Four: Head Naval Nursing Auxiliary Mary E. Handel, Queen Alexandra’s Royal Naval Nursing Service and British Red Cross Society Defence and War Medals 1939-45; Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., E.II.R., 2nd issue (0083 M. E. Handel. H.N.N.A. H.M.S. Ariel.); Voluntary Medical Service Medal, silver (Miss Mary E. Handel); together with the recipient’s British Red Cross Society Medal (012931 M. E. Handel) with top ‘Proficiency in Red Cross First Aid’ riband bar, nearly extremely fine (5) £120-£160 --- Mary Eileen Handel enrolled in the British Red Cross on 8 July 1941, serving with No. 212 (East Grinstead) Voluntary Aid Detachment. Transferring to the Royal Navy on 27 September 1944, she served at Haslar and H.M.S. Vernon, before moving from nursing to clerical duties at Chatham Naval Hospital on 24 March 1948. Posted to Malta, she qualified for her Voluntary Medical Service Medal on 8 July 1957. Three years later, all remaining V.A.D.s in the Royal Navy were taken into service with Queen Alexandra’s Royal Naval Nursing Service - Handel was allocated number 83. As regular personnel, all those who had served the requisite 15 years were awarded the L.S.G.C. Medal, the recipient receiving hers on 17 May 1961. Sold with the original forwarding document for Voluntary Medical Service Medal, and B.R.C.S. proficiency notification slip confirming entitlement to last, dated 13 August 1942.
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Three: Attributed to Major Agnes F. Brown, Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps and Territorial Army Nursing Service Defence and War Medals 1939-45; Efficiency Decoration, E.II.R., Territorial, reverse officially dated 1960, with Second Award Bar dated 1960, with integral top riband bar, good very fine (3) £70-£90 --- Agnes Frances Brown took her nursing studies at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton from 1930 to 1933, registering as SRN No. 70388 on 24 November 1933. She joined the Territorial Army Nursing Service in 1934 and was called up for service at the outbreak of the Second World War. Appointed Sister on 31 May 1941, she served with Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps (T.A.) throughout the War and was advanced Major on 25 December 1953. Sold with the recipient’s General Nursing Council for England and Wales badge, silver and enamel, engraved to reverse ‘A. F. Brown. S.R.N. 70388 24-11-33.’; A Royal Sussex County Hospital badge, enamel and base metal, reverse engraved ‘A. F. Brown 70388’, this with significant enamel damage and lacking catch for affixing wearing pin.
A fine post-War M.B.E., Great War A.R.R.C. group of six awarded to Sister Anne E. Musson, Territorial Force Nursing Service, later Matron of the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, who displayed ‘outstanding work’ in France The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, M.B.E. (Civil) Member’s 2nd type lady’s shoulder badge, silver, on lady’s bow riband; Royal Red Cross, 2nd Class (A.R.R.C.), G.V.R., silver and enamel, on lady’s bow riband, in Garrard & Co. fitted case of issue; 1914 Star (Miss A. E. Musson. T.F.N.S.); British War and Victory Medals, with M.I.D. oak leaves (Sister A. E. Musson.); Jubilee 1935, unnamed as issued, on lady’s bow riband, nearly extremely fine (6) £600-£800 --- M.B.E. London Gazette 9 June 1949: ‘For services to the nursing profession in Northern Ireland.’ A.R.R.C. London Gazette 1 January 1918. M.I.D. London Gazette 29 May 1917. Anne Elizabeth Musson was born in West Bridgford, Nottingham, in 1881, and trained in nursing at the Nottingham General Hospital from 1904 to 1907. An experienced practitioner, she joined the staff of the 3rd Western Hospital of the T.F.N.S. and served in France from 22 October 1914. Posted to dressing stations and base hospitals, and placed in charge of ambulance trains full of wounded men, she received the A.R.R.C. whilst on the staff of No. 6 General Hospital at Rouen. Impressed by her abilities, she was later invited by Mr. Andrew Fullerton to take up the post of Assistant Matron at the Royal Victoria Hospital. Promoted Matron in 1922, she remained at this hospital until retirement on 1 May 1946. An article published in the Nursing Journal around that time, adds: ‘She was awarded the MBE on her retirement. She was regarded as rather aloof, though an excellent and fair matron. She had artistic gifts, being a frequent exhibitor at the Ulster Academy of Arts.’ An original member of the Joint Nursing and Midwives Council, Musson was heavily involved in drafting the rules and regulations governing the training, examination and registration of qualified nurses. For 18 years she represented the Joint Council on the Northern Ireland executive committee of the Queen’s Institute of District Nurses, whilst she also served as a founder member of the Belfast branch of the Royal College of Nurses. She was also instrumental in forming the first Irish unit of the Student Nurses’ Association at the Royal Victoria Hospital. She died on 3 February 1958. Sold with the recipient’s original T.F.N.S. cape badge, newspaper clippings and copied research.
Three: Miss Ruby I. Johnson, Kent Voluntary Aid Detachment Defence and War Medals 1939-45; Voluntary Medical Service Medal, silver, with ‘V.A.D.’ top suspension bar (Miss Ruby I. Johnson) good very fine (3) £60-£80 --- Ruby I. Johnson enrolled as a Nursing Member in the Kent No. 74 (Speldhurst) Voluntary Aid Detachment on 14 December 1928. She gained proficiency badges in first aid, home nursing, anti-gas, administration and organisation, and infant and child welfare, before being called up for service with the Royal Navy on 7 September 1939. Sent to the Royal Naval Hospital at Chatham, she served two years as a full-time V.A.D. on home service before being posted to Colombo in the spring of 1942. Returned home in 1945, she resigned from the Red Cross on 14 November 1948.
Three: Miss Ellaline F. M. W. Parton, West Mercia Constabulary, late Shrewsbury Air Raid Precautions (A.R.P.) Defence Medal; Jubilee 1977, unnamed as issued; Special Constabulary Long Service Medal, E.II.R., 2nd issue, 1 clasp, Long Service 1970 (Ellaline W. Parton) good very fine (3) £100-£140 --- Ellaline F. M. W. Parton - known as Ellie - was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, in the fourth quarter of 1923, and served with the Shrewsbury A.R.P. during the Second World War. She later worked in administration at Shrewsbury Police Station from 20 April 1953 to 19 September 1988, and is believed to have assisted the Welsh Special Branch for many years. A Special Constable with the Shropshire (later West Mercia) Constabulary, she remained in her home town for the rest of her life and died there on 5 October 2015, aged 92 years. Sold with original box of issue for Defence Medal, named to ‘Miss E. F. M. Wilson-Parton, 66 St. Michael’s Steet, Shrewsbury, Shropshire.’; a small silver locket containing a photograph of the recipient as a young woman, engraved to reverse ‘To. Miss E. W. Parton Post Sergt. No.7 A.R.P. Post, 20.9.44’; a small snapshot photograph of her as a Sergeant in Civil Defence uniform; and the original box of issue for the Jubilee Medal, this containing original bow riband and wearing pin.
Five: Miss Irene C. Mitchell, British Red Cross Society, who drove a mobile dispensary to remote villages on ‘errands of mercy’ Defence Medal; General Service 1918-62, 1 clasp, Malaya, G.VI.R. (Miss. I. C. Mitchell.); Africa General Service 1902-56, 1 clasp, Kenya (Miss I. C. Mitchell. B.R.C.S.); Voluntary Medical Service Medal, silver (Miss Irene C. Mitchell); Malaysia, Federation, Negri Sembilan Meritorious Service Medal, bronze, unnamed as issued, nearly extremely fine (6) £400-£500 --- Negri Sembilian Meritorious Service Medal (Pingat Jasa Kebaktian), 18 December 1954: ‘Miss I. C. Mitchell came to Malaya in April, 1952, and was posted to Negri Sembilan in August, 1953. As a Field Officer of the British Red Cross Society in Negri Sembilan, Miss Mitchell has also undertaken the work of Secretary. She has trained over 350 young people in First Aid and has regularly visited every part of the State and gone into remote kampongs on errands of mercy. In addition to all these things, she has been responsible for the establishment of the voluntary detachment of persons who are now full trained in Red Cross work, First Aid and Nursing. No task has been too arduous or too difficult for her to fulfil. She has been highly complimented by the State Director of the British Red Cross Society, Negri Sembilan Branch, as a lady of outstanding ability who has carried out her duties with great cheerfulness and efficiency. On her departure from the State for England, His Highness the Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negri Sembilan has been graciously pleased to award her with the Negri Sembilan Meritorious Service Medal.’ Irene C. Mitchell lived in Balham, London, and took leave of absence as a French and biology teacher at Alvering Secondary School in Wandsworth to spend a year in Malaya as one of 50 volunteers with the British Red Cross. Separated into 25 separate ‘teams’, each consisting of a health and welfare worker, Mitchell found herself in the company of Miss Margaret Hale, a qualified nurse from the Royal Cancer Hospital in London. Moving from village to village in a modified Land Rover nicknamed ‘Horace’, the two ladies spent the next twelve months attempting to win the confidence and support of the local Malay people, many of whom were previously sympathetic to the Communist terrorist insurgents who controlled much of the remote jungle territories. Sold with the original recommendation for the Negri Sembilan Meritorious Service Medal; the recipient’s British Red Cross Society Medal with Proficiency in Red Cross First Aid top riband bar (016447 I. Mitchell) and British Red Cross Society merit badge ‘13285 I. Mitchell’; a fine photograph of Miss Mitchell and Miss Hale in uniform; and copied research.
Pair: A. E. Duncan, British Red Cross Society Defence Medal; Voluntary Medical Service Medal, silver, with one Additional Award Bar and top V.A.D. riband bar (A. E. Duncan); together with the recipient’s British Red Cross Society Medal for Proficiency in Red Cross First Aid, with five clasps, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1936, 1938 (07496 A. Duncan); British Red Cross Society Medal for Proficiency in Red Cross Nursing, with four clasps, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1937 (03947 A. Duncan); British Red Cross Society Medal for Proficiency in First Aid in Chemical Warfare, with two clasps, 1936, 1939 (203. A. Duncan); British Red Cross Society Medal for Proficiency in Red Cross Administration & Organisation (94. A. Duncan); Red Cross ‘For Merit’ badge, with three clasps, 1932, 1934, 1936 (884. A. Duncan) generally very fine and better (7) £60-£80 --- Sold with a B.R.C.S. City of Edinburgh enamel badge; B.R.C.S. 3 years’ service badges (4); Associate badge and shoulder ‘pips’ (6).
A post-War M.B.E. group of four awarded to Warrant Officer Class II Margaret Sutherland, Women’s Royal Army Corps The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, M.B.E. (Military) Member’s 2nd type, lady’s shoulder badge, silver; Defence and War Medals 1939-45; Army L.S. & G.C., E.II.R., 1st issue, Regular Army (W/24807 W.O.Cl.2. M. Sutherland. M.B.E. W.R.A.C.) good very fine (4) £160-£200 --- M.B.E. London Gazette 5 June 1952. Margaret Sutherland was awarded the M.B.E. whilst serving in the Military Secretary’s Department of the War Office and Ministry of Defence. The Scotsman newspaper of 25 July 1952 further notes that she was a resident of Caithness and received her decoration from the hand of the Queen at an investiture held in the gold State ballroom of Buckingham Palace.
Three: Major Phyllis G. Gardner, Canadian Women’s Army Corps Canadian Volunteer Service Medal; War Medal 1939-45, Canadian issue in silver; Canadian Forces Decoration, E.II.R., with Additional Award Bar (Maj P. G. Gardner) light contact marks, very fine (3) £100-£140 --- Phyllis Gertrude Gardner was born on 27 October 1910 and enlisted at Winnipeg for the Canadian Women’s Army Corps on 14 February 1942. Upon completion of basic training she was posted to ‘L’ No. 46 Company, Brandon, Manitoba, for duty in the stores, and was soon promoted Sergeant in Charge. Selected for officer training, she was appointed to a commission on 2 April 1943 and sent to No. 110 Depot Company as Assistant Quartermaster. Raised Quartermaster on 9 September 1944, Captain on 9 October 1944, and made substantive in September 1945, she later served with the Supplementary Reserve in the Prairie Region from 22 August 1950. Further promoted Major in February 1957, Gardner was awarded the Canadian Forces Decoration under A.O. No. 635, dated 16 February 1959. Sold with the recipient’s card identity disc; and two photographs of the recipient in military uniform.
Pair: Major Ann H. Lively, Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps General Service 1918-62, 1 clasp, Malaya, E.II.R. (Lt. A. H. Lively. Q.A.R.A.N.C.); General Service 1962-2007, 1 clasp, Malay Peninsula (Capt. A. H. Lively. QARANC.) nearly extremely fine (2) £260-£300 --- Ann Hudson Lively was born in Newcastle upon Tyne on 24 March 1932 and trained as a nurse at the High Wycombe and District Group Training School. Registered as SRN No. 230359 on 29 November 1955, she was granted a short-service commission in Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps on 1 February 1956. Promoted Temporary Captain whilst on attachment to the Ghanaian Armer Forces, she was raised Major on 1 February 1968. Awarded the GSM with clasp Malaya for service in the Far East, Lively was later posted on 11 June 1969 to the Military Hospital at Terendak in Malaysia. Retired to pension on 17 October 1972, she died at Spalding, Lincolnshire, on 9 April 2008. Sold with the recipient’s original silver Q.A.R.A.N.C. cape badge, hallmarked Birmingham 1950, and two original letters from the M.O.D., the first a letter of congratulations to Captain Lively at Cambridge Military Hospital for passing her examination to Major, dated 16 December 1966, the second confirming award of the GSM 1962-2007.
Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, no clasp (Ward Maid F. Garland. I.Y. H.P. Staff.); together with the recipient’s Royal British Nurses Association Diploma Medal, with Steadfast & True top riband bar, silver, hallmarked Birmingham 1913, reverse engraved ‘F. A. Garland.’, very fine (2) £300-£400 --- Frances Garland was born in Blackwall, Poplar, in 1876, and served at the Imperial Yeomanry Hospital in South Africa as Ward Maid - a role devoted to women who looked after the nurses and were employed on housekeeping type duties. Returned home to London, Garland subsequently took her nursing studies at the Whitechapel Infirmary from December 1903 to March 1907 and took employment in private nursing. Sold with copied research from the Nurses’ Journal of September 1910, which notes Royal approval of the design of the newly-created R.B.N.A. Diploma Medal.
Africa General Service 1902-56, 1 clasp, Nyasaland 1915 (Nursing Sister A. M. Tadman) ‘Sister’ officially re-impressed, very fine £160-£200 --- Sold with a fine Charing Cross Hospital cape badge, engraved to reverse ‘Sister Theatre’, with silver suspension, this hallmarked Birmingham 1902.
A fine ‘Anglo-Egyptian War’ R.R.C. group of three awarded to Nursing Sister Rebecca Burleigh, Army Nursing Service, later Naval Nursing Service, who was Mentioned in Despatches Royal Red Cross, 1st Class, V.R., silver-gilt, gold, and enamel; Egypt and Sudan 1882-89, undated reverse, 1 clasp, Suakin 1885 (Nursg. Sister. R. Burleigh.); Khedive’s Star, dated 1884-6, unnamed as issued, nearly extremely fine (3) £800-£1,000 --- R.R.C. London Gazette 23 October 1885. M.I.D. London Gazette 25 August 1885. Rebecca Burleigh was born in Carrickfergus, Ireland, on 6 December 1845, and entered the Military Nursing Establishment at Netley Hospital on 1 February 1884. Posted to Egypt from 26 March 1884 to 3 June 1884, she embarked for a second period of service aboard the Hospital Ship Ganges on 25 February 1885. Moored off the Port City of Suakin in north-eastern Sudan, Burleigh was soon caring for wounded and sick men, many of whom were struck down by dysentery. Catering to nearly 300 casualties in 90 beds and 200 swinging cots, the work was hot and the facilities basic; hoisted aboard ship, many men succumbed to infection and heat stroke. The valuable work of the nursing staff was later immortalised in a series of engravings entitled ‘With Sir Gerald Graham at Suakim, on the Hospital-Ship “Ganges”’, which were published in The Graphic. Returned home to England in the summer of 1885, Burleigh soon began to suffer from illness herself and was sent on one month’s sick leave. Recovered, she served for almost a year at Chatham from 12 September 1885 to 2 August 1886, before taking up appointment as Nursing Sister with the Naval Nursing Service at Haslar on 4 June 1887. Raised Head Sister on 1 May 1890, she returned to Chatham until discharge on 31 March 1895.
A poignant ‘Casualty’ British War Medal awarded to Matron Martha S. Farley, Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserve, late Army Nursing Service Reserve, who received the R.R.C. from the hands of King George V but died of illness a short while later British War Medal 1914-20 (Matron M. S. Farley.) re-pinned with suspension loose, multiple edge nicks, good fine to nearly very fine £70-£90 --- R.R.C. London Gazette 24 October 1917. Martha Sabina Farley was born in Drogheda, Ireland, on 24 June 1872. Educated in Drogheda and Dublin, she served as a Nursing Sister during the Boer War and is recorded in 1906 with the Army Nursing Service Reserve in Bloemfontein. Transferred to the Q.A.I.M.N.S.R. on 13 July 1916, she served as Matron at Fermoy Military Hospital and was later decorated with the R.R.C. at an investiture held at Buckingham Palace on 21 November 1917. A few months later she contracted an illness whilst on active service. Sent to Adelaide Hospital, she died on 1 June 1918 and was buried in the Mount Jerome Cemetery in Dublin. Her effects were later sent to her sister in West Montreal, Canada. Sold with the recipient’s original silver Q.A.I.M.N.S.R. cape badge, hallmarked Birmingham 1915.
A Great War O.B.E. pair awarded to Commandant May Burke, Eastbourne Division, British Red Cross The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, O.B.E. (Civil) Officer’s 1st type, lady’s shoulder badge, silver-gilt, hallmarks for London 1918, on lady’s bow riband; Voluntary Medical Services Medal, silver, with one Additional Award Bar (May Burke.) the gilding worn to first, otherwise very fine (2) £160-£200 --- O.B.E. London Gazette 7 January 1918: ‘Mrs. May Burke. Commandant, Urmston and Fairfield Auxiliary Hospitals, Eastbourne.’ May Burke joined the British Red Cross in December 1910 and served during the Great War as Commandant of Sussex No.2 (Eastbourne) division. In 1918 she left her home at Compton Lodge in Eastbourne and moved to Edensor House in Bakewell, Derbyshire, reprising her role as Commandant with Derbyshire No. 26 (Bakewell) division. Sold with a photograph of the recipient in uniform and a letter from the British Red Cross dated 20 March 1992, confirming the above details, adding that the recipient was awarded a Mention in Despatches in 1917. This remains unconfirmed.
An extremely rare Punjab Frontier R.R.C. pair awarded to Senior Nursing Sister Mary E. Barker, Indian Army Nursing Service, who nursed British and Indian soldiers in a Himalayan fort under constant enemy fire Royal Red Cross, 1st Class, V.R., silver-gilt, gold and enamel, on lady’s bow riband; India General Service 1895-1902, 1 clasp, Punjab Frontier 1897-98 (Nursing Sister M. E. Barker. I.A.N.S.) good very fine (2) £3,000-£4,000 --- Provenance: Dix Noonan Webb, June 2005. R.R.C. London Gazette 21 April 1899: ‘Miss Mary Ellen Barker, Indian Nursing Service. In recognition of the services rendered by her in connection with the nursing of the sick and wounded during the late operations on the Punjab Frontier.’ One of only 3 R.R.C. awards for this campaign, the other two being announced in the same gazette. Mary Ellen Barker was born in Mansfield, Nottingham, on 25 March 1863, the daughter of a stone merchant. Educated at a Ladies’ Private School in Barlborough, Derbyshire, she entered the Nightingale Fund Training School at St. Thomas’s Hospital in Lambeth in July 1889. Completing her training ‘very satisfactorily’, she was taken onto the permanent staff of the Diptheria Ward and was later appointed Head Nurse on the Surgical Ward. Employed in 1894 as a private nurse, Barker proved instrumental in saving the life of the Dowager Countess of Morley when her bedding caught fire at Whiteway Mansion, Chudleigh, Devon. For this act she was awarded a silver medal and three guineas by the Society for the Protection of Life from Fire at a meeting held on 26 September 1895. Supported by a strong reference from the Earl of Morley, her second application to the Indian Army Nursing Service proved fruitful and she was appointed Nursing Sister on 27 November 1895. Posted to the Station Hospital at Rawalpindi for her first term of five years, Barker soon caught the attention of Lady Superintendent Loch when she noted in her diary: ‘August 1897. Sister B is under orders to go to the Malakand and naturally is in a tremendous state of excitement.’ Detached to the Malakand Frontier Force, Barker served on the North-West Frontier of India from 15 August to 7 October 1897. For her efforts to nurse the sick and wounded she was awarded the R.R.C. and India General Service Medal, the former being presented to her on parade at Murree on 25 July 1899 by General Sir Arthur Power Palmer. A contemporary article published in The Nursing Record & Hospital World on 9 September 1899, adds a little more detail regarding both awards: ‘Miss Barker, during the frontier campaign, was shut up in one of the Malabund forts, being the only woman in it, and worked night and day nursing the wounded, besides being constantly under fire. She also rendered great service at the base hospital during the same campaign. This is not the first occasion on which Miss Barker has distinguished herself. She has already received a medal for saving life from fire, having carried a burning patient out of a hospital (sic) at great risk to her own life.’ Returning to Rawalpindi, Barker completed her first term on 26 November 1900. Signing up for further duties, she transferred to Peshawar in June 1902, and in April 1903 became officiating Senior Sister at Mian Mir. With her health declining, she finally resigned from the service on 15 August 1905. Sold with copied Indian Army Nursing Service Record and private research.
A fine ‘Victorian’ R.R.C. group of four awarded to Matron Lenora Maxwell St. John, Indian Army Nursing Service, later British Committee of the French Red Cross and Serbian Relief Fund Royal Red Cross, 1st Class, V.R., silver-gilt, gold, and enamel, on lady’s bow riband; British War and Victory Medals (L. Maxwell St. John.); Serbia, Kingdom, Order of St. Sava, Fifth Class, lady’s shoulder badge, silver-gilt and enamel, Bishop in green robes, minor contact marks and edge nick to BWM, very fine and better (4) £800-£1,000 --- R.R.C. London Gazette 25 July 1899. The Register of the Royal Red Cross, 1883-1994, notes: ‘In recognition of her special devotion and competency in the discharge of her duties and the care bestowed in training British soldiers and Army Hospital Corps attendants in nursing duties.’ Leonora Maxwell St. John (née Muller) was born in Glasgow on 3 July 1862. She was first appointed to the Temporary Army Nursing Service on 12 March 1885 as a replacement for nurses going to Egypt. Admitted to the Permanent Service on 3 July 1887, she later took appointment as Nursing Sister in the Indian Army Nursing Service on 21 February 1888. Promoted Acting Superintendent 21 August 1890, and Lady Superintendent 1 April 1893, she completed two terms of service with the I.A.N.S., ending on 16 March 1899, and was decorated by the Queen at Osborn House on 24 August 1899. In 1903 she married Captain Arthur St. John of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and took the surname Maxwell-St. John. She then served from 1904 to 1914 as a member of the India Office Nursing Board, interviewing candidates for appointment to the I.A.N.S. in London. From 1914 to 1915 she served under the British Committee of the French Red Cross, firstly as Matron of The Auxiliary Military Hospital No. 307, better known as the Anglo-French-American Homeopathic Hospital. Established at Neuilly in a villa on the Boulevard Victor-Hugo in February 1915, it had 40-75 beds and was mostly British staffed. It closed in March, 1916. Maxwell St. John subsequently served with the Serbian Relief Fund in Corfu from 3 June 1916 to 13 September 1916, before crossing to Serbia and witnessing a further year of nursing as Matron of the Serbian Relief Fund Hospital. This latter work was formally recognised by His Majesty The King of Serbia with the award of the Order of St. Sava 5th Class on 31 October 1917: ‘in recognition of services rendered to the Serbian people.’ Sold with extensive copied research including an interesting letter written by the recipient on 12 February 1916 to the Under Secretary of State for India, stating the loss of her R.R.C. decoration during an official hospital visit in France: ‘There was a crush, my cross was wrenched off - probably unintentionally’. She was later informed that a duplicate award could be supplied, on payment of £3. 16s. 6d. Consequently, the R.R.C. decoration in this lot may well be that official replacement.
Four: Second Nursing Officer Mrs. E. Brunning, St. John Ambulance Brigade Jubilee 1897, bronze (Nursg. Sisr. Mrs. E. Brunning.); Coronation 1902, St. John Ambulance Brigade, bronze (E. Brunning. 2nd. N.O.); Coronation 1911, St. John Ambulance Brigade (2nd. Nurs. Offr. E. M. Brunning.); Service Medal of the Order of St John, silver, with three Additional Award Bars (2nd Nursing Officer Elizabeth Brunning. 8th. July 1907.) good very fine (4) £200-£240
A rare ‘Boxer Rebellion’ R.R.C. Pair awarded to Nursing Sister Marion J. Hislop, Indian Army Nursing Service Royal Red Cross, 1st Class, V.R., silver-gilt, gold, and enamel, on lady’s bow riband; China 1900, no clasp (Nursing Sister M. J. Mislop [sic]. I.A.N.S.) good very fine (2) £1,400-£1,800 --- R.R.C. London Gazette 13 December 1901: ‘In recognition of their services to the sick and wounded during the operations in China.’ Marion Jeanette Hislop was appointed Probationer at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London from November 1884 to November 1887, and took her first appointment as Sister at the Great Ormond Street Hospital For Sick Children from June 1889 to October 1890. Appointed to the Indian Army Nursing Service in October 1891, she served as Deputy Superintendent at the Sister’s Quarters of the Station Hospital in Allahabad, subsequently boarding the transport Palamcolla and sailing for Hong Kong for service during the Boxer Rebellion. The Nursing Record and Hospital World offers a little more information regarding this period: ‘Five of the Sisters of the Indian Army Nursing Service are at present serving in China. They are Senior Nursing Sister Marion Jeanette Hislop, and Sisters Agnes Mary Waterhouse, Louisa E. Lingard, Clara Lucy Cusins, and Christian Frances Hill. Their service are, no doubt, much appreciated by our sick soldiers. We hear very little of the nursing arrangements made for the care of our sick and wounded in China, and the news that five experienced Sisters of the Indian Army Nursing Staff are on duty there, is welcome, even though their services may be but as a drop in the ocean.’
An extremely fine Great War R.R.C. and Second Award Bar group of four awarded to Principal Matron Dorothea M. Taylor, Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service, who was further recognised by His Majesty the King of Italy for her valuable work with the Italian Expeditionary Force Royal Red Cross, 1st Class (R.R.C.), G.V.R., with Second Award Bar, silver-gilt, gold, and enamel, the reverse privately engraved ‘D. M. Taylor Jan 1916 Q.A.I.M.N.S.’, on lady’s bow riband; British War and Victory Medals, with copy M.I.D. oak leaves (A. Pr. Matron D. M. Taylor.); Italy, Kingdom, Bronze Medal della Salute Publica, unnamed as issued, nearly extremely fine (4) £2,000-£2,400 --- R.R.C. London Gazette 14 January 1916. R.R.C. Second Award Bar London Gazette 1 January 1921. Italy, Medal of Merit for Public Safety London Gazette 2 November 1920. Dorothea Matilda Taylor was born in Edinburgh on 29 November 1873, the daughter of physician William Taylor. Educated at St. George’s High School in Edinburgh, she crossed the Firth of Forth and River Tay to take her nursing training at Dundee Royal Infirmary from May 1900 to May 1903. Appointed Staff Nurse to the Q.A.I.M.N.S. on 10 July 1903, she was raised Sister on 18 November 1904 and sent to Egypt from April 1906 to October 1910. Sent to Khartoum on a tour of duty in 1907, she likely treated people suffering from malaria, yellow fever, and other infections associated with a lack of safe water. Returned to the United Kingdom, Taylor was promoted Acting Matron on 8 August 1914 and placed on home service. Awarded the Royal Red Cross, she received her decoration from the hand of the King at an investiture held in Buckingham Palace on 15 January 1916. Posted overseas to Italy on 8 December 1917, she later wrote a most emotive account of her experiences: ‘On a cold, bleak morning, early in December 1917, I and my party arrived at the Italian Frontier on our way to join the Italian Expeditionary Force. The ground was white with snow, and it was exceedingly cold. The railway station was guarded by Italian soldiers, and even at the door of the refreshment room there was a sentry with a fixed bayonet. We were informed by the Railway Transport Officer that food was very short in Italy, and that he did not know where we were to go, but he would send us on to Turin, where we arrived about 5 p.m. - No one seemed to know anything about us at Turin, so we were again sent on - this time to Genoa - and arrived there about midnight. Again, we were not expected, so we were taken to No. 11 General Hospital to be kindly received and housed until quarters could be found for us.’ Sent to a small hospital in Arquata and then on to Stationary Hospitals at Cremona and Bordighera, Taylor spent New Year’s Day of 1918 at Padova in a ‘dreary and cold hotel’, the night being spent in a cellar as the town received the attention of the enemy. Transferred to work at a Casualty Clearing Station in the foothills of the Austrian Alps, she took solace in the beauty of the landscape and hospitality of the Italian people, before being sent on to a hospital in Taranto and digs in newly constructed Nissen huts. It was at around this time that Taylor’s health began to suffer, likely in consequence of the volume of work and bombing by the armies and air forces of the Central Powers; the recipient’s Service Record notes her struggling with concussion, neuritis and headaches. Sent back to England at the cessation of hostilities, Taylor received the Second Award Bar to her Royal Red Cross at an investiture held at Buckingham Palace on 8 March 1921. Her hard work from 1917 to 1918 was further recognised by the King of Italy, Taylor receiving the rare award of the Bronze Medal della Salute Publica - usually conferred for service to Italian citizens in staving off disease and protecting societal health. Raised Matron on 31 January 1921, Taylor took further appointment at the Officer’s Hospital in Scarborough and the Military Hospital in Cosham, but with her health failing she was invalided on 15 December 1924 and placed on retired pay. She died of pneumonia on 11 October 1928, her last address noted as Swanston Cottage, Oulton Broad, Lowestoft. Sold with the recipient’s original silver Q.A.I.M.N.S. cape badge, hallmarked Birmingham 1915.
Service Medal of the Order of St John, silver (2), with one Additional Award Bar and M.H.R. top riband bar (9303 Sgt. H. T. Pilkington. Leigh Div. No.4 Dis S.J.A.B. 1931.); with three Additional Award Bars and M.H.R. top riband bar (15265. Cpl. G. J. Whelham. Mitcham Div. No.1 Dis. S.J.A.B. 1936.) nearly extremely fine (2) £50-£70
Three: Mr. R. Wilkinson, South Eastern and Chatham Railway St. John Ambulance Association South Eastern and Chatham Railway St John Ambulance Association Medal, in recognition of having passed 14 annual examinations in succession, silver, hallmarked Birmingham 1918 (Robert Wilkinson 1918); South Eastern and Chatham Railway St John Ambulance Association Medal, in recognition of having passed seven annual examinations in succession, bronze (Robert Wilkinson 1911); Order of St. John of Jerusalem Cross, unnamed, very fine and better (3) £60-£80
An unattributed Great War R.R.C. group of four miniature dress medals Royal Red Cross, 1st Class (R.R.C.), G.V.R., silver-gilt, gold, and enamel; 1914 Star, with clasp; British War and Victory Medals, with M.I.D. oak leaves, mounted as worn, good very fine An unattributed Great War A.R.R.C. group of five miniature dress medals Royal Red Cross, 2nd Class (A.R.R.C.), G.V.R., silver and enamel, on lady’s bow riband; 1914 Star, with clasp; British War and Victory Medals, with M.I.D. oak leaves; France, Third Republic, Medaille d’Honneur des Epidemies, silver, mounted as worn, good very fine (9) £80-£100
Silver War Badge (2) the reverses officially numbered ‘B162382’; and ‘RN 39810’, with original numbered award card and O.H.M.S. registered envelope of despatch for second, nearly extremely fine (2) £40-£50 --- Marjorie B. Ashley enrolled in Queen Mary’s Army Auxiliary Corps on 28 September 1918 and was discharged as medically unfit on 7 April 1919, being awarded the Silver War Badge numbered B162382. Ellen Graeme Harrison was appointed Assistant Principal in the Women’s Royal Naval Service on 15 July 1918. Attached to Headquarters Staff, she worked in the recruiting department and was discharged on 27 February 1919, being awarded the Silver War Badge numbered RN 39810.
A selection of Miscellaneous Nursing Badges Comprising full-size Q.A.I.M.N.S.R. cape badge, silver, by Carrington & Co., hallmarked Birmingham 1917, brooch mounted; Small pattern Q.A.I.M.N.S.R. cape badges, unmarked silver (2); full-size Territorial Force Nursing Service tippet badges, unmarked silver (2); Middlesex Hospital white metal nursing badge on pin-backed suspension, engraved to reverse ‘M. Y. Clarabut’; County of Northumberland V.A.D. Worker badge, presented to A. L. Dubridge; British Red Cross Society badge with County of Lincolnshire suspension, enamel and base metal, engraved to reverse ‘28858 E. Laughton’; Registered General Nurse for Scotland badge, silver and enamel, engraved to reverse ‘A.G.S. Howell A17449’; General Midwives Board for Scotland badge, unmarked silver, engraved to reverse ‘14452 Ada G. S. Howell 25.7.1939’; General Nursing Council for England & Wales badge, reverse engraved ‘T. P. Brett 159271 26/11/48’; G.H.N.L. badge; British Red Cross Society 3 Years Service, badge No. 53474; On War Service Badge, enamel and base metal, No. 58906, very fine and better (14) £100-£140
A selection of Great War period Women’s Legion, Auxiliary Territorial Service and Queen Mary’s Army Auxiliary Corps cap badges, shoulder titles and pin badges, some missing reverse lugs; together with two card identity discs to V.A.D. Nurse Mabel Vere Lee and one to Q.A.I.M.N.S. Sister Doris Eleanor May Amies; an Ellesmere Commander of the Order of St John of Jerusalem badge, silver and enamel; an Order of St John Priory for Wales Service Badge, engraved to reverse ‘Muriel Williams WA 19001’; various life saving proficiency medals and miniature Service Medals of the Order of St. John; an R.N.L.I. pennant flag; a nurses cape; miscellaneous badges, buttons, and fabric shoulder pips; various photographs and newspaper cuttings; and other ephemera, generally good condition (lot) £50-£70
A fine Great War R.R.C. group of five awarded to Matron Dora Westbrook, Imperial Yeomanry Hospital Staff, later British Red Cross Society Royal Red Cross, 1st Class (R.R.C.), G.V.R., silver-gilt, gold, and enamel, on lady’s bow riband; Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, no clasp (Nursing Sister D. Westbrook. I.Y. Hp. Staff); King’s South Africa 1901-02, no clasp (Nursing Sister D. Westbrook.); Voluntary Medical Service Medal, with Second Award Bar (Dora King.); British Red Cross Society Medal for War Service 1914-18, bronze, with integral top riband bar, very fine and better (5) £600-£800 --- R.R.C. London Gazette 24 October 1917. Dora Westbrook trained in nursing at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London. She joined Princess Christian’s Army Nursing Service Reserve on 15 May 1900 and served during the Boer War as a Nursing Sister at the Imperial Yeomanry Hospital in Dreelfontein. According to The Yeomen of the Karoo, The Story of the Imperial Yeomanry Hospital at Dreelfontein, this military hospital was created by the charitable efforts of Lady Georgina Curzon, daughter of the Duke of Marlborough, and Lady Beatrice Grosvenor, daughter of the Duke of Westminster. Tasked initially with providing the highest quality medical care for the Imperial Yeomanry, the hospital was staffed by 706 medical professionals and offered 1960 beds to sick and injured soldiers. The Chairman’s report of 1902 notes that for its short period of existence, the hospital treated over 20,000 patients and developed a reputation as the best equipped, most sophisticated medical, surgical and convalescent hospital of the war, borne heavily of the untiring efforts of its aristocratic figureheads and their successful fundraising efforts. Westbrook later served during the Great War as Matron of Highfield Hall Hospital in Southampton, and was awarded the R.R.C. under her married name of Dora King. She received the decoration from the hand of the King at an investiture held at Buckingham Palace on 12 December 1917.
The Suffragette Women’s Social and Political Union Medal awarded to Miss Evelyn Hambling Women’s Social and Political Union Medal for Valour, 22mm, silver, the obverse inscribed ‘Hunger Strike’, the reverse named ‘Evelyn Hambling’, the suspension bar dated ‘Aug 10th. & 12th. 1914’, complete with integral top ‘For Valour’ brooch bar, in original case of issue, the inside silk interior lining of lid with gold blocked inscription, ‘Presented to Evelyn Hambling. by the Women’s Social & Political Union in recognition of a gallant action, whereby through endurance to the last extremity of hunger and hardship a great principle of political justice was vindicated’, the outside of the case somewhat worn, nearly extremely fine £6,000-£8,000 --- Miss Evelyn Hambling was employed by the Women’s Social and Political Union at their London Headquarters, at Clement’s Inn, where she worked alongside such luminaries as Beatrice Sanders, Jessie Kenney, and Mrs. Pankhurst herself. Her work involved planning and co-ordinating particular acts of militancy, such as the accosting or ‘pestering’ of cabinet ministers, as well as arranging meetings and other publicity stunts. She was briefly imprisoned following the outbreak of the Great War.
A Knight Bachelor’s group of four awarded to Air Mechanic First Class Sir John L. Blake, Royal Naval Air Service, later Comptroller General of HM Patent Office, who received the accolade of knighthood from H.M. Queen Elizabeth II on 27 February 1952 in the very first investiture carried out by the new Queen at the start of her reign Knight Bachelor’s Badge, 2nd type breast badge, silver-gilt and enamel, hallmarks for London 1951, in Royal Mint case of issue; British War and Victory Medals (F.13174 J. L. Blake. A.M.1 R.N.A.S.) in named card box of issue; Coronation 1953, unnamed as issued, in card box of issue, extremely fine (4) £400-£500 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- Knight Bachelor London Gazette 1 January 1952: John Lucian Blake, M.SC., Esq., Comptroller-General, Patent Office. Sir John Lucian Blake was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, on 28 January 1898 and was educated at Watford Grammar School. He served with the Royal Naval Air Service during the Great War in H.M.S. President II from 18 April 1916, and following the cessation of hostilities joined HM Patent Officer. He served with the Patents Office for thirty years, and was latterly Comptroller General, for which services he was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 1952 New Year’s Honours’ List. He was knighted by H.M. Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace on 27 February 1952, in what was the very first investiture held by the new Queen at the start of her reign, and died suddenly in Paris on 18 May 1954, aged 56. Sold with a portrait photograph of the recipient; a UNESCO Paris 1951 lapel badge; various souvenir menus from formal luncheons and dinners in the 1950s, including one for a luncheon in honour of the touring Pakistan Cricket Team in 1954; a boxed set of two packs of playing cards with the initials ‘JLB’ on the backs; a sterling silver presentation penknife, the case bearing the recipient’s engraved initials, and the heraldic crest of the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire, in leather case; and copied research.
A fine ‘North-West Frontier’ C.S.I, ‘1903 Durbar’ C.I.E. and ‘Afghanistan 1919’ C.B.E. group of seven awarded to Deputy Inspector General Douglas Donald, Indian Police The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India, C.S.I., Companion’s neck badge, gold and enamel, with central cameo of a youthful Queen Victoria, the motto of the Order set in rose diamonds, suspended from a five-pointed silver star and gold ring suspension, complete with neck cravat, in Garrard, London, case of issue; The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire, C.I.E., Companion’s 3rd type neck badge, gold and enamels, with length of neck ribbon; The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, C.B.E., Commander’s 1st type, neck badge with 2nd type neck cravat; India General Service 1854-95, 1 clasp, Samana 1891 (Mr. D. Donald) naming officially engraved in running script; India General Service 1895-1902, 3 clasps, Punjab Frontier 1897-98, Samana 1897, Tirah 1897-98 (Mr. D. Donald, Comdt. Border Mily. Police) naming officially engraved in running script with correction to ‘Police’; India General Service 1908-35, 1 clasp, Afghanistan N.W.F. 1919 (Asst-Comnr. D. Donald Civil Deptt.) officially impressed naming; Delhi Durbar 1911, silver, unnamed as issued, the last four mounted as worn, toned, light contact marks, otherwise very fine or better (7) £4,000-£6,000 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- C.S.I. London Gazette 1 January 1921: ‘Douglas Donald, Esq., C.I.E., on special duty as Political Officer for Orakzais, North-West Frontier Province.’ C.I.E. London Gazette 30 December 1903: ‘On the occasion of the Durbar to be held this day at Delhi in His Majesty’s Indian Empire, in commemoration of His Majesty’s Coronation:- Douglas Donald, Esq., Commandant of the Border Military Police and Samana Rifles, Kohat.’ C.B.E. (Civil) London Gazette 5 April 1921: ‘For services during the Operations against Afghanistan:- Douglas Donald, Esq., C.S.I., C.I.E., Political Officer and Assistant Commissioner, Hangu and Samana.’ Brought to Notice Gazette of India 29 July 1919: ‘Rendered valuable services in India in connection with the War.’ Douglas Donald was born on 19 November 1865, at Hashiapore, Punjab, the son of A. J. S. Donald, of the Punjab Provincial Civil Service, and was educated at the Bishop Cotton School, Simla. He joined the Punjab Police Force at Amballa, Punjab in 1888 and in 1894 was appointed Political Assistant of the Border Military Police. In 1899 he was appointed Commandant of the Border Military Police and Samana Rifles. He was appointed Superintendent of Police in 1906 and by 1914 he was Deputy Inspector General of Police. Donald gained valuable experience and understanding of the Pathan tribesmen during the tumultuous period of the 1890s which culminated in the Tirah Campaign. Thus, when times became calmer and as Commandant of the Border Military Police and the Samana Rifles, he was able to give long and notable service to the Indian Government by re-establishing and maintaining peaceful relations with many sections of the powerful Orakzai clan. He understood the Pathan nature which he used instinctively; he knew of their tribal feuds, their fierce vendettas, and he also knew the tribal language and lore as well as the tribesmen themselves. With these attributes he was able to succeed in maintaining a form of order because the tribesman and Government alike had confidence that Douglas Donald would do his best for them. In the Samana Campaign of 1891 Donald was Political Officer on the Staff of Brigadier General Sir W. S. A. Lockhart, K.C.B., C.S.I., Commanding. He was mentioned in dispatches by Lockhart. In the London Gazette of 15 September 1891, the published account from Lockhart states as part of item 25, 'Messrs Spencer and Donald have also assisted Major Leigh, and have in all respects upheld the good opinion I formed of them during the operations at the beginning of the present year.' Donald was mentioned in dispatches again for the later Samana Campaign in 1897. In the London Gazette of 11 February 1898, Major-General A. G. Yeatman-Biggs, C.B., Commanding the Kurrum-Kohat Force stated, 'The Commandant of the Border Militia Police, Mr D. Donald, informed me that a large number of the enemy were making for the Darband Kotal, and the officer commanding the 1-2nd Gurkhas reported to me (7p.m.) that seven standards and a considerable number were retracing their steps up the valley.' He was also mentioned in the same Gazette entry, 'The guns from Hangu were accompanied by Mr. D. Donald, who knows the country well, and he was able to show them a position from which they could fire a few rounds to encourage the garrison, and Major Middleton, commanding the 3rd Bengal Cavalry, sent through by helio., just before sunset, a message to assure the garrison that they would be relieved by mid-day on the 14th.' Donald received a third mention as follows, 'On the 3rd September a bhisti from Dhar was murdered by the enemy, and his three mules stolen. Mr D. Donald, Commandant of the Border Police, proceeded to Dhar to make inquiries into the circumstances, and he and his escort were fired on.' Douglas Donald retired in 1922 and died on 21 October 1953, aged 88. In his Obituary in the Times, Lord Rugby wrote:- ‘All of us who knew him, his eager sportsmanship, his bubbling good humour, and who saw how he could bring good out of evil are sure that there is a niche for him in the Frontier museum of fame.’ Sold with copied research including a transcript of his record of service and copied pages from The Life of General Dyer, by Ian Colvin, 1929, in which Donald is mentioned several times.
A Great War D.S.O. group of four awarded to Major P. Doig, Clyde Royal Garrison Artillery Distinguished Service Order, G.V.R., silver-gilt and enamel, with integral top riband bar; British War and Victory Medals, with M.I.D. oak leaves (Major P. Doig.); Territorial Decoration, G.V.R., hallmarks for London 1919, complete with brooch bar, the first and last in their cases of issue, together with mounted group of five miniatures which includes a T.F.W.M., very fine (4) £1,000-£1,400 --- D.S.O. London Gazette 1 January 1918. M.I.D. London Gazette 14 December 1917. Peter Doig began his service with the Volunteer movement whilst he was serving as a law apprentice with Messrs Stewart and Bennett in Dunoon. He was Captain of the local company No. 4 Clyde R.G.A. In shooting he was considered one of the smartest and most accurate, and was admitted to be the best in Scotland. Due to the re-arrangement of military organisation the company was disbanded shortly before the War, but on mobilisation Captain Doig was called to the colours and given command of the artillery in Portkil. He was subsequently given command of at Stevenson and in 1916 was sent to France. For meritorious work he was promoted to Major in the field. Sold with four contemporary news cutting and copied Medal Index Card which records unsuccessful application for T.F.W.M.
A Great War ‘Western Front’ D.S.O. group of five awarded to Major T. H. H. Carter, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, for gallantry at Mauquissart, near Neuve Chapelle Distinguished Service Order, G.V.R., silver-gilt and enamel, with integral top riband bar; British War and Victory Medals, with M.I.D. oak leaves (Major T. H. H. Carter.); Defence Medal; Special Constabulary Long Service Medal, G.VI.R., 1st issue, 1 clasp, Long Service, 1947 (Thomas H. H. Carter) small chip to wreath on the first, otherwise good very fine (5) £1,000-£1,400 --- D.S.O. London Gazette 22 September 1916: ‘awarded for services at Mauquissart.’ ‘Carter, Thomas Healy Hunton, Capt. (Temporary), Royal Warwickshire Regt. For conspicuous gallantry. When the explosion of an enemy mine wrecked a portion of the defences, Capt. Carter, though dazed by the explosion, rallied the survivors under heavy shell fire and beat off a strong enemy attack. He has constantly shown great courage.’ M.I.D. London Gazette 4 January 1917. Thomas Healy Hunton Carter was appointed Captain in the 5th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment on 16 November 1914 (late Captain, 1st Volunteer Battalion, The Durham Light Infantry). He served in France with the 5th Battalion from 21 May 1916, was Mentioned in Despatches in 1917, and is entitled to the Silver War Badge. Sold with original documents including Warrant for D.S.O. and M.I.D. Certificate (Haig, 13 November 1916), together with copied research.
Family Group: An inter-War O.B.E. group of five awarded to Major A. Sommersell, Royal Army Service Corps The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, O.B.E. (Military) Officer’s 1st type, breast badge, silver-gilt, hallmarks for London 1927; British War and Victory Medals (S-13431 W.O.Cl.1. A. Summersell. A.S.C.); Army Meritorious Service Medal, G.V.R., 1st issue (S/13431 1/Cl: S.S. Mjr. A. Summersell. R.A.S.C.); Army L.S. & G.C., G.V.R., 1st issue (S-13431 1/Cl: S.S. Mjr: A. Summersell. A.S.C.) lacquered, good very fine Four: Attributed to Major L. A. Sommersell, Seaforth Highlanders and Royal Army Service Corps 1939-45 Star; Burma Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45, mounted as worn; together with the related miniature awards, these similarly mounted, very fine (9) £360-£440 --- O.B.E. London Gazette 8 June 1928: ‘Quartermaster and Captain, Extra Regimentally employed List, Chief Clerk, Headquarters, Eastern Command.’ Alfred Summersell was born at Fareham, Hampshire, on 17 January 1879. He joined the Army Service Corps in 1898 and was, by 1905, a Staff Sergeant and by the outbreak of the war in 1914 he had attained the rank of Staff Sergeant-Major. He served in France from 6 June 1916 and received his L.S. & G.C. medal that same year. He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for 21 years’ service in 1919, having been commissioned as Quartermaster and Lieutenant on 1 December 1918, and was Quartermaster and Captain by the time he received the O.B.E. in 1928. He was finally promoted to Major on 1 April 1931, and probably left the Army in 1933. He died at Hove, East Sussex, on 28 February 1958, aged 79. Lewis Albert Summersell was born in Wandsworth, London, on 21 June 1917. He was commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant into the Seaforth Highlanders on 22 October 1940, and joined the 1st Battalion, serving in Malaya, sometime in early 1941. The battalion was attached to the 23rd (Indian) Division in May 1942 and fought in the Burma campaign until the end of the war. Summersell was wounded on 3 April 1944, his rank being recorded as Captain at this time. In January 1945 he was listed as a staff officer performing the role of Intelligence Officer. After the war he joined the Army Service Corps, was promoted to Substantive Captain in June 1946 and Substantive Major in June 1951. In 1952 he is listed as Acting Lieutenant-Colonel but is not mentioned in subsequent army lists. Sold with copied research files for both men.
A fine O.B.E., K.P.M., I.P.M. group of seven awarded to Mr Cyril Weale, Assistant Inspector-General of Police in Bengal The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, O.B.E. (Civil) Officer’s 2nd type breast badge, silver-gilt; King’s Police Medal, G.VI.R., 1st issue, For Distinguished Service (C. Weale, Indian Police, Bengal); British War and Victory Medals (54173 C. Weale, President V S.B.711) both renamed; Indian Police Medal, G.VI.R., 1st issue, For Distinguished Conduct (C. Weale, O.B.E., I.P., Dy. Commr. of Police, Calcutta); Jubilee 1935, unnamed as issued; Coronation 1937, unnamed as issued, mounted as worn, very fine or better (7) £1,600-£2,000 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- Provenance: Police Awards from the Collection of John Tamplin, Dix Noonan Webb, April 2003. O.B.E. London Gazette 1 January 1942: Deputy Commissioner of Police, Calcutta. K.P.M. London Gazette 1 January 1938. The recommendation states: ‘Mr Weale joined the Imperial Police in 1921. In 1924 he was posted to the Intelligence Branch as Special Assistant, and in view of his particular aptitude for such work he was appointed in 1926 as Additional Superintendent of Police, Dacca, and in 1930 as Special Superintendent, Intelligence Branch, where he worked with conspicuous success. As Superintendent of Police, Midnapore, where he had charge of the District Intelligence Branch, he succeeded in breaking up the ramifications of the terrorist parties in that district. His general administration of the district in all its branches was most successful, and his energy and efficiency acted as an inspiration to his subordinates.’ I.P.M. (awarded for gallantry) Gazette of India 19 June 1943: ‘On the afternoon of the 4th January 1943, Mr Weale and Sergeants Burr and Bullock went to the Alipore Aerodrome on receipt of information that an Indian Sepoy had run amok, had shot and killed another soldier and was sheltering at the top of a stairway with a rifle and ammunition at his disposal. On arrival they found that a second soldier had been shot at and injured by the maniac, who was found to be at the head of a staircase above the Guard Room and in a position which enabled him to fire at anyone approaching the staircase and also to command the front approach to the house through two windows in a small room at the staircase top.
On the instructions of Mr Weale, Sergeant Bullock fired four Tear Smoke shells up the staircase from the ground floor verandah, while Sergeant Burr covered him with a revolver. A considerable concentration of Tear Smoke was set up, but when the two Sergeants and another Sepoy went towards the staircase, the maniac fired at them twice, but fortunately missed them. It was subsequently discovered that he was using a respirator. Sergeant Bullock thereupon threw some Smoke Tear grenades up the staircase and over the roof of the house, and for the second time attempted to reach the staircase while Sergeant Burr covered him with a rifle. Two more shots from the maniac, however, rendered this attempt unsuccessful. Sergeant Burr was then ordered to remain covering the staircase, while Mr Weale and Sergeant Bullock made their way through some light bamboo jungle up to a distance of about 30 yards from the front of the house. During this advance the two officers were exposed to the fire of the maniac through the windows referred to above, but were not actually fired on. From the position then reached Sergeant Bullock fired four more Tear Smoke shells at the windows, but these did not succeed in dislodging the Sepoy. Rifles were then borrowed, and Mr Weale fired three rounds and Sergeant Bullock four rounds through these windows. This attack diverted the maniac’s attention to the party at the front of the house, and while shifting his position to fire at them, he exposed himself to the fire of Sergeant Burr, who was guarding the staircase. Sergeant Burr fired two rounds, shortly after which the maniac fell down the stairs and was found to be dead.
In carrying out this difficult and dangerous operation these three officers displayed conspicuous gallantry and disregard of personal risk, in the face of a well-armed madman who was firing at them from excellent cover.’ Cyril Weale was born on 12 February 1900. After service during the Great War, he joined the Indian Police on 29 November 1921 as an Assistant Superintendent in Bengal. In 1924 he was posted to the Intelligence Department as Special Assistant and appointed as Additional Superintendent of Police at Dacca in March 1926, and in 1930 as Special Superintendent, Intelligence Branch. As Superintendent of Police at Midnapore he succeeded in breaking up the ramifications of the terrorist parties in that district. In June 1933 he was appointed Principal of the Police Training College at Sardah, and was again appointed Principal of that College in January 1935. He was promoted an Assistant Inspector-General of Police in October 1936, and Deputy Commissioner of Police, at Calcutta, in May 1940. It was in this capacity that Weale was awarded the Indian Police Medal for gallantry in an encounter with an armed maniac. He left the Indian Police in 1947, and then worked in Calcutta with the firm of Messrs. Jardine Matheson & Co. Ltd., until 1957. Returning to England, he then worked as a Security Officer with the Foreign Office for about two years. Weale was an active member of the Indian Police Association, as Secretary in 1938, and Editor of The Bulletin until 1940. In 1944 he was Secretary of the Bengal Branch. He died in London on 27 July 1967, aged 67. Sold with comprehensive research including 13 original Bulletins of the Indian Police Association, 1938-46.
A Second War Middle East ‘Mersa Matruh’ O.B.E. group of seven awarded to Colonel A. O. Bekenn, Royal Army Medical Corps, who was later Mentioned in Despatches for Burma The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, O.B.E. (Military) Officer’s 2nd type breast badge, silver-gilt; 1939-45 Star; Africa Star; Burma Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45, with M.I.D. oak leaf; Efficiency Decoration, G.VI.R., 1st issue, Territorial, reverse officially dated 1945, with integral top riband bar, mounted for wear, the Stars lightly gilded, good very fine (7) £300-£400 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- O.B.E. London Gazette 1 April 1941: ‘In recognition of distinguished services in the Middle East during the period August 1939 to November 1940.’ The original Recommendation states: ‘Lieutenant-Colonel Bekenn has carried out the duties of Senior Medical Officer Mersa Matruh in addition to command of the Field Ambulance. He has shown energy and devotion to duty to a commendable degree. I attribute the very satisfactory state of the health of the garrison in no small measure to his efforts.’ M.I.D. London Gazette 19 July 1945: ‘In recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Burma.’ Alexis Oswald Bekenn was commissioned into the Royal Army Medical Corps (Territorial Army) in June 1925, and was advanced Major in August 1939. He served during the Second World War in North Africa, and then in Burma, and was advanced temporary Lieutenant Colonel in August 1941, and temporary Colonel in April 1945. He was awarded the Efficiency Decoration in that latter year (London Gazette 12 April 1945), and retired having reached the age limit on 25 June 1954, being granted the honorary rank of Colonel. Sold with the recipient’s two original commission documents; original M.I.D. Certificate in OHMS transmission envelope, with M.I.D. award notification card and later War Office letter; various photographs, including various of the recipient being presented with the riband for the OBE; and copied research.
A Great War R.R.C. group of five awarded to Matron Charlotte I. K. Sumner, British Red Cross Society and Order of St John of Jerusalem, late Territorial Force Nursing Service, who helped to evacuate large numbers of sick and wounded from Antwerp in September 1914 Royal Red Cross, 1st Class (R.R.C.), G.V.R., silver-gilt, gold, and enamel, on lady’s bow riband; 1914 Star (C. I. K. Sumner. B.R.C.S. & O.St. J.J.); British War and Victory Medals (C. I. K. Sumner.); Belgium, Kingdom, Civic Decoration, Second Class, 1 clasp, 1914-1918, silver and enamel, edge bruise to BWM, otherwise good very fine (5) £1,000-£1,400 --- R.R.C. London Gazette 26 February 1917. Belgium Croix Civique Second Class London Gazette 3 October 1922: ‘For distinguished service rendered during the war of 1914-19.’ Charlotte Irene King Sumner was born in Cheetham, Lancashire, in 1875. Qualifying as a nurse at the Leicester Royal Infirmary from 1900 to 1905, she joined the Territorial Force Nursing Service and was appointed Matron in the London Gazette of 9 December 1910. She enjoyed a year nursing in France, at Tourlaville, Calais and Paris, before returning to England in 1912 and taking appointment as Matron of the Princess Christian Military Hospital in Englefield Green. Enjoying the balmy summer of 1914 in Belgium, it seems that Sumner soon found herself accidentally caught up in the machinations of the Schlieffen Plan; rather than catch the next ferry home to England, she chose instead to stay in Belgium and volunteered her services to the Brussels unit of the B.R.C.S. & O.St.J.J. The story of her life at this time was later published in The Gentlewoman magazine on 10 March 1917: ‘One of the most remarkable instances of bravery on the part of our nurses is that displayed by Miss C. I. K. Sumner who was nursing in Antwerp in August and September 1914. She stayed on during the bombardment, only leaving the town when it was taken on October 9th. The detachment to which she belonged took with them as many wounded as could be moved, and made their escape to Holland, where for some time they had merely the barest necessities, and were working under great difficulties.’ Returning to France, Sumner spent further time as a Sister with the British Committee of the French Red Cross. She was later awarded the R.R.C. whilst serving as Matron at the Princess Christian Military Hospital in Englefield Green and was further decorated by His Majesty The King of the Belgians with the uncommon award of the Belgian Croix Civique. Transferring to Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service, Sumner continued to care for others for many years before retiring to Poole in the late 1930s. She died in 1949.
Family Group: A Great War M.B.E. group of three awarded to Mrs. Jane S. Henry, British Red Cross Society The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, M.B.E. (Civil) Member’s 1st type, lady’s shoulder badge, silver, hallmarks for London 1916, the reverse privately engraved ‘J. S. Henry March 1917’, on lady’s bow riband; British Red Cross Society Medal for War Service, unnamed as issued, lacking integral top riband bar; Belgium, Kingdom, Queen Elisabeth Medal, bronze, the last two mounted as worn, good very fine Three: Private R. A. Henry, Royal Air Force, later A.R.P. Post Warden, Harrow British War and Victory Medals (36690. Pte. 1. R. A. Henry. R.A.F.); Defence Medal, the first two mounted as worn, the last loose; together with the recipient’s riband bar, contact marks, traces of lacquer, very fine and better (6) £160-£200 --- M.B.E. London Gazette 7 January 1918: Mrs. Jane Selina Henry. ‘For services in connection with the War.’ Mrs. Jane Selina Henry (née Sherwood), was the mother of Robert Alexander Henry.
A Second War M.B.E. group of six awarded to Squadron Leader A. H. A. C. Cranmer, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, M.B.E. (Military) Member’s 2nd type breast badge, silver; 1939-45 Star; Burma Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45; Air Efficiency Award, G.VI.R., 1st issue (Sqn. Ldr. A. H. A. C. Cranmer. R.A.F.V.R.) small spots of verdigris to Burma Star, otherwise about extremely fine (6) £200-£240 --- M.B.E. London Gazette 1 January 1945. Sold with the recipient’s London County Council ‘King’s Medal’ for the year 1910-11, white metal, the reverse named ‘A. Cranmer’, with 1911 dated suspension bar.
A Great War ‘Western Front’ M.C., ‘1916 Somme’ M.M. group of ten awarded to Major G. Thomas, 18th Battalion, Canadian Infantry, later Canadian Machine Gun Corps Military Cross, G.V.R., the reverse privately engraved ‘I.W.U.Y. Lieut. G. Thomas. 18th. Canadian Infantry Oct. 1918’; Military Medal, G.V.R. (53164 Cpl. G. Thomas. 18/Can: Inf:); Africa General Service 1902-56, 1 copy clasp, Somaliland 1908-10 (Trpr. G. Thomas King’s African Rifles) renamed; 1914-15 Star (53164 Pte. G. Thomas. 18/Can: Inf:); British War and Victory Medals (Lieut. G. Thomas.); Canadian Volunteer Service Medal; War Medal 1939-45, Canadian issue in silver, these both privately engraved ‘Major G. Thomas. M.C. M.M. E.D. V.G.C.’; Colonial Auxiliary Forces Long Service Medal, G.V.R. (Major G. Thomas M.C. M.M. 2nd Bn. C.M.G.C.); Efficiency Decoration, G.VI.R., 1st issue, Canada, unnamed as issued, with integral top riband bar, mounted court-style as worn; together with the related miniature awards, the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Overseas clasp, mounted as worn, polished and lacquered, generally very fine (10) £1,600-£2,000 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- M.C. London Gazette 8 March 1919. M.M. London Gazette 9 December 1916. Gerald Thomas was born in Queenstown, Ireland, on 11 April 1889 and having emigrated to Canada attested for the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force at London, Ontario, on 28 October 1914. He served with the 18th Battalion (Western Ontario Regiment), Canadian Infantry during the Great War on the Western Front from 14 September 1915, and was promoted Corporal on 28 July 1916. For his gallantry during the Battle of the Somme he was awarded the Military Medal. Thomas was commissioned temporary Lieutenant in the 18th Battalion on 10 March 1917, and having attended a Snipers Corpse, qualifying as ‘Distinguished’, he saw further service with the Battalion on the Western Front from 21 June 1918. For his gallantry during the final months of the Great War he was further honoured with the award of the Military Cross. He returned to Canada in May 1919, and was demobilised on 24 May 1919. Reenlisting in the Colonial Auxiliary Forces, he saw further service with the Canadian Machine Gun Corps. Note: Africa General Service Medal unconfirmed. Sold with a portrait photograph of the recipient.
A fine Great War R.R.C. group of seven awarded to Chief Principal Matron Emily V. Forrest, Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service Royal Red Cross, 1st Class (R.R.C.), G.V.R., silver-gilt, gold, and enamel, on lady’s bow riband; The Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Officer’s (Sister’s) breast badge in frosted silver (1926-36), on lady’s bow riband; 1914 Star (Sister E. V. Forrest. Q.A.I.M.N.S.); British War and Victory Medals (A. Matron E. V. Forrest.); Jubilee 1935, unnamed as issued; Coronation 1937, unnamed as issued, the first lacking top wearing pin, good very fine and better (7) £600-£800 --- R.R.C. London Gazette 1 January 1919. Emily Vaughan Forrest was born in Brockley, Kent, on 15 July 1882, the daughter of a Superintendent at the Board of Trade. Educated at the Royal Naval School in Twickenham, she trained as a nurse at the Poplar Hospital in East London from March 1905 to March 1908. Appointed to the Q.A.I.M.N.S. as Staff Nurse on 4 August 1908, she went on to witness pre-War service at Woolwich, York and London. Sent to France on 17 August 1914, Forrest was raised Sister on 18 May 1917 and Acting Matron from 3 November 1918 to 29 March 1919. She was awarded the A.R.R.C. on 1 January 1917 and promoted to R.R.C. for service in France. The latter award was conferred by the King at an investiture held at Buckingham Palace on 2 November 1920. Remaining in the service of the Q.A.I.M.N.S., Forrest was posted to Hong Kong from 1922 to 1924, and then enjoyed a series of postings in India from 1930 to 1938, including Poona, Peshawar, Rawalpindi and Simla. Promoted Chief Principal Matron in India on 24 June 1934, she was admitted as an Officer Sister of the Order of St. John on 20 July 1934 upon appointment as Chief of the Nursing Corps and Divisions, Empire of India, St. John Ambulance Brigade, the honour published in the London Gazette of 1 January 1935. Entitled to both the Jubilee and Coronation Medals, Forrest died on 6 January 1964. A much admired personality, her obituary adds: ‘She was very popular, kind, but firm when required and she certainly brought out the best in her staff... She had a great understanding and a very great charm of manner. Her sense of humour was infectious; it was always a pleasure to see her smile often break into laughter at some amusing incident on or off duty.’ Sold with the recipient’s silver cape badge, hallmarked Birmingham 1917.
An Order of St. John group of six awarded to District Superintendent S. H. Vilven, St John Ambulance Brigade The Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Officer‘s (Brother’s) breast badge, silver and enamel; Jubilee 1897, St. John Ambulance Brigade (2nd Class Supy. Offr. S. H. Vilven); Coronation 1902, St. John Ambulance Brigade, bronze (S. H. Vivlen. 1st Offr.); Coronation 1911, St. John Ambulance Brigade (Dist. Supt. Sec. S. H. Vilven); Service Medal of the Order of St John, silvered base metal, unnamed; St. John Medal for South Africa 1899-1902 (1st Officer S. H. Vilven. No. 1 Dist.) polished, otherwise nearly very fine (6) £360-£440 --- Vilven was a ‘contributor’ to the St John Ambulance Brigade and is not entitled to the Q.S.A.
An Order of St. John Serving Brother group of seven awarded to Senior Reserve Attendant J. Titterington, Royal Naval Auxiliary Sick Berth Reserve and Colne Division, St John Ambulance Brigade The Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Serving Brother’s, breast badge, silver and enamel; St. John Medal for South Africa 1899-1902 (1232. Pte. J. Titterington, Colne Div.); British War and Victory Medals (M.8742 J. Titterington. S.R.A. R.N.); Coronation 1911, St. John Ambulance Brigade (Pte. J. Titterington.); Royal Naval Auxiliary Sick Berth Reserve L.S. & G.C., G.V.R., 1st issue, with additional service clasp (127. J. Titterington. S.B.S. 2Cl. R.N.A.S.B.R.); Service Medal of the Order of St John, silver, straight bar suspension, with additional service clasp (Pte. J. Titterington. (Morecambe Div. No. 4 Dst. SJAB. 1917) light contact marks, otherwise nearly very fine or better (7) £400-£500 --- R.N.A.S.B.R. L.S. & G.C. awarded 14 October 1920; clasp issued 30 May 1925. Also entitled to Q.S.A. with clasp for Cape Colony.
A scarce Inter-War R.R.C. group of four awarded to Senior Nursing Sister Ethel Kelso, Queen Alexandra’s Military Nursing Service for India, who later served in her early 70s as a Lady Ambulance Driver on the Lizard Peninsula, Cornwall Royal Red Cross, 1st Class (R.R.C.), G.V.R., silver-gilt, gold, and enamel, on lady’s bow riband; 1914 Star (Nursing Sister E. Kelso, Q.A.M.N.S.); British War and Victory Medals, with M.I.D. oak leaves (Nursing Sister E. Kelso.) good very fine (4) £600-£800 --- One of only twelve 1914 Stars awarded to nurses of the Indian Service. R.R.C. London Gazette 31 December 1921. M.I.D. London Gazette 22 June 1915. Ethel Kelso was born in Trimulgherry, India, on 8 October 1873, the daughter of Lieutenant John Andrew Kelso of the Royal Artillery, who was shortly afterwards killed in action at the Siege of Peiwar Kotal on 2 December 1878. Educated in Bath at the School for Daughters of the Officers of the Army, she trained as a nurse at Charing Cross Hospital from 1899 to 1902 and remained on the staff as Sister in a male medical ward until 24 January 1904. Interviewed on 3 February 1904 for the Queen Alexandra’s Military Nursing Service for India, she soon found herself bound for Secunderabad aboard the Moldavia. Appointed Nursing Sister, she transferred to Meerut in January 1908 and Ranikhet in July 1908, followed by postings at Mhow and Rawalpindi. On the outbreak of the Great War she was selected as one of 17 Indian Service nurses to go to France, nursing in Marseilles at the Rawalpindi British General Hospital from October 1914. Relocated with the hospital to Wimereux, she was Mentioned in Despatches by Sir John French before returning home to India on 13 December 1915. Taking appointment at Poona in 1916 and Nowshere in April 1918, Kelso was raised Senior Nursing Sister at Mhow on 10 May 1920. A short while later she retired and was awarded the R.R.C., which she received from the King himself at Buckingham Palace on 9 February 1922. Settling in south-west Cornwall, Kelso later served from 15 June 1942 to 9 January 1946 as an Ambulance Officer with the Mullion Nursing Division of the St. John Ambulance Brigade; despite the idyllic coastal setting, her life was likely extremely busy with large numbers of air force personnel stationed in her home village and thousands of American G.I.s making preparations for the D-Day landings at Trebah Gardens. Sold with a fine Charing Cross Hospital nursing badge, engraved ‘Ethel Kelso. Dec. 1902.’ to reverse, with copied research.
An Inter-War R.R.C. group of five awarded to Lady Superintendent Ethel Green, Queen Alexandra’s Military Nursing Service for India Royal Red Cross, 1st Class (R.R.C.), G.V.R., silver-gilt, gold, and enamel, on lady’s bow riband; 1914-15 Star (Sister E. Green. Q.A.M.N.S.I.); British War and Victory Medals (Sister E. Green.); Jubilee 1935, unnamed as issued; together with the recipient’s Charing Cross Hospital Medal, bronze, unnamed, good very fine (6) £700-£900 --- Provenance: Christie’s, July 1984. R.R.C. London Gazette 1 January 1936. M.I.D. London Gazettes 15 August 1918 and 2 November 1918. Ethel Green was born in Cheltenham on 15 May 1883. Educated at Manchester High School and Cricklewood Ladies College, she trained for her nursing certificate at Charing Cross Hospital in London from 1 September 1905 to 12 October 1909. She applied to join the Q.A.M.N.S.I. on 27 February 1911 and was soon accepted pending a vacancy; taking temporary appointment in Birmingham, she finally sailed for India aboard the City of Marseilles on 15 February 1913. Initially serving as Nursing Sister at Poona and Peshawar, Green was transferred to Mesopotamia in 1916. Here she was twice Mentioned in Despatches, being further notified of the award of the A.R.R.C. in the London Gazette of 25 February 1918. This was later forwarded to the Sister’s Quarters of British Stationary Hospital, Poona, on 3 January 1922. Promoted Lady Superintendent on 18 June 1932, Green witnessed her final posting at the hill station of Dalhousie, a summer retreat of the Earl of Dalhousie, who was once British Governor-General in India. Confirmed as entitled to the Silver Jubilee Medal, she retired from the service on 31 August 1935 and was awarded the R.R.C. soon thereafter. It was also at around this time that she applied for her BWM and VM, thus accounting for the error in rank where ‘Sister’ is substituted for the correct ‘Nursing Sister’.
A Second War R.R.C. group of five to Superintending Sister Edith Hope, Queen Alexandra’s Royal Naval Nursing Service, who received the Norwegian Freedom Medal in 1947, believed to be the only award of its kind to her service Royal Red Cross, 1st Class (R.R.C.), G.VI.R. 1st issue, silver-gilt, gold and enamel, reverse dated ‘1943’, on lady’s bow riband; Victory Medal 1914-19 (N.Sister E. Hope. Q.A.R.N.N.S.); Defence and War Medals 1939-45; Norway, Kingdom, King Haakon VII Freedom Medal 1939-45, bronze, unnamed as issued, very fine and better (5) £400-£500 --- R.R.C. London Gazette 2 June 1943: ‘For zeal and wholehearted devotion to duty in the Royal Naval Sick Quarters at Skegness since the beginning of the War.’ Edith Hope was born on 27 July 1880 and qualified as a nurse at St. Thomas’s Hospital in London. She joined Queen Alexandra’s Royal Naval Nursing Service as Probationary Nursing Sister on 1 November 1913, serving at Haslar before her posting to the Hospital Ship Drina on 14 August 1914. Returning home in February 1915, she spent much of the remainder of the War at Shotley and was later awarded the A.R.R.C. in the London Gazette of 1 March 1920. Remaining in service, Hope spent much of the 1920s in Malta, Plymouth and Dartmouth, taking charge of the sick bay at the latter on 21 September 1928. She was later one of 10 retired nurses offered re-employment by the Q.A.R.N.N.S. in 1939, appointed to the role of acting Superintending Sister in charge of the newly opened Royal Naval Auxiliary Hospital in Newton Abbott, Devon. After a short period at Plymouth, Hope was later posted to the Sick Quarters at Skegness on 24 October 1940. She remained there for the rest of the war and was awarded the R.R.C. in 1943. Her efforts were further recognised by the Norwegian Government in the London Gazette of 26 August 1947, the award being for services to the Norwegian Navy at H.M.S. Royal Arthur - the Royal Navy shore establishment at Skegness. Sold with two original typed letters of congratulation for the A.R.R.C. and R.R.C.
A Great War ‘Western Front’ M.M. pair awarded to Private R. McAllister, Royal Highlanders Military Medal, G.V.R. (S.6837. Pte. R. Mc.Allister. 1/R. Hdrs.); British War Medal 1914-20 (S-6837 Pte. R. Mc.Allister. R. Highrs.) contact marks, polished, nearly very fine (2) £180-£220 --- M.M. London Gazette 1 September 1916. Robert McAllister attested for the Royal Highlanders on 19 November 1914 and served with the 1st Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front from 22 April 1915. He was discharged on 20 December 1917, and was awarded a Silver War Badge No. 290,366.
A Great War M.B.E. group of eight awarded to Captain W. J. H. Pontin, St. John Ambulance Brigade The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, M.B.E. (Military) Officer’s 1st type, breast badge, silver, hallmarks for London 1919; The Order of St John of Jerusalem, Officer’s breast badge, silver, with heraldic beasts in angles; The Order of St John of Jerusalem, Serving Brother’s breast badge, silver and enamel, privately engraved to reverse ‘William James Henry Pontin 1900’; St. John Medal for South Africa 1899-1902 (Supt. W. J. H. Pontin No.1 Dist); Jubilee 1897, St. John Ambulance Brigade (Supt. W. J. H. Pontin); Coronation 1902, St. John Ambulance Brigade, bronze (W. J. H. Pontin. Supt.); Coronation 1911, St. John Ambulance Brigade (Dist. Ch. Supt. W. J. H. Pontin.); Service Medal of the Order of St John, with two Additional Award Bars (Dist --pt Secretary W. J. H. Pontin. 10. July ----) some areas of wear to naming, the earlier awards polished, nearly very fine and better (8) £400-£500 --- M.B.E. London Gazette 12 December 1919. William James Henry Pontin was born in Shoreditch, London, on 19 February 1868. Recorded as a millinery manufacturer living in Islington in 1911, he was later appointed Officer of the Venerable Order of St John in the London Gazette of 23 June 1939, whilst serving as Stores Manager for the St John Ambulance Association. He died at Southend-on-Sea, Essex, in 1952.
A Second War R.R.C. group of six awarded to Principal Matron Kathleen M. Cooper, Queen Alexandra’s Royal Naval Nursing Service, late British Red Cross Society and Order of St. John of Jerusalem, who rose from Pantry Maid to Principal Matron in a nursing career spanning more than 30 years Royal Red Cross, 1st Class (R.R.C.), G.VI.R. 1st issue, silver-gilt, gold, and enamel, reverse dated ‘1944’; The Order of St John of Jerusalem, Serving Sister’s shoulder badge, 1st type (1892-1939), silver and enamel, circular badge with white enamel cross with heraldic beasts in angles raised above the background, on lady’s bow riband; 1939-45 Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45; Coronation 1953, unnamed as issued, the second with minor white enamel loss, very fine (6) --- R.R.C. London Gazette 8 June 1944. The original recommendation from the Officer Commanding, R.N. Auxiliary Hospital, Seaforth, states: ‘The above-mentioned Acting Matron, Q.A.R.N.N.S., joined this hospital before the complement of Nursing Sisters and V.A.D.’s was completed. She has organised the nursing of patients in the hospital with the greatest efficiency and zeal, and has opened Quarters for the Nursing Sisters and a hostel for V.A.D. Members. She has so arranged these that the Sisters and V.A.D.’s are contented and happy, thereby increasing the efficiency of the work carried out by those members of the staff. She has also organised the duties and Quarters with the Superintending Sister at R.N.A.H. Woolton with equally satisfactory results. The hostel for the V.A.D.’s at Woolton is not yet ready, but they have been as contented and happy as it has been possible to make them in the hospital itself. I am most impressed with the standard of nursing efficiency reached by the V.A.D. nursing members who have received the greater part of their nursing instruction and practical experience in this hospital. She has been available, first as the Senior Superintending Sister and later as Acting Matron, for advice to all establishments in the Port of Liverpool in which Sisters Q.A.R.N.N.S. are carried, and in this also she has been of the greatest assistance.’ Kathleen Margaret Cooper served from 11 October 1917 with the British Red Cross Society as an Ordinary Member of the 4th Hampshire Voluntary Aid Detachment. Appointed to Pantry Maid and Nurse duties at Highfield Hall in Southampton, she later undertook her nursing studies at Birmingham General Hospital, qualifying SRN on 19 March 1926. Entering Queen Alexandra’s Royal Naval Nursing Service as Nursing Sister on 2 July 1928, she served at Plymouth and on the island of Malta from 1932 to 1935. Advanced Superintending Sister on 8 February 1941, she was awarded the A.R.R.C. in the London Gazette of 1 July 1941 and posted to the Royal Naval Auxiliary Hospital at Seaforth on 5 June 1942. Transferred to Chatham in 1950, she ended her service as Principal Matron and died at Castle Cary, Somerset, on 21 April 1982. Sold with the recipient’s original General Nursing Council for England and Wales silver and enamel badge, engraved to reverse ‘K. M. Cooper S.R.N. 42349 19.3.26’; Royal Life Saving Society bronze medal, awarded to ‘K. Cooper Aug. 1934’; Silver and enamel badge of the G. H. B. League; B.R.C.S. ‘For Service’ badge, No. 24747; with two original group photographs of the recipient.
A fine Second War R.R.C. group of seven awarded to Matron Dora G. Grayson, Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service, late Civil Hospital Reserve Royal Red Cross, 1st Class (R.R.C.), G.VI.R. 1st issue, silver-gilt, gold, and enamel, reverse dated ‘1942’, on lady’s bow riband; 1914 Star (Miss D. G. Grayson. Civ: Hosp: Res.); British War and Victory Medals (Sister. D. G. Grayson.); 1939-45 Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45, very fine and better (7) £800-£1,000 --- Provenance: Glendinings, September 1988. R.R.C. London Gazette 11 June 1942. Dora Granville Grayson was born in Kendal, Westmorland, on 16 March 1884, the daughter of wine and spirit merchant Oscar Granville Grayson. Educated at the Cheltenham Ladies’ College, she took her nursing studies at The London Hospital from 27 July 1910 to 28 July 1914 and then joined the Civil Hospital Reserve. This unit represented a group of trained nurses from throughout the United Kingdom who were vetted and recommended by their civil hospital matrons, each one willing and able to mobilise with the military nursing services in case of a future war; Grayson was promptly called up and disembarked in France on 8 August 1914, a member of the first party of 38 Civil Hospital Reserve nurses. Initially sent to No. 3 General Hospital at Rouen, Grayson transferred to the Q.A.I.M.N.S. Reserve on 8 November 1914 and was later accepted for the regular service as Staff Nurse in June 1916. Awarded the A.R.R.C. on 1 January 1918, she received her decoration at an investiture held at Buckingham Palace on 11 September 1918. Raised Sister, she continued to serve in France until the Armistice, latterly at No. 47 General Hospital. Sent to Hong Kong, Aldershot and York, Grayson finally resigned her appointment with effect from 4 July 1924. She returned to nursing during the Second World War and was awarded the R.R.C. as an Assistant Matron. She died on 16 April 1963. Sold with the recipient’s Q.A.I.M.N.S.R. cape badge by J. R. Gaunt, London; Badge of the London Hospital, white metal and enamel, engraved to reverse ‘Dora G. Grayson May 1910-July 1912, July 1914’ by J. Pinches, London; General Nursing Council Registration Badge, silver, engraved to reverse ‘D. G. Grayson S.R.N. 23300 19.10.23.’ by Thomas Fattorini.
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath, K.C.B. (Military) Knight Commander’s set of insignia, comprising neck badge, 18 carat gold and enamels, date letter rather obscure but probably lower case ‘p’ or ‘q’ for London 1870/71, with length of neck ribbon; and breast star in silver, silver-gilt, gold and enamels, reverse fitted with gold pin for wearing, minor chipping to a few petals of green wreaths of the badge, otherwise extremely fine (2) £3,000-£4,000
The Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George, a late Georgian K.C.M.G. Knight Commander’s breast star, by Metcalf, 124 Regent Street, London, 80mm, silver, gold appliqué, and enamel, with polished steel retaining pin, the reverse central plate engraved ‘Metcalf (by Appointment) 124 Regent St.’, with the lid from the original case of issue, the inside silk with manufacturer's sticker ‘Metcalf, 124 Regent Street & 8 Pall Mall, Engraver & Jeweller’, some small blemishes to central enamel, otherwise nearly extremely fine and unrecorded by this manufacturer £2,400-£2,800 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK ---
The O.B.E. breast badge attributed to P. D. Robeson, Esq., a British equestrian Show Jumper and twice Olympic medallist The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, O.B.E. (Civil) Officer’s 2nd type breast badge, silver-gilt, in Royal Mint case of issue, extremely fine £100-£140 --- O.B.E. London Gazette 15 June 1985: ‘For services to Show Jumping.’ Peter David Robeson (1929-2018) was a British Show Jumper and twice Olympic medallist. He won bronze in the team show jumping event at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics (although for quarantine reasons the equestrian events were held in Stockholm, Sweden), and a further bronze medal in the individual show jumping at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. He was awarded the O.B.E. for services to show jumping in 1985. Sold with the original Bestowal Document for the O.B.E., in Central Chancery envelope, addressed to ‘P. D. Robeson, Esq., O.B.E., Fences Farm, Tyringham, Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire’; together with a copy of the 1970 Statutes of the Order, and various Central Chancery enclosures.
A fine Second War ‘Waziristan Operations’ North-West Frontier R.R.C. group of ten awarded to Matron Eileen M. Blainville, Indian Military Nursing Service, late Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserve and Queen Alexandra’s Medical Nursing Service, India, who was twice Mentioned in Despatches Royal Red Cross, 1st Class (R.R.C.), G.VI.R. 1st issue, silver-gilt, gold, and enamel, reverse dated ‘1941’, on lady’s bow riband; British War Medal 1914-20 (Nurse E. M. Blainville.); Victory Medal 1914-19 (T-Nurse E. M. Blainville.); India General Service 1908-35, 1 clasp, North West Frontier 1930-31 (Sister E. M. Blainville, I.M.N.S.); India General Service 1936-39, 1 clasp, North West Frontier 1936-37, with M.I.D. oak leaf (Matron E. M. Blainville. I.M.N.S.); India General Service 1936-39, 1 clasp, North West Frontier 1937-39 (Matron Mrs E. M. Blainville, I.M.N.S.); 1939-45 Star; War Medal 1939-45, with M.I.D. oak leaf; India Service Medal; Jubilee 1935, privately engraved ‘Matron Mrs. E. M. Blainville. - I.M.N.S.’, very fine and better and a scarce ‘double-issue’ of the IGS 36-39 (10) £1,000-£1,400 --- R.R.C. London Gazette 20 June 1941. The official recommendation states: ‘She has once again proved her undoubted worth both previous to and during the present Operations, and, in the face of numerous difficulties, has by her forceful example and tireless energy, been mainly responsible for the high standard of nursing maintained in the Hospital. Her unstinted devotion and personal interest in each and every case has fully merited the confidence which her patients obviously place in her, - confidence which must have brought comfort to many of our unfortunately fatal casualties. She has not spared herself and has expected the same high standard from others to whom, by so subordinating her own interests to those of her patients, she has set a splendid example which others would do well to follow.’ M.I.D. London Gazettes 18 February 1938 and 17 December 1942. Eileen Maud Blainville (née Gray) was born in 1887 and married widower Renwith Neville Blainville in 1905. The marriage was short lived with Renwith Blainville recorded in 1911 as a single man boarding at an address in Lewisham. Rather than rest on her laurels - and with two children to support - Eileen Blainville applied to join the Q.A.I.M.N.S.R. and was transferred to the Q.A.M.N.S. (India) on 2 November 1917. Appointed Temporary Nurse, she served during the Great War at No. 25 Indian General Hospital and No. 9 Indian General Hospital from 6 June 1918 to 23 March 1919. Transferred to the Indian Military Nursing Service as Sister on 1 October 1926, Blainville served in Rawalpindi in 1927, Peshawar from 1928 to 1930, and at Meerut from 1931 to 1936. Raised Matron on 27 July 1931, she was subsequently transferred to the Combined Indian Military Hospital at Bannu, her work being recognised with a ‘mention’ by His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief in India. She was further selected to receive the 1935 Jubilee Medal. Returned home to England on leave, Blainville returned to India in the summer of 1938 and was awarded the R.R.C. for the devotion rendered to her patients at Bannu. She later received this decoration at a presentation made at Poona on 17 January 1945. Transferred to Secunderabad as Matron in December 1941, she was Mentioned in Despatches once again before taking retirement in January 1945. Sold with the recipient’s original 1935 Silver Jubilee Certificate; M.I.D. certificates (2); a signed letter of congratulations regarding the R.R.C. award from Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, Governor-General of India, dated 14 July 1941; and the recipient’s Indian Military Nursing Service Cape Badge, unmarked silver.
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