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A WWII pattern 3 inch 10lb mortar shell: together with two smaller 2 inch mortar shells and a shrapnel section of mortar fin (4)

A collection of Great War crested ware: comprising a model of 'Creme-De-Menth' tank, a Zeppelin with Newton Abbot Crest, a W H Goss 'Model of German Bomb Dropped on Bury St Edmunds from a Zeppelin 30 April 1915', three Mills hand grenades, a filed gun, an ambulance, a model of the Cenotaph and four artillery shells, various makers and crests (13)

A group of ten WWI battlefield excavated artillery shells:

A box containing various decorative china to include candle sticks; easel framed mirror; shells; artificial flowers etc

Four Swaroski glass figures. Seahorse, dog, shells. (all boxed)

A BOX OF ASSORTED SEA SHELLS, etc to include many sea shells, corals, sea urchin shells etc (one box)

Pazzi after Menabuoni, four hand coloured engravings, Studies of shells, 41 x 26cm and a set of four hand coloured botanical engravings of Orchids, 26 x 22cm

Group of large white sea shells, possibly clam shells (7)

A box of mixed collectables to include a travel clock, coins, bullet shells, brass weights and pipes.

2 boxes of natural history items - shells, fossils, mineral specimens, eggs, sponges etc

A VERY LARGE BRONZE FIGURAL JARDINIÈRE, the lidded two handled urn cast with scrolling foliage, supported by the figure of a putto standing on a naturalistic base, the integral plinth cast with scrolls, masks and shells. 152cm highCONDITION REPORTThe piece is made from bronze. There has probably been some re-gilding at some point. The piece is in generally very good condition commensurate with age.

A carved Scottish Terrier design bowl with contents of cowie shells, plane stick pin, enamelled butterfly brooch etc.

Set of 6 Silver Apostle Teaspoons. Thomas Hayes, London, 1899. 39 g. Scallop ShellsCondition report: Excellent

A Doulton Lambeth stoneware motto jug impressed to base 1884 “He that buys flesh buys bones, He that buys eggs buys many shells H:19cm

3x Green Glass Balls, Shells and Coral

2, 19th century colour prints, of shells each framed and glazed

A SET OF BOXED SILVER PLATED MENU HOLDERS IN THE FORM OF OYSTER SHELLS

A COLLECTION OF FOSSILS MAINLY IN LARGE BOLDER FORM, to include a coprolite (fossilized poo) AND A LARGE COLLECTION OF ASSORTED SEA AND OTHER SHELLS (TRAYS NOT INCLUDED)

A section of fossilised shells, mounted in stone, 50cm wide.

A quantity of fossils, to include a part of fossilised tree, shells, etc.

A slab of fossilized stone, containing various shells, 60cm wide.

A set of six continental white metal teaspoons, the handles cast with shells and a cross with a twisted stem, possibly Maltese, marked 917, boxed.

A late 19th/ early 20thC mahogany piano stool, with a wool work padded hinged seat, above a frieze decorated with rococo scroll panels and carved shells, on scroll craved cabriole legs, with X stretcher.

A mahogany bowfronted side cabinet, the top with a carved border above a blind fret frieze, and a central figured door carved with shells etc, flanked by further panels, with a moulded frieze carved with shells on cabriole legs and pad feet. 92cm high, 122cm wide.

A wooden terrarium, containing a collection of shells. etc, 63cm long

Metalware - a Victorian wriggle work warming pan; a copper kettle; a brass long handled pan; a copper and brass miner's safety lamp; brass artillery shells, etc

Y A GEORGE III TEAPOT ALEXANDER GARDNER, EDINBURGH 1756 Assay Mater Hugh Gordon, of inverted pear shape with chased flowerhead, fruit, scroll and shells motifs, twin scroll formed cartouches, with fluted spout and C scroll handle(17cm high, 25.6oz)Footnote: Heraldry: Crests: Mercer The head and neck of a heron erased holding in its beak an eel seizing the neck of the former all proper Motto: The grit pool or ‘Ye gret pule’ (The great pool) or variants. Forbes This crest has been greatly polished but the motto indicate that it is pertains to a branch of the Forbes family. Motto: Do not waken the sleeping dogs These crests undoubtedly commemorate the marriage of William Mercer of Potterhill in the County of Perthshire (born 8th January 1755 died 3rd August 1801) and Barbara Forbes of Gask. William and Barbara were married on the 6th November 1788. William, an Ensign in the 19th Regiment of Foot at Gibraltar in 1770, later served as a Lieutenant in the Governor General’s Bodyguard of India in 1783. He also served as the Aide de Camp to Warren Hastings in 1784 and was later a Captain with the 5th Bengal Cavalry. He died at Ghazepore, India as the result of a duel with The Honourable Andrew Ramsay, the brother of the Earl of Dalhousie on the 3rd August 1801. The reason for the duel is not known Note: Please be aware that this lot contains material that may be subject to import/export restrictions, especially outside the EU, due to CITES regulations. Please note it is the buyer's sole responsibility to obtain any relevant export or import licence. For more information visit http://www.defra.gov.uk/ahvla-en/imports-exports/cites/

METAL TRUNK CONTAINING SPENT CARTRIDGE SHELLS AND BANDOLIER

CLOCK PARTS, MOVEMENTS ETC, 2 PAIRS OF CLOCK WEIGHTS, 2 UNFILLED WEIGHT SHELLS, PENDULUM

A COLLECTION OF SEA SHELLS

A hand-crafted brass and copper necklace, 60cm; a 1930s gilt metal bead necklace with three scallop shells, screw fastener, 41cm; a bronzed necklace with paste and faux pearl motif, hidden clasp, 60cm; a base metal necklace with three circular and blue paste stone drops, 35cm; and a base metal necklace with carved glass pendant, red highlights to pendant, 40.5cm.

Three: Lieutenant C. A. Campbell, 1st Battalion, Cheshire Regiment, who was killed in action near Audregnies during the Retreat from Mons on 24 August 1914 1914 Star, with clasp (Lieut C. A. Campbell, Ches. R.); British War and Victory Medals (Lieutenant C. A. Campbell.); Memorial Plaque (Charles Arthur Campbell); together with a Cheshire Regiment cap badge and a framed portrait photograph of the recipient in uniform, this last contained in a small bronze oval frame, plaque with small drill holes at 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock, otherwise extremely fine (4) £1,400-£1,800 --- Charles Arthur Campbell was born on 3 June 1891 at Paddington, London. He was the eldest son of Arthur and Annabella Campbell of Wye House, Downview Road, West Worthing, Sussex and was educated at Downside School and the Royal Military College Sandhurst where he became a Gentleman Cadet. Having entered the Cheshire Regiment as a Second Lieutenant on 11 October 1911, he was posted to the 1st Battalion in Ireland and received advancement to Lieutenant on 4 April 1914. With the onset of war, Campbell landed at Havre with his battalion on 16 August 1914 and a week later was entrenched with D Company, under Captain E. R. Jones, astride the Mons Road. Pressured into a withdrawal, on 24 August Lieutenant-Colonel D. C. Boger, in command of the battalion, deployed his companies in an unprepared defensive line in open fields between the 1st Norfolk’s positions to the north east in front of Èlouges and the 9th Lancers at Audregnies. Here then, under orders to hold up the enemy advance to allow the bulk of the 5th Division to retreat, this rearguard started to come under attack from four enemy regiments, each of three battalions, advancing from Quiévrain and Bois de Déduit to the north. Failing to receive the order to retire from his superior - Colonel Ballard of the 1st Norfolks - Boger believed his Battalion was to hold its ground at all costs, thus condemning it to virtual annihilation. D Company, positioned on the right flank straddling the railway line near Elouges and close to the Norfolks, became aware of the order to retire sooner than most however - as described in the regimental history of the Cheshire Regiment: ‘Captain Jones, with support platoons of “D” Company on the right, must have received early news of the withdrawal, either from the groups of cavalry which were retiring through his position or from the left company of the 1st Norfolks. Although it is impossible to say with any accuracy at what time the various occurrences took place - everyone was too fully occupied to glance at their watches - it seems clear that these platoons started to retire down the mineral railway about the same time as the two left platoons of “B” Company withdrew from the left flank (3 p.m.)’ Captain Jones, Lieutenant Campbell and other men from D Company are known to have retreated to the Audregnies-Elouges Road and at some point in the confusion of the afternoon they encountered Major Chetwynd-Stapleton, the senior regimental major who, recognising the dangerous position of B Company on the left and the importance of Audregnies for the security of the left flank, was trying to find Lieutenant-Colonel Boger. As he left, Chetwynd-Stapleton gave orders for Lieutenants Campbell and Matterson to reinforce Captain Shore of B Company on the left. Campbell was shot and killed shortly afterwards: ‘Matterson led the way, with Campbell about a yard behind him, and in passing an exposed gap, where the bank was low and exposed to fire, Campbell - a most popular young officer - was shot through the head by machine gun bullets. He was temporarily buried near to where he fell and a few days later removed to the cemetery at Audregnies. (The Cheshire Regiment and the Miniature Colour at Mons by F. Simpson refers) Lieutenant Matterson’s own account of the Battle at Audregnies came to light in 2015 when it was made available by his granddaughter. Written in his diary just seven days after the battle whilst he was already a prisoner at Fort Bruckenhopf, Torgau, Matterson’s account provides further valuable insight into the proceedings that day and contains the following extracts pertaining to Campbell: ‘12.30pm. At about this hour we were lying flat, trying to answer the fire, and we couldn’t see the Germans advancing, whilst thousands of shells screamed over us. Pte Corcoran, lying beside me, was hit and I took his rifle and fired with it. The order then came to retire to the sunken road, and I waited with a few men till the last, then ran back under heavy fire. When I got to the road, I found Capt Jones and Lt Campbell and men of their Coy, and I realised that I had been very lucky to get back unhit, as they were firing very wildly from a bad position and several bullets from our men barely missed us. I found that our position was more hopeless then ever – a very bad field of fire, in fact we had to kneel on the top of the bank to see at all. This I did using Corcoran’s rifle. Major Stapylton was on our left with Capts. Dyer, Jolliffe and Massy etc. I moved off to see what was going on. 1pm. I met Major Stapylton who said that he wanted the left reinforced i.e. Shore who was in or near Audregnies. I volunteered to go to the left flank with Campbell and we started to go to where Lt. Jacobs was commanding a platoon. I said, “Come on, Jock, we’ll reinforce the left”, and Campbell answering, ran after me. Two paces behind me he fell, hit through the head, and he died almost at once.’ ‘4.30pm. I then helped in looking after the wounded. I found many killed. Jolliffe was hit very badly twice and Massy once. The rest of the evening we spent tending the wounded. At sunset we buried Campbell together with Garston [sic Garstin], a subaltern of the 9th Lancers. I then went out to look for Jackson, who I heard was wounded, and found him, doing what I could for him. I got a doctor to him but I fear he died. I spent the most awful night of my life on the field, midst the dead and dying.’ At roll call that night at Les Bavay there were 6 Officers, a Warrant Officer and 199 men - a loss of 78%, most of which was caused in the withdrawal. Three Officers and 54 men were killed in action that day and a further 15 Officers and 490 other ranks reported missing, many wounded. Lieutenant-Colonel C. R. Ballard of the Norfolk Regiment later commented, ‘I had no intention of sacrificing the Cheshire - but I firmly believe now that the sacrifice saved the 5th Division. … It was due to the gallantry of these two Battalions [1st Cheshires & 1st Norfolks] that the Division was able to extricate itself.’ Campbell’s remains were later re-interred in Cement House Cemetery, Belgium.

Four: Sergeant J. Robinson, 9th (Service) Battalion, East Surrey Regiment, who was killed in the attack on Ale Alley and Beer Trench near Ginchy on 3 September 1916 British War and Victory Medals (192 Sjt. J. Robinson. E. Surr. R.) with flattened named card box of issue and transmission slip, in damaged outer envelope addressed to, ‘Mrs. J. Robinson, 55 White Hart Line, Barnes, SW’; Territorial Force War Medal 1914-19 (192 Sjt. J. Robinson. E. Surr. R.) with flattened named card box of issue and transmission slip in damaged outer envelope similarly addressed; Territorial Force Efficiency Medal, G.V.R. (192 Sjt. J. Robinson. 5/E. Surr: Regt.); Memorial Plaque (Jacob Robinson) with Buckingham Palace enclosure and damaged outer envelope, nearly extremely fine (5) £300-£400 --- Jacob Robinson was born in 1879 at Putney, Surrey and resided at Tottenham, Middlesex prior to attesting for the East Surrey Regiment at Wimbledon, Surrey. He served during the Great War ranked Sergeant in the 5th Battalion (Territorial Force) in India for one year and seven months after which he was posted to the 9th (Service) Battalion in France where he was killed on 3 September 1916, one month after his arrival, during the attack on Ale Alley and Beer Trench near Ginchy: ‘On 3 September, 7th Division, on the right of 24th Division was to attack Ginchy, half a mile south-east of 9/East Surrey. Germans in Ale Alley and Hop Alley could enfilade units advancing on Ginchy. The battalion was ordered to assist by attacking, at noon, Ale Alley from the north-west, whilst a bombing party from the brigade on the right would attack from the south. The battalion was also to capture Beer Trench, which was then lightly held. However, the neighbouring brigade declared a change of plan, so that their bombers would attack Hop Alley instead. Captain Ingrams and Second Lieutenant Tetley led around forty men attacking Ale alley at noon, with a second attack 40 minutes later. Unfortunately, the attack by the brigade on the right did not progress and the Surrey men failed to break into the two Alleys. Captain Ingrams was killed and Lieutenant-Colonel de la Fontaine was very severely wounded leading an attack. An officer and three men crawled forward to a shell hole and sniped at Germans, who they reported to be holding Ale and hop Alleys in strength. Part of Beer Trench was, however, seized and thirty Germans advancing towards it were badly hit by Lewis gun fire. The war diary complained of the support given to the battalion’s attack. ‘Our own artillery did not assist us very much. Our heavy guns were throwing shells into our trench instead of Ale Alley. Our stokes guns failed to fire anywhere near the enemy trench and the T.M. firing smoke bombs stopped firing much too soon.’ (The Journey’s End Battalion: The 9th East Surrey in the Great War by Michael Lucas refers). Sergeant Robinson’s T.F.E.M. was issued posthumously under Army Order 143 of 1920. He was the husband of Charlotte Amy Robinson, of 99, Archway Street, Barnes, London and having no known grave is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, France.

Three: Private R. G. Smith, 2nd Battalion, Border Regiment, who was killed in action at Kruiseecke Hill, during the First Battle of Ypres, on 26 October 1914 1914 Star (7611 Pte. R. G. Smith. 2/Bord: R.); British War and Victory Medals (7611 Pte. R. G. Smith. Bord. R.) toned, good very fine (3) £160-£200 --- Robert George Smith was born at Ratcliffe, London and attested for the Border Regiment at Stratford, Essex in 1904. Following the outbreak of the Great War he served with the 2nd Battalion on the Western Front from 5 October 1914, his battalion moving forward to Ypres on 14 October then on to Zillebeke on 15 October and entrenched on Kruiseecke Hill on 20 October with the battalion’s front covering over 2 miles. As the enemy began their attack in force on 24 October, the battalion was given the order that - ‘trenches were to be held at all costs’: ‘Battalion’s positions came under heavy bombardment - trenches being commanded on three sides by enemy artillery, particularly from guns situated on America Ridge about 1 mile to the south-east. One officer calculated 1500 enemy shells during a 10 hour period. Colonel Wylly notes that it was impossible to leave the trenches by day, rations and supplies having to be brought up by night. There were no telephonic communications - messages being carried by runners, and enemy snipers were operating from 300 yards. Machine-gun section blown out of its position during night and one gun buried. Detachment under Lieutenant Wilson forced to retire to second position. Lieutenant Watson led his party back during night (25th) and upon seeing the enemy advancing in large numbers moved his gun to a more forward position where his section inflicted high casualties from 300 yards throughout the day. party of some 200 Germans entered line to the left of “B” Company and indicated that they wished to surrender. However, when Major Allen and six men moved out to bring them in he was killed with one other man. Front-line trenches held by “A” and “B” Companies taken (26th) - 70 survivors driven to the rear... later with Headquarters personnel, held off further enemy advance. “C” Company under Captain Molyneux-Seel brought up in support. Battalion ordered to retire to Zandvoorde during evening.’ (British Battalions in France and Belgium 1914 by Ray Westlake refers) Private R. G. Smith was recorded killed on or since 26 October 1914. He was the husband of Elizabeth Smith and is buried in Zantvoorde British Cemetery, Belgium.

Pair: Sergeant A. Spicksley, 2nd Battalion, Border Regiment, who was killed in action at Kruiseecke Hill, during the First Battle of Ypres, in October 1914 1914 Star, with clasp (6312 Sjt. A. Spicksley. 2/Bord: R.); Victory Medal 1914-19 (6312 Sjt. A. Spicksley. Bord. R.); Memorial Plaque (Alfred Spicksley) good very fine (3) £160-£200 --- Alfred William Spicksley was born in 1882 at New Barnet, Hertfordshire and attested for the Border Regiment in October 1900. He served with the 1st Battalion in South Africa during the Boer War and was awarded the Q.S.A. with 4 clasps. Following the outbreak of the Great War he served with 14 Platoon in the 2nd Battalion on the Western Front from 5 October 1914, his battalion moving forward to Ypres on 14 October then on to Zillebeke on 15 October and entrenched on Kruiseecke Hill on 20 October with the battalion’s front covering over 2 miles. Second Lieutenant Clancy was killed on 22 October and Captain Gordon and around 14 men were killed on 23 October. As the enemy began their attack in force on 24 October, the battalion was given the order that - ‘trenches were to be held at all costs’: ;Battalion’s positions came under heavy bombardment - trenches being commanded on three sides by enemy artillery, particularly from guns situated on America Ridge about 1 mile to the south-east. One officer calculated 1500 enemy shells during a 10 hour period. Colonel Wylly notes that it was impossible to leave the trenches by day, rations and supplies having to be brought up by night. There were no telephonic communications - messages being carried by runners, and enemy snipers were operating from 300 yards. Machine-gun section blown out of its position during night and one gun buried. Detachment under Lieutenant Wilson forced to retire to second position. Lieutenant Watson led his party back during night (25th) and upon seeing the enemy advancing in large numbers moved his gun to a more forward position where his section inflicted high casualties from 300 yards throughout the day. party of some 200 Germans entered line to the left of “B” Company and indicated that they wished to surrender. However, when Major Allen and six men moved out to bring them in he was killed with one other man. Front-line trenches held by “A” and “B” Companies taken (26th) - 70 survivors driven to the rear...later with Headquarters personnel, held off further enemy advance. “C” Company under Captain Molyneux-Seel brought up in support. Battalion ordered to retire to Zandvoorde during evening.’ (British Battalions in France and Belgium 1914 by Ray Westlake refers) The Registers of Soldiers’ Effects and CWGC both state that Spicksley was killed in action on 23 October 1914 whereas the 1914 Star medal roll states that he was killed in action on 26 October 1914. He was the son of James Spicksley, of New Barnet, Herts and the husband of Jeanie Hall Spicksley, of Braeport, Dunblane, Perthshire. Having no known grave, he is commemorated on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Belgium, and on the East Barnet Valley War Memorial, New Barnet. Sold together with a large quantity of photographs and postcards relating to the recipient, his family and the Border Regiment including a portrait photograph of the recipient in uniform and a postcard of 14 Platoon, 2nd Border Regiment, 27 August 1914, sent by the recipient to his mother post dated Pembroke Dock, 11 September 1914; a ticket to the opening ceremony of the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres on 24 July 1927 and an associated medallion; A Border Regiment shoulder title; and a booklet entitled ‘Introduction to the registers of the Ypres (Menin Gate) and Tyne Cot, Passchendaele, Memorials, Belgium.’

Three: Shoeing Smith W. H. Saward, 9th (The Queen’s Royal) Lancers, who died of wounds at Longueval on the Western Front on 29 September 1914 1914 Star (4157 S. Sth: W. Saward. 9/Lrs.) in flattened named card box of issue; British War and Victory Medals (L-4157 Pte. W. H. Saward. 9-Lrs.) both in flattened named card boxes of issue; Memorial Place (William Henry Saward) in card envelope and outer envelope addressed to ‘Mr. W. H. Saward. 5 Ingleside Place, Safron Weldon, Essex.’, extremely fine (4) £200-£240 --- William Henry Saward was born in 1894 at Plumstead, Kent and attested for the 9th Lancers at Hertford in 1912, serving with them during the Great War on the Western Front from 15 August 1914. In the early weeks of the war, his regiment were present at the battles of Mons, Le Cateau, the Marne and the Aisne and were also involved in a number of notable minor engagements. Captain Francis Grenfell and a party of the 9th Lancers saved the guns of 119th Battery, Royal Field Artillery on 24 August 1914 near Doubon. For this action, and the charging of the unbroken line of infantry at Audregnies, Belgium on the same day, Captain Grenfell was awarded one of the first Victoria Crosses of the Great War. The regiment also participated in the final ‘lance against lance’ action involving British cavalry of the Great War on 7 September 1914 at Moncel during the Battle of the Marne in which Lieutenant Colonel David Campbell led a charge of two troops of B Squadron and overthrew a squadron of the Prussian Dragoons of the Guard. Shoeing Smith Saward died of wounds on 29 September 1914. On this date a German coal box shell landed amongst two troops of the regiment as they dispersed from stables at Longeuval causing many casualties: ‘It was dinner time and we were dispersing from stables when one of their coal boxes dropped right in the middle of the yard and put out nearly two troops of us. Up to then we had nothing but a couple of spare shells, and you get so used to them you take little notice. These big ones, coal boxes as we call them, come whistling along and you get about a second’s notice, so that if you are lucky you have time to duck. But that is pure luck. I heard the whistle and dived between two horses. Then came the explosion, and when I realised where I was afterwards I felt as if a horse had kicked me in the back. When I looked round I saw 13 of our men killed and 11 wounded, two so badly that they died afterwards. About twenty horses were killed, but my old horse stood there grazing as quietly as if nothing happened. The sergeant at one side of me was knocked out, and the man on the other was killed as clean as whistle. After that they shelled the cemetery where we were burying our dead, and that brought our casualties up to 45.’ (letter written by an unidentified Private of the 9th Lancers from Aberdeen, printed in the Lincolnshire Echo, 9 October 1914.) Saward was the son of William Henry and Alice Lewis Saward of 5 Ingleside Place, High St., Saffron Walden, Essex. Having no known grave, he is commemorated on the La Ferte-sous-Jouarre Memorial, France. Sold with two newspaper cuttings relating to Captain F. Grenfell’s V.C. action in August 1914.

Three: Private J. E. Baker, 1st Battalion, Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment), who was killed in action during his battalion’s epic defence of its isolated trench near Neuve Chapelle on 24 October 1914 1914 Star, with copy clasp (L-8183 Pte. J. E. Baker. 1/R.W. Kent R.); British War and Victory Medals (L-8183 Pte. J. E. Baker. R.W. Kent. R.); Memorial Plaque (John Ernest Baker) with Buckingham Palace enclosure; together with a brass ‘Bed Plate’ inscribed, ‘The Queen’s Own. Royal West Kent Regt. 8183. J. Baker.’, good very fine (5) £300-£400 --- John Ernest Baker was born in 1887 at Woolwich, Kent. He attested for the Royal West Kent Regiment at Maidstone in 1905 and served with the 1st Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front, landing at Le Havre on 15 August 1914. He was killed in action during the Battle of La Bassée on 24 October 1914 during one of the most epic actions of the 1914 campaign, when his Battalion successfully defended its isolated trench near Neuve Chapelle against overwhelming odds for six consecutive days, 23 to 29 October 1914, losing 13 of its 15 officers and over 450 men, and being brought out of action by two junior subalterns, both of whom were afterwards awarded the D.S.O. In consequence of their heroic defence, the Battalion was the subject of some flattering remarks on the part of General Sir Horace Dorien-Smith, ‘there is one part of the line which has never been retaken, because it was never lost. It was the particular trenches which your battalion held so grimly during those terrific ten days.’ In addition, four men of the battalion were awarded the D.C.M. for this action. Such was the chaos during the period 20 - 31 October, the War Diary of the 1st Battalion, Royal West Kent Regiment for the month of October 1914 is prefaced by the following note by the Lieutenant-Colonel Commanding, ‘Owing to the diary having been in the possession of Capt. & Adjt. G. B. Legard at the time he was killed it has been found impossible to complete it since the 20 October 14 except that part compiled by memory by Lieut. H. B. H. White and 2nd Lieut. J. R. Russell, the two surviving officers with the Battalion who recovered the Diary but were unable to find the appendices referred to.’ C. T. Atkinson in ‘The Queen’s Own Royal West Kent Regiment 1914-1919’ describes the circumstances on 23/24 October: ‘In the new line the battalion was assigned a position which was to become famous in the annals of the Regiment. Just south of Neuve Chapelle the Rue de Bois running W.S.W. to E.N.E. joins the main road from La Bassée, which runs about S.S.E. to N.N.E. towards Estaires. From the road junction (afterwards known as ‘Port Arthur’) a road goes off about N.E., practically continuing the Rue do Bois to Neuve Chapelle. The main road marked the right of the battalion’s line, which extended 400 yards to the left, the front line being 250 yards east of the Port Arthur - Neuve Chapelle road, West of which Battalion Headquarters and the reserve company’s trenches were placed. To the front, turnip fields and ploughed land stretched for about 400 yards to the hamlet of Ligny le Petit, while to the left front and more opposite Neuve Chapelle itself was the Bois de Biez, in those days affording plenty of cover to attacking forces , so that its nearness to the British line was a serious disadvantage. Trenches of sorts had been begun, but they needed all available labour to improve them. Fortunately the delay of the Germans in advancing gave time for the work. It was 2.30 p.m. before their leading scouts reached the houses in front, and soon after that the troops in the front trenches were pretty briskly engaged, finding targets in the Germans who were attempting to establish themselves in the houses, and being heavily fired on in return, though as yet there was little shelling. Of that plenty was to come. During the night of the 23rd/24th B Company heard what sounded like digging going on close to their front, a heavy fire was therefore opened, and the noise soon ceased. At daybreak a good many German corpses along the line of an intended advanced trench testified to the effectiveness of B’s shooting, and during early morning the enemy attempted no advance. But early in the afternoon his guns opened fire, not only field guns, but large howitzers, 6 inches in calibre and more, whose shells, descending at a steep angle, wrecked completely anything they struck. Luckily the soil was soft, which diminished considerably the effect of the bursts, but fire-trenches and dug-outs such as the battalion had been able to make proof against shrapnel could not compete with these ‘Black Marias’, and when these guns got the range of the British Line, as they did on the 26th, the trenches were blown to pieces and many casualties sustained. Luckily more than one alternative position was available and by shifting men about, casualties were to some extent kept down. But the ordeal to which the men were subjected was a severe one, alike for those in the firing-line and for those, equally exposed, in support or reserve. But the worst of it was that the damage done to the trenches by these heavy shells very much diminished the protection they afforded against shrapnel, and gave opportunities to the German snipers and machine-gunners. To repair trenches or to dig out men buried under the débris meant exposure to a stream of bullets.’ Private Baker was the son of Mr and Mrs Edward Baker, latterly of Starbuck House, Giants Grave, Britton Ferry, Glamorgan and, having no known grave, is commemorated on Le Touret Memorial, France. Sold with copied research and two postcard portrait photographs of the recipient in uniform.

Three: Acting Captain H. G. Hodder, Reserve Signal Company, Royal Engineers, a motorcyclist despatch rider who was awarded the D.C.M. for conspicuous gallantry at Langemarck and Veldhoek in October 1914 - acts of heroism which were described and illustrated in Deeds that Thrill the Empire 1914 Star, with clasp (28066 Cpl. H. G. Hodder. R.E.); British War and Victory Medals (Capt. H. G. Hodder.) good very fine (3) £200-£240 --- D.C.M. London Gazette 16 January 1915: ‘For conspicuous gallantry at Langemarck, 23rd-25th October, in voluntarily taking messages with great coolness under heavy rifle and shell fire, and again at Veldhoek, when he acted with similar gallantry under fire and was there wounded.’ Harold George Hodder was born in 1893 at Lowestoft, Suffolk and was a resident of Carlisle Road, Cambridge prior to the Great War. He served during that conflict on the Western Front with the Motorcyclist Section of the Royal Engineers from 17 August 1914. In 1914, the Cambridge Independent Press published a number of articles from Corporal Hodder, as well as letters received from him by his father and Cambridge friends, giving his impressions of the war. Subsequently, whilst recovering from his wounds following the award of his D.C.M., he was interviewed by the same newspaper and details of how he came to be awarded the D.C.M. were published on 22 January 1915. The following matching account with two illustrations can also be found in Deeds that Thrill the Empire: ‘On the night of October 22nd-23rd, 1914, the 1st Division, which had just arrived from the Aisne, was advancing from Poperinghe towards Langemarck. In the morning, near Boesinghe, the 3rd Brigade, on its left front, was fiercely attacked by the Germans, consisting almost entirely of new levies with scarcely two months’ training, who, though mown down by our fire, came on again and again with almost incredible courage and resolution. Though partly driven out of Langemarck, around which some fifteen hundred of their dead were afterwards counted, the enemy held on to a number of houses and several windmills, and they also held a curving line beyond the village, from which they were able to direct a heavy artillery and rifle-fire upon the road leading from Boesinghe. The work of carrying messages along this road was therefore one of the greatest possible danger. Nevertheless, volunteers were not wanting, and a young motorcyclist, Corporal H. G. Hodder, of the Reserve Signal Company, Royal Engineers, who was attached to the 3rd Brigade, particularly distinguished himself, by successfully conveying more than one message through the hottest fire. After driving the Germans back, the 1st Division had proceeded to entrench themselves, but in the evening of the 24th they were relieved by French Territorials and concentrated about Zillebeke, the 3rd Brigade alone remaining in their trenches until two French battalions should arrive to relieve them. As the latter failed to put in an appearance, Corporal Hodder was sent to investigate, and discovered them halted on a road some distance to the rear. When asked why they did not advance, they replied that they did not know where they were, and, as they had been fired upon, they believed that they had got between the British trenches and the German. Hodder tried to relieve their minds on this score and to persuade them to advance; but, his French not being equal to the occasion, he went back and fetched the Brigade-Major. That officer’s knowledge of the language happened to be but little better than his own, and some time elapsed before the Frenchmen got on the move. At last the order to march was given, but they had not proceeded very far when heavy firing began, and the artillery on either side chiming in, a furious fusillade was soon in progress, which continued the greater part of the night. During all this time Hodder was riding to and fro, endeavouring to get our gallant allies up to the trenches. It was a pitch-dark night, and on one journey he ran full tilt into a French gun-limber, the shaft of which, catching him on the shoulder, sent him flying off his machine. Happily, he was not hurt, and he continued riding about, picking up one company here and another there, and guiding them to the trenches, until at last the 3rd Brigade was relieved. The work he accomplished that night was of the highest importance, for if the Brigade had not been able to leave their trenches before daylight, they would have been obliged to remain there until the following night, although they were urgently required elsewhere. On the morning of October 31st - the most critical day in the whole of the first Battle of Ypres - the 3rd Brigade were entrenched in front of Veldhoek, to the west of Gheluvelt. At 4am Hodder was despatched with an important message from Divisional Headquarters to Brigade Headquarters. On reaching Gheluvelt, he left his motorcycle there and made the rest of the journey on foot across country. Having delivered his message, he was told to wait as the Brigade were expected to be heavily attacked. He therefore ensconced himself in a dugout, very glad of the chance to snatch an hour or two’s sleep, as he had been continuing on duty for forty-eight hours. About 7am he was aroused and given a message to take back. He set out towards Gheluvelt but soon found himself under a heavy shell-fire, and learned that he could not get to the village, as the troops holding it had been driven back, and it was in possession of the enemy. He was therefore forced to abandon all hope of reaching his motorcycle and had to make his way across country to Divisional Headquarters, where he delivered his message. He was given another to take back to Brigade Headquarters, but, as the road from Gheluvelt was being fiercely shelled, he was obliged to return the way he had come. He found the Brigade under very heavy shell-fire, and the staff on the point of vacating their Headquarters. He was entrusted with another message to Divisional Headquarters and sprinted from one house to another until he was nearly out of the danger-zone. He had just emerged from the cover of one of the houses, when several shells burst overhead, and he was wounded in the left foot by a shrapnel bullet and two fragments of shell-case. Although in great pain, the brave corporal managed to limp to his destination with his message, and was taken in a motor car to the nearest field ambulance to have his wounds dressed. Scarcely had he left Divisional Headquarters, when the house was fiercely shelled, three Staff officers of the 1st Division being killed and General Lomax, its commanding officer, wounded. For his gallantry and excellent work at Langemarck and Veldhoek, Corporal Hodder was awared the Distinguished Conduct Medal. His home is at Cambridge, where he is well known and very popular.’ Discharged to a commission in the Royal Engineers on 30 March 1915, he was promoted Temporary Lieutenant on 20 May 1916 and Acting Captain on 24 May 1918, relinquishing that rank and reverting to Temporary Lieutenant on 25 September 1918. On 2 January 1940, Lieutenant Hodder relinquished his commissioned rank to enlist into the ranks of the Army. He was commissioned Lieutenant in the Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps on 31 July 1940 and resigned his commission on 9 January 1942.

Family group: Three: Private R. G. Carpenter, 2nd Battalion, Grenadier Guards, who was killed in action at Soupir during the Battle of the Aisne on 14-16 September 1914 1914 Star (16338 Pte. R. G. Carpenter. 2/G. Gds:); British War and Victory Medals (16338 Pte. R. G. Carpenter. G. Gds.); Memorial Plaque (Richard George Carpenter) nearly extremely fine Pair: Private S. Carpenter, 2nd Battalion, Rifle Brigade, who died of disease at No. 1 Australian Casualty Clearing Station, France, on 16 February 1919 British War and Victory Medals (46253 Pte. S. Carpenter. Rif. Brig.); Memorial Plaque (Sydney Carpenter) nearly extremely fine (7) £300-£400 --- Richard George Carpenter was born in 1893 at Christchurch, Eastbourne, Sussex, and attested there for the Grenadier Guards on 25 March 1913. He served with No. 1 Company of the 2nd Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front from 13 August 1914. After engaging the enemy at Mons on 23 August and again two days later at Landrecies during the retreat, his battalion halted at Villers Cotterets, where heavy fighting took place and two platoons were surrounded and killed at a cross-roads in a clearing known as Rond de la Reine, fighting to the last man. At the Battle of the Marne, the enemy was engaged at La Tretoire on 8 September, at a cost of 41 casualties, and the Marne was crossed at Charly the following day. Sir Frederick Ponsonby in his Regimental History notes the Grenadiers witnessed signs of the German retreat and much looting and vandalism in every village as they advanced. Having reached the Aisne, they crossed in heavy mist on the morning of 14 September, and the Grenadiers engaged the enemy in the woods at La Cour de Soupir Farm with No. 1 Company in the vanguard. It was here between 14 and 16 September that Private Carpenter was killed in action. A flavour of the fighting is provided by Ponsonby in his regimental history: ‘At Soupir the road ran uphill through a dense wood, and it was impossible to see very far ahead. Progress was necessarily very slow, and the advanced guard had orders to move with the utmost caution. No. 1 Company, under Major Hamilton, formed the vanguard, and half of No. 2 Company, under Captain Symes-Thompson, was sent as a flank guard to the left, where the ground rose steeply above the road, and the trees were very thick. About half-way the vanguard came into touch with the German outposts. At the same time they were joined by some men of our 5th Brigade, who had gone too far to their left, and in consequence had narrowly escaped being captured by the enemy. Two platoons of No. 1 and one platoon of No. 2 were sent off to the left, and, having got into touch with the cavalry on that flank, took up a position in the woods above Chavonne, where they remained for the rest of the day. Meanwhile, the leading men of the advanced guard, under Lieutenant Cunliffe, pushed on, and near La Cour de Soupir ran right into the enemy, who were in superior numbers. All the men were taken prisoners, and Lieutenant Cunliffe was wounded. Shells were now screaming through the trees with monotonous regularity, and the hail of bullets grew ever thicker as the advanced guard came up to La Cour de Soupir. It became evident that the Germans were not only in strength at the top of the hill, but were advancing across the open against our left flank, and at the same time trying to surround the advanced guard by working through the woods on the right flank. No. 3 Company, under Captain Gosselin, was sent off to the right with instructions to clear the enemy off some rising ground and protect the right flank. This it succeeded in doing, but found vastly superior numbers opposed to it, and could not make any farther progress. It was here that Lieutenant des Voeux was killed, being hit through both lungs by a chance shot in the wood. Urgent appeals from the firing line induced Major Jeffreys to send two platoons of No. 4 to help No. 1 Company, and one to the right for No. 3, while the remaining platoon, with the machine-guns, under Lieutenant the Hon. W. Cecil, was posted on the edge of a clearing in case those in front were driven back. The advanced guard had now done its part. It had ascertained where the enemy was posted, but if an advance was to be made, it was clear that it would have to be strengthened considerably. Colonel Feilding therefore sent the 3rd Coldstream up to the left of the road and the Irish Guards to the right. Pushing through the woods and picking up platoons of No. 1 and No. 2 Companies Grenadiers, these troops came up to the hard-pressed No. 1 Company on the open ground near La Cour de Soupir.’ (The Grenadier Guards in the Great War of 1914-1918 by Lieut.-Colonel The Right Hon. Sir Frederick Ponsonby refers) Having now firmly established themselves on the north bank of the river, the Grenadiers dug-in and were subject to heavy shelling and counter attacks for a further two days before being relieved at dawn on 17 September. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records a total of sixty five 2nd Grenadiers’ war dead for the period 14 to 16 September 1914. Thirty nine of these men - including Carpenter - do not have a precise date of death but are instead recorded simply as having died between 14 and 16 September. Sydney Carpenter, younger brother of the above, was born in 1900 at Eastbourne, Sussex and served during the Great War with the Rifle Brigade, initially with the 12th (Service) Battalion and subsequently with the 2nd Battalion. He died of disease at No. 1 Australian Casualty Clearing Station, France on 16 February 1919 and is buried in Halle Communal Cemetery, Belgium. Sydney and Richard Carpenter were sons of Richard and Laura Harriett Carpenter, of 9, Beach Rd., Eastbourne, Sussex.

Three: Able Seaman V. A. A. Johnson, Royal Navy, who was killed in action when H.M.S. Queen Mary was sunk during the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916 1914-15 Star (J.13324. V. A. A. Johnson. A.B., R.N.); British War and Victory Medals (J.13324 V. A. A. Johnson. A.B. R.N.) nearly extremely fine (3) £180-£220 --- Victor Alexander Augustine Johnson was born in St. Helier, Jersey, on 7 June 1894 and joined the Royal Navy as a Boy Second Class on 29 August 1911. Posted to H.M.S. Queen Mary on 4 September 1913, he served in her during the Great War, and was promoted Able Seaman on 10 September 1914. He was present at the Battle of Jutland, 31 May 1916, when, under the command of Captain C. I. Prowse, Queen Mary engaged the German ships SMS Seydlitz and SMS Derfflinger during the opening phase of the Battle. One of Derfflinger’s shells scored a direct hit on Queen Mary’s ‘Q’ turret detonating the magazines and breaking the ship in two. She was sunk with the loss of 1,266 crew and only 18 survivors. Johnson was amongst those killed, and is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial.

Pair: Stoker First Class J. Darling, Royal Navy, who was killed in action when H.M.S. Queen Mary was sunk during the Battle of Jutland, 31 May 1916 British War and Victory Medals (K.27653 J. Darling. Sto.1 R.N.) good very fine (2) £80-£120 --- John Darling was born in Durham on 4 June 1888 and joined the Royal Navy as a Stoker Second Class on 4 August 1915. Promoted Stoker First Class on 9 October 1915, he joined H.M.S. Queen Mary on 27 April 1916, and he was killed in action at the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916. During the battle H.M.S. Queen Mary, under the command of Captain C. I. Prowse, engaged the Derfflinger, putting one of her turrets out of action, and then scored four hits on SMS Seydlitz. The German battlecruiser hit back striking ´Q´ turret before sending more 12 inch shells to hit near ´A´ and ´B´ turrets before scoring another hit on ´Q´ turret. Queen Mary´s forward magazine exploded, the ship listed to port and began to sink amid more explosions. 1,266 of the crew went down with her, with only 18 men surviving. Darling is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial.

Three: Private W. S. Blood, 4th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), who was killed in action during the First Battle of Ypres on 11 November 1914 1914 Star, with copy clasp (14576 Pte. W. Blood. 4/ R. Fus.); British War and Victory Medals (L-14576 Pte. W. S. Blood R. Fus.); Memorial Plaque (Warwick Spencer Blood) minor spots of verdigris otherwise good very fine or better (4) £260-£300 --- Warwick Spencer Blood was born in 1894 at Marylebone and was a resident of Kensington. He attested for the Royal Fusiliers in 1911 at Hownslow and following the outbreak of the Great War in 1914 he landed with the 4th Battalion at Le Havre on 13 August for service on the Western Front. His battalion, as part of the 9th Brigade in the 3rd Division with Smith Dorrien’s II Corps, was among the first to arrive in France, and proceeded directly to Mons where, together with the 4th Middlesex, they faced the first German attacks and could count among their number Lieutenant M. Dease and Private S. F. Godley who were awarded the first V.C.s of the Great War for their defence of Y Company HQ at the Nimy railway bridge on 23 August 1914. Private Blood was killed in action with the 4th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers on 11 November 1914 during the First Battle of Ypres. On this date his battalion was at Herenthage Wood with Zouaves on their left and the Northumberland Fusiliers on their right: ‘On the 11th came the last attempt of the Germans to cut through to the coast. The attack was expected; the battalion order issued before it took place is notable. The order, which was to be read to companies, ran as follows:— “It may be assumed that we are about to fight the decisive battle of the war. The German Emperor has arrived to command his troops in person, and Sir John French hopes that the British Army will prove to him that they are better men than the Germans. Both armies are composed of regiments more or less exhausted, and short of officers, and the result will depend very much on the prolonged energy of every soldier in the fight and the endurance shown during the next few days. Fire must be carefully controlled at night, men must assist to the last, be ready to cover every movement with fire, well aimed and well sustained, and there must be no straggling or straying from the platoons to which men belong. The C.O. hopes that every man will sustain the great reputation that the Royal Fusiliers have already made during this war. (Signed) G. O’Donel, Captain and Adjutant.” The morning dawned dull and misty, and about 6.30 a terrible shelling began, “much the most severe I (O’Donel) have ever seen.” It continued for two and a half hours. The front trenches were knocked to pieces, and many of the men were killed or buried. Routley, in command, tried to send back a report of the plight of his men, but it was impossible to live in such a bombardment. Then followed the infantry attack by the twelve battalions of the Guard Division. The 4th (Queen Augusta’s) Guard Grenadiers seem to have struck the Royal Fusiliers, and the little band of men received the first assault with the bayonet and hurled it back. Routley, about this time, was the only officer left, and he was wounded in the head. The Grenadiers delivered a second charge. Some of the men were driven from their trenches, and their appearance in the rear created a panic among the battalion supports, who appear to have been chiefly special reservists, a draft who arrived on the day before the battle and had not yet been organised into their platoons. Colonel McMahon went to them and tried to rally them. Suddenly he was seen to sink on one knee and begin to remove his legging as though hit in the leg. At that moment a shell burst close to him and killed him. He was a most gallant and distinguished officer, who impressed all who came into contact with him. “ A Royal Fusilier,” he said to the battalion on the eve of embarkation, "does not fear death. He is not afraid of wounds. He only fears disgrace; and I look to you not to disgrace the name of the regiment.” Not merely the battalion and the regiment, but the army as a whole, lost by his death. Part of the West Ridings had also been driven from their trenches, but a determined counter-attack on both sides of the Ypres-Menin road by the Sussex and Scots Fusiliers drove the German Guard back with heavy loss and partly restored the line. At 1:00 p.m. the remainder of the Royal Fusiliers were very much disorganised and scattered. In the evening only O’Donel and Second Lieutenant Maclean, with 50 men, could be collected.’ (The Royal Fusiliers in the Great War by H. C. O’Neill, O.B.E. refers) Private F. Gaunt of the 4th Fusiliers also spoke of the bombardment of the 11th November in his personal first hand record of the first hundred days of the Great War: ‘On Wednesday, the 11th, we were heavily bombarded by artillery, which started at daybreak (6 am) and continued right up to 11 o’clock without a stop. During this time my Commanding Officer, Brigadier-General MacMahon, D.S.O., was struck by two pieces of shrapnel on the head and killed. His last words were: ‘Don’t retire the Fusiliers!” About 9 am I was sitting down in the trench enjoying a bit of bread and Tickler’s plum jam, when I got struck by a piece of shrapnel close to the spine; but I could not get out of the trench, owing to it being shelled too heavily. About one hour afterwards a shell burst close to me, and I felt something burst in my ear, which I found out was the drum of the ear. At 11am the shells stopped, and then I was able to get out of the trench and have my wound dressed at the first dressing station, which was about two miles away; after that I had to walk four miles to the hospital, the road being heavily shelled while I was dragging along.’ (The Immortal First by F. Gaunt. refers) Warwick Spencer Blood was the son of James Warwick Blood and Clara Blood and having no known grave is commemorated on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Belgium.

A superb Great War D.C.M. and Second Award Bar, M.M. group of five awarded to Second Lieutenant W. A. Tapsell, 2nd Battalion, later 6th (Service) Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment, who was decorated with a trio of awards for gallantry on the Western Front in the summer of 1917. Commissioned in April 1918, he died five months later from wounds received in action with the 1st Battalion during the Second Battle of the Somme on 18 September 1918 Distinguished Conduct Medal, G.V.R., with Second Award Bar (8624 Cpl. W. A. Tapsell. 6/Linc: R.); Military Medal, G.V.R. (8624 Cpl. W. A. Tapsell. 6/Linc: R.); 1914 Star, with copy clasp (8624 Pte. W. A. Tapsell. 2/Linc: R.); British War and Victory Medals (2.Lieut. W. A. Tapsell.); Memorial Plaque (William Algernon Tapsell) with Buckingham Palace enclosure, in card envelope and torn OHMS transmission envelope addressed to, ‘Mrs Tapsell, 3 Grove Road, Abbey Wood, S.E.’; together with two riband bars, the first comprising D.C.M., M.M. and 1914 Star, the second D.C.M. and M.M., nearly extremely fine (6) £5,000-£7,000 --- D.C.M. London Gazette 17 September 1917: ‘For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in assisting to dig out nineteen men who had been buried in a dug-out by a gas shell. Finding it impossible, owing to the darkness, to work in a gas helmet, at imminent risk of his life he removed his own, and by his efforts successfully extricated some of the men. The dug-out was full of lethal gas fumes, and six of the men affected subsequently died. He set a splendid example of fearless devotion and self-sacrifice.’ D.C.M. Second Award Bar London Gazette 17 September 1917: ‘For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty when in command of battalion scouts. Having been ordered to reconnoitre in front of our advancing patrols, his party came under heavy and unexpected rifle and machine-gun fire. In spite of this, however, after warning the patrols behind him, he continued to push forward until, owing to several casualties, further advance was impossible, whereupon he withdrew very skilfully with all his wounded back to our lines. Throughout the action he displayed splendid coolness and presence of mind and an utter disregard for personal safety. M.M. London Gazette 21 August 1917. William Algernon Tapsell was born at Abbey Wood, Kent and attested for the Lincolnshire Regiment in 1909. He was stationed at Aden with the 1st Battalion in 1911 and served during the Great War on the Western Front with the 2nd Battalion from 5 November 1914. Having transferred to the 6th (Service) Battalion - after their arrival on the Western Front in July 1916 - he was promoted to Acting Sergeant and decorated three times for gallantry in the summer of 1917, the first award to be gazetted, his Military Medal, almost certainly being awarded in respect of gallantry during the attack at Messines Ridge on 7 June 1917. This was quickly followed by a D.C.M. and a Second Award Bar to the D.C.M., both awards being published in the 17 September 1917 edition of the London Gazette. The following extract from the regimental history appears to reference the period relating to both awards, i.e. 17-27 July 1917: ‘Two days later [17 July 1917] the battalion [6th] took over the front-line trenches. The opposing lines were so close together that when our guns were engaged in shelling the enemy’s front line the Lincolnshire had to temporarily vacate their trenches. The enemy’s retaliation was both systematic and heavy: he used large quantities of gas shells and for several nights box respirators had to be worn continually. Raids were carried out all along the line at this period and one attempted by the Lincolnshire was unsuccessful, as the Divisional Artillery, on the point selected, prevented entry. Relief came on the 24th/25th July, but on the night of the 26th/27th July the battalion was back in the front line. It was reported on the 27th that the enemy had evacuated his front line; as the correctness of this information was doubted a very weak patrol was sent out by the Commanding Officer (Lieut-Colonel Gater) to verify it, which was met by heavy machine-gun and rifle-fire. Lieutenant Playle and five other ranks were wounded. The casualties would have been far heavier if the original report, based on aeroplane reconnaissance, had been accepted.’ (The History of the Lincolnshire Regiment 1914-1918 by C. R. Simpson refers) Lieutenant Playle received the M.C. for his gallantry in this period - his award was published in the same edition of the London Gazette as both of Tapsell’s D.C.M.s. Subsequently discharged to a commission on 19 April 1918, Tapsell died at No. 8 General Hospital, Rouen on 18 September 1918 from wounds received in action on 24 August 1918 whilst serving with the 1st Battalion at the Battle of Albert during the Second Battles of the Somme. The son of Algernon and Mary Jane Tapsell of 3 Grove Road, Abbey Wood, London, he is buried in St. Sever Cemetery, Rouen, France. Sold together with a War Office Certificate of Death describing the recipient’s place and cause of death, dated 7 October 1918, and an original typewritten foolscap document detailing all three of the recipient’s gallantry awards including both D.C.M. citations and also announcing the presentation of said awards by ‘the General Officer Commanding Troops Woolwich, on Sunday, 20th. January, 1918.’- this in its OHMS envelope addressed to, ‘Mr A. Tapsell, 3 Grove Rd. Abbey Wood, London SE2.’

A Great War 1916 ‘Somme’ M.M. group of four awarded to Acting Sergeant F. E. Hermann, 10th (Service) Battalion (1st Hull), East Yorkshire Regiment (Hull Commercials) who died on 17 November 1916 of wounds received in action on 13 November, the opening day of the Battle of the Ancre Military Medal, G.V.R. (1029 Cpl. F. E. Hermann. 10/ E. York: R.); 1914-15 Star (10-1029 Pte. E. F. Hermann. E. York: R.); British War and Victory Medals (10-1029 A. Sjt. E. F. Hermann. E. York. R.); Memorial Plaque (Frans Edgar Hermann) the whole contained in a contemporary bronze display frame, extremely fine (5) £600-£800 --- M.M. London Gazette 1 September 1916. Frans Edgar Hermann was born in 1890 at Sculcoates, Hull, Yorkshire and attested for the 10th (Service) Battalion, (1st Hull), East Yorkshire Regiment on 11 September 1914. This unit, a Pals Battalion known as the ‘Hull Commercials’ made up of local clerks, teachers and businessmen, had been formed at Hull on 29 August by Lord Nunburnholme and the East Riding Territorial Force Association. Embarking on 8 December 1915 from Devonport, Hermann arrived with his battalion at Port Said, 22 December, to defend the Suez Canal at Qantara with the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. Moving to join the British Expeditionary Force in France, the battalion arrived at Marseilles on 7 March 1916 and proceeded with the 92nd Brigade, 31st Division to the Somme area on the Western Front. Hermann was appointed Lance Sergeant on 4 June 1916. Although fortunate to be in reserve for 1 July 1916, the 92nd (Hull Pals) Brigade would still hold the divisional frontage and the 10th Battalion were required to hold the front line from 24 June until ‘Z’ hour on the 1 July, the date for the start of the Somme offensive. Serre, their division’s objective, was one of the strongest of the German positions to be attacked - it being covered by defence works consisting of thick barbed wire entanglements, protected gun emplacements and elaborate deep dugouts which were not affected by the British bombardment. German retaliatory shells obliterated the front line and communication trenches, making movement by day extremely difficult, resulting in the death of Lieutenant Flintoff and eight other ranks of the battalion. The battalion history records that, as zero hour approached, the 10th Battalion’s preparations on the night of 30 June involved: ‘providing parties to cut “lanes” through our own wire to give our attacking troops a quick means of egress into No Man’s Land.’ After this the battalion pulled back to allow the attacking troops to come forward. The 92nd Brigade was pulled out of the line with the rest of the shattered 31st Division on 2 July and sent north to Bethune to refit. For his service during this period, Acting Sergeant Hermann was awarded the M.M. and he was promoted Acting Sergeant on 28 July. The Brigade then spent August and September with alternate spells in and out of the trenches South East of Richebourg L’Avoue with casualties continuing to mount in this supposedly quieter area. Duty in the line was marked by trench raids and occasional awards for bravery. A highly successful raid by the Hull Commercials on German trenches at Boar’s Head near Richebourg on the night of 18/19 September saw Hermann of C Company suffer multiple wounds: ‘The raid on the 18/19th was to be unorthodox. For a week prior to the raid the division had practised a non-offensive policy with the intention of duping the enemy into thinking that they had a peace-loving division opposite them. Lieutenant-Colonel Stapledon, in the face of opposition from his superiors, insisted that there should be no artillery prior to the attack; stealth would be used to position the troops and Bangalore torpedoes used at the last minute to open up the German wire. One officer and twenty five men from each company would take part under the command of Captain Lambert. In the report written after the raid the aims of the raid were stated as: ‘to enter enemy’s trenches, capture and kill any of the enemy, bomb his dugouts and do as much damage as possible.’ This was to be achieved by entering the enemy’s trenches at: ‘four separate points as silently as possible, with 4 parties, each party not to be more than 36 strong, enemy’s wire being cut by a bangalore torpedo at each point of entry, the moment before entry. ’ The four raiding parties waited in No Man’s Land until midnight when the Bangalore torpedoes went off and the raid started. C Company was in position at 11.57 and at midnight when the torpedo exploded rushed into the trench under the cover of the smoke. The party entered a bay occupied by four sentries, three of whom were killed and the other taken prisoner. Flank parties bombed their way down the trench while a third party bombed another trench (Kampe Strasse) causing the Germans to run down the trench and out into the open at the back of the trenches. At 12.10 the raiding party left the trenches leaving behind an estimated ten dead Germans with an unknown number wounded. C Company casualties were light, with one officer and three men slightly wounded. There was no enemy retaliation of any sort after the raid. The raid was a great success and congratulations were received from all quarters. Battalion orders for the 20th gave details of the compliments: ‘I should be glad if you will ask the G.O.C. 31st Division to convey to Brig. Gen. Williams, Commanding the 92nd Infantry Brigade, my congratulations to all ranks of the 10th East Yorkshire Regiment, under Major C.C. Stapledon, who took part in the successful raid carried out last night. The casualties inflicted on the enemy and the capture of prisoners and a machine gun, proved that the raid was not only prepared in the most careful manner, but that it was carried out with fine energy, determination, and gallantry by the officers and men of the East Yorkshire. The capture of the prisoners has enabled us to establish some identifications which are of the utmost importance at the present time to the whole of the allied armies. (signed) R. Haking, General Commanding, First Army.’ (Hull Pals - 10th, 11th, 12th & 13th (Service) Battalions of the East Yorkshire Regiment - A History of 92 Infantry Brigade 31st Division by David Bilton refers.) Having been wounded in action during the raid, Hermann was admitted to hospital at Wimereaux on 23 September 1916 with wounds to his left hand, neck and legs. Sufficiently recuperated, he rejoined his unit in the field back on the Somme on 9 November 1916 and was wounded again four days later on the opening day of the Battle of the Ancre during which the 10th provided flank guards and carrying parties as opposed to the 12th and 13th battalions who suffered terribly in the main attack to the north of Serre. Acting Sergeant Hermann died of his wounds on 17 November 1916. He was the son of Niels Christian Hermann and the husband of Elizabeth Mary Hermann of 5 Eldon Grove, Beverley Road, Hull and is buried in Couin British Cemetery, France.

Three: Private J. H. Chapman, 1st Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, who died of wounds during the Battle of La Bassée on 22 October 1914 1914 Star (9527 Pte. J. H. Chapman. 1/Bedf: R.); British War and Victory Medals (9527 Pte. J. H. Chapman. Bedf. R.); Memorial Plaque (John Henry Chapman) nearly extremely fine (4) £240-£280 --- John Henry Chapman was born in 1890 at Ely, Cambridgeshire and attested there for the Bedfordshire Regiment in 1910. He served with the 1st Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front from 16 August 1914 as part of the 15th Brigade, 5th Division in Smith-Dorrien’s II Corps, his battalion coming under fire at Mons on 23 August and also three days later in a stand at Troisville during the Battle of Le Cateau in which the 5th Division won 3 Victoria Crosses. After services on the Marne and the Aisne they were rushed north by train and bus towards Flanders and the opening of the Battle of La Bassée. Taking over trenches at Givenchy on 12 October, the 1st Bedfords suffered terribly, the War Diary for the 13 October stating: ‘13 October 1914. Heavy bombardment of trenches & village all day. About midday cannonade became terrific. Practically every house damaged & neighbourhood of church continually shelled. Our front trenches, in continuation of Dorsets, unable to hold on in afternoon after Dorsets were enfiladed & withdrew. Smoke of shells & dust of falling houses made it impossible to see clearly what was going on to flanks. Enemy attacked front & flanks & Battalion retired about 300 yards in rear of village & reformed on new line holding road to Pont Fixe in continuation of Dorsets. Norfolks on our left. Losses 7 officers & 140 other ranks.’ After a relative lull in the fighting, Chapman died of wounds on 22 October 1914 (1914 Star Medal Roll refers). The War Diary entry for 19 October provides the following insight into Private Chapman’s likely fate: ‘19 October 1914. Quiet. 'B' Company sent to join Cheshire Regiment on our left near Violaines. Subsequently at dawn on 22nd inst. were in support close to Cheshire front trenches when the latter were rushed by Germans, who came through on to 'B' Company. Lieutenants Coventry & Litchfield missing, believed to be killed. About 40 other ranks killed, wounded or missing.’ The War Diary entry for 22 October reports no further fatal casualties for the battalion that day and so it is likely that Chapman together with the Lieutenant Coventry, Second Lieutenant Litchfield and the 14 other men of the battalion whom the CWGC records as having died on 22 October were all killed or died of wounds received in B Company’s support of the 1st Cheshires at Violaines. He was the son of William Chapman, of 5, Nutholt Lane, Ely, Cambridgeshire and is commemorated on Le Touret Memorial, France.

An assortment of decorative exotic sea shells. No reserve.

Two framed Victorian pot Lids, and a box decorated with sea shells. No reserve.

TRAY CONTAINING SEA SHELLS ETC

QTY OF SEA SHELLS

GROUP OF THREE SEA SHELLS

A box containing various coral, shells etc.

British Royal Navy HMS Hood Grouping, consisting of white summer pattern ratings cap with early pattern HMS Hood gold wire tally with full stop after the ship. White summer ratings smock and separate collar / bib. Named to the rear of the top. Generally good condition. HMS Hood was a Admiral Class Battlecruiser. She is one of the most famous ships of the Royal Navy, because in 1941, she was sent along with the battleship The Prince of Wales to intercept the German battleship Bismarck and cruiser Prinz Eugen, during the early stages of the action against these ships during the battle of the Denmark Strait, Hood was struck by several German shells, she exploded and sank within 3 minutes, with the loss of all but three of her crew.

A Victorian gilt wood and gesso oval mirror, carved and moulded with shells and flowers, 45 cm high

A collection of shells, bones and animal teeth **PLEASE NOTE THIS LOT IS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR POSTING AND PACKING**

A piece of coral, sea urchin and two shells, some a/f

PETER DEVENISH (XX): Two contemporary limited edition screen prints "Broken Shells on Blue" 13/15 and "Fissure" 15/17, unframed

Two boxes of mixed shells including a shell lamp

A collection of sea shells including paua

A tray of brass shells, mixed sizes

Box of assorted fossils and shells.