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Lot 566
*The Unique and Important Great War Anglo-American Group of 15 to Colonel Harold Fowler, Commanding Officer of the 17th ‘Aero’ Squadron, USAAS, late Royal Flying Corps and Royal Artillery, who was one of the founding figures of the USAAS and US Liaison Officer with British Forces; wounded four times and shot down seven times as a pilot during WWI, he went on to receive no fewer than 11 separate Orders and decorations for gallantry or distinguished service comprising: U.S.A., Distinguished Service Medal, officially numbered (1680), roll confirms; U.S.A., Purple Heart, in gilt metal and enamels (123917); The Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George, Companion’s breast badge, in silver-gilt and enamels; Distinguished Service Order, GVR, in silver-gilt and enamels; Military Cross, GVR, unnamed as issued; 1914-15 Star (2. Lieut. H. Fowler. R.F.A.); British War Medal, this erased and unnamed; Victory Medal (Capt. H. Fowler.); Belgium, Order of the Crown, Knight’s breast badge in gilt metal and enamels; France, Médaille Militaire, in silver and enamels, in original case of issue; France, Croix de Guerre, 1914-1918, with bronze star, in original case of issue; France, War Medal, 1914-1918; Italy, Al Valore Militare, in bronze, believed to be of French manufacture; Romania, Virtute Militara, in silver; Russia, Order of St Anne, Military Division, Third Class breast badge, French-made, in silver, gilt and enamels, several medals with brooch-pins removed having previously been displayed in a frame, generally good very fine (17). M.C.: London Gazette, 18.07.1917: ‘For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He has done invaluable service in co-operating with the artillery. On one occasion he descended to 200 feet, and turned our guns on to parties of hostile troops. During the advance he was able to furnish much valuable information.’ U.S.A. Distinguished Service Medal, 09.07.1918: ‘for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility during World War I. Colonel Fowler rendered notable aid in planning the movements of the night bombing squads of the American Air Service. Later, appointed Air Service Commander of the 3rd Army, he assisted largely in the joint training of air and ground troops, at all times handling his troops well and establishing liaison between the air and ground forces.’ Colonel Harold Fowler (1886-1957) was born in Liverpool in 1886 to Anderson and Emily Fowler, of Ireland and England respectively, however he and his parents returned to New York during his early childhood. He was educated at Columbia University, where he was a popular student, and of the Varsity Football team. After working for a time on the New York Stock Exchange he was invited by Walter Hines Page, the US Ambassador to Great Britain, to become his personal Secretary. This appears to coincide with his recruitment into the U.S. Secret service, reputedly at the request of President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. Upon the arrival of war in late 1914, he applied and was approved for special dispensation to join the British Army. In ‘The Life and Letters of Walter Hines Page’, his former colleague reported that he had been working as a sniper ‘in command of a three-inch sniping gun just back of the trenches’. In this vein, and as recorded in the book ‘Harold Fowler 1886-1957: A Remembrance’ by his wife Thyrza Fowler, he was later awarded the D.S.O. for singlehandedly creeping out into No Man’s Land to silence a troublesome German battery. Promoted to Lieutenant on 1 January 1916, he was seconded to the Royal Flying Corps for training as an Observer, being confirmed as a Flying Officer (Observer) on 19 April 1916. He served with 26 Squadron until November that year, before qualifying as a full Pilot, gaining his ‘Wings’ on 28 July 1917. He was promoted to Temporary Captain whilst with 2 Squadron, and was transferred as Flight Commander to 12 Squadron, equipped with BE2c’s. During this time Fowler, with his Observer Lt F E Brown, was credited with sending a Halberstadt Scout down in flames on 25 February 1917, and soon after engaged a German Albatros in aerial combat, but this ended in a stalemate. Soon after, he was awarded his M.C., along with his D.S.O. and C.M.G., all on one occasion, by King George V, whom he had met once prior to the war with Ambassador Page. Once the U.S.A. had joined the war on 6 April 1917, Fowler was granted permission to resign, with the rank of Honorary Lieutenant, and his experience was in much demand in the USAAS. He was wounded in action several times, at least twice severely, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. According to a report in Time Magazine, he reputedly flew an aircraft under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris as the result of a bet made in the Café Montmartre on Armistice Night amongst French and American aces. In total, for his official and unofficial work as USAAS Liaison Officer to the RFC, he was awarded what is believed to be a unique combination of British, American, and other international awards and decorations. Judging by the style of manufacture of both his Russian Order of St Anne and Italian Al Valore Militare, it appears these awards were made during this same period. After the war, he alternated between banking work with the firm White, Weld & Co. and his secret work. In his personal life, he was a keen sportsman, big-game hunter and skilled equestrian, and he twice rode as Gentleman Rider in the Grand National at Aintree, each time on his own horse. In 1927, on Pop Ahead, and again in 1928 on Scotch Eagle, the assessments of contemporaneous pundits were sadly correct as, despite bold attempts, his horses failed to complete this most difficult of Steeple Chase courses. In the Second World War Fowler volunteered to interview commercial pilots in New York being considered for the Royal Canadian Air Force, and in 1941, he was granted an official role, being sent to Montreal and then to London. He reputedly was on board a bomber on the first raid on Berlin, presumably for intelligence reasons, and in 1942 he was given the honorary rank of Group Captain in his role as part of the Staff of the Commander of the RCAF. Later that year he was made a Colonel in the USAAF, was made Air Attaché to the US Embassy in London in 1942, and also gave intelligence advice regarding the North Africa and D-Day landings. He was involved in a plane crash in North Africa, and severely wounded with a broken right fibula, chipped ankle, dislocated shoulder and various severe cuts, but he still managed to drag both himself and the unconscious pilot from the burning wreckage. He returned home soon after D-Day, but had one final clandestine mission of two weeks’ duration. After the War he returned to ‘business’ and no doubt other clandestine work in New York before retiring with his wife to Palm Beach, Florida, where he died on 17 January, 1957. Fowler was a life-long friend of the celebrated author (and Great War spy) W. Somerset Maugham, who wrote that he was ‘a character out of our times… ...like one of those great adventurers of the reign of Elizabeth I. If he had been alive then he would have been a buddy of Drake and Raleigh… ...he had, of course, the courage of the devil.” Offered with a silver-framed and glazed portrait, c. 1942-4, a framed and glazed ‘Society of the Four Arts’ certificate and an original hardback copy of ‘Harold Fowler 1886-1957 : A Remembrance’, by Thyrza Fowler, signed by the author. See also following lot.
Lot 217
Rima, a still life of flowers, oil on canvas, signed, 75 x 62 cm Condition report Report by NG Canvas loose on stretcher, dents in canvas and paint losses. It appears to have another picture showing through under canvas. Edges lifting. Re-lined. Backing canvas without holes or dents. Front canvas damaged but no large holes.
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