouth in January 1863 and entered the Royal Navy as a Ship’s Steward’s Boy in February 1879. Subsequently present in the same rate aboard H.M.S. Alexandra in the Egypt operations of 1882, including the bombardment of Alexandria, he went on to witness further active service in the Burma operations of 1885-7 as a Ship’s Steward Assistant in the Bacchante. So, too, as a Ship’s Steward in the Centurion during the Boxer Rebellion, about the time he was awarded his L.S. & G.C. Medal. Having then been pensioned ashore in June 1906, Brumham was recalled on the renewal of hostilities in August 1914 and, after brief service in the cruiser King Alfred, held an appointment in the shore establishment Victory I until demobilised as a Victualling Chief Petty Officer at the War’s end; sold with a file of research, including copy medal roll verification. £800-£1000

Pair: Major-General A. F. Terry, King’s Royal Rifle Corps south Africa 1877-79, 1 clasp, 1879 (Major A. F. Terry, 3/60th Foot); Cape of Good Hope General Service 1880-97, 1 clasp, Transkei (Major A. F. Terry, 3rd 60th Rifles) impressed naming, nearly extremely fine and extremely rare (2) £1200-1500 Only 16 Cape of Good Hope General Service medals were awarded to Imperial troops, of which 12 went to the 3rd K.R.R.C., 8 of these with the clasp for Transkei. astley Fellowes Terry was born on 12 May 1840 and was first commissioned into the King’s Royal Rifle Corps as an Ensign on 1 April 1858. He was promoted to Lieutenant in September 1860, Captain in December 1867, and Major in January 1880. He served with the 3rd 60th Rifles in the South African War in 1879, during the Zulu campaign (Medal with clasp), and took part in the operations in East Griqualand in 1880 (Medal with clasp). Promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in July 1881, he became Colonel in July 1885, and retired as Hon. Major-General on 1 July 1887. Major-General Terry, who was a Knight of Grace of St John of Jerusalem, died on 8 December 1926. £1200-£1500

Nine: Warrant Officer Class 1 E. Morris, Royal Engineers egypt and Sudan 1882-89, dated reverse, 1 clasp, Tel-El-Kebir (17100 Sapr., A. Tp. [R.E.]); 1914-15 Star (52998 Q.M. Sjt., R.E.); British War and Victory Medals, M.I.D. oak leaf (52998 A.W.O. Cl.1, R.E.); Defence; Coronation 1911; Army L.S. & G.C., V.R., 3rd issue (17100Q/Mr. Sgt., R.E.); Army Meritorious Service Medal, G.VI.R., 1st issue (52998 W.O. Cl.1, R.E.); Khedive’s Star 1882, unnamed, mounted court style for display, first pitted, good fine; others very fine and better, rare long service combination (9) £800-1000 Warrant Officer 1st Class E. Morris, Royal Engineers, was born in 1865 and enlisted into the Army in 1880. He served during the Second World War as a Storekeeper with the R.E., and was awarded the M.S.M. by A.O. 34 of 1946. Morris died in 1961 (Ref. The Annuity Meritorious Service Medal 1847-1953, by I. McInnes). M.I.D. not confirmed. £800-£1000

Eight: Master Aircrewman E. F. Hughes, Royal Air Force 1939-45 Star; Burma Star; Defence and War Medals; General Service 1918-62, 2 clasps, Palestine 1945-48, Malaya (W.O. (1320703), R.A.F.); Korea 1950-53 (1320703 F./Sgt., R.A.F.); U.N. Korea; R.A.F. L.S. & G.C., E.II.R. (M. Sig. (1320703), R.A.F.), mounted as worn, together with a set of related miniature dress medals and his wife’s 1939-45 Defence & War Medals, in their card forwarding box, generally good very fine and rare (18) £400-500 Ernest Frank Hughes was born in Croydon in January 1923 and enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in June 1941. Having then witnessed active service in Burma, and been demobbed in June 1946, he joined the strength of Royal Air Force as an A.C. 2 (Signaller) in March 1947. Advanced to Flight Sergeant in the following year, he served in Palestine and Malaya, in addition to the Korea operations as a member of crew in Sunderlands of the Far East Flying Boat Wing (88, 205 and 209 Squadrons). Appointed a Master Aircrewman in January 1957, and awarded his L.S. & G.C. Medal in October 1959, hughes was finally discharged in January 1969; sold with a copy of his service record - which confirms all of the above listed Medals and clasps, including a late claim for his G.S.M. for ‘Palestine 1945-48’ & ‘Malaya’ in January 1960, together with a crew photograph and a Korean War veteran newsletter, with front page feature on the Far East Flying Boat Wing. The vendor states that Master Crewman E. F. Hughes was in the air when the first atom bomb went off on Christmas Island. mrs. Ethel Francis Hughes (nee Dixon), who married in June 1946, served in the W.A.A.F. in the 1939-45 War, but did not claim her Defence & War Medals until many years later. £400-£500

Five: Major D. Derham-Reid, Manchester Regiment, attached East Lancashire Regiment 1939-45 Star; Burma Star; Defence and War Medals; Africa General Service 1902-56, 1 clasp, Kenya (Major D. Derham-Reid, E. Lan. R.) mounted as worn, the last rare to the regiment, very fine (5) £250-300 Major D. Derham-Reid served as a Lieutenant and Captain with the Manchester Regiment from August 1939, but at various times was attached to the East Lancashire Regiment. sold with some service details. £250-£300

Four: Regimental Sergeant-Major Benjamin Higgs, Essex Regiment 1939-45 Star; Defence and War Medals; Africa General Service 1902-56, 1 clasp, Kenya (2654417 W.O. Cl.2 B. Higgs, Essex.) the last rare to the regiment, good very fine (4) £250-300 benjamin Higgs originally joined the Coldstream Guards but transferred to the Essex Regiment in the early 1930s, serving with the 2nd Battalion in France 1939-40. He was promoted to Regimental Sergeant-Major (W.O.1) in 1951 but subsequently reverted to W.O.2, serving as a Company Sergeant-Major in the King’s African Rifles during the Mau Mau rebellion. He is believed to be one of only three members of the regiment to qualify for the Kenya medal. He had left the Army by 1957 and died in 1979. sold with research notes and extracts from the regimental magazine. £250-£300

Pair: Leading Aircraftsman R. J. Downer, Royal Air Force korea 1950-53, 1st issue (4046084 L.A.C., R.A.F.); U.N. Korea, unnamed, extremely fine, rare (2) £280-320 Just 450 Korea Medals were awarded to the Royal Air Force. £280-£320

A rare Great War Egypt and Palestine operations C.B., C.M.G., Boer War ‘Edward VII’ D.S.O. group of twelve awarded to Major-General Sir Michael Bowman-Manifold, Royal Engineers, whose distinguished career spanned extensive service in the Sudan campaigns 1896-98 as Staff Officer Telegraphs and one of Kitchener’s R.E. ‘Band of Boys’ - and having his horse shot from under at Firket - through to senior command in the Great War as a Director of Signals of both the Mediterranean and Egyptian Expeditionary Forces, which latter appointments included active service in Gallipoli and Palestine: other than the fact his private journals and letters of the Sudan period are extensively quoted in relevant histories, he published his own account of the campaigns in Egypt & Palestine 1914-18, in which he acknowledges the assistance given him by Lawrence of Arabia the Most Honourable Order of The Bath, C.B. (Military) Companion’s neck badge, silver-gilt and enamel; The Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George, C.M.G. Companion’s neck badge, silver-gilt and enamel; Distinguished Service Order, E.VII.R., silver-gilt and enamel; Queen’s Sudan 1896-98 (Lieut. M. G. E. Manifold, R.E.); Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 3 clasps, Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal (Capt. M. G. E. Bowman-Manifold, D.S.O., R.E.); 1914 star, with clasp (Major M. G. E. Bowman-Manifold, D.S.O., R.E.); British War and Victory Medals, M.I.D. oak leaf (Brig. Gen. M. G. E. Bowman-Manifold); Turkish Order of Osmanieh, 4th class breast badge, silver, silver-gilt and enamel; Turkish Order of Medjidie, 4th class breast badge, silver, silver-gilt and enamel; French Legion of Honour, Officer’s breast badge, gold and enamel; Khedive’s Sudan 1896-1908, 5 clasps, Firket, Hafir, Sudan 1897, The Atbara, Khartoum (Lieut. M. G. E. Manifold, R.E., Dongola 1896) original mounting as worn, enamel work chipped in places, severely so on the Osmanieh badge, otherwise generally very fine (12) £8000-10000 C.B. London Gazette 4 June 1917: ‘For valuable services rendered in connection with Military operations in the Field’. c.M.G. London Gazette 11 April 1918: ‘For distinguished services in the field in connection with Military operations culminating in the capture of Jerusalem.’ D.S.O. London Gazette 27 September 1901: ‘For services during the recent operations in South Africa’. michael Graham Egerton Bowman-Manifold was born in June 1871, the son of a Surgeon-General, and was commissioned in the Royal Engineers in February 1891. the Dongola Expedition 1896 advanced to Lieutenant in February 1894, he commenced a lengthy span of service in Egypt and the Sudan, on attachment to the Egyptian Army, in November 1895, and served as Staff Officer of Telegraphs in the Dongola Expedition of 1896, when, as one of eight R.E. subalterns present at the commencement of operations, he became one of ‘Kitchener’s Band of Boys’ - indeed his subsequent services are the subject of frequent mention in Colonel E. W. C. Sandes’ famous history of these R.E. operations: ‘The story of how a few subalterns of the Royal Engineers carried a railway and telegraph up the Nile towards Dongola in 1896 is a record of many dangers and hardships and most strenuous endeavour ... They had youth, courage and endurance, and to these they added unswerving devotion to their work and unstinted admiration of their leader, Kitchener, both as a soldier and an engineer ... Manifold played a lone hand in Telegraphs. Buoyed up by enthusiasm, and untrammelled by red tape, the ‘band of Boys’ accomplished, time after time, the seemingly impossible.’ One of Manifold’s first actions was to rapidly extend the telegraph to Akasha, which place was taken in March 1896, an exercise that henceforth included suitable collaboration with the R.E’s railway construction parties, a point noted by Winston Churchill in his classic, The River War: ‘As the railway had been made, the telegraph-wire had, of course, followed it. Every consignment of rails and sleepers had been accompanied by its proportion of telegraph-poles, insulators, and wire. Another subaltern of Engineers, Lieutenant Manifold, who managed this part of the military operations against the Arabs, had also laid a line from Merawi to Abu Hamed, so that immediate correspondence was effected round the entire circle of rail and river.’ Yet if normal engineer duties were the order of the day, Kitchener ensured his eight-strong R.E. ‘Band of Boys’ reverted to a military role in the case of operational forays, acting as gallopers to Brigade Commanders, forays that became known to them as ‘weekends at the front’. And in Bowman-Manifold’s case, his first weekender proved to be the storming and capture of Firket on 7 June, an action which he later recorded for posterity’s sake, and one in which his horse was shot from under him: ‘The long, snaky column of troops crawled along until 4.30 a.m., when we got on to a plain about three-quarters of a mile wide. Firkey Mountain, a very scarped rock, was on our left, and the Nile on our right ... I had plenty of hard riding, some of it very difficult. At first we moved along very quietly. Then a horse neighed and I heard Hunter say, ‘That’s given the show away,’ but apparently it did not alarm the outposts for another ten minutes elasped before we were fired on ... Men and horsemen were running about, waving flags and firing. The rattle of fire from both sides was deafening, and soon our men began to get hit ... Houses in the village were soon ablaze, and the Egyptians kept advancing continuously ... All along the river was a thick grove of palm-trees with houses under them, and here very heavy fighting took place. My horse was hit at about 250 yards range. A party of horsemen attempted to charge out from behind the houses, but never reached more than 50 yards ... I started back at 5 p.m. with Stevenson and Polwhele and rode into Akasha early next morning. There I got 30 camels and began my return journey to Firket at 2 p.m., laying the telegraph line, and having halted by the river at night, pushed into the Sirdar’s camp on June 9th.’ By early July, Bowman-Manifold was able to write in his journal: ‘I have a complete set of telephones from station to station all along the railway between Wadi Halfa and Akasha, 87 miles, eight stations. They work beautifully, and all the telegraphs are also in good working order. The great anxiety now is cholera. To-day, there is a case at Wadi Halfa. It is pretty warm here - 118 degrees in my tent.’ While in September - Kitchener being ‘ever mindful of his chosen ‘Band of Brothers’ ‘ - He found himself acting as a galloper in the action at Hafir, although on this occasion he remained unscathed, most of the fighting being carried out by our artillery and gunboats. He was, nonetheless, mentioned in despatches (London Gazette 3 November 1896 refers) and awarded the 4th class Order of Medjidie, his remarkable accomplishments being described at length by Sandes - anxious exchanges with Kitchener were commonplace, so too temperatures upto 130 degrees, the whole compounded by a shortage of qualified engineers and suitable equipment. Colonel Sandes concludes: ‘The total length of the telegraph lines erected along the Nile during 1896 was 630 miles. Manifold had to travel far and fast to supervise the work of his partially trained men. Indeed, between March 1896 and his departure on leave in January 1897, he covered more than 5,000 miles by land and water. His trials were many and varied; but, in the end, he had the satisfaction of knowing that, through his wanderings in the wilderness, he had succeeded in providing an efficient line of telegraphic communication in the reconquered province of Dongola.’ The Atbara and Omdurman back from his leave, Bowman-Manifold extended the telegraph yet further, hot on the heels of General Hunter’s push to Abu Hamed in August 1897, ‘unwinding

A rare Great War East Africa operations C.M.G. group of nine awarded to Colonel C. U. Price, Indian Army, C.O. of Jacob’s Rifles and a successful Column Commander whose forces captured Dar-es-Salaam in September 1916 the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George, C.M.G., Companion’s neck badge, silver-gilt and enamel; East and Central Africa 1897-99, 1 clasp, Uganda 1897-98 (Lieut., 3/Baluch L.I.); China 1900, no clasp (Captain, 30/Baluch L.I.); 1914-15 Star (Lt. Col., 1/130 Baluchis); British War and Victory Medals, M.I.D. oak leaf (Col.); Delhi Durbar 1903, impressed naming, ‘Colonel C. V. Price, 130th Baluchis’; Delhi Durbar 1911, unnamed as issued; Russian Order of St. Anne, 3rd class breast badge, with swords, by Osipov, St. Petersburg, gold and enamel, manufacturer’s initials on reverse, ‘56’ zolotnik mark for 1909-17 on eyelet, and other stamp marks on sword hilts, generally good very fine (9) £3500-4000 c.M.G. London Gazette 26 June 1916. mention in despatches London Gazette 30 June 1916, 7 March 1918 and 6 August 1918 (all East Africa). russian Order of St. Anne London Gazette 15 February 1917. charles Uvedale Price was born in May 1868 and was educated at the United Services College, Westward Ho! and the R.M.C., Sandhurst. Originally commissioned into the Royal Dublin Fusiliers in February 1888, he transferred to the Indian Army in January 1890 and served in the Zhob Valley on the North West Frontier in the same year, afterwards gaining an appointment as a Wing Officer in the 30th Regiment of Bombay Infantry (3rd Baluchis). in January 1897, however, he was attached to the 27th Bombay Infantry (1st Baluchis) as Adjutant, and went on to win his first campaign medal with them in the Uganda operations of 1897-98. During this latter campaign he was engaged against the Sudanese mutineers, including the operations at Jeruba and Kijangute, and in Budda and Ankoli, gaining a mention in despatches. shortly afterwards he sailed for China, and served as a Captain in the course of the Boxer Rebellion. Then in 1903, back in India, Price attended the Delhi Durbar, attached as a Political Officer to His Highness the Mir of Khairpur. He was advanced to Major in February 1906. appointed a Double Company Commander in the 130th K.G.O. Baluchis (Jacob’s Rifles) in October 1911, Price assumed command of the regiment in the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in April 1915, and went on to serve with distinction in the operations in East Africa. in July 1915, in the fighting in the Mbuyuni region, he was appointed to the command of the flanking column, comprising Jacob’s Rifles, the 4th K.A.R. and Cole’s Scouts, sent by Brigadier-General Malleson to envelop the enemy’s left. Carrying out a well timed circuitous night march, Price attacked at daybreak on the 14th, but by 8 a.m. his force was checked by strong enemy resistance, and it became necessary to await more positive news from the main attacking force to the Germans’ front. This initiative, however, also lost momentum, and by the time Malleson’s order to call off the assault reached Price, his force had been under a lively hostile fire for at least an hour. Unperturbed, Price disengaged and ‘brought away his force in a steady and well-executed withdrawal, with slight loss’ (Official history refers). in early July 1916, as C.O. of a 500-strong force, comprising the 5th Light Infantry and a company of the 101st Grenadiers, Price was given the task of capturing Tanga. Carrying out a successful landing on the southern shore of Manza Bay on the 5th, he moved his force inland towards Amboni, ‘which was reached next day after disposing of some slight resistance on the way’. And on the 7th, he and his men crossed the Zigi River, the final natural barrier between them and their goal. Tanga, however, was found to have been deserted by the enemy, although some had remained behind in the surrounding bush from where they sniped at the British with good effect. Flushing out such opposition by means of frequent patrolling, Price moved on to Kange on the 17th. then in early August, he was given overall command of two columns, numbering in total some 1400 men, to secure the crossings of the Wami River. This he successfully accomplished in little more than a week, thereby assisting in opening up the way forward to attack Dar-es-Salaam. For the final advance on the seat of government and principal port of German East Africa, Price’s force was bolstered in strength by some 500 men and equipped with 20 machine-guns. The whole was assembled at Bagamoyo at the end of the month, and on the 31st, in two columns, it advanced on Dar-es-Salaam, while two smaller parties penetrated north to secure the railway line and some important bridges. Just four days later, having encountered little opposition, Price’s main force was assembled on the heights near Mabibo, from which the port could be seen less than three miles away. And early on that morning, after the Royal Navy had despatched a delegation aboard the Echo with a formal summons to surrender, the 129th Baluchis, which had acted as Price’s advanced guard throughout the operation, entered and took over the town. Once again, the Germans had made a hasty retreat, leaving behind 80 hospital patients and 370 non-combatants. for his part in some of the above related operations in German East Africa, Price was awarded the C.M.G and mentioned in despatches, in addition to gaining appointment to the Russian Order of St Anne. And in the later operations of that theatre of war between 1917-18, he again distinguished himself and was twice more the recipient of a ‘mention’. The Colonel, who retired to South Africa, died in May 1956. £3500-£4000

‘It was my great good fortune to be appointed General Staff Officer to the Arab Forces in the early part of 1918. From then throughout the final phase of the Arab revolt on till Damascus, I worked, travelled, and fought alongside Lawrence. Night after night we lay wrapped in our blankets under the cold stars of the desert. At these times one learns much of a man. Lawrence took the limelight from those of us professional soldiers who were fortunate enough to serve with him, but never once have I heard even a whisper of jealousy. We sensed that we were serving with a man immeasurably our superior ... In my considered opinion, Lawrence was the greatest genius whom England has produced in the last two centuries, and I do not believe that there is anyone who had known him who will not agree with me. If ever a genius, a scholar, an artist and an imp of Shaitan were rolled into one personality, it was Lawrence.’ Colonel W. F. Stirling, D.S.O., M.C., from his autobiography, Safety Last. the important Boer War and Great War Palestine operations D.S.O. and Bar, M.C. group of fourteen awarded to Colonel W. F. Stirling, Chief of Staff to Lawrence of Arabia and Advisor to Emir Feisal in Damascus in 1918, late Royal Dublin Fusiliers and Royal Flying Corps distinguished Service Order, E.VII.R., silver-gilt and enamel, with Second Award Bar; Military Cross, G.V.R., unnamed as issued; Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 5 clasps, Tugela Heights, Orange Free State, Relief of Ladysmith, Laing’s Nek, Belfast (Lieut., R. Dub. Fus.); King’s South Africa 1901-02, 2 clasps, South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902 (Lieut., R. Dub. Fus.); 1914-15 Star (Capt., R. Dub. Fus.); British War and Victory Medals, with M.I.D. oak leaf (Major); Egypt, Order of the Nile, 4th Class breast badge, silver and enamel; Italy, Order of the Crown, 5th Class breast badge, gold and enamel; Syria, Order of Merit, breast badge, gilt metal and enamel; Hedjaz, Order of El Nahda, a rare first type 2nd Class set, comprising neck badge and breast badge, in silver, gold and enamels, complete with original plaited neck cord; Albania, Order of Scanderbeg, a scarce first type Grand Cross set of insignia by Cravanzola, Roma, comprising sash badge, silver-gilt and enamels, and breast star, silver, gilt and enamels, complete with full dress sash, minor official correction to surname on the Boer War awards, reverse centre lacking on the Italian piece, enamel work chipped in places but otherwise generally very fine or better (12) £25000-30000 d.S.O. London Gazette 28 January 1902: ‘For skill and gallantry in action at Kaffirspruit, 19 December 1901.’ Bar to D.S.O. London Gazette 8 March 1919: ‘For gallant service rendered rendered during the operations resulting in the occupation of Damascus by Arab Forces. By his example and personal courage whilst leading the Arabs he, in conjunction with another officer, was mainly instrumental in securing the successful occupation of the town and the establishment, without grave disorder, of the Arab Military Authorities therein.’ The other officer referred to in the above citation is almost certainly Lawrence. m.C. London Gazette 1 January 1918. walter Francis Stirling was born on 31 January 1880, the son of Captain Francis Stirling, R.N., who was last heard of having left Bermuda on that same day in command of the training frigate Atalanta, and was presumed lost at sea with all hands shortly afterwards - one of the notorious ‘Bermuda Triangle’ mysteries. Young Walter spent much of his early life at Hampton Court Palace where Queen Victoria had set aside a wing for widows of Naval officers who died in the course of duty, was educated at Sandhurst and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Dublin Fusiliers in 1889. actively engaged in South Africa with the 4th Division Mounted Infantry in Dundonald’s Brigade, Natal Field Force, and afterwards as Adjutant, 14th Mounted Infantry, he took part in operations which included the Relief of Ladysmith and the actions at Laing’s Nek, Belfast and Kafferspruit. sterling’s service with the Mounted Infantry during the latter part of the War mostly involved long drives against the blockhouses, operations which, he later noted in his autobiography, Safety Last, ‘entailed dividing the countryside into huge triangles, marked out at every six or eight hundred yards with armoured blockhouses interconnected with double barbed-wire fences. It was a laborious process but profitable, for once a Boer Commando got into one of the triangles, our mounted troops could then line up and sweep the whole country, driving the enemy up against one of the blockhouse lines where they either had to surrender or else fight their way out ... on my return from one of these drives I received two telegrams. One was from Lord Kitchener and said: ‘Congratulate you on immediate award in the field of the D.S.O. for skill and gallantry in action at the affair of Kaffirspruit.’ ‘ After further service with the Dublin Fusiliers at Malta and in Egypt, Stirling transferred to the Egyptian Army in 1906, and served with the 11th Sudanese Regiment engaged in patrols throughout the Sudan 1907-12. Promoted to Captain in 1908, he retired in 1912 and lived in Canada for a time, before returning to Egypt to run the Sporting Club in Alexandria. after the outbreak of hostilties in 1914, he served temporarily with the Gordon Highlanders in the Censorship Office, Egypt, and later in 1914 transferred to the Royal Flying Corps and trained as an Observer at Ismalia, where he was then detailed to patrol and reconnoitre the Sinai Desert. On one patrol in search of Turkish troop movements Stirling and his pilot, Grall - ‘an extraordinarily nice Breton naval quartermaster’ - crash landed in the desert. The latter broke his collarbone and three ribs in the process, but the pair evaded capture by Turks and Bedouin to arrive safely back in Akaba. Grall was awarded the D.C.M. for this feat. upon hearing of the disaster that had befallen his regiment aboard the River Clyde in the landings at Gallipoli, however, Stirling at once requested permission to rejoin his regiment in the peninsula, where only one officer remained unwounded. Thus he served as second in command of the 1st Battalion, Dublin Fusiliers, for three months until he ‘got buried by a shell which burst on the parapet of the trench’ above his head and had to be evacuated. the Palestine Campaign 1915-18 upon his return to Egypt, late in 1915, he was posted as G.2 Intelligence to General Sir Archibald Murray’s G.H.Q. in Ismailia. Here he very soon met T. E. Lawrence, then a young subaltern who had arrived out from England in December 1914 as G.3 Intelligence. Lawrence was then ordered to Basra with additional instructions to make a report on anything he saw there which could be of interest to the Egyptian Expeditionary Force. ‘The document that he produced for us on his return was an amazing document, considering its author was only a 2nd Lieutenant. It was a violent criticism of the mental capacity of the draughtsmen and map-makers, of the quality of the stone used in their lithography, of the disposal of the cranes on the quayside, of the system of mooring the barges and of the shunting operations on the railway, of the medical arrangements, particularly of the provision for the wounded, and even of the tactical dispositions of the commanders in the field and of the general strategical conception of the campaign. We dared not show it to the C.-in-C., but had to water it down till it was considered fit for the great man’s perusal. I have regretted ever since that I never kept a copy of the original; it was Lawrence at his best’ (Stirling’s autobiography refers). stirling was active throughout the Palestine campaign, taking part in the fall of Gaza, the operations in and around Jerusalem, and the night attack across the river Auja. Shortly afterwards he was posted

An extremely rare Second World War D.S.O. and Bar, inter-war O.B.E. group of ten awarded to Captain G. F. Stevens-Guille, Royal Navy, who won his first D.S.O. for services as Senior Officer of an Escort Group in 1939, and a Bar for his command of the destroyer Codrington at Dunkirk, thereby becoming the Navy’s first ‘Double D.S.O.’ of the War - among those he embarked in the course of operation ‘Dynamo’ was a certain Major-General B. L. Montgomery distinguished Service Order, G.VI.R., 1st issue, with Second Award Bar, silver-gilt and enamel, the reverse of the lower suspension bar officially dated ‘1939’ and the reverse of the Bar ‘1940’; The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, O.B.E. (Military) Officer’s 1st type breast badge, silver-gilt, hallmarks for London 1930; 1914-15 Star (Mid. G. F. Stevens-Guille, R.N.); British War and Victory Medals (S. Lt. G. F. Stevens-Guille, R.N.); 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Italy Star; Defence and War Medals, M.I.D. oak leaf, together with a set of related Great War period dress miniatures (4), generally good very fine or better (14) £6000-8000 d.S.O. London Gazette 1 January 1940: ‘For faithful devotion to the hazardous duty of escorting and protecting other ships from the violence of the enemy.’ Bar to D.S.O. London Gazette 7 June 1940: ‘For good services in the withdrawal of the Allied Armies from the beaches of Dunkirk.’ The original recommendation states: ‘During the period 28 May-3 June 1940, H.M.S. Codrington made seven trips to Dunkirk, five being to the beaches, and brought home a total of about 6175 troops. Although several times attacked by aircraft and on several occasions under gun fire from shore batteries, Codrington was not hit and suffered no damage.’ O.B.E. London Gazette 3 June 1931. mention in despatches London Gazette 23 January 1945. ‘For distinguished service in the planning and execution of amphibious operations in the Mediterranean.’ george Frederick Stevens-Guille, who was born in December 1898, the son of a clergyman from Guernsey, entered the Royal Navy as a cadet in September 1911 and was appointed a Midshipman in the battleship Glory in October 1914. Removing to the Royal Oak in April 1916, in which battleship he was present at Jutland, and advanced to Sub. Lieutenant in March 1917, he joined the torpedo boat destroyer Ferret in June of the latter year, in which capacity he served until the end of the War. Shortly thereafter he attended a course at Cambridge University, but was admitted to the R.N.H. Plymouth with gunshot wounds to his right arm in January 1919 - luckily not of too serious nature for he was back at sea in the Marksman by August of the same year. advanced to Lieutenant-Commander in February 1927 and to Commander in December 1931, shortly after being awarded his O.B.E., he was serving as Senior Officer of the 1st Anti-Submarine Flotilla at Portland on the renewal of hostilities, in command of the sloop H.M.S. Bittern. quickly ordered to Rosyth, home of the 15th Destroyer Flotilla, he was actively engaged in a spate of coastal convoys between September and November 1939, gallant and demanding work that won him his first D.S.O. Thus convoys F.S. 5 and F.N. 6 in September, when Bittern stopped to pick-up survivors from the mined City of Paris and delivered a depth-charge attack on the 17th; convoy F.S. 20 in mid-October, when Bittern engaged enemy aircraft and delivered further depth-charge attacks; convoys F.S. 24 and F.N. 25 in late October, with further action being taken by Bittern against enemy bombers; convoys F.S. 29 and F.N. 30, and F.N. 32 and F.N. 33, in early November, the latter witnessing at least one engagement with a prowling Dornier; convoys F.S. 37 and F.N. 38 in mid-November, and convoys F.S. 40 and F.N. 41 at the end of that month, the latter witnessing the mining of the S.S. Hookwood on the 23rd, and Bittern once more stopping to pick up survivors. stevens-Guille was advanced to Captain in December 1939 and received his D.S.O. at an investiture held on 5 March 1940 - one of the very first such decorations of the entire War, just a dozen or so other R.N. recipients having been gazetted beforehand in December 1939. A brief period of command ensued in the destroyer Duncan, but in mid-May 1940 he removed to the flotilla leader Codrington, in which ship he would quickly win a Bar to his D.S.O., the relevant operations commencing on the 28th, when he oversaw the rescue of 32 survivors from the torpedoed Aboukir in the North Sea, following which Codrington proceeded to Dunkirk’s East Mole. Thereafter, over the coming week, she carried out a punishing agenda of return trips to Dover, eventually bringing back over 6,000 troops, among them Major-General B. L. Montgomery: ‘Saturday 1 June: Secured alongside eastern pier, Dunkirk, at 0525 hours. Embarked about 500 troops, including Major-General B. L. Montgomery, temporarily commanding a corps. The latter informed me that embarkation at Braye had been very difficult due to the pier being unsuitable. While in Dunkirk harbour low cloud persisted and several low bombing attacks took place ... one Heinkel was brought down apparently by the fire of Codrington and another destroyer’ (Stevens-Guille’s official operation ‘Dynamo’ report referes). he was awarded a Bar to his D.S.O., thereby becoming the Navy’s first ‘Double D.S.O.’ of the War. codrington having then been bombed and sunk off Dover in the following month, he came ashore to take up an appointment in Victory, with effect from August 1940, about the time he attended his second Buckingham Palace investiture. returning to sea with command of the cruiser Cardiff in February 1942, he removed to the Durban that September and thence to the Algiers base Hannibal in December 1943. Then in the following year he joined the staff of Byrsa, the R.N. base at Bougie, North Africa, which establishment removed to Naples at the end of 1943 - an appointment that would have witnessed him planning amphibious operations in the Mediterranean, not least for the Sicily and South of France landings, for which he won his ‘mention’. from June 1946, Stevens-Guille commanded the training establishment Raleigh, and he was placed on the Retired List in January 1949, having latterly been appointed an A.D.C. to H.M. the King - original letter of notification, dated in August 1948, refers. sold with a small quantity of other original documentation, including the recipient’s original M.I.D. certificate, in the name of ‘Captain George Frederick Stevens-Guille, D.S.O., O.B.E., R.N., H.M.S. Byrsa’ and dated 23 January 1945, together with his 1939-45 War campaign award forwarding slip and a quantity of his calling cards; and one or two items of uniform, including a fine pair of Captain, R.N’s full-dress epaulettes, by Gieves. £6000-£8000

An extremely rare Second World War Malta convoys D.S.O., M.B.E. group of nine awarded to Captain G. B. Pinkney, Merchant Navy: decorated for his services as Chief Officer and then Master of the Port Chalmers in operations ‘Halberd’ and Pedestal’, his D.S.O. was among the first gazetted to a Merchant Officer following a change of policy by the Admiralty’s Honours & Awards Committee distinguished Service Order, G.VI.R. 1st issue, silver-gilt and enamel, the reverse of the suspension bar officially dated ‘1942’; The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, M.B.E. (Civil) Member’s 2nd type breast badge; British War and Mercantile Marine Medals 1914-18 (Henry G. B. Pinkney); 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Africa Star; Pacific Star; War Medal 1939-45, mounted as worn, the fourth with officially re-impressed naming, good very fine or better (9) £4000-5000 d.S.O. London Gazette 10 November 1942: ‘For bravery and dauntless resolution when an important convoy was fought through to Malta in the face of relentless attacks by day and night from enemy submarines, aircraft and surface forces.’ M.B.E. London Gazette 9 June 1942. Joint citation with his Master and Chief Engineer: ‘The ship was frequently attacked by enemy aircraft. The Master showed courage and good seamanship and it was due to his handling of the vessel that she was brought safely to port. The Chief Officer’s organisation of the defences was outstanding and the Chief Engineer proved equal to all demands made on his department.’ Henry George Bacon Pinkney, who was born in Auckland, New Zealand in November 1898, passed his examination for 2nd Mate in October 1919, shortly after active service in the Mercantile Marine in the Great War, latterly in the S.S. Port Lincoln. Gaining his 1st Mate’s certificate in February 1922, and qualifying as a Master (Steamships) in November 1926, he was employed by the Port Line on the Australia run between the Wars, and joined the Port Fairy shortly after the renewal of hostilities. removing to the Port Chalmers in March 1941, as Chief Officer, he found himself rapidly employed on the Malta run, initially in operation ‘Substance’ that July, but it was for his subsequent deeds in ‘Halberd’ in September, when his ship, and the City of Pretoria, made the passage from Malta to Gibraltar unescorted, that he was awarded the M.B.E. The official report submitted by the Flag Officer Commanding Force ‘H’ states: ‘Port Chalmers and the City of Pretoria were reported by Italian aircraft at 1200 hours on the 27th, shortly after leaving Malta. No enemy surface craft or aircraft were seen until 2320, when what was believed to be an E-Boat was sighted by Port Chalmers, who was following in the wake of the City of Pretoria. he enemy craft first sighted by Port Chalmers was lying stopped 3-400 yards on the port beam of City of Pretoria, who saw nothing except gunfire from her consort. Port Chalmers sheered off to starboard and 10 minutes after the first sighting heard E-Boat engines approaching from the port quarter; she turned to starboard to bring the enemy astern, and opened fire with her 4-inch gun at the enemy’s bow wave. The enemy opened fire at Port Chalmers with her machine-guns, but scored no hits, and after Port Chalmers had fired six rounds of 4-inch, the enemy crossed astern and made off. Port Chalmers then resumed her station astern of City of Pretoria. This action took place 15 miles S.S.W. of Pantellaria.’ Here then evidence of Pinkney’s outstanding organisation of his ship’s defences, which was just as well for Port Chalmers was regularly visited by enemy aircraft during the same trip. As it is, Gibraltar was reached on the 30th, his Master and Chief Engineer receiving O.B.Es and himself the M.B.E. ‘Pedestal’ But a far greater challenge awaited him in August 1942, by which stage he had been appointed Master of the Port Chalmers - namely the most important Malta convoy of them all - operation ‘Pedestal’: of the 14 merchantmen that set out, nine were sunk and three damaged, while the Senior Service lost an aircraft carrier, two cruisers and one destroyer, as well as having another half a dozen ships damaged. given such grim statistics, it is rare to be able to relate that the Port Chalmers was one of four merchantmen to reach Malta, and one of just two that arrived undamaged, testament indeed to the seamanship of her Master - also aboard was Commander A. J. Venables, R.N. (Retd.), the Convoy’s Commodore, who later reported that the ship’s company ‘deserved the highest praise for their magnificent conduct and coolness under most trying circumstances, as the continual air bombing, always most accurate, was a great test for high morale, especially when the enemy had the sky to himself. The evening of the 12th was a severe trial to all, as the escort afloat had completely vanished at a critical moment after the disaster at the entrance to Skerki Channel ... ‘ A view shared by Pinkney, who, in recommending his Chief Enginer and 2nd Officer for decorations, stated, ‘Enemy action commenced on the 11th August and was almost continuous until noon on the 13th ... by submarine, bombing and torpedo bombing’. And so it was, from the moment the convoy arrived in the Straits of Gibraltar, an early victim to torpedo attack being the aircraft carrier Eagle - she went down in 15 minutes. And then as related by Venables, further disaster struck at the entrance of the Skerki Channel - Port Chalmers was following the cruiser Cairo, and very nearly rammed her when she slowed after a torpedo hit, Pinkney just managing to get enough power astern before sliding past. While on the 13th, ‘Port Chalmers experienced extraordinary good fortune in just missing the bombs time after time’, so too a torpedo: ‘Pathfinder’s vigorous and spirited action had thrown the Italian pilots completely out of their stride and most of their torpedoes missed the ships well clear. Only one was accurate and this became entangled by its fin in the starboard paravane of Port Chalmers’ minesweeping gear. This left Captain Pinkney in an unenviable position with the live torpedo tied close to his side and threatening to swing in and detonate against her thin plates at any moment. Somewhat at a loss at this unexpected situation, Pinkney flashed the nearest escorts for advice. Commander Gibbs suggested that he should cut the paravane wire and swing the helm hard over. In the end the clump of chain for’ard was unshackled and let go and the derrick was then let go. Their dangerous companion then sank quickly as the Port Chalmers drew clear. Some minutes later it exploded on the bottom - in about 400 fathoms - and although the ship was well clear Captain Pinkney described the uplift of the explosion as tremendous.’ Pinkney was awarded an immediate D.S.O. and, in addition to D.S.Cs to his Chief Engineer and 2nd Officer, his crew also won seven D.S.Ms and three ‘mentions’. In May 1943, he removed to the Port Campbell, aboard which ship he served for the remainder of the War, and he retired from the service in May 1953; sold with his original D.S.O. warrant. £4000-£5000

A rare Second World War D.S.C. group of seven awarded to Lieutenant (A.) R. A. Wiltshire, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, a Fleet Air Arm pilot who was decorated for his part in ‘Operation Dragoon’: he had earlier participated in ‘Operation Tungsten’, the famous attack on the Tirpitz in April 1944 distinguished Service Cross, G.VI.R., the reverse officially dated ‘1945’ and privately engraved, ‘Lieutenant (A.) Reginald Alfred Wiltshire, D.S.C., R.N.V.R.’, hallmarks for London 1947, in its Garrard & Co. fitted case of issue; 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star, clasp, France and Germany; Pacific Star; Italy Star; Defence and War Medals, these last in their original card forwarding box, together with embroidered Fleet Air Arm ‘Wings’ (2) and a set of tunic ribands, generally extremely fine (7) £4000-5000 D.S.C. London Gazette 27 March 1945. The original recommendation states: ‘Sub. Lieutenant Wiltshire joined H.M.S. Pursuer on 26 November 1943. Since that date he has carried out 25 operational missions and 71 deck-landings. During ‘Operation Dragoon’, he led five fighter bomber missions of four or more aircraft and took part in 10 missions. He is always cheerful, quite imperturbable and sets a fine example. He leads in the air well. For courage, skill, leadership and a fine example.’ Reginald Alfred Wiltshire, who was born in Enfield, Middlesex in January 1923, completed his pilot training at the U.S. Naval Air Stations at Pensacola and Miami, and returned to the U.K. in the aircraft carrier H.M.S. Biter in June 1942. following a brief posting to No. 762 (F.A.A.) Squadron, and appointment to the rank of Acting Sub. Lieutenant, he removed to No. 896 (F.A.A.) Squadron in August 1942, in which unit he carried out deck-landings in Martlet IVs on the U.S.S. Charger, before removing to the aircraft carrier Victorious in February 1943, the whole in preparation for a six-month operational tour in the Pacific, where the Victorious was on loan to the U.S.N. returning home towards the end of the year, Wiltshire and his fellow 896 pilots transferred to the Pursuer in November, an appointment that would lead to frequent convoy patrol work in Wildcat Vs and their participation in the famous attack against the Tirpitz in Kaafjord 3 April 1944 - a.k.a. ‘Operation Tungsten’ - an attack in which the escorting Wildcats were credited with knocking out most of the enemy’s fire-control systems, and one that resulted in 440 casualties among the Tirpitz’s crew. in June 1944, Wiltshire transferred to 881 (F.A.A.) Squadron, a busy month for patrols and ‘flaps’ and one that included an encounter with a Ju. 88 - ‘Unable to catch it’. In July, the Pursuer having arrived in the Mediterranean, he carried out several dive-bombing attacks on Comino and Filfa Islands, while in August, as part of the carrier force acting in support of the landings in the South of France, he flew 10 operational sorties in Wildcat VIs, five of them as force leader. And, according to accompanying press cuttings, he was responsible for inflicting severe damage on enemy transport and troops. A fellow pilot described how in one attack they destroyed 14 military vehicles and damaged another 20, yet, as confirmed by Wiltshire’s flying log book, enemy flak was a constant threat: ‘19 August: Armed Recce. Strafed Orange aerodrome, near Avignon, damaged Fw. 190. Intense flak - Banks, Sherbourne and Sharp shot down. Went on to bomb oil tanks at Berre L’Etang and strafed rolling stock at Rognac. Destroyed Arado 196 on water.’ ‘21 August: Bombed M./T. on road near Uzes. Destroyed 7 personally whilst strafing. Damaged one Loco. Hit by flak 5 times. P.O. Brittain shot down.’ At the end of the month, Wiltshire was recommended for the D.S.C., while in September - the Pursuer having made her way to the Aegean - he flew further operational sorties in the face of heavy opposition. Thus a night shipping strike in which two enemy ships and a U-Boat were sunk, a dive-bombing attack on merchantmen in Rhodes harbour and, if needed, a reminder of the hazards of flak - ‘Intensive flak near Suda Bay. Hit in windscreen whilst strafing.’ Returning once more to the U.K. in mid-November 1944, 881’s pilots were attached to R.N.A.S. Grimsetter and the Trumpeter in the following month, in which capacity they flew occasional operational sorties off Norway. Then in February 1945, Wiltshire was posted to No. 3 Flying Instructors School, and he ended the War at No. 1 Naval Air Fighter School. He was released in January 1946. sold with a quantity of original documentation, including Admiralty letter of notification for the award of the recipient’s D.S.C., dated 28 March 1945, and related Buckingham Palace forwarding letter; his Flying Log Books (2), covering the periods September 1941 to December 1944, and January 1945 to January 1946, the former including several gun-camera images of targets attacked in the South of France in August 1944, and a copy of the King’s and Prime Minister’s congratulatory signals for participants in ‘Operation Tungsten’, as sent via the Admiralty on 4 April 1944; together with a photograph album covering the period 1937-45, quite a few images lacking but nonetheless a good wartime record and also including related newspaper cuttings; his application papers for a Visa to the U.S.A., American identity card, etc., including portrait photograhs, dated 21 July 1941, and his Graduation Certificate from the U.S. Naval Air Station at Miami, dated 14 May 1942. £4000-£5000

A rare Great War ‘Capture of Jerusalem’ M.C. group of six awarded to Major B. C. D. Nash-Wortham, 9th Lancers, late Yorkshire Regiment military Cross, G.V.R., unnamed; Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 3 clasps, Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal (Lieut., Yorks. Regt.); King’s South Africa 1901-02, 2 clasps (Lieut., Yorks. Regt.), these two late issues; 1914 Star, with clasp (Capt., 9-Lrs.); British War and Victory Medals, M.I.D. oak leaf (Major), mounted court style as worn; together with a similarly mounted set of six miniature dress medals, good very fine (10) £1800-2200 M.C. London Gazette 11 April 1918. ‘... for distinguished services in the Field in connection with Military Operations, culminating in the capture of Jerusalem.’ ‘Capt. (T./Maj.) Lrs.’ M.I.D. London Gazette 16 January 1918 (Allenby) ‘Capt. (temp. Maj., Yeo.)’. brereton Charles Dalton Nash-Wortham was educated at Eastbourne College. Commissioned into the Yorkshire Regiment, he served with the 1st Battalion in the Boer War, being employed as a Railway Staff Officer, graded as a Staff Lieutenant, on the Lines of Communication. As such he served in operations in Cape Colony, March-August 1900, in the Orange River Colony, September-November 1900, and latterly as a Station Staff Officer, in Transvaal, November 1900-March 1902. For his services he was awarded the Q.S.A. with three clasps and K.S.A. with two - these were later lost, and replacements issued in March 1926. subsequently transferring to the 9th Lancers, Nash-Wortham served in the Great War, entering the France/Flanders theatre of war on 16 August 1914, his regiment forming part of the 2nd Brigade in Allenby’s Cavalry Division. It is probable, therefore, that he participated in the regiment’s celebrated charge on Elouges Ridge, near Quievrain on 24 August 1914, when, under a hail of fire, it charged over 2,000 yards of open ground into six battalions of German infantry who had the support of six batteries. The 9th Lancers were to carry out another spectacular charge, when on 7 September 1914, they charged against German Cavalry at Moncel, this being the last occasion on which British cavalry participated in a ‘lance-to-lance’ action. Ranked as a Temporary Major in the 9th Lancers, Nash-Wortham was later mentioned in despatches and awarded the M.C. for his services in the operations in Palestine, which led to the capture of Jerusalem. sold with some copied research, including gazette details, m.i.c., and roll extracts. Medals and miniatures in a wooden glass-fronted case. £1800-£2200

Family group: a rare Balkans and Black Sea 1919 operations M.C. awarded to Captain F. D. Abbott, Royal Field Artillery military Cross, G.V.R., unnamed as issued; 1914-15 Star (2 Lieut., R.F.A.); British War and Victory Medals, M.I.D. oak leaf (Capt.), traces of over-striking in naming on the first but entirely as issued, good very fine and better the Great War pair awarded to Sister H. Stothard, Queen Alexandria’s Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserve, later Captain Abbott’s wife british War and Victory Medals (Sister), good very fine or better (6) £1200-1500 M.C. London Gazette 12 December 1919: ‘For distinguished service in connection with military operations in the Balkans and with the British Army of the Black Sea, dated 3 June 1919.’ Mention in despatches London Gazette 27 November 1917, 11 June 1918 and 5 June 1919 (all for Salonika). francis Dixon Abbott was born in August 1886 and was educated at St. Bede’s Prep School and Eastbourne College, prior to taking a post in a British engineering company in Chile. Returning home at the end of 1914, he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Field Artillery and first witnessed active service out in France between May 1915 and January 1916. Next embarked for Salonika, where he served until November 1918, he was wounded by shrapnel in both thighs in the Struma Valley in October 1916, wounds that necessitated his temporary evacuation to Malta. As per the above listed London Gazette dates, Abbott was thrice mentioned in despatches for ‘gallant conduct and distinguished services’ in this theatre of war, prior to being embarked for South Russia as an Acting Major and Battery C.O. in D. 98th Brigade, R.F.A. in November 1918. Evacuated from the Caucasus in May 1919, suffering from malaria, he was finally demobilised in London that December, the same month in which he was gazetted for his M.C. harriet Abbott (nee Stothard) was born in May 1885, near Barnsley, and trained as a nurse at Middlesborough Union Hospital 1910-14. Joining Queen Alexandria’s Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserve in April 1915, she served in the U.K. until embarked for Salonika in April 1918, in which theatre of war she served until being invalided home with malaria in May 1919, her postings including 28, 43 and 67 General Hospitals. The date of her evacuation coincides with that of her future husband’s from the Caucasus, so it seems likely that both malaria patients met at this time - more certain is the fact that she wrote to the Matron-in-Chief in October 1919, seeking her immediate demobilisation, because she was due to wed in a few days. £1200-£1500

A rare 1920 ‘Army of the Black Sea’ M.C. group of four awarded to Major E. U. Grimshaw, Royal Engineers military Cross, G.V.R., unnamed; 1914-15 Star (Capt., R.E.); British War and Victory Medals (Major), mounted as worn, good very fine (4) £1600-2000 M.C. London Gazette 20 October 1920. ‘... in recognition of distinguished services in connection with military operations with the Army of the Black Sea’. ‘On the night of 25/26 March, 1920, when operating near Lefke (Anatolia), this officer was ordered to destroy Lefka Bridge. Although subjected to enemy rifle and machine-gun fire at close range, he gallantly carried out the task alloted to him. Throughout the operation Major Grimshaw set a fine example to his men’. m.I.D. London Gazette 14 January 1921. edmund Usher Grimshaw was born on 3 March 1878 and was educated at St. Edward’s School, Summertown. He was first commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the Miliford Haven Division of the Royal Engineers (Militia) in January 1904. In the Great War he entered the Egyptian Theatre of war as a Captain on 3 July 1915. He served in Gallipoli where he was wounded, and in April 1918 was appointed an Acting Major. In July 1918 he commanded 72 Field Company R.E. which accompanied the 39th Brigade to Persia in support of the Dunsterville Mission. The unit was lent to the ‘Persian Lines of Communications’, working in the Hamadan region. In December 1918 the unit was ordered to Baku, after the re-occupation of the Caspian Sea port. Leaving the port in September 1919, the unit proceeded to Batoum on the Black Sea and thence Constantinople for demobilization. Major Grimshaw won his M.C. for destroying the bridge at Lefke (Osmaneli), in Anatolia, on 25/26 March 1920, whilst under fire. This was at a time of the allied intervention in Anatolia and prior to the resumption of hostilities in the struggle for Western Anatolia during the Greco-Turkish War 1919-22. In June 1921 Major Grimshaw was appointed commanding officer of 55 Field Company R.E. Major Grimshaw later lived at Friars Hill, Wicklow, Co. Wicklow - a property he bequeathed to his batman upon his death. The M.C., one of 80 for 1920, is one of only 4 for the ‘Army of the Black Sea’. sold with some copied research. £1600-£2000

A rare Great War M.C. group of four awarded to Lieutenant T. A. Edwards, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, Royal Naval Division - due to appalling casualties, he onetime commanded the Hawke Battalion as an Acting Lieutenant military Cross, G.V.R., unnamed as issued; British War and Victory Medals (Lieut. T. A. Edwards, R.N.V.R.); Defence Medal 1939-45, good very fine and better (4) £1800-2200 m.C. London Gazette 15 February 1919: ‘In the attack on Niergnies on 8 October 1918, he displayed great skill in handling his company in a difficult manoeurve. After the objective had been taken the enemy made a determined counter-attack, supported by tanks, on the troops on the company’s right flank, as a result of which the latter were compelled temporarily to withdraw. Personally leading the operation he quickly formed a defensive flank, and by his cool courage and good leadership not only were severe losses inflicted on the enemy but an important tactical position was maintained which materially assisted in the reforming of the line at a critical period.’ Thomas Arthur Edwards, a native of Herne Hill, London, was commissioned as a Temporary Sub. Lieutenant in August 1915 and first went to France in July 1916, where he joined Howe Battalion, Royal Naval Division. Over the ensuing year and a half he saw much action, not least on the Ancre, and, in February 1917, following an attack against enemy trenches on the ridge commanding Beaucourt, in which the Brigade sustained casualties of 24 officers and 647 ratings, he was appointed Adjutant of Hawke. having then got married while on leave in the U.K. that July, he returned to the Battalion as an Acting Lieutenant in the following month and was back in action at Passchendaele in November - he was appointed second-in-command on the 11th, saw further action at Welch Ridge and returned to the U.K. on leave over Christmas. he was, however, back in France by the time of the German Spring Offensive, again as second-in-command of Hawke, when the Battalion was forced to retreat from Bus to Barastre, and thence to High Wood and towards the Thirpval Plateau - and Edwards became C.O. when Commander B. H. Ellis, D.S.O., was mortally wounded on 26 February. Placed in command of ‘D’ Company when a new C.O. arrived in April, Edwards and his men remained actively employed in trenches opposite Hamel and on the Auchonvillers Ridge in May-July, and thence in the advance through Logeast Wood and Loupart Wood to the Bapaume Road - a group photograph of Hawke officers taken in June shows a haggard Lieutenant Edwards, who was sent home on a month’s special leave in August. once more rejoining his unit in the Field in September, Edwards won his M.C. for the above described deeds at Niergnies on 8 October - an engagement that made history, for the Germans made use of captured British tanks in their determined counter-attack. Notified of his award in Divisional Orders dated 18 December 1918, he ended his career as an Education Officer in the 63rd (R.N.) Division and was, appropriately enough, demobbed in March 1919 to pursue his civilian profession as a schoolmaster. £1800-£2200

An extremely rare Second World War ‘Triple D.F.C.’ group of six awarded to Squadron Leader R. Van den Bok, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, who, having survived a very close encounter with the Scharnhorst during the famous ‘Channel Dash’ in February 1942, and been awarded his first D.F.C., added an immediate Bar for making a successful evasion attempt after being shot down and wounded over Belgium - a Second Bar followed for radio counter-measure operations in Flying Fortresses in 1944-45 distinguished Flying Cross, G.VI.R., with Second and Third Award Bars, the reverse of the Cross officially dated ‘1942’ and the Bars ‘1942’ and ‘1945’; 1939-45 Star; Air Crew Europe Star, clasp, France and Germany; Defence and War Medals; U.S.A., Silver Star, the reverse inscribed, ‘F./O. R. Van den Bok, D.F.C.’, mounted as worn, together with the recipient’s Caterpillar Club Membership Badge, gold, with ‘ruby’ eyes, the reverse officially inscribed, ‘F./O. R. Van den Bock, D.F.C.’, lacquered, generally good very fine (6) £2500-3000 ex John Hayward collection and thence Hayward’s Gazette (No. 3, October 1974, Item No. 423); just 46 British and Commonwealth aircrew were awarded the D.F.C. with 2 Bars in the 1939-45 War. d.F.C. London Gazette 4 August 1942. The original recommendation states: ‘Flying Officer Van den Bok has taken part in 29 sorties, a large number of them being carried out against heavily defended targets, and pressed home with determination and resolve. He has participated in repeated attacks on Mannheim, Duisberg, Huls, Bremen, Kile and Hamburg, returning from seven different sorties in aircraft severely damaged by enemy A.A. fire. As a Wireless Operator he has been responsible on many occasions for his aircraft’s safe return in bad weather. he was the Wireless Operator / Air Gunner on a Hampden which made a low-level attack on the Scharnhorst during the battleship’s flight from Brest. The whole aircraft was severely damaged by Scharnhort’s A.A. defences: included in this damage was the radio installation: this Flying Officer Van den Bok repaired and re-established communication with his base. While carrying out the repair he observed an enemy fighter stalking his aircraft which by this time was in no condition to face an engagement. By following Flying Officer Van den Bok’s evasive directions, his captain was able to shake off the fighter. while this officer was detached from the Squadron on a course he obtained 48 hours leave in order that he might take part in the Squadron’s effort against Rostock. Last autumn he took part in the Squadron’s daylight attacks on enemy targets in occupied France. as Squadron Signals Officer, Flying Officer Van den Bock is in a large measure responsible for the high standard of W./T. operating obtained in this squadron. Throughout his cool steadfast courage has been an example that the Wireless Operators have been eager to emulate.’ Bar to D.F.C. London Gazette 24 November 1942. The original recommendation states: ‘Since the beginning of his tour on operations, commencing 22 August 1941, Flying Officer Van den Bok has taken part in 25 sorties over enemy territory against very heavy enemy defences. Targets he has attacked are Duisberg, Essen, Bremen, Mannheim, Dusseldorf, Huls, Cologne, Rostock and Flensberg. on his last trip to Saarbrucken on 28 August 1942, on returning from the target, his aircraft was attacked by enemy aircraft and shot down over Belgium. He sustained a wound in his leg by the entry of a piece of flak and despite physical suffering due to his wounded leg, he was able to travel some 3,000 miles through enemy territory to escape capture and arrived in Gibraltar in less than three weeks. under a calm and quiet manner he has a fine offensive spirit in action which inspires confidence in his fellow aircrew.’ Second Bar to D.F.C. London Gazette 26 October 1945. The orginal recommendation states: ‘This officer has operated with No. 214 Squadron 16 times on his second tour, in which number is included the last Bomber Command attack in the Berlin area and the last operation by that Command in Europe. his attention to detail and planning, and his outstandingly good captaincy, have been responsible for the seemingly effortless manner in which he has operated against many targets well known for the strength of their defences. his enthusiasm for operations was in no way diminished by his experiences in evading capture after being shot down by flak over occupied Belgium after 29 sorties on his first tour. He has always been anxious to fly on every possible occasion when his duties as Flight Commander would permit. despite his personal keenness for operational flying, he has, however, devoted a large amount of time to the instruction of new captains and crews, and has always been tireless in his efforts to improve the operational and training efficiency of his flight and the Squadron as a whole.’ Ralph Van den Bok qualified as a Wireless Operator / Air Gunner in April 1941, and is believed to have flown an operational sortie to Kiel with No. 83 Squadron, a Hampden unit operating out of Scampton, Lincolnshire, that July. Be that as it may, his operational career commenced proper with his appointment to No. 408 (Goose) Squadron, R.C.A.F., another Hampden unit, operating out of Balderton, Nottinghamshire, in August 1941. between then and being recommended for his D.F.C. in May 1942, he completed 22 sorties and 126 operational flying hours, and gained appointment as Squadron Signals and Gunnery Leader, his targets, as stated, including the Scharnhorst. Not mentioned in the recommendation, however, is the fact his captain, a New Zealander, D. S. N. ‘Tinny’ Constance, attacked the enemy battleship from about 800 feet, or indeed the fact that one projectile came through the fuselage - right between Van den Bok’s legs - and out through the roof: the date in question was the 12 February 1942, the day of the famous ‘Channel Dash’, when another gallant aviator, Eugene Esmonde, won a posthumous V.C. nearing the end of his operational tour with a strike on Saarbrucken on the night of 28-29 August 1942, Van den Beck added an immediate Bar to his D.F.C., when, on returning from the target, his Hampden (AE197 EQ) was shot down by an enemy night fighter - piloted by top-scoring ace Hauptman Wilhelm Herget - and crashed at Boussu-lez-Walcourt, some 25 kilometres S.S.W. of Charleroi. His pilot, Wing Commander J. D. Twigg, and Flight Lieutenant I. Maitland, D.F.C., were killed, but Van den Bok, who was wounded in the leg by a piece of shrapnel, and Flight Lieutenant G. C. Fisher, both evaded - a remarkable journey of 3,000 miles through enemy occupied territory, the whole accomplished in just three weeks. He was duly elected to membership of the Caterpillar Club. grounded and ‘rested’, Van den Bok trained as a pilot, was awarded his ‘Wings’ in November 1943, and returned to the operational scene as an Acting Squadron Leader and Flight Commander in No. 214 (Federated Malay States) Squadron, an American Flying Fortress unit operating out of Oulton, Norfolk, in November 1944. Charged with carrying out radio counter-measure operations, No. 214 flew ‘Window’ and jamming sorties right through to the War’s end, Van den Bok completing a further 17 sorties, thereby bringing his tally of trips to 46, with a total of 282 operational flying hours. He was duly recommended for a Second Bar to his D.F.C. in June 1945. £2500-£3000

A fine Omdurman D.C.M. group of seven awarded to Colour-Sergeant Michael Mullen, Royal Irish Fusiliers, for services with the Maxim Gun Detachment during the campaign in the Sudan in 1898 distinguished Conduct Medal, V.R. (Corpl. M. Mullen, R. Ir. Fus. (2nd Sept. 1898)); India General Service 1895-1902, 1 clasp, Relief of Chitral 1895 (3188 Pte. M. Mullan, 1st Bn. Royal Irish Fuslrs.); Queen’s Sudan 1896-98 (3188 L/Sgt. M. Mullin, 1/R.I. Fus.); Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 4 clasps, Cape Colony, Tugela Heights, Relief of Ladysmith, Transvaal (3188 Sgt. M. Mullen, Rl. Irish Fus.); King’s South Africa 1901-02, 2 clasps, South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902 (3188 Serjt. M. Mullen Rl. Irish Fus.); Meritorious Service Medal, G.VI.R., 1st issue (C.Sjt. M. Mullen, R. Ir. Fus.); Khedive’s Sudan 1896-1908, 1 clasp, Khartoum (3188 Lce-Sergt. M. Mullin, 1st R.I.F.) mounted as worn, note variations in spelling of surname, contact marks but generally very fine or better and a rare group (7) £3500-4000 D.C.M. recommendation submitted to the Queen on 9 November 1898, and published in London Gazette of 15 November 1898, and in Army Order 153 of September 1899. Awarded for Omdurman, 2 September 1898, one of two such awards to the Royal Irish Fusiliers for the Sudan Campaign. the following details are given in R. de M. Rudolf’s Short Histories of the Territorial Regiments of the British Army: ‘The Omdurman Campaign 1898 - Colour-Sergeant J. Teague and Corporal M. Mullen were the N.C.Os. in charge of the Maxim Gun Detachment, 1st Royal Irish Fusiliers, during the above campaign, and for the excellent and determined manner in which they performed their duties during the campaign and in action they were awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.’ The 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles was represented at Omdurman by only a small force, consisting of 4 officers and 91 men, of which 2 officers and 26 men formed a Maxim Gun Detachment, while the remainder constituted a remount depot. The Maxim detachment was commanded by Captain Douglas Churcher, with whom went Lieutenant Wilson. The remount group was led by Captain de Berry and Lieutenant Heard. captain Churcher’s Maxim detachment, travelling by boat and train, reached Atbara, south of Wadi Halfa, on the evening of August 8th. De Berry, who arrived on the barren scene a few days later, wrote while en route: ‘The duties are hard, as we have two boats full of animals which need 10 men always in each of them. We have had rather too much river work and I fancy the men will be rather glad to get out of the boats, although the train is far worse, yet there will be only 24 hours of it from Halfa to the Atbara. The steamers shake very much, and it is hard to write clearly.’ In the battle, the Maxim detachment fought as a self-contained unit in Major-General Lyttelton’s brigade, and was so mentioned in Kitchener’s despatches. After Omdurman most of the Irish Fusiliers returned to Alexandria, but Churcher, with 20 men and 2 Maxims, left Khartoum with General Hunter’s expedition up the Blue Nile. mullen was one of eight signallers of the Royal Irish Fusiliers to receive the medal for the Relief of Chitral 1895, together with Captain T. O’Leary of the regiment, who was Inspector of Army Signalling in the Punjab. Mullen also received the Meritorious Service Medal, anounced in Army Order 122 of 1938. £3500-£4000

A Great War ‘Gallipoli Mining Operations’ D.C.M. group of four awarded to Private Thomas Wilkinson, 4th Battalion East Lancashire Regiment distinguished Conduct Medal, G.V.R. (1381 Pte., 4/E. Lanc. Regt.-T.F.); 1914-15 Star (1381 Pte., E. Lan. R.); British War and Victory Medals (20014 Pte., E. Lan. R.) B.W.M. with edge bruising and contact marks, nearly very fine and better, rare (4) £1400-1800 D.C.M. London Gazette 16 November 1915. ‘For conspicuous bravery on the 14th September, 1915, on the Gallipoli Peninsula. During mining operations, Private Wilkinson remained at his post in a mine gallery where the enemy’s shaft was expected to break through. When they succeeded in doing so, he shot the first Turk who appeared, and then assisted a Non-Commissioned Officer to lay and fire the charge, so destroying the enemy’s gallery. This was done at great personal risk’. private Thomas Wilkinson, 4th Battalion East Lancashire Regiment, Territorial Force, entered the Balkan theatre of war on 9 May 1915. Awarded the D.C.M. for mining operations on the Gallipoli Peninsula; possibly the only Gallipoli D.C.M. award to the the 4th Battalion. Sold with copied research and with shoulder badge. £1400-£1800

A Great War ‘Western Front’ D.C.M. awarded to Squadron Sergeant-Major F. W. Peacock, Northumberland Hussars distinguished Conduct Medal, G.V.R. (H270016 S.S. Mjr., 1/1 North’d. Hrs.) good very fine, rare £1000-1200 D.C.M. London Gazette 3 September 1918. ‘For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty when in charge of ‘B’ Squadron dismounted Hotchkiss gun teams. Although their flanks were turned, he fought these guns with splendid courage and coolness, doing great execution until they were all knocked out. He then kept the teams firing with their rifles until the last possible moment’. m.I.D. London Gazette 15 May 1917. private F. W. Peacock, Northumberland Hussars, came from Sunderland, and entered the France/Flanders theatre of war on 5 October 1914. Later promoted to Squadron Sergeant-Major, by the end of the war he was the senior Warrant Officer of the regiment. The regimental history ‘adds flesh’ to his D.C.M. winning action, recording, ‘S.S.M. Peacock was in charge of ‘B’ Squadron, dismounted Hotchkiss gun-teams from March 21 (1918) onwards, on the Croizat Canal, between Jussy and Liez. These guns did great execution on the 22nd, and fought, though their flanks were turned, until the guns were knocked out. The men were kept in hand by this Warrant Officer, and then fought with rifles, with the nearest unit, until they came into Noyon on the 24th. S.S.M. Peacock himself, by personally keeping in touch with the teams, all the time showed remarkable coolness and bravery, having to be continually moving through severe enemy fire of all sorts’. Squadron Sergeant-Major Peacock was presented with the D.C.M. ribbon on 4 May 1918 at Cocquerel. one of only 12 Great War D.C.M’s. to the regiment. sold with Northumberland Hussars cap badge and copied research. £1000-£1200

A rare Great War D.S.M. group of four awarded to 2nd Lieutenant C. H. Potts, Royal Air Force, late Royal Naval Air Service distinguished Service Medal, G.V.R. (M. 1008 C. H. Potts, C.P.O. Mech., R.N.A.S. Dover Patrol 1916-7); 1914-15 Star (M. 1008 C.P.O. 1, R.N.A.S.); British War and Victory Medals (2 Lieut., R.A.F.), the first with officially re-impressed naming, good very fine (4) £1500-1700 d.S.M. London Gazette 12 May 1917. The recommendation states: ‘A conspicuous and reliable Chief Petty Officer. He has invented and produced an automatic carburettor which has been fitted to all Clergent engines in the Dunkirk Command.’ Charles Harold Potts was born in Cambridge in March 1888 and entered the Royal Navy as an Acting Electrician 4th Class in May 1909. He subsequently served in H.M.S. Hermes in 1913, in which year Commander C. R. Samson tested a new aeroplane fitted with folding wings, which was launched from a special platform built over the bows of that ship, and by the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914 he had attained the rank of Chief Petty Officer Mechanic in the fledgling Royal Naval Air Service. entering the French theatre of war in June 1915, he was decorated for the above cited achievements at Dunkirk, and was advanced to Warrant Officer in July 1917. He went on to serve in No. 5 Squadron, 5 Wing, R.N.A.S., which unit was operating out of Condekerque on day bombing duties in D.H. 4s, a unit which was subsequently designated No. 205 Squadron on the formation of the Royal Air Force in April 1918 - see Bomber Pilot 1916-1918, by Squadron Leader C. P. O. Bartlett, D.S.C., for full details of No. 5’s operations and several references to Potts. The latter returned to the U.K. that July as a newly commissioned 2nd Lieutenant and was finally placed on the Retired List in 1930. He is believed to have died in Wandsworth, London in late 1968. £1500-£1700

A rare Second World War D.S.M. awarded to Leading Airman F. R. R. Lowe, Fleet Air Arm, who was killed in the Western Desert in July 1942 distinguished Service Medal, G.VI.R. (FX. 79410 F. R. R. Lowe, L. Airmn.), number and initials officially corrected, otherwise extremely fine £3000-3500 D.S.M. London Gazette 11 June 1942. frederick Ronald Rhodes Lowe, a native of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, attended No. 11B Telegraphist Air Gunners’ Course at Worthy Down between August 1939 and January 1940, following which he joined No. 826 Squadron, Fleet Air Arm, and would quickly have seen action in the Dunkirk operations, when the Squadron’s Albacores operated out of Detling. So, too, over the coming months, operating out of Bircham Newton under R.A.F. Coastal Command. In fact, between June and November 1940, 826 carried out 22 night attacks against coastal targets in Belgium, France and Holland, dropping seven tons of mines and 56 tons of bombs, in addition to escorting 92 convoys. And it was on one of these bombing missions, against invasion barges off Calais, on 11 September 1940, in Albacore L-7097, that Lowe fought off an attack by 109s - nonetheless, his pilot, Sub. Lieutenant A. H. Blacow was injured and their aircraft severely damaged. embarked for the Mediterranean in H.M.S. Formidable in November 1940, 826’s aircrew remained actively employed in shipborne operations in that theatre of war until coming ashore in the summer of 1941, a period encompassing anti-submarine patrols and bombardment spotting, in addition to a torpedo attack in the Battle of Matapan at the end of March, and a bombing raid on Scarpanto airfield during the evacuation of Crete in May. Once ashore, initially based in the Eastern Mediterranean, but later in the Western Desert, operations continued apace, successful flare-illumination co-operation work with the 7th Cruiser Squadron leading to 826 carrying out similar duties for the Army and the Desert Air Force, more often than not on the El Alamein front - in the four months leading up to that famous battle, 826 dropped 12,000 flares, in addition to carrying out regular bombing strikes against enemy troops and shipping. The Squadron’s war diary also refers to the occasional ‘special mission’, such as that flown by nine Albacores on the night of 9-10 July, a mission 250 miles behind enemy lines to salt flats south of Sidi Barrani, where, refuelled by Bombay transport aircraft, they went on to deliver an attack on an enemy convoy approaching Tobruk. sadly, on the night of 23-24 July 1942, operating out of Grebe, the Naval Air Station at Dekheila, near Alexandria, in Albacore X-9256, Lowe was killed in action in a strike against landing grounds at Daba, so, too, his fellow crew, Sub. Lieutenants J. D. Nunnerley and M. G. A. Whittle. Aged 21 years, Lowe was buried in El Alamein War Cemetery. £3000-£3500

A rare Great War M.M. and Bar group of four awarded to Leading Seaman William Thewlis, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and Hawke Battalion, Royal Naval Division, who was twice severely wounded military Medal, G.V.R., with Second Award Bar (TZ-5052 A.B.-H.G. W. Thewlis, Hawke Bn., R.N.V.R.); 1914-15 Star (T.Z. 5052 A.B., R.N.V.R.); British War and Victory Medals (T.Z. 5052 L.S., R.N.V.R.), very fine and better (4) £2000-2500 m.M. London Gazette 11 February 1919. bar to M.M. London Gazette 20 August 1919. william Thewlis, a native of Chirton, North Shields, was born in January 1895 and worked as a miner with the Preston Coal Company prior to enlisting in the Tyneside Division, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, in June 1915 - aged 20 years, he stood at just five feet, three and a half inches tall. posted to Hawke Battalion, Royal Naval Division, in December 1915, which unit he joined out in Imbros in the New Year, he was re-embarked for France in May 1916 and wounded in action on 13 November of the same year. Treated at No. 3 Canadian General Hospital in Boulogne for a gunshot wound to his left shoulder, Thewlis was invalided home in the hospital ship St. Denis and did not rejoin his battalion out in France until May 1917. again severely wounded during a gas attack in March 1918, he was invalided home to the Admiralty Edinburgh War Hospital at Bangour, West Lothian. Here, however, he was quickly discharged, pressure from the German Spring Offensive having taken its toll, but an endeavour to get him quickly back in the Field failed, his records noting that he was again invalided from France in May. Finally, at the end of August, he rejoined the Hawke Battalion proper and was advanced to Able Seaman (H.G.) in the following month. A few days later he received confirmation that he had been awarded the M.M., by Routine Order dated 24 September 1918, an award no doubt reflecting his gallant services earlier in the year, when he was wounded. further advanced to Leading Seaman, Thewlis was awarded a Bar to his M.M. in Routine Orders dated 15 January 1919, and just three weeks later he was re-embarked for England, where he was demobilised at Ripon. £2000-£2500

A fine Second World War Burma operations M.M. group of five awarded to Company Quarter-Master Sergeant Thomas Hutchinson, King’s African Rifles, who won an immediate award for his part in the desperate action fought on ‘Pagoda Hill’ in March 1944 - ‘such was his determination that even during the brief period his wound was being dressed he broke off to seize the opportunity of killing two more Japanese who came into view’ Military Medal, G.VI.R. (10330 C.Q.M. Sjt. T. Hutchinson, K.A. Rif.); 1939-45 Star; Burma Star; Defence and War Medals, generally good very fine and rare £1600-1800 M.M. London Gazette 22 June 1944. The original recommendation states: ‘At ‘Pagoda Hill’, Kaladan, on 3 March 1944, Company Quarter-Master Sergeant Hutchinson was acting Platoon Commander of ‘B’ Company. After an enemy charge had dispersed his command, he withdrew to a commanding feature on the forward slopes. Although wounded twice, he held his ground and by determined action with grenades and T.S.M.G. assisted to beat off the Japanese attack for two hours. Such was his determination that even during the brief period his wound was being dressed, he broke off to seize the opportunity of killing two more Japanese who came into view.’ Thomas Hutchinson, an N.C.O. in 2/6 King’s African Rifles, was attached to the 11th (East African) Division Scouts at the time of the above related action, a component of the 81st (West African) Division, commanded by Major T. C. C. Lewin - ‘Apart from being Swahili-speakers its soldiers were not regular King’s African Rifles personnel, but an assortment collected by the Scouts’ officers, most of whom were big game hunters and safari guides’ (The Unforgettable Army, by Colonel Michael Hicks, refers). Having disembarked at Chittagong in January 1944, the Scouts moved up to meet the Japanese advance on the east bank of the Kaladan River, and first went into action in the following month, when, on the 20th, the O.C. of Hutchinson’s ‘B’ Company and several askaris were killed in an engagement on the Pi Chaung, a tributary of the Kaladan. Indeed patrol actions and skirmishes were common place right up until the commencement of the main enemy assault in March: ‘At dawn on the 3 March the Japanese attacked ‘Pagoda Hill’ in force. Two assaults were repulsed, but the West Africans were obliged to retire and the enemy began to surround the position. Having exhausted all the grenades, Lewin and the remnants of the Scouts then abandoned the hill and eventually withdrew across the Kaladan into the Divisional Box. Apart from known killed and wounded, three officers, one B.N.C.O. and 130 Africans were missing. The unit was now reduced to less than two Europeans per company’ (The King’s African Rifles, by Lieutenant-Colonel H. Moyse-Bartlett, refers). £1600-£1800

A rare Fall of France 1940 D.F.M. group of four awarded to Flight Lieutenant L. S. Pilkington, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, who was credited with 5 ‘kills’ as a Hurricane pilot in No. 73 Squadron prior to transferring to Spitfires of No. 111 Squadron and being killed in action on a Channel offensive sweep in September 1941: he was to have been married just six days later distinguished Flying Medal, G.VI.R. (741935 Sgt. L. S. Pilkington, R.A.F.); 1939-45 Star; Air Crew Europe Star; War Medal 1939-45, together with related dress miniature for the first, generally extremely fine (5) £5000-6000 d.F.M. London Gazette 16 July 1940: ‘For exceptional gallantry and devotion to duty in the air from January 1940, and especially from the 10-15 May 1940, during which period this airman pilot displayed unflagging zeal and courage in the face of superior forces of the enemy. He has shot down five enemy aircraft.’ Lionel Sanderson Pilkington, a native of Hull, entered the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in 1938, qualified as a Sergeant Pilot and was posted to No. 73 Squadron, a Hurricane unit, and a component of 67 Wing, Advanced Air Striking Force, in early 1940 - records reveal him embroiled in a combat in Flight Lieutenant E. J. ‘Cobber’ Kain’s red section as early as 25 January. another followed on 26 March, when he fired all of his ammunition in a protracted dogfight with Me. 110s and Dorniers, one of the former hitting his propeller with return fire and causing him to drop 10,000 feet with a ‘spluttering engine’; so, too, on 21 April, when he got in a brace of attacks on 109s, one of them rolling over on its back. but it was after the ‘Phoney War’, on the advent of the German invasion of the Low Countries in May 1940, that No. 73 embarked upon a period of constant action, Pilkington noting in his diary as early as the 11th how he had to dive for cover at Reims-Champagne airfield, two bombs having landed yards from his quarters. Indeed his diary is extensively quoted in Twelve Days in May, by Brian Cull and Bruce Lander, with Heinrich Weiss (Grub Street, London, 1995): ‘[May 11] I get a Messerschmitt 110 but one also gets me! A cannon shot in the tailplane passes through the fuselage and out the other side! Bullets in the engine, shot away throttle control; cannot close throttle and bullet hits in cockpit, beside rudder bar. Land on [Rouvres] ‘drome by cutting switches, rudder control wire practically sheared.’ This action took place over Mourmelon, Pilkington flying Hurricane P2569/D - his victim was an aircraft from II/KG53, while ‘Cobber’ Kain also claimed a Bf. 110 on the same occasion. at first light on the 13 May, with the war correspondent Charles Gardner on hand to record events, Pilkington added a shared Do. 17 to his tally, in company with fellow pilots P./Os R. F. ‘Dickie’ Martin and D. S. ‘Don’ Scott, but the enemy aircraft’s rear-gunner was a good shot - ‘We all came back very riddled’. Again in combat that evening, this time against a brace of Heinkels near Vouziers, Pilkington saw one of them downed by Squadron Leader J. W. C. More - the crew managed to bale out but were lined up and shot by French troops on landing, or certainly according to Gardner. the very next day, in an early morning patrol over the Sedan battlefront, Pilkington and Flying Officer ‘Fanny’ Orton both seriously damaged Do. 17’s of 3/KG76, the former noting that large pieces came away from his Dornier’s starboard engine before his windscreen was covered in oil - ‘Also damage port engine and get the gunner ... Shots in my plane and I fly home as I cannot use my gunsight owing to the oil.’ The Dornier made it back to base, but with three of its crew wounded. later on the 14th, as one of six 73-pilots on a similar patrol, he engaged seven Stukas of I/StG76 over Malmy, his particular target diving into the ground and exploding, but then 73’s Hurricanes were jumped by 109s of III/JG53 and Pilkington’s fellow Sergeant Pilots, Basil Pyne and George Dibden, were both shot down and killed: ‘This is a hell of a blow to me. Hell!’ Notwithstanding such losses, 73’s punishing agenda continued apace, Pilkington sharing a claim for a Do. 17 with his C.O. on the following day: ‘Panic take-off. First off, chase some Heinkels but do not catch them. Come back to base and chase five Dorniers. Get starboard engine then jettison bombs. Crossfire gets me in oil and patrol tanks, also glycol. Get back to drome, glycol tank melted and run into engine. Face slightly burnt and eyes sore from glycol. C.O. says a good show.’ And in the air battles over Lille on the 19 May, again witnessed by the war correspondent Charles Gardner, he added another ‘probable’ to his tally - but as a result of damage caused by return fire was compelled to make a force-landing: ‘Think I got a He. 111 but one of the rear-gunners gets my oil tank and I fly back. See three He. 111s doing dive-bombing 200 yards away; also run into 15 Me. 110s. Fly back in cloud and land at French bomber drome. Given a fine lunch. Ken calls in a Maggie for me in the afternoon.’ His He. 111 was in fact most likely a Ju. 88 of KG51. at the end of the month, the first of 73 Squadron’s pilots were recalled to the U.K., but in common with No. 1 Squadron, their gallant part in the defence of France had been recorded for posterity by Noel Monks, another war correspondent who had followed their story from late 1939, and who subsequently published Squadrons Up! with such valuable combat experience under his belt, Pilkington was posted to No. 7 Operational Training Unit (O.T.U.) at Hawarden, Cheshire that July - and survived a prang with a student pilot in a Miles Master on the 17th. Far more unusually, he is credited with bringing down a Ju. 88, even though still based with No. 7 O.T.U., that September - an accompanying Tangmere Military Aviation Museum letter refers. sometime thereafter joining No. 111 Squadron, most probably in early 1941, when it commenced cross-Channel offensive patrols and escorts, he was shot down and killed by Me. 109s in a sortie to Hazebrouck in Spitfire AB-962 on 20 September 1941 - as Flight Lieutenant Keller concluded in his combat report for that date, ‘The Me. 109s on this occasion seemed to me to be making a far more concerted effort than usual and were present in greater numbers than hitherto’. Pilkington, by then a 22-year old Flight Lieutenant, was due to have been married on the 26th. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. sold with a quantity of original documentation, including Buckingham Palace condolence message; four wartime photographs, one a framed portrait, and another of a page in his Flying Log Book, carrying an endorsement from his 73 C.O., ‘Has proved himself a gallant and successful Fighter Pilot’, in addition to details of a claim for an He. 111 above; an R.A.F. permanent pass, for St. Athan, No. 11 Group, in the name of ‘741935 Sgt. L. S. Pilkington’, dated 21 November 1939; together with the remnants of his embroidered cap badge, his uniform ‘Wings’ and, most poignantly, his fiancee’s R.A.F. sweetheart’s brooch, gold and enamel. £5000-£6000

Military General Service 1793-1814, 5 clasps, Talavera, Albuhera, Salamanca, Vittoria, Toulouse (James Raynor, 4th Light Dragoons) extremely fine £1000-1200 Ex Baldwin, January 1953; just 35 Military General Service 1793-1814 Medals are known to have survived to men of the 4th Light Dragoons, 24 of them with the ‘Albuhera’ clasp. james Raynor was born in Nottingham in 1791 and enlisted in the 4th Dragoons in October 1807, aged 16 years. the Regiment, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Edward Somerset, arrived at Lisbon in April 1809, with Raynor on the strength of Captain Wright’s Troop, and first went into action at Talavera, where it charged alongside the 23rd Light Dragoons - but fortunately managed to avoid the hidden nullah that proved so fatal to the 23rd. in April 1811, Raynor and his comrades were sent to assist in the operations around Badajoz and so became involved in the battle of Albuhera in the following month, when, under the cover of a thunderstorm, the French cavalry virtually annihilated Colborne’s Brigade. In response, the 4th Dragoons, part of Lumley’s Brigade, were launched against the enemy Hussars and Lancers, even though heavily outnumbered, and, to begin with at least, managed to check the latter’s excesses; later still, they acted in support of Cole’s critical and strikingly successful infantry assault on the deadlocked protagonists. shortly after, on 25 May, Lumley’s Brigade, 980 sabres strong with the addition of the 3rd Dragoon Guards and 13th Light Dragoons, together with another 1000 Portuguese and 300 Spanish, was screening Beresford’s movements and had taken up a position behind the bridge and village of Usagre, a defile through which the French must pass. The two leading regiments of French Dragoons were allowed to come over the bridge and, while the third regiment was coming across and other horsemen were strung out through the village, Lumley charged suddenly upon the first brigade - the French were thrown into complete confusion, being quite unable to manoeuvre, losing 250 killed and wounded and 80 prisoners. This model action, known as the ‘Combat of Usagre’, is warmly spoken of by cavalry authorities. in February 1812, the 4th Dragoons became part of Le Marchant’s Heavy Brigade and at Salamanca that July took part in the famous charge against a mass of broken French infantry, when three divisions were destroyed in some 30 minutes. This was the most decisive, perhaps the only decisive, stroke by cavalry in any of the Duke’s Peninsula battles. Unfortunately Le Marchant, that rare bird, a British cavalry commander of real ability, was killed in the action, shot through the spine. after further service at Vittoria and Toulouse, Raynor was embarked for India, from where he was invalided back to England in December 1823, a victim of chronic dysentery. Placed on the strength of the 3rd Royal Veterans’ Battalion in July of the following year, he was finally discharged at Chatham in June 1826, aged about 35 years. in July 1860 he was admitted as an in-pensioner of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, where he died in March 1865; interestingly, a William Raynor, also from Nottingham, served with James throughout his career in the 4th Dragoons, and may well have been his brother - his Peninsular Medal is also known to have survived. £1000-£1200

Army of India 1799-1826, 3 clasps, Allighur, Laswarree, Capture of Deig (G. Hunter, 29th Lt. Dragns.) short hyphen reverse, officially impressed naming, edge bruising and contact marks, otherwise very fine and rare £5000-6000 Only 14 medals issued to this regiment, and only 8 issued with this combination of clasps - 6 to the 29th Light Dragoons including one officer, and 2 to H.E.I.C. recipients. Approximately 66 clasps for Allighur, 100 clasps for Laswarree, and 103 clasps for the Capture of Deig were issued to European recipients. £5000-£6000

Army of India 1799-1826, 1 clasp, Capture of Deig (E. Skinner, 22nd Foot) short hyphen reverse, officially impressed naming, edge bruise and contact marks, otherwise nearly very fine and very rare £3000-3500 Only one corporal and seven privates of the 22nd Foot lived to claim the medal, all with the single clasp for the capture of Deig. Two other examples have been on the market, one of which resides in the Patiala Collection in India. Approximately 103 clasps for Capture of Deig were issued to European recipients. edward Skinner was admitted to Chelsea Hospital as an out-pensioner on 22 March 1820, due to ‘long service, ill health and unfit’. Born at Lambeth, Middlesex, he served 3 years as a Sergeant, 1 year 10 months as a Corporal, and 17 years 10 months as a Private, of which 16 years he served in the East Indies. £3000-£3500

Army of India 1799-1826, 2 clasps, Nepaul, Ava (S. Clough, 53rd Foot) short hyphen reverse, officially impressed naming, good very fine and rare £1800-2200 Ex Gaskell Collection 1911, Needes Collection 1940, Dalrymple-White Collection 1946, and Elson Collection 1963. only 7 officers and 10 men of the 53rd received this medal for Nepaul. Clough’s medal is unique to the 53rd with an additional clasp for Ava gained with the 13th Foot. Assistant Surgeon Miller was attached to the 53rd Foot in Nepaul and to the 47th Foot at Ava but is shown on the roll of the latter regiment. samuel Clough was a weaver from Oldham, Lancashire, prior to enlisting into the 53rd Foot. He was admitted to Chelsea Hospital as an out-pensioner from the 13th Foot on 11 October 1826, aged 39, in consequence of ‘wounded right leg and long service’. He is stated to have served in the 53rd for 17 years 8 months, and then in the 13th Foot for 4 years 1 month, of which he spent 19 years 11 months on India service. Sold with copy Chelsea Hospital admission details. £1800-£2200

Army of India 1799-1826, 1 clasp, Poona (Lieut. A. Cuppage, 65th Foot) short hyphen reverse, officially impressed naming, suspension claw re-fixed, edge bruising and contact marks, therefore nearly very fine and rare £3500-4000 Ex Dalrymple-White Collection 1946 and Elson Collection 1963. only 75 clasps for Poona issued to European recipients, including 8 officers and 34 other ranks of the 65th Foot. adam Cuppage was born at Dunfin, County Antrim, on 29 February 1794. He was appointed Ensign in the 65th Foot on 11 March 1813, and promoted to Lieutenant in August 1815. He served with the 65th Foot on the borders of Scindiah’s territory in Guzerat from November 1814 to May 1815, Lieutenant-Colonel Holmes, E.C.S. in command; in Kathiawar and Kutch from June 1815 to May 1816, when present at the taking of Juria, Bunda, Anjar, Dwarka, Kuncote, and Dingee, Lieutenant-Colonel East, E.C.S. in command; in the Deccan from October 1816 till January 1819, during the whole Mahratta campaign, present at the capture of Poonah, 16 March 1817, Major-General Sir L. Smith in command; in Kutch, February and March 1819, Major-General Sir W. Keir Grant in command; in the Persian Gulf from October 1819 to April 1820, at the capture of Ras-al-Khyma and Zyah forts, Major-General Sir W. Keir Grant in command; on the coast of Arabia from January 1821 to March 1821, in the action of Ben Boo Ali, 2d March, when the tribe of Wahbee Arabs was annihilated, and on which occasion Lieutenant Cuppage was wounded. in his Statement of Services made in 1829, Cuppage notes in respect of his wounds, ‘No Pay received & no Pension granted from delay in obtaining & forwarding the necessary certificates’. He married at Edinburgh on 26 August 1824, Mary Hughes Bulkely McDonald, and had produced by the close of 1829 three sons and a daughter, namely John McDonald, Thomas Hughes, Adam, and Margaret Hughes Cuppage. He was placed on half-pay on the unattached list on 13 November 1835. £3500-£4000