In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteA Queen’s Gallantry Medal pair awarded to Constable, later Sergeant, N. T. Bryant, Kent County Constabulary Queen’s Gallantry Medal (Nigel Timothy Bryant) with Royal Mint case of issue; Police L.S. & G.C., E.II.R., 2nd issue (Sergt Nigel T Bryant) with Royal Mint case of issue, extremely fine (2) £2,400-£2,800 --- Q.G.M. London Gazette 18 March 1975 Nigel Timothy Bryant, Constable, Kent County Constabulary (in a joint citation with Inspector Robert Roxby Neville and Sergeant Arthur Kelso, both Kent County Constabulary): ‘When an emergency call was received in the early hours of the morning that a man had fallen from a pier into the River Thames, the area car crew, which included Constable Bryant, were already engaged on another call nearby. Leaving the other crew member to deal with this, Constable Bryant went to the pier. He saw a man struggling in the water some 30 yards from the shore. Pausing only to remove his jacket and shoes the Constable entered the water and swam to the man and with some difficulty was able to bring him alongside the pier supports. Inspector Neville and Sergeant Kelso had also been notified of the incident and drove to the pier. On arrival they found a number of onlookers on the pier steps and from what they were told they were able to locate Constable Bryant by means of a hand torch. The Constable had managed to find a hold on the supports and was holding the man. While Sergeant Kelso returned to the police car for a rope to lower to the Constable, Inspector Neville, believing that Constable Bryant would need some assistance in securing a rope, prepared to enter the water. At that moment the man started to struggle with Constable Bryant and broke free. He was again found with the aid of a hand torch and seen to be about 40 yards from the shore. Realising now that the man was in the river by design and not accident, Inspector Neville made sure that Constable Bryant was all right, and then entered the river. He swam to the point where the man had last been seen, searched and finally found him floating just beneath the surface. He dragged the man to the surface and tried to calm him, but he struggled violently with the officer and several times dragged him beneath the water. Inspector Neville managed to break the man’s grip and was successful in keeping him on the surface. In the meantime Sergeant Kelso had collected a rope and returned to the pier. He could see Inspector Neville and the man struggling in the water; he quickly stripped and dived 20 feet into the river. He swam to Inspector Neville and the man who had by now been carried some 80 to 100 yards up river by the current. Together the two police officers were able to contain the man’s violent struggling, despite being pulled beneath the surface again on a number of occasions. Eventually they were able to wrap the rope round him and temporarily secure him. The officers held on to the man until the Port of London Authority launch manoeuvred alongside them and dropped another rope which after some difficulty they managed to wrap around the man. The crew and the police officers managed to drag the man into the boat, but he continued to be extremely violent and a doctor also boarded the launch from another vessel. It took the efforts of two members of the crew, the two police officers and the doctor to restrain him. In entering the river at a point where it is extremely dangerous due to underwater currents Inspector Neville, Sergeant Kelso and Constable Bryant all displayed outstanding courage and a complete disregard for their personal safety when they rescued this mentally unbalanced man.’
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In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteA post-War ‘S.A.S. Operations’ General Service Medal pair awarded to Corporal A. E. Evans, 22 Special Air Service Regiment, later Royal Anglian Regiment, who served with ‘D’ Squadron for much of his military career; an expert mountain guide and climber, he undertook arduous mountain patrols and ambushes in Radfan, Top Secret ‘Claret Operations’ during the Borneo Campaign, and was awarded a Commendation Certificate for saving many lives during the rescue of survivors from the passenger liner M.V. Dara, destroyed by sabotage in the Persian Gulf General Service 1918-62, 1 clasp, Malaya, E.II.R. (23200134 Tpr. A. Evans, S.A.S.); General Service 1962-2007, 3 clasps, Borneo, Radfan, Northern Ireland (23200134 L./Cpl. A. E. Evans, S.A.S.) mounted court-style as worn; together with the recipient’s rare official German ‘Expert High Mountain Leader’ cloth badge, nearly extremely fine (3) £3,000-£4,000 --- Alfred Ernest ‘Yanto’ Evans appears to have been born in 1934 (there are handwritten corrections entered into the printed official Register of Births) and to have begun his National Service obligation in the South Wales Borderers. He next appears in an official group photograph of HQ Squadron 22 SAS taken in January 1954 in Penang, Malaya, with the SAS cap badge on his maroon beret (which was worn by the SAS until 1958 - a copy of the photograph is included in the lot). At the beginning of the rebirth of the SAS (after its disbandment at the end of World War II), necessity forced it to recruit from many sources, including National Service conscripts. Major John Woodhouse took charge of transforming 22 SAS into a unit of highly motivated, well-trained, experienced, relatively stable volunteer soldiers and Evans was directly involved in this process. He chose to voluntarily enlist into the Regular Army, becoming a soldier in the Parachute Regiment in April 1954. After earning his Para wings, Evans applied for SAS Selection, knowing that if he was accepted into the Regiment, it automatically meant an active service posting to fight in the Malaya Campaign. Evans passed Woodhouse’s famously ferocious Selection Course and was permanently attached to the Special Air Service in July 1955. The rest of his first regular army engagement period was spent in Malaya and came to an end in April 1957. Evans chose not to extend or renew it. His Military Conduct was assessed as Very Good. After two years Evans re-joined the Colours in February 1959, returning to 22 SAS, which strongly suggests that the Regiment approved of what he had been doing during his ‘break’. In May 1961 he received a Commendation Certificate: “The Commander-in-Chief Middle East has awarded his commendation to Trooper A. Evans, ‘D’ Squadron, 22 S.A.S. Regiment, for distinguished conduct on 7 and 8 April 1961 whilst a passenger on board L.S.T. ‘Empire Guillemot’, which took part in the rescue operations when M.V. ‘Dara’ caught fire in the Persian Gulf. Trooper Evans attended to approximately 200 casualties whose complaints ranged from 1st degree burns to compound fractures. Some casualties had gaping wounds. Although only trained in First Aid Trooper Evans put in about 40 stitches, set broken limbs and treated serious burns. He remained on duty for 16 hours and his fine First Aid work and his unceasing attention to the injured undoubtedly prevented many deaths among the survivors. His conduct throughout the rescue operations reflects great credit on himself, his training and his unit.” The Dara was a British owned, Dubai-based cargo and passenger liner, mostly carrying expatriate families from the Indian sub-continent who worked in or traded with the various countries around the Persian Gulf. Dara was crippled by fire, which had been initiated by an explosion, at 4.40 a.m. at night, about 12 hours after her expected time of departure from Dubai. The explosive device contained some 20 pounds of TNT and was placed just inside the engine room by an unknown anti-British saboteur. About 240 out of 820 people on board lost their lives. ‘D’ Squadron was not deployed in the Middle East at that time, but its Mountain Troop may have been present on exercise. At the inquiry into the sinking, the Captain of the Landing Craft Tank on which Evans was embarked testified that he had to keep about half a mile away from Dara as “We could not go any closer because we had certain inflammable and explosive cargo on board Empire Guillemot.” (Last Hours on Dara by P. J. Abraham refers). Evans had been appointed Lance Corporal by the start of the Borneo Campaign in 1962. He served during three deployments which covered all the main phases of the conflict, notably the early long-range cross-border patrols with the renowned Captain André Dennison and the secret 1965 Claret offensive strikes deep inside Indonesia. Lance Corporal Evans is mentioned in the book, SAS The Jungle Frontier: 22 SAS Regiment in The Borneo Campaign 1963-1966. In April 1964 Evans was flown out from Britain to Aden to participate in the British Army’s first-ever major offensive in Southern Arabia. It was intended to subdue local tribesmen in the harsh, arid mountains of Radfan close to the border with Yemen. The Qutaibi tribes had been causing great trouble for travellers on the main route between Aden and Sana’a, attacking caravans, convoys and demanding ‘protection money’. They received modern weapons and much encouragement from the Egyptian forces who had moved into Yemen in 1962-63 and were trying to start a full-blown insurgency throughout Aden. The 22 SAS contingent was led by ‘A’ Squadron. Evans’s presence does not necessarily mean that he had transferred to ‘A’ Squadron (though he may have done so), as he had built up a considerable recognition in the Regiment for his mountain warfare skills. Radfan was all about fighting in the mountains, so he may have been ‘drafted in’ to the operation due to his specialist skills. British offensives in tribal areas had mostly only been successful when they included a locally-raised force of indigenous troops to provide expert knowledge of both the ground and tribal tactics, such as the legendary Frontier Scouts of India, the Surrendered Enemy Personnel and Senoi Praaq of Malaya or (later on) the firqats of Dhofar. The British had persuaded the multitude of emirs, sheikhs and rulers in Aden’s hinterlands to support the creation and training of the British-led Federal Regular Army, but it was far from being generally considered an effective fighting force and was included in the offensive for political rather than operational reasons. The SAS had been bought in to act as pathfinders for the Radfan offensive, but they had scant opportunity to acclimatise, understand the terrain and the operating environment before being committed to battle. The offensive was carefully planned to showcase the prowess of the new, all-volunteer and professional British Armed Forces; units from all the British elite forces were utilised as its spearhead. Evans arrived in Aden on 23 A...
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteNaval General Service 1793-1840, 2 clasps, Copenhagen 1801, Trafalgar (Thomas Bradford.) some minor contact wear and edge bruising, otherwise good very fine £6,000-£8,000 --- Provenance: Whalley Collection 1877; Hyde Greg Collection 1887; Sotheby, July 1943; Seaby, August 1950; Hayward, October 1971. Thomas Bradford is a unique name on the rolls and is confirmed as a Landsman aboard the Bellona at Copenhagen, and as an Able Seaman aboard the Colossus (Captain J. N. Morris) at Trafalgar. At the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805, the Colossus 74 was the sixth vessel in line behind Vice-Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood’s Royal Sovereign 100, and coming into the action she forced the Swiftsure 74 to bear up with her opening broadsides and then devastated the French Argonaute 74 in ten minutes after the two vessels had become interlocked. She next took the fight to both the Spanish Bahama 74 and the Swiftsure with the result that both surrendered, the latter following an emphatic broadside from the Orion 74, Captain Edward Codrington. The prominent part the Colossus played in the battle was illustrated by the fact that she suffered the most casualties in the fleet, with forty men killed and sixty wounded. One of the latter was Morris himself, who received a severe knee injury but continued in command with a tourniquet that he had applied to his leg until being carried below at the end of the engagement. Symbolically, his ship’s aggression was exemplified by a game-cock which escaped the hen-coop when it was smashed to pieces, and which perched near Morris throughout the action, screaming a presumed defiance at the enemy. Following the battle the Colossus was taken in tow by the Agamemnon 64, Captain Sir Edward Berry, and she eventually reached Gibraltar where Morris was hospitalised.
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteThe Indian Mutiny medal to Assistant Surgeon James Allan Currie, 8th Irregular Cavalry, who was recommended for the Victoria Cross for his gallant charge at Hurha in April 1858 Indian Mutiny 1857-59, no clasp (Asst. Surgn. Jas. Allan Currie, 8th Irr. Cavy.) second ‘A’ of ‘Allan’ officially re-impressed, nearly extremely fine £600-£800 --- During his brief career Dr. Currie saw more service than falls to the lot of most men. On his arrival in India in January 1854 he was appointed Assistant-Surgeon to the 47th Regiment of Native Infantry then in Burmah, with which regiment he remained until promoted to the medical charge of the 8th Irregular Cavalry. When that corps mutinied at Bareilly on 31 May 1857, Dr Currie escaped with several other brother officers by riding sixty-six miles to Naini Tal without changing his horse. He afterwards rejoined that portion of the regiment which continued true to its allegiance and was posted to Oonao to keep open the communication with Lucknow. On arrival at that station the 8th I. C. had been reduced to 12 Native Officers and 11 Sowers, later known as the “Loyal Remnant”. This gallant band stayed and fought with Captain A. M. Mackenzie throughout 1858. On 6 April 1858, this faithful remnant was despatched under the command of Captain Mackenzie to attack a body of rebels under Lultah Singh who offered desperate resistance and at one moment the issue of the conflict seemed likely to be disastrous. Dr Currie at once perceived the critical nature of the emergency. He had been left with the reserve, a short distance in the rear, and was the only officer with it. Instantly placing himself at the head of this small body of troopers he rushed to the aid of his sorely pressed comrades and by the impetuosity of his charge threw the enemy into confusion. In the melee his horse received a musket ball in the neck and was wounded by a bayonet thrust to the quarter but Lultah Singh and his bodyguard were slain and the pacification of the entire district was the first fruits of victory. For this gallant exploit Captain Mackenzie applied to the Commander-in-Chief for the Victoria Cross for Dr. Currie. Major-General Inglis’ despatch of 6 April 1858, states Lultah Singh and 25 of his men were “cut to pieces”. Of Currie, Inglis wrote “His care of the wounded afterwards was unremitting”. James Allan Currie was born in Edinburgh on 30 December 1827 , son of Alexander, one of H.M. Principal Clerks of the Session, and his mother Mary Barrie. A brilliant student he gained an M.A. at Aberdeen University aged just 19. He was firstly educated in Forfarshire being awarded the Angus Club Medal for Latin and the Melville Award for 1843. Secondly at Aberdeen King's College: Prize List 1846/47 Moral Philosophy (Order of Merit) and Civil Law; M.A. 1847. Thirdly at Edinburgh M.D. & M.R.C.S 1853. Overland route to India 21 November 1853, arriving at Calcutta on the Hindostan on 14 January 1854, and appointed Assistant-Surgeon, 47th Native Infantry in Burmah; appointed to medical charge of the 8th Irregular Cavalry, 17 December 1856. After the mutiny Dr Currie resumed his duties with the regiment until mid-1859 when he was appointed Superintendent of Vaccination of the Agra District which at the time had a population of over 5 million. He was also surgeon and lecturer in surgery at the Thomason Medical School. On his leaving the 8th Irregulars the commanding officer placed an order of the day in the regimental books, recording his strong sense of Dr. Currie's services as the medical officer of the corps and of the way he had endeared himself to the men. Currie said of himself, on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays I ride or drive between 25 and 58 miles each day before 9 a.m. visiting the relief dispensaries and kitchens. On other days I have surgical duties and lectures at the General Hospital. On 14 June 1861, he travelled the 25 miles to Khundolee kitchen on the banks of the Jumna to make arrangements for the mitigation of a violent outbreak of Cholera that had taken place there. He returned to Agra that night but was stricken by cholera the following evening and in a few hours fell a sacrifice to the cause of humanity. Dr Currie died on 15 June 1861. “He was,” said Captain A. M. Mackenzie in tribute, “in his own particular profession, zealous, active and clever – a most gallant soldier, a warm friend, and a high-minded man.” It seems remarkable that upon the basis of such a small loyal contingent the 8th Irregular Cavalry should have been reconstituted in 1861 and allowed to keep its four pre-1857 battle honours. On the reorganisation it became the 6th Bengal Cavalry and all those original surviving officers and sowers were listed for the Order of British India; especially mentioned was Wordie-Major Nazeem Khan “who not only sacrificed all his property but left his three hapless and very young children to their fate to follow our fortunes”. Sold with comprehensive research
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteThe Indian Mutiny Medal award to Private G. Green, 90th Light Infantry, who was severely wounded and awarded the D.C.M. for his services in the Crimea Indian Mutiny 1857-59, 2 clasps, Defence of Lucknow, Lucknow (G. Green, 90th. Lt. Infy.) suspension claw tightened, scratch to obverse field and minor edge bruising, very fine £700-£900 --- George Green served with the 90th (Perthshire Volunteers) Light Infantry in the Crimea, where he was severely wounded during the bombardment of Sebastopol on 16 July 1855, and was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (medal ordered 23 June 1856). Embarking for service in China in April 1857, en-route, however, the regiment was diverted to India and took part in the operations against Lucknow as part of Havelock’s First Relief Force, and at the capture of Lucknow on 21 March 1858.
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteAshantee 1873-74, 1 clasp, Coomassie (A. Sisley, Pte. R.M. H.M.S, Active, 73-74) suspension slack and a little bent, edge bruise and polished, therefore good fine £360-£400 --- Abel Sisley served with the Naval Brigade, 6 January to 4 February 1874, comprising 325 officers and men of the R.N., R.M. and R.M.A. The Coomassie clasp was issued to all those who were north of the River Prah between 31 January (the battle of Amoaful) and 4 February 1874. He suffered from ulcer 4-8 January 1874, invalided. Medal sent 22 June 1875.
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's website1914-15 Star (885 Pte. T. B. Pardoe. 2/Bn. A.I.F.) very fine £140-£180 --- Thomas Benton Pardoe was born in Ladysmith, South Africa, in 1879 and attested for the Australian Imperial Force at Randwick, New South Wales, on 28 August 1914. Posted to the 2nd Infantry Battalion Headquarters, he embarked from Sydney on 14 October 1914. He served with the Battalion at Gallipoli, and was wounded by a bullet to the head during the opening stages of the campaign, his medical record giving the date 25-30 April 1915. After a spell in hospital he recovered sufficiently to take part in the Battle of Lone Pine, 6-10 August 1915- of the 22 Officer and 560 other ranks from the Battalion who started the attack, 21 officers ands 409 other ranks were either killed or wounded. After further service on the Western Front, including the Third Battle of Ypres, where he was subjected to the German mustard gas attack, Pardoe returned to Australia on 5 November 1918 ,and was discharged on 26 February 1919. He died of asthma in 1938, from which he had suffered since the Great War, an ailment almost certainly attributed to his having been exposed to mustard gas. Sold with copied research.
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteThe Victory Medal awarded to Captain G. W. Harvey, M.C., Royal Field Artillery, who was killed in action at Amiens on 12 April 1918 Victory Medal 1914-19 (Capt. G. W. Harvey.) good very fine £80-£120 --- M.C. London Gazette 16 September 1918: ‘For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He proceeded through heavy barrage to a forward observing post, where under very heavy fire and in imminent risk of capture he continued to observe till dark, at times having to go forward to a signalling station to repair the line, as his signallers were badly gassed. His observation alone stopped a very determined hostile attack, and his determination, fearlessness and resource were most valuable at a critical juncture.’ George Winfred Harvey, of Ashmeadow in Bury, Lancashire, was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the Royal Field Artillery (Territorial Force), and landed in France with them in March 1917. Advanced Captain, he was serving with A Battery, 169th Brigade when he was killed in action at Amiens on 12 April 1918, and he is buried at Boves West Communal Cemetery Extension, France.
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteA Great War ‘Western Front’ D.C.M. pair awarded to Private J. Bucheven, 78th Battalion, Canadian Infantry, who was wounded and taken Prisoner of War on the Western Front on 11 August 1918 Distinguished Conduct Medal, G.V.R. (652250 Pte. J. Bucheven. 78/Can: Inf:); British War Medal (652250 Pte. J. Bucheven. 78-Can. Inf.) mounted for display with an erased Victory Medal, together with Canadian Memorial Cross, G.V.R. (652250 Pte. J. Bochoven) note spelling of name, this with enclosure card and good length of original silk ribbon, extremely fine (4) £800-£1,000 --- D.C.M. London Gazette 16 November 1918; citation London Gazette 21 December 1918: ‘This man acted as stretcher-bearer during an attack on a village, and worked unceasingly in the open under heavy fire. During an enemy counter attack a few days later he continued attending to the wounded, although he himself was also wounded, until he was taken prisoner. He, however, succeeded in escaping and got back to the lines. His energy and untiring devotion to his duty were worthy of the highest praise.’ John Bucheven was born in Rotterdam, Holland, and previously served for seven years in the East Indies with the Dutch army. He was reported wounded and missing on 11 August 1918, and was later confirmed as having been taken Prisoner of War, being held captive at Dulman, Westphalia. He was discharged medically unfit for further service on 6 May 1919, and died on 4 August 1929, his death attributed to his wounds, hence the grant of the Memorial Cross.
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteA Great War ‘Western Front’ M.M. and Second Award Bar group of three awarded to Acting Sergeant F. R. Brunt, 78th Battalion, Canadian Infantry, who was wounded in the face while winning his M.M. at Passchendaele Ridge in October 1917 Military Medal, G.V.R., with Second Award Bar (148445 Cpl. F. R. Brunt. 78/Can: Inf:); British War and Victory Medals (148445 A. Sjt.. F. R. Brunt. 78-Can. Inf.) mounted for display, nearly extremely fine (3) £800-£1,000 --- Provenance: Ron Penhall Collection, Dix Noonan Webb, September 2006. M.M. London Gazette 13 March 1918. The original recommendation - extracted from Canadian archives - states: ‘For conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty during operations on Passchendaele Ridge from 29 October to 2 November 1917. When all the other N.C.Os had become casualties in the Brigade Tump Line Party this N.C.O. took charge and succeeded in establishing a forward dump under very heavy shell fire. Following the attack he assisted most ably in the evacuation of wounded until he himself became a casualty. He refused to leave his post in spite of his wounds and continued for 12 hours before he was forced to withdraw on account of the severity of his wounds. He displayed marked courage and conspicuous devotion to duty throughout the whole operation and is deserving of the highest praise.’ Bar to M.M. London Gazette 23 July 1919. Francis Ralph Blunt was born at Shelton in Staffordshire in August 1882 and enlisted in the 78th Battalion, Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force at Winnipeg, where he had settled as a farmer, in November 1915. Arriving in the U.K. in May 1916, he was embarked for France with his unit that August, but, as verified by his service record (Canadian archives refer), he had to be evacuated to Queen Mary’s Military Hospital at Whalley, Lancashire, at the end of the year, suffering from trench foot (‘Came out of trenches on 27 November after 7 days in mud and water’). Latterly treated at Woodcote Park Hospital, Epsom, he was discharged in February 1917 and rejoined the 78th Battalion back in the Field in August of that year. Advanced to Corporal on the eve of his M.M.-winning exploits at Passchendaele in late October - early November, he recovered from his wounds - shrapnel injuries to his face - at No. 5 General Hospital at Rouen. Once again, however, he returned to active service, winning a Bar to his M.M. and being advanced to Acting Sergeant in the Field in October 1918. Shortly afterwards recommended for a commission, he returned to the U.K. to attend an O.T.C. unit at Seaford, and was accordingly discharged in the rank of ‘Cadet’ when he returned to Canada in January 1919.
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteA Great War ‘Western Front 1917’ M.M. pair awarded to Acting Corporal B. W. Lawrie, 78th Battalion, Canadian Infantry, who was awarded a Second Award Bar to his M.M. in 1918 Military Medal, G.V.R. (460560 Pte. B. W. Lawrie. 78/Can: Inf:); British War Medal 1914-20 (460560 A. Cpl. B. W. Lawrie. 78-Can. Inf.) edge bruising and contact marks, nearly very fine (2) £200-£260 --- M.M. London Gazette 9 July 1917. Also entitled to Bar to M.M. London Gazette 24 January 1919. Bruce Warwick Lawrie was born on 7 October 1898, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, son of Robert Lawrie, of 108 Ethelbert Street, Winnipeg. He attested on 11 August 1915, stating his trade to be that of a Sporting Goods Clerk.
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websitePair: Acting Major F. L. Hesson, 78th Battalion, Canadian Infantry, who was killed in action on the Western Front on 24 August 1918 British War and Victory Medals, with M.I.D. oak leaves (Capt. F. L. Hesson.) mounted for display, extremely fine (2) £70-£90 --- M.I.D. London Gazette 28 May 1918: ‘Capt. (A. Maj.) F. L. Hesson, 78 Can: Inf.’ Frederick Leopold Hesson, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, served as a Major with the 78th Battalion during the Great War, and was killed in action on the Western Front on 24 August 1918. He is buried in Hillside Cemetery, Le Quesnel, France.
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteFive: Private J. S. Anderson, 78th Battalion, Canadian Infantry, afterwards Edmonton Regiment, who was wounded at Vimy Ridge on 9 April 1917 British War and Victory Medals (624135 Pte. J. Anderson. 78-Can. Inf.); Defence Medal, Canadian issue in silver; Canadian Volunteer Service Medal, with overseas clasp; War Medal 1939-45, Canadian issue in silver, these last three unnamed as issued, mounted for display, good very fine and better (5) £80-£100 --- James S. Anderson joined the 78th Battalion in the field on 21 January 1917, and was wounded by gun shot resulting in a compound fracture of the right arm at Vimy Ridge on 9 April 1917. Sold with Silver War Badge (C29222); Great War aluminium identity bracelet (78 Bn. Canadians); small 78 Winnipeg Grenadiers badge, fittings removed; two 49 Edmonton Regiment badges, large and small; and three various war service or veteran lapel badges.
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteFive: Private J. Moore, 78th Battalion, Canadian Infantry, later Veterans’ Guard of Canada, who was taken Prisoner of War on the Western Front on 17 September 1918 British War and Victory Medals (288687 Pte. J. Moore. 78-Can. Inf.); Defence Medal; Canadian Volunteer Service Medal, with overseas clasp; War Medal 1939-45, these last three unnamed as issued, mounted for display, extremely fine (5) £40-£60 --- J. Moore was born in Elgin, Manitoba, and served with the 78th Battalion during the Great War, being taken Prisoner of War on the Western Front on 17 September 1917. Held captive at Dulmen, Westphalia, he was repatriated on 4 December 1918. Moore joined the Winnipeg Grenadiers on 12 September 1939, and served during the Second World War on Garrison duty in Jamaica; he subsequently served with the Veterans’ Guard of Canada.
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websitePair: Private W. McA. Vokins, 78th Battalion, Canadian Infantry, who was wounded in September 1917, and subsequently killed in action near Passchendaele in October 1917 British War and Victory Medals (625160 Pte. W. M. Vokins. 78-Can. Inf.) extremely fine (2) £60-£80 --- William McArthur Vokins, Private, 78th Canadian Infantry, served with the 78th from 8 March 1917. He was wounded by a gunshot in the right arm on 1 September 1917, and killed in action near Passchendaele on 30 October 1917, aged 29. He was a farmer from Lashburn, Saskatchewan, son of Mary Vokins, of Ramsbury, Wiltshire, and is commemorated by name on the Menin Gate Memorial. Sold with copied record of service and modern photograph of memorial panel.
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteA rare inter-War M.B.E., Great War D.S.M. and ‘Russia 1919’ operations Second Award Bar group of six awarded to Lieutenant-Commander J. P. Canty, Royal Navy The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, M.B.E. (Military) Member’s 1st type breast badge, the reverse hallmarked London 1930; Distinguished Service Medal, G.V.R., with Second Award Bar, the reverse officially impressed, ‘Baltic. July 15. 1919.’ (342015. J. P. Canty, Sh. Std., “Godetia” Minesweeping. 1917.); 1914-15 Star (342015 J. P. Canty, Sh. Std. R.N.); British War and Victory Medals (342015 J. P. Canty. V.C.P.O. R.N.); Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., G.V.R., 1st issue (J. 342015. J. P. Canty, Sh. Stewd., H.M.S. Hollyhock.) minor contact marks, otherwise generally very fine or better (6) £4,000-£5,000 --- M.B.E. London Gazette 3 June 1932. D.S.M. London Gazette 17 April 1918: ‘In recognition of their services in minesweeping operations between 1 April and 31 December 1917.’ Bar to D.S.M. London Gazette 14 May 1920: ‘For services in Russia, 1919.’ The original recommendation states: ‘H.M.S. Lupin. Mining and sinking of H.M.S. Gentian and H.M.S. Myrtle. Baltic July 15, 1919. ‘I cannot only endorse the remarks of the Medical Officer of H.M.S. Lupin concerning this Chief Petty Officer, but can from personal observation that he volunteered for the dinghy’s crew earlier in the day and performed the unaccustomed task of pulling an oar two and a half miles in a rough sea. He was also always to be found on the spot when boats were coming alongside and was among the first to man a painter or a fall.’ John Patrick Canty was born in Portsmouth in December 1882, the son of an Able Seaman then serving as a rigger aboard the royal yacht Victoria & Albert, and entered the Royal Navy as a Ship’s Steward (Boy) in March 1898. In the previous year, while a pupil at Greenwich School, he won the Royal Humane Society’s Medal in bronze for saving a Royal Marine from drowning in the sea at Sandgate (R.H.S. Case No. 29,272 refers). A Ship’s Steward aboard the gunboat H.M.S. Skipjack on the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914, he remained similarly employed until removing to the sloop Hollyhock in June 1915. His C.O. in the Skipjack was Commander L. G. P. Preston, R.N., affectionately known as “L.G.P.” to his subordinates, who rose to become Admiral Sir Lionel Preston, K.C.B. And so commenced an uninterrupted wartime career in minesweeping, the details of which may be traced though his seagoing commissions in Taffrail’s Swept Channels. Thus the author’s detailed description of the occasion when Skipjack and some trawlers ran into a large minefield laid by the Kolberg off Scarborough in mid-December 1914: ‘The Skipjack was quite close to the trawlers when the stillness of the morning was rudely shattered by the thudding boom of a heavy explosion. A column of white water mingled with greyish smoke leapt out of the calm sea. It was as high as a church spire, and seemed to hang for a moment in mid-air before curling over to fall sizzling and hissing back to the surface in the midst of a blackened area dotted with silver bodies of dead fish. The detonations continued, one after the other. Within five minutes eighteen mines were swept up, or had exploded in the trawlers’ sweeps. The Kolberg’s cargo had been very thickly sown. Never afterwards throughout the whole period of the war were mines discovered in such profusion, or so close together. But the situation was alarming. The ‘safety period’ had passed. The tide was falling fast, and every minute brought the mines nearer the ships’ bottoms. The scene was extraordinary. Trawlers, most of them with their sweeps parted, were intermingled with mines torn from their moorings and floating ominously on the surface. The mines were being fired upon. Two trawlers had been blown up. One, the Orianda, unable to stop her engines, steamed on, sinking as she went, until nothing remained but the tip of her masthead travelling along the surface like the periscope of a submarine. Then this last trace of her disappeared. A second trawler, Lieutenant Parsons’ Passing, was down by the bows, badly on fire, and blowing off dense clouds of steam from the severed steam-pipe. Her sweeping consort promptly went alongside to render what help was possible. A third little ship, commanded by Lieutenant Crossley, R.N.R., was in immediate danger of sinking owing to leaks caused by the heavy explosions close alongside her. Crossley himself was below in the cramped space near the screw shaft trying to stop the inflow of water by divesting himself of his clothing and stuffing it into the stern gland. He plugged it sufficiently to allow the pumps to keen down the inrush of water, and so saved the ship. It was a hideous melee of trawlers and unexploded mines drifting with the tide. The rattle of rifles and heavier guns rent air. Now and then a mine hit by gunfire detonated with a mighty roar, or was punctured and sank bubbling to the bottom. Low water was rapidly approaching. The extent of the minefield was unknown. Commander Preston was the senior officer on the spot at the moment. In the midst of this hideous danger he did not hesitate, but gave the order to anchor as the only possible method of avoiding further heavy loss. Many men, confronted with the same problem, would have trusted to luck and beat a hasty retreat. But Preston argued to himself that the ships would be comparatively safe at anchor until the tide turned. And when it did turn, the risk of striking mines as the ships swung was infinitesimal compared with the danger of trying to extricate the whole flotilla then and there. At high water all vessels could be withdrawn in safety. So the anchors rattled down to the bottom, and for a time there was peace ... ’ In June 1915, Canty accompanied “L.G.P.” to his next command, the sloop Hollyhock, and again, in June 1916, to his final seagoing command, the Lupin, evidence indeed of how much he was valued by the future Director of Minesweeping Operations at the Admiralty. But it was during his next seagoing appointment, in the sloop Godetia, that he won his D.S.M. for minesweeping duties in 1917. A glimpse of the deeds behind that distinction being found in a recommendation for promotion for Canty, written by the C.-in-C. Fleet Minesweepers in January 1918: ‘He has been present at the clearing of all the minefields dealt with by the Fleet Minesweepers since the commencement of hostilities and has carried out his duties under the arduous conditions of minesweeping in Northern Waters in a cheerful and able manner.’ In May 1919, Canty removed to his old ship the Lupin, off Russia, a posting that would result in the award of his second D.S.M. for the above cited deeds on 15 July, when the Myrtle and Gentian were mined with heavy loss of life and casualties. The Surgeon who was lent to Lupin to treat the wounded also wrote in glowing terms of Canty’s deeds: ‘Final...
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteThe Orders and Medals attributed to P. E. Lembcke, Peruvian Army, later Peru’s Consular General and Charge d’affaires in London Coronation 1902, silver, unnamed as issued; Coronation 1911, silver, unnamed as issued; Peru, Republic, Cross for Callao (1866), being a five pointed star, silver and enamel, damage to enamel and one finial ball bent; Spain, Kingdom, Order of Isabella the Catholic, Grand Cross Star, silver, gold and enamel, in case of issue, damage to red enamel on second arm; Peru, Republic, Veterans Society Commemorative Medal for the 1866 Battle of Callao, silver-gilt; Veterans Society Commemorative Medal for the 1879 Battle of Tarapaca, silver-gilt, generally very fine (6) £400-£500 --- Provenance: Acquired by the vendor direct from the great granddaughter of the recipient. Pedro Eduardo Lembcke was born in Lima in 1846 into a family with origins in Prussia. He served as an officer in the Peruvian Army, participating in the Battle of Callao in 1866 against the Spanish during the Cincha Islands War. He later took part in the War of the Pacific against Chile, being present at the Battle of Tarapacá in 1879 following which, with Peru under pressure after the withdrawal of their Bolivian allies, Chilean forces marched on Lima where they met the remains of the Peruvian forces at Miraflores in January 1881. Here Lembcke served as second in command of the 12th Reserve Battalion holding redoubt No. 7. The battle, a bloody affair which saw both sides losing about thirty percent of their combatants, culminated in a defeat for the Peruvians, and the Chileans occupied Lima. Leaving his military career behind him, Lembcke turned to commerce and, in 1886, he took his family to London where, as befitting a wealthy merchant, they lived in some comfort, renting a property on Queen Anne’s Gate and employing eight servants. In 1895 he was appointed as Consul-General of Peru at London - there was at that time no Peruvian ambassador to the Court of St. James as these duties were covered by a resident minister based in Paris: ‘The resident representative of the Republic in London is Senor Don Eduardo Lembcke, Charge d'Afaires and Consul-General. The Legation is at 104, Victoria Street, S.W. Senor Don Lembcke is a highly cultured and accomplished man, well versed in diplomatic matters, and both speaking and writing English with great fluency and accuracy. Senor Lembcke creates an immediately favourable and sympathetic impression with all who have business with the Legation, and his ability in dealing with the complicated questions which not infrequently arise, show him to be a thorough man of the world’. (Peru Of The Twentieth Century by Percy F. Martin, F.R.G.S refers) Now moving in very fashionable circles, in 1902 Lembcke attended the Coronation of King Edward VII and in 1906, Senora de Lembcke, as the wife of the Peruvian Charge d’affaires, was invited to launch the cruiser ‘Coronel Bolognesi’ which was built by Vickers at Barrow for the Peruvian Navy. After the launch she was given a gold bracelet, set with emeralds, as a souvenir of the occasion. Lembcke was also present at the funeral of King Edward VII in 1910, as one of the 25 dignitaries who walked behind the carriage bearing HM Queen Alexandra and the Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia during the procession to Westminster Abbey. The following year he was present the coronation of HM King George V. In 1912, following the upgrading of the status of the Peruvian embassy, Don Carlos Lembcke became Peru’s Minister Plenipotentiary, a diplomat of the second class, ranking between an Ambassador and a Minister Resident. He retired late during the Great War due to poor health and died in 1919. On 27th September 1919, the Catholic News Weekly, reported: ‘We regret to announce the death of Mr. Edward Lembcke, a Knight of the Order of St. Isabella the Catholic, which sad event took place on the 17th inst., at the age of seventy-four, at his residence, 121, Cromwell Road, S.W. Mr. Lembcke had been ill for some time, but the end came rather suddenly, to the deep sorrow of a very large circle of friends, by whom he was extremely respected. He was well known in British and South American diplomatic and commercial circles, and during the war did a great deal of active and useful work for the Allies' cause in various parts of South America. The funeral took place on Monday, at St. Mary's Cemetery, Kensal Green, after a Requiem at the Church of Our Lady of Victories, Kensington, celebrated by Father Dillon Doyle. The chief mourners were: Mrs. E. Lembcke (widow), Major Charles E. Lembcke, D.S.O., of the Intelligence Department, War Office (son), and Mrs. C. E. Lembcke, and Miss Lembcke (daughter). Two other sons, Mr. Richard Lembcke, and Mr. Michael Lembcke and Mrs. M. Lembcke, being abroad, were unable to attend.—R.I.P.’ For the recipient’s son’s medals see lot 183 For the recipient’s miniature medals see lot 722.
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteLiverpool Shipwreck and Humane Society, Marine Medal, 1st type, silver, medallion, 56mm (For nobly proceeding in British Queen’s Boat to assistance of Crew of Schooner Happy Return on Burbo. Sea dangerous & capsized the Boat, June 1864) additionally inscribed in obverse field ‘Ed. Jones’, fitted with a contemporary silver claw and loop suspension with silver ribbon buckle, edge bruise, otherwise very fine £280-£320 --- Extract from Society Records: ‘The two latest Medals awarded were, a gold one to Mr Daniel H. Morison, and a silver one to Edward Jones, for their heroic conduct on the late occasion of the wreck of the Happy Return on Burbo, from being struck by a sea which opened the stern, filled the cabin, and damaged her rudder, so that she was not under command of the helm. On the accident being seen from the screw steamer British Queen, then entering the river, six men, all who volunteered for the service, manned one of the steamer’s boats, and under the command of Mr Morison, second officer of the steamer, succeeded in reaching the wreck after an ineffectual attempt in the gig, but so fearful a sea was running that, while they were saving the schooner’s crew, and had already got two men into the boat, a heavy wave struck it and drowned five seamen of the British Queen and the two men of the Happy Return, only Mr Morison and Edward Jones being saved.’
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteLiverpool Shipwreck and Humane Society, Marine Medal, 3rd type, silver (Geo. Rees. 3rd Officer. S.S. Malta for Having with Boat’s Crew Rescued Crew of S.S. Dhooliah. 21/12/76) with silver brooch buckle, very fine £140-£180 --- Extract from Society Records: ‘To Captain Thomas Durrant, S.S. Malta, Mr Rees, third officer, George Black and William Robertson, quartermasters. On the 21st December 1876, at daylight, the Malta, while homeward bound, fell in with the steamship Dhooliah in the Bay of Biscay in a sinking state. Three boats from the Dhooliah brought a portion of the crew on board the Malta, all of whom refused to go back to rescue their shipmates. There was a heavy sea running. Mr George Rees, third officer of the Malta, with a crew of five volunteers, went in one of the Dhooliah’s boats and rescued all but the master and one of the crew. The Dhooliah’s boat having been stove in alongside the Malta, the same boat’s crew went in one of the Malta’s boats and succeeded in saving the master and one seaman who had remained in the Dhooliah. in all, 43 of the crew of the Dhooliah were saved. While effecting this rescue, George Black had his hand crushed and has since died from the effects of the injuries he received.’ Sold with copied certificates of competency as Only Mate, First Mate, and Master.
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteLiverpool Shipwreck and Humane Society, Marine Medal, 3rd type, silver (Mr. Robert P. Gittins. 2nd Officer S.S. “Londonian” A Volunteer in S.S. “Vedamore’s” Boat After Being Himself Rescued From The “Londonian” On 26/11/98) with silvered brooch buckle, minor contact marks, otherwise nearly extremely fine £200-£260 --- The heroic efforts made in rescuing men from the stricken Londonian is related in the Dictionary of Disasters at Sea, by Charles Hocking: ‘The (Wilsons & Furness - Leyland Line) liner Londonian, Capt. E. B. Lee, left Boston, Mass., for London on November 15th, 1898, with a company of 70. The cargo consisted chiefly of grain, there being also 150 head of cattle. After about a week at sea the ship ran into foul weather, increasing later to a gale, and she began to make water; her steering-gear jammed and it became impossible to keep her head-on. The ship broached to and she was thrown on her beam ends, and her engine room flooded. The cattle were driven overboard to lighten the ship which continued to drift for two days and nights, until the morning of the 25th when she was sighted by the Johnston liner Vedamore, Capt. Bartlett. The captain of the Londonian asked to be taken in tow, but this the Vedamore’s captain declined to do, though he was prepared to take off the crew. About noon therefore Capt. Lee decided to abandon his ship and the Vedamore made an attempt to get a boat alongside, but after three hours struggle the boat returned without having rescued a single man. Other efforts by rocket and line from windward of the derelict were equally unsuccessful and operations had to be suspended until daybreak when lines attached to life-buoys were floated down to the Londonian. After many hours one of these was picked up and a heavier line taken on board. A lifeboat was lashed to this and was hauled to and fro between the ships, 22 men being saved in the first journey. At the second attempt the rope broke and the boat capsized. Another boat under Mr Doran, the first officer, was lowered by the Vedamore but this was smashed, the crew barely escaping with their lives. These efforts had lasted throughout the day and there was another pause during the hours of darkness. Next morning one of the Londonian’s boats was got over the side where it at once capsized, drowning all its occupants. A second boat got away with 23 men who were taken on board the Vedamore. All day attempts to effect further rescues continued but without success. At dawn on the morning of the 28th those on board the Vedamore saw no sign of the Londonian, so with the survivors on board the ship proceeded on her way to Baltimore. Meanwhile the derelict Londonian with Capt. Lee and seven men still on board was drifting helplessly with the gale. At midnight on the 28th one of their flares was seen by the German steamship Maria Rickmers, Capt. Grolsh, which sent a boat under Mr Lenz, the second officer. After a struggle of many hours a line was passed to the ship and all the survivors were taken off. The number of drowned was 17, and 45 men were rescued by the Vedamore and eight by the Maria Rickmers’. Robert Philip Gittins was born in Liverpool in January 1866. He joined the merchant navy, passing for Second Mate in June 1890, First Mate in September 1891, and Master in February 1893. For the Londonian incident Gittins was also awarded the Sea Gallantry Medal in silver; and a gold watch and chain from the citizens of Baltimore, U.S.A., in recognition of their services in rescuing their shipmates when the “Londonian” was abandoned in the North Atlantic. For service in the Great War as Master of the S.S. Antillian, he was awarded the British and Mercantile Marine War medals. He died in Cheshire on 19 March 1956.
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteLiverpool Shipwreck and Humane Society, Marine Medal, 3rd type, silver (To Walter Coubrough, for Gallant Service. 3/4/1937) with silver brooch bar in its fitted case of issue, nearly extremely fine £160-£200 --- Walter Coubrough was one of the 30 volunteers who manned the lifeboats of the T.S.S. Vandyck awarded the Silver Medal and Certificate in recognition of gallant service rendered in rescuing the crew of 25 of the S.S. Standale which foundered off the Portuguese Coast on the 3rd April, 1937. During the rescue operations, which occupied five hours, oil was pumped overboard which, in some degree, helped to break the force of the sea. These awards were presented by The Lord Mayor of Liverpool (Alderman William Denton, J.P.) at the Town Hall, on the 16th June 1937. Sold with full report on this rescue from Society’s records.
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteThe Ally Sloper’s Half Holiday Medal of Valour awarded to Gunner W. Hall, Royal Artillery, for his gallantry in saving the lives of a man and his three children from a house filled with potassium cyanide fumes in Clerkenwell, London, on 28 December 1898, an act of valour for which he also received the Royal Humane Society’s Stanhope Gold Medal for the outstanding rescue act of the year Ally Sloper’s Half Holiday Medal of Valour, 36mm, silver, the reverse inscribed ‘William Hall. Clerkenwell. December 28th. 1898.’, with straight bar suspension and top Spink, London, silver riband bar, good very fine, rare £300-£400 --- William Hall, a Gunner in the Royal Artillery, was born in St. Pancras, London, in 1875 and attested for the Royal Artillery on 15 February 1893. He was awarded the Ally Sloper’s Half Holiday Medal of Valour ‘for his conspicuous gallantry, while on furlough, in saving the lives of 4 persons from certain death in Clerkenwell on Wednesday, December 28th, 1898.’ For his gallantry that day Hall was also awarded the Royal Humane Society’s Silver Medal (case no. 29,865), the citation stating: ‘At 3.40 p.m. on the 28th December, 1898, a man named Carrington Franklin was at work in an electro-plating establishment in an upstairs room at 42, Clerkenwell Close, Clerkenwell, London, when he was visited by his wife and three children aged respectively ten, four, and two years. On the floor were various vessels containing chemicals used in the business, and it is supposed that the children in their play upset two basins containing cyanide of potassium and vitriol. Fumes of prussic acid were at once generated and filled the room, rendering Franklin and the children unconscious. Mrs Franklin managed to escape, and called for help. Gunner Hall, who was on furlough, happened to be passing, and on being told what had occurred he, without hesitation, stuffed his handkerchief into his mouth, and rushing in found the eldest boy near the bottom of the stairs and carried him out. He then made three journeys up the stairs and into the room where the others lay, bringing out first the children and last of all the father. From inhaling the fumes he was now so exhausted that he fell with Franklin at the foot of the stairs, and was assisted out by his brother, who had come on the scene. When outside he became unconscious, but soon recovered. Extreme risk was incurred, and without doubt all four persons would have lost their lives but for his prompt action and presence of mind.’ Hall was further awarded the Royal Humane Society’s Stanhope Gold Medal for 1899, his act of bravery having been adjudged the outstanding life-saving feat of the previous year.
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteThe Order of the Bath Chapel Stall Plate of Major-General Francis Hepburn, C.B., 3rd Foot Guards, severely wounded at Barrosa, and one of the Heroes of the Defence of Hougoumont at Waterloo The Most Honourable Order of the Bath, C.B. (Military) Companion’s Chapel Stall Plate, gilded brass with engraved and painted badge of a companion, inscribed ‘Francis Hepburn Esquire, Colonel in the Army and Second Major of the 3rd Regiment of Foot Guards Companion of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath Nominated 4th June 1815.’, 191mm x 115mm, corners pierced for attachment, light tarnishing, otherwise extremely fine £600-£800 --- Francis Hepburn was born on 19 August 1779, the second son of Colonel David Hepburn of the 39th Foot and 105th Highlanders, by his wife Bertha Graham of the family of Inchbrakie, Perthshire. His grandfather, James Hepburn of Brecarton and Keith Marshall, spent his fortune in the Stuart cause. Francis was appointed ensign in the 3rd Foot-Guards (later Scots Guards) on 17 December 1794; became Lieutenant and Captain, 23 April 1798; Captain and Lieutenant-Colonel, 23 July 1807; brevet Colonel, 4 June 1814; regimental 2nd Major, 25 July 1814; and Major-General, 19 July 1821. He served with his regiment in Ireland in 1798 and in Holland in 1799; was aide-de-camp to General W. P. Acland at Colchester, and afterwards in Malta and Sicily; but was laid up with fever and ophthalmia during the descent on Calabria and battle of Maida. He joined his battalion at Cadiz in 1809, and his leg was shattered at the battle of Barossa, 5 March 1811. He refused to submit to amputation, and by the autumn of 1812 had recovered sufficiently to rejoin his battalion, although his wound remained open and caused frequent and severe suffering during the subsequent campaigns. He was placed in command of the detached light companies of the Coldstream and 3rd Guards in 1812; was present at Vittoria, Nivelle, and the Nive; and at the end of 1813 was ordered home to assume command of the 2nd battalion of his regiment in the expedition to Holland. Delayed by contrary winds, he arrived after the expedition had sailed, but followed the battalion to the Low Countries, and commanded it there during the winter of 1814–15. Hepburn joined the Duke of Wellington’s army in April 1815, and was in temporary command of the 2nd Brigade of Guards until the arrival of Sir John Byng in May. He commanded his battalion at Quatre Bras and Waterloo. The light company of the battalion was sent with other troops under Lord Saltoun to occupy Hougoumont on the night of 17th June. Other companies of the battalion were sent to reinforce the farm soon after the battle had commenced next day, and later Hepburn was sent with the rest of the battalion. From 1 o’clock he commanded the troops posted in the orchard and woods of the Chateau, an important service, the credit of which, by some official blunder, was given to a junior officer, Colonel Home, who had in fact held command only within the Chateau itself late in the day. This mistake was explained officially, but never notified publicly, and, it is said, was the means of depriving Hepburn of the higher honours awarded to other senior officers of the division of Guards. He had been made a companion of the Bath on 4 June 1815, and for his services at Waterloo he received the fourth classes of the Order of St Vladimir of Russia, and of Wilhelm of the Netherlands. He was promoted to Major-General in July 1821, and died at Tunbridge Wells on 7 June 1835, aged 56 years.
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteBristol Tramways and Carriage Co. Ltd. Medal for Loyalty 1901, 38mm, silver, the obverse featuring St. George and the dragon, the reverse inscribed ‘Presented to Dvr. A. Boyles for Loyalty’, with top silver brooch bar, extremely fine £60-£80 --- Archie Boyles was born in Bristol on 12 March 1878 and entered the service of the Bristol Tramways and Carriage Company in 1899, and was employed for them for a period of 47 years, retiring on 30 September 1946. He died in Horfield, Bristol, on 26 December 1956. In 1901 there was a major dispute between the Bristol Tramways and Carriage Company and its employees, caused by the change over from horse-drawn to electric trams, which culminated in the majority of the Company’s employees walking out of their jobs over the August Bank Holiday week-end. Those workers who went on strike were dismissed, but 302 of the 1,200 employees refused to strike and continued working, even though they suffered much abuse from the strikers. In recognition of their loyalty they were presented with the above specially commissioned medals at a dinner held at Colston Hall on 20 December 1901. Sold with copied research.
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteSold by Order of the Family for the Benefit of the Fawcett Society. The Women’s Social and Political Union Medal awarded to Miss Nellie Godfrey, who was arrested and imprisoned for throwing a missile at Winston Churchill’s car as he attended an election rally in Bolton in December 1909 Women’s Social and Political Union Medal for Valour, 22mm, silver, the obverse inscribed ‘Hunger Strike’, the reverse named ‘Nellie Godfrey’, the suspension bar dated ‘December 7th. 1909’, complete with integral top ‘For Valour’ brooch bar, the lettering on the top brooch bar, suspension bar, and medal obverse enamelled in the colours of the W.S.P.U., in original case of issue, the inside silk interior lining of lid with gold blocked inscription, ‘Presented to Nellie Godfrey. 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 lining now somewhat distressed and worn but name still legible, the medal nearly extremely fine £6,000-£8,000 --- Nellie Godfrey joined the Women’s Social and Political Union in 1909, and was first arrested in the summer of 1909, appearing before Bow Street Magistrates on 9 July 1909. She was arrested for a second time on 7 December of that year, charged with throwing a missile at Winston Churchill’s motor car, as he travelled to an election rally in Bolton in the run-up to the January 1910 General Election. At the time Churchill, the Member of Parliament for Dundee, was President of the Board of Trade, and was undertaking a campaign tour of Lancashire. Suspecting trouble ahead of his address, the police had erected strong barricades along the route of his journey, but Miss Godfrey managed to break through the timber barriers and threw a piece of iron at his car. The iron was wrapped in paper bearing the message ‘Thrown by a woman of England as a protest against the Government’s treatment of political prisoners.’ (Votes for Women, 9 December 1909 refers) Appearing at Bolton Magistrates Court the following day, Miss Godfrey pleaded guilty, and was fined 40 shillings. Refusing to pay, she was sentenced to seven days’ imprisonment. Released from Manchester Prison on medical grounds (most likely under the ‘cat and mouse’ system, whereby those political prisoners who embarked upon a hunger strike were released as soon as their condition started to deteriorate, in order that they should not become a political martyr), she returned to London, and two years later appeared again before Bow Street Magistrates on 27 November 1911. Sold with a portrait photographic image of the recipient wearing her medal, and various photographic images of the recipient in later life.
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteThe Royal Warrant Holders Association Medal awarded to the fashion designer Hardy Amies, who rose to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel while organising sabotage assignments with the Special Operations Executive in Belgium during the Second World War and subsequently built a hugely successful fashion label, his designs finding favour with the young Princess Elizabeth who granted him a Royal Warrant on her accession to the throne Royal Warrant Holders Association Medal, E.II.R., 1977 Silver Jubilee Medal (Hardy Amies) nearly extremely fine £400-£500 --- Edwin Hardy Amies was born on 17 July 1909 at Maida Vale, London and was educated at Latymer Upper School and Brentwood. It was suggested that he should work for a scholarship to Cambridge, but Amies wanted to become a journalist. His father arranged a meeting with R. D. Blumenfeld, the editor of the Daily Express, who told him: ‘We don’t want academics in the journalistic world. We want men of international culture. Send him abroad to learn French and German. Make him work.’ After spending three years in France and Germany - learning the languages and working for a customs agent, an English School and a wall tile factory - Amies returned to England and became a weighing-machine salesman for W & T Avery. It was his mother’s contacts in the fashion world together with his own facility with the written word that secured him his first job in fashion. His vivid description of a dress, written in a letter to a retired French fitter and brought to the attention of the owner of the Mayfair couture house Lachasse, made a strong impression. The wearer of the dress was the owner’s wife. In early 1934, with no previous experience, he succeeded the designer manager, Digby Morton, who had left Lachasse to set up his own house. By the time war intervened, he was designing the whole collection. At the outbreak of the Second World War, with his language experience, Amies was called to serve in the Special Operations Executive. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant from Officer Cadet Training Company on to the British Army General List on 18 May 1940, and was transferred from the General List to the Intelligence Corps on 15 July 1940. Amies suspected that S.O.E.’s commander Major General Colin Gubbins did not regard a dressmaker as suitable military material; but his training report stated: ‘This officer is far tougher both physically and mentally than his rather precious appearance would suggest. He possesses a keen brain and an abundance of shrewd sense. His only handicap is his precious appearance and manner, and these are tending to decrease’. Posted to Belgium, Amies worked with the various Belgian resistance groups and adapted names of fashion accessories for use as code words, while he organised sabotage assignments and arranged for agents to be parachuted with radio equipment behind enemy lines, into the Ardennes. Amies rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel, but outraged his superiors in 1944 by engaging famed photographer Lee Miller and setting up a Vogue photo shoot in Belgium after D-Day. In 1946, he was created an Officer of the Belgian Order of the Crown on 17 September 1948 by the prince regent of Belgium. Amies was an integral part of Operation Ratweek, an assassination project developed by the S.O.E. to eliminate double agents and Nazi sympathisers in Belgium. In 2000, a BBC 2 documentary entitled Secret Agent named Amies as one of the men who helped to plan the killing of dozens of Nazi collaborators, but Amies disclaimed all knowledge of the matter. Hardy Amies was quirky, yet conservative; for example, having his British Army uniform tailored on Savile Row. Years later, Hardy recalled that Kim Philby was in his mess; and, on being asked what the infamous spy was like, Hardy quipped, ‘He was always trying to get information out of me, most significantly the name of my tailor.’ On demobilisation, Amies bought the lease of a house in Savile Row, built by Lord Burlington in 1735 and damaged in the Blitz, and set up his own business. It was not long before he was designing clothes for Princess Elizabeth. ‘A very grand lady asked me to make coats and skirts for what she called her “gels”’, he recalled, ‘and they turned out to be ladies-in-waiting to Princess Elizabeth. The Princess saw them and asked me to make clothes for her visit to Canada in 1948.’ His royal warrant dated from her accession to the throne. The Queen wore a Hardy Amies pink silk dress and coat for the Silver Jubilee and a Hardy Amies yellow coat on her 60th birthday. In 1950, recognising a need for cheaper, instantly available clothes, Amies expanded his business by opening a ready-to-wear boutique. He designed uniforms for the police, British Airways, the South African defence force, male nurses at Broadmoor and the staffs of W H Smith, the London Hilton, and Wall’s ice-cream. In 1967, he was commissioned by director Stanley Kubrick to design the costumes for 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). In 1973 Amies sold his business to Debenhams, with a view to further expansion, but in 1980 bought it back with the profits of his success with menswear in Canada, Australia, Japan, America and New Zealand (where, he estimated in 1979, 55 per cent of men wore suits in whose design he had a hand). Eventually, he had more than 40 overseas licensees. Handsome, with aquiline features and a full head of hair, Amies was proud of his athletic figure and played tennis well into his eighties. His other principal love was gardening, and he built from scratch an elaborate traditional garden. Hardy Amies was appointed CVO in 1977 and KCVO in 1989. In 2000, Amies sold the house to the Luxury Brands Group and announced his formal retirement. He died at home in 2003, aged 93, and is buried in the village churchyard at Langford, Oxfordshire.
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteA Great War Period photograph and autograph album relating to the Almeric Paget Military Massage Corps (later Military Massage Service) belonging to Nurse A. E. Wood, containing photographs and autographs of many soldiers who were treated at Bevan Hospital, Sandgate, and at Blatchington Place, North Camp, Seaford, Sussex, from 1916, including others of nurses and senior staff, a program for a Concert given by members of the A.P.M.C. (September 1916) and other enclosures, binding and pages loose, contents in good condition £80-£100 --- On the outbreak of the First World War, Almeric Paget (later Lord Queenborough) and his first wife, the American socialite Pauline Payne Whitney, offered the services of 50 trained masseuses to the British War Office. The offer was accepted and by November 1914, 50 women had been placed in military hospitals. At this time the demand for physiotherapy (or Massage and Electrical Treatment as it was known) increased and the Pagets were asked to open a day centre in London to relieve pressure on the military hospitals in London. Lady Alexander Paget offered her house at 55 Portland Place and soon over 200 men were being seen at the clinic every day. By now the number of women employed in the corps was over 200 and soon they became attached to the staff of most military hospitals with a further 120 masseuses employed. In 1916 the work of the Corps was favourably inspected by Alfred Keogh, the Director General of the Army Medical Service. This inspection had two direct outcomes. Firstly the name of the Corps was amended to become the Almeric Paget Military Massage Corps and, secondly, the Corps was asked to manage physiotherapy services in all military hospitals and convalescent camps. As part of the second the services provided would be paid for by a government grant, until then the Corps and the services it provided had been privately funded by the Pagets and by donations. Until 1917 all Corps members were U.K. based but from January 1917 onwards members could volunteer to work overseas and by the end of the war 56 members of the Corps had or were working abroad in Italy and France. By the end of the war over 2,000 masseuses and masseurs were at work and just under 3,400 had been engaged by the Corps at some point during the war. The Corps came to an end in January 1919 when a formal Military Massage Service was formed under the auspices of the Army and Pensions Massage Association. All members of the Corps were given the option to join the new Service which was controlled jointly by the War Office and the Ministry of Pensions.
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteHousehold Cavalry interest, Buckingham Palace letter from the Queen, dated 19 May 1983, to Colonel Hamilton-Russell, Officer, Warrant Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and Troopers of the Household Cavalry, on the occasion of the presentation of new Standards, ‘We have just seen marched off parade the tattered Standard damaged in that brutal attack on The Queen’s Life Guard last year, in which men and horses suffered so dreadfully. In the midst of this ‘pageantry’, for want of a better word, there could be no more timely nor honourable reminder, to those of us who need reminding, that the soldier’s life is never free of danger.’, facsimile signature, some marginal creases, otherwise good condition £20-£30
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteA German Second War Iron Cross 1st Class Bestowal Certificate, named to Maschinenobergefreiten Alfons Enderle, who served on U-108, dated 6 March 1942, and signed by Vice Admiral Karl Donitz as Commander of the U-Boat Fleet, small partial tear to bottom right hand corner, generally good condition £80-£120 --- Sold with copied research relating to U-108, including a copy of the book U-108 at War by Alistair Smith
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteAn interesting Elkington & Company silver-plate sugar or bonbon bowl belonging to the XVIII Madras Native Infantry, in the Rococo style, circa 1860, 205mm in width, 130mm in height, engraved with the badge of the XVIII Madras Native Infantry and battle honour ‘Ava’, possibly the only piece in existence as in 1864 the regiment was disbanded for misconduct and erased from the books of the Madras Presidency, good condition for age £150-£200 --- In 1863, it was found when on examining the cash chest of the Military Pay Office at the station of Cannanore, that a considerable sum had been extracted. No marks of violence were noted and the robbery had been committed by the means of false keys. A pecuniary reward was issued to induce some of the perpetrators to “peach” on others to find the actual robbers. This indeed happened and the actual robbers turned out to be a sergeant and a private of the 18th who had been on guard that day. The 18th seemed incapable of investigating the affair internally and it was handed over to a Mr W. Robinson of the Madras civil police who simply didn't believe anybody. Events spiralled out of control with the first casualties being the Subahdar-Major and Native Adjutant, who with over 40 years service with the regiment, was dismissed the service with ignominy and without trial or court martial. An anonymous letter totalling 40 pages to The Examiner, London relates the full story and includes Mr Robinson's findings. The anger felt in Madras is best expressed in the last paragraph of the letter: ‘The Commander-in-Chief's order has converted every Corps in the Madras Army into a Penitentiary and the stigma thus inflicted will become indelible unless steps are taken to remove it. The Madras Army produced Clive, it won Assaye – it was loyal in 1857 when disloyalty would have been our ruin. It is now threatened with intolerable disgrace, not because it has ceased to deserve well of England but because England has placed it under the command of a man incapable by his own showing of discriminating between allegation and proof... It is for the reader to say whether the appeal is unwarranted, the prayer unreasonable.’
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteThe mounted group of eight miniature dress medals worn by the Great War fighter Ace W. G. ‘Billy’ Barker, VC., D.S.O. and Bar, M.C. and Two Bars, Canadian Mounted Rifles, Royal Flying Corps, and Royal Canadian Air Force, who with three foreign decorations and three Mentioned in Despatches, is the most decorated serviceman in the history of Canada Victoria Cross; Distinguished Service Order, gilt and enamel, with Second Award Bar and integral top riband bar, lacking central medallions; Military Cross, G.V.R., with unofficial Second Award Bar, suspension broken and cross unofficially re-affixed; British War and Victory Medals; France, Third Republic, Croix de Guerre, bronze, reverse dated 1914-1918, mounted as originally worn on a J. R. Gaunt, Montreal, riband bar, light traces of adhesive to reverse, generally very fine (6) £1,800-£2,200 --- Provenance: Donated by the recipient’s family to Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame Museum. A letter written in August 1995 by Captain Jack Boddington, Curator of Honours at the Museum, states: ‘When received the group of miniature medals was in damaged condition (DSO centre missing and MC suspender broken) and incomplete when compared to Barker’s full sized group, and was therefore relinquished by the Hall of Fame. The Hall Curator has studied the group and has come to the conclusion that when additional medals were to be added (about 1919-20) the damaged condition caused the group to be left as is, and another full group assembled for use by Barker.’ V.C. London Gazette 30 November 1918: ‘On the morning of the 27 October 1918, this officer observed an enemy two-seater over the Foret de Mormal. He attacked this machine and after a short burst it broke up in the air. At the same time a Fokker biplane attacked him, and he was wounded in the right thigh, but managed, despite this, to shoot down the enemy aeroplane in flames. He then found himself in the middle of a large formation of Fokkers who attacked him from all directions, and was again severely wounded in the left thigh, but succeeded in driving down two of the enemy in a spin. He lost consciousness after that, and his machine fell out of control. On recovery, he found himself being again attacked heavily by a large formation, and singling out one machine he deliberately charged and drove it down in flames. During this fight his left elbow was shattered and he again fainted, and on regaining consciousness he found himself still being attacked, but notwithstanding that he was now severely wounded in both legs and his left arm shattered, he dived on the nearest machine and shot it down in flames. Being greatly exhausted, he dived out of the fight to regain our lines, but was met by another formation, which attacked and endeavoured to cut him off, but after a hard fight he succeeded in breaking up this formation and reached our lines, where he crashed on landing. This combat, in which Major Barker destroyed four enemy machines (three of them in flames), brought his total successes to fifty enemy machines destroyed, and is a notable example of the exceptional bravery and disregard of danger which this very gallant officer has always displayed throughout his distinguished career.’ William George ‘Billy’ Barker was born at Dauphin, Manitoba, on 3 November 1894 and attested for the Manitoba Regiment on 1 November 1914, and served on attachment with the Royal Air Force. ‘The value of his services may be measured by the number of decorations and ‘Mentions’ he received - no fewer than twelve - including the Victoria Cross, and French and Italian ones. He began by obtaining the Military Cross for contact patrol at the capture of Beaumont Hamel on 20 November 1916. At the capture of Bullecourt he obtained a Bar to the Military Cross on 9 April 1917, again for contact patrol. He then received the Companionship of the Distinguished Service Order, for destroying enemy aircraft on 5 January 1918. He was awarded a Second Bar to the Military Cross, for destroying enemy aircraft on 24 April 1918; a Bar to the Distinguished Service Order for destroying enemy aircraft on the Western Front, 26 May 1918; the French Croix de Guerre; and the Italian Bronze and Silver Medals for valour for destroying aircraft on the Italian Front. This magnificent record was crowned by the award of the Victoria Cross. He was also three times Mentioned in Despatches.’ (The V.C. and the D.S.O. refers). Barker returned to Canada after the War as Canada’s most decorated serviceman: his ‘haul’ of six British gallantry medals put him level with Mick Manncok and James McCudden, but with his three foreign medals and three Mentions in Despatches, he received a total of 12 awards for gallantry. He was killed in a demonstration flight for the R.C.A.F. at Ottawa on 12 March 1930, aged 35; over 50,000 spectators lined the streets of Toronto for his funeral. Sold together with a signed photograph of the recipient; and an autograph album page signed by the recipient (and several other notable personalities, including the Antarctic explorer Thomas Orde-Lees; the sculptor Kathleen Scott (the widow of Captain Robert Scott, of Antarctic fame); the actor Leslie Faber; the pioneering aviator Herbert G. Brackley; and the Russian Princess Nina and Xenia). Note: Despite being entitled to the 1914-15 Star, for some reason Barker never never wore it, with contemporary photographs of the recipient showing it missing from his chest. it was only after the recipient’s death that his widow, Jean, applied for the Star, prior to donating his medals to the Canadian War Museum.
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteThe group of six miniature dress medals worn by Lieutenant-Colonel J. M. H. Hailes, Royal Artillery Distinguished Service Order, G.VI.R. [sic], silver-gilt and enamel, with integral top riband bar; 1939-45 Star; War Medal 1939-45; General Service 1918-62, 2 clasps, Palestine 1945-48, Malaya, with M.I.D. oak leaf; Korea 1950-53, 1st issue; U.N. Korea 1950-54, mounted as worn, generally very fine and better (6) £200-£300 --- D.S.O. London Gazette 24 April 1953: ‘In recognition of gallant and distinguished flying services in Korea’. The original recommendation states: ‘Major Hailes has been in command of 1903 Air OP Flight RAF since July 1952. He joined the Flight at a time when two pilots had been shot down and two others had changed. There was therefore concern at the possibility of the operational efficiency of the Flight dropping considerably. In the event this did not happen and, in fact, the reverse was the case as the Flight went from strength to strength. The credit for this rests entirely with Major Hailes. From the very outset he was complete master of the situation and displayed leadership of the highest order in all spheres but most particularly from the operational aspect. He himself did far more flying than his duties as Flight Commander called for and it was characteristic of his him that he would always use the most doubtful aircraft leaving the others for the remaining pilots. His magnificent example, efficiency and courage during this difficult period was a great inspiration to the more experienced pilots and filled the younger ones with unshakeable confidence. While going to great pains to train his younger pilots he carried, at the same time, an even greater share of the operational sorties than would have been his in a normal situation. He has personally flown 125 sorties and conducted 166 shoots with guns of the Divisional and Corps artillery. In doing this he has been responsible for inflicting many casualties of both men and equipment on the enemy. The whole Division has the greatest respect and admiration for the Air OP Flight and this is a direct result of the magnificent leadership, courage and conscientiousness consistently displayed by Major Hailes throughout the period. His work in all spheres has been far above what one would expect in the normal line of duty and I recommend services of such a high order be recognised in the form of an appropriate award.’ M.I.D. London Gazette 7 January 1949 (Palestine) ‘In recognition of gallant and distinguished service in Palestine during the period 27 March to 26 September 1947.’ M.I.D. London Gazette 27 April 1951: ‘In recognition of gallant and distinguished service in Malaya during the period 1 July to 31 December 1950.’ John Martin Hunter ‘Jack’ Hailes was born on 27 January 1920 in Maymyo, a pleasant hill station in central Burma where, in the early 1920’s, George Orwell served as Assistant District Superintendent of Police. As a young boy he lived in Mandalay, where his father was a District Superintendent of Railways. He was educated at Cheltenham College, his father’s alma mater. As war approached, Hailes decided to join the regular army and entered the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich in January 1939. As war became inevitable, the pace of his training was accelerated and he was sent to 122 Officer Cadet Training Unit in August. He was commissioned Second Lieutenant, Royal Artillery, on 9 December 1939, with regimental seniority from 4 November 1939, and was posted as a Troop Commander to 51st Anti-tank Regiment, 51st (Highland) Division, which landed in France in January 1940 to join the British Expeditionary Force. The Battle of France On 19 April 1940 the 51st Division was detached from the rest of the B.E.F. It was put under French command and moved to a section of the Franco-German frontier just south of Luxembourg and in front of one of the most powerful and impressive showpiece underground fortresses of the Maginot Line, the Ouvrage Hackenburg, which had been inspected by King George VI. The intent was to stiffen Allied defences at the northern end of the Maginot Line in case of a German attack on the western front during the invasion of Norway. France had briefly invaded German Saar in this sector in September 1940 when its ally Poland was attacked. Since Norway was now under German attack, the French High Command deemed it prudent to anticipate possible enemy action on the Western Front. The Germans did not oblige the French generals by attacking their Maginot defence works. They simply outflanked them and by the end of May had trapped the entire Allied northern forces in the Dunkirk beachhead. Meanwhile, the French desperately tried to form a new defence line along the River Somme in Picardy. Fortress Hackenburg was harassed by German forces but never directly attacked. The 51st Division was withdrawn from Lorraine and moved by train and road to Picardy. It saw much action assisting the French in their futile attempts to repulse the Germans from the Somme bridgeheads at Abbeville. After further clashes at Huchenneville, the Division was reduced to half its fighting strength by 6 June and was desperately short of supplies, especially ammunition. The only remaining option was evacuation by sea. 154 Brigade was rescued from Le Havre and Cherbourg but the rest of the Division was encircled. The Royal Navy landed at the small port of St Valery-en-Caux near Dieppe on 10 June to try to snatch as many men as possible. Unfortunately, the retreat of 51th Division to the coast had been held up, and a thick fog descended during the night of 11-12 which made it too risky for ships to enter and leave the port. All artillery ammunition had run out and the Division was forced to surrender to overwhelming German forces on 12 June. Hailes joined some 10,000 men who were marched off to prisoner-of-war camps in the Reich. Hailes was promoted to Lieutenant on 9 June 1941 and remained a Prisoner of War in various camps in Poland, Germany and Austria until 13 April 1945. After his return to England, Hailes was assigned to a number of refresher courses and training appointments to prepare him for his promotion to Captain on 1 July 1946. Northern Italy, Egypt, Palestine and Malaya Early in 1946 Hailes decided that he wished to become a Royal Artillery Air Observer. The tethered kite balloons of the Great War had been very effective in acquiring targets far behind the frontlines and directing artillery to neutralise them, but balloons were useless for mobile warfare. They were replaced by small light aircraft, fitted with radios. Controlling artillery from the air was a specialised and technical skill, which the RAF had no interest in developing. However, since the days of Trenchard, the RAF hierarchy had insisted that anything that flew ‘belonged to them’. The agreed compromise was that the Air Observation Post (AOP) units themselves were part of the RAF, as were the aircraft and the more skilled members of the ground crew. The artillery would provide all the observers, and the non-technical ground staff. To be an air observer, Hailes had first to learn to fly a...
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteFive: Regulating Petty Officer H. Penfold, Royal Navy, who served for most of the Great War in the battleship Inflexible and was awarded the Russian Medal of St George for services at the Battle of Jutland 1914-15 Star (160468 H. Penfold. Sh. Cpl. 1, R.N.); British War and Victory Medals (160468 H. Penfold. Sh. Cpl. 1. R.N.); Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., G.V.R., 1st issue (160468 Hugh Penfold, Sh. Cpl. 1Cl., H.M.S. Osea.); Russia, Empire, Medal of St George, 4th Class, silver, reverse officially numbered ‘1273102’, very fine (5) £400-£500 --- Hugh Penfold was born at Pulborough, Sussex, on 22 December 1875, and joined the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class on 29 April 1891, a farm labourer by trade. By February 1900 he had achieved Petty Officer status, becoming P.O. 1st Class in July 1901. He became a Ship’s Corporal 2nd Class in September 1901, and was advanced to Ship’s Corporal 1st Class in January 1903. In that rate he joined the battleship Inflexible on 5 November 1912, and served in her throughout the war until 16 June 1918, seeing action in the Falkland Islands 8 December 1914, the Dardanelles 1915, and the battle of Jutland 31 May 1916. He was awarded the silver Medal of St George for his services at Jutland (ADM 116/1493 refers). After leaving Inflexible he joined H.M.S. Osea, the Coastal Motor Boat base on Osea Island, Clacton on Sea, on 20 August 1918, and received his L.S. & G.C. medal there on 18 January 1919. Promoted to Regulating Petty Officer 1st Class on 26 April 1919, he was discharged to shore and pension on 30 August 1919.
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteFive: Lieutenant-Commander R. F. Woods, Royal Naval Reserve 1914-15 Star (Lieut. R. F. Woods. R.N.R.); British War and Victory Medals (Lt. Commr. R. F. Woods. R.N.R.); Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Decoration, G.V.R., hallmarked London 1918; Greece, Kingdom, Order of George I, Bronze Merit Cross, this last mounted with the group to represent his entitlement to an officer’s badge of the Order, nearly extremely fine (5) £140-£180 --- R.N.R. Decoration awarded on 14 May 1919. Order of George I, Officer, conferred by H.M. King of the Hellenes, London Gazette 11 April 1919: awarded for services to Greece by facilitating the work of Greek officials who are in charge of commercial affairs. Richard Frederick Woods was born at Brentwood, Essex, on 28 September 1880, and was appointed Midshipman in the Royal Naval Reserve on 23 March 1898; Acting Sub-Lieutenant, 4 April 1904; Sub-Lieutenant, 12 December 1906; Lieutenant, 18 October 1909; Lieutenant-Commander, 18 October 1917; Commander (Retired) 4 April 1921. He was placed on the Retired List (medically unfit) from 3 October 1919, and died in Greece on 30 November 1923 at the Hospital Syra, Grecian Archipelago.
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteFive: Seaman J. T. Edwards, Royal Naval Reserve, who served in H.M.S. Jupiter during the icebreaking mission to Archangel in February 1915 1914-15 Star (C.3303, J. T. Edwards. Smn. R.N.R.); British War and Victory Medals (3303C. J. T. Edwards. Smn. R.N.R.); Royal Naval Reserve L.S. & G.C., G.V.R., 1st issue (C.3303. J. T. Edwards. Sea. R.N.R.); Russia, Empire, Medal for Zeal, silver (C.3303. J. T. Edwards, Sea. R.N.R. H.M.S. Jupiter.) impressed naming, fitted with adapted silver bar suspension attached to original integral loop, good very fine (5) £600-£800 --- James Thomas Edwards was born at Trefechan, Aberystwyth, Cardigan, on 12 April 1878. After training in H.M.S. Spartan in October-December 1903, Edwards enrolled in the Aberystwith District Royal Naval Reserve on 1 January 1904. He re-enrolled on 19 January 1914, and was called up for service in H.M.S. Jupiter on 2 August 1914. In January 1915 the Admiralty received a request for assistance from the Russian Government, the latter’s icebreaker used to keep open the passage to Archangel in the White Sea having broken down. In response the Royal Navy sent out the Tyne Guard Ship H.M.S. Jupiter, an old Majestic-class battleship. She departed for Archangel in February 1915, freeing en-route a number of vessels stuck in the ice, occasionally by using explosive charges. She, too, sometimes became icebound, but still managed to make a major impression on the problem, improving the safe passage of numerous vessels, many of them laden with highly important war materials, among them the S.S. Thracia. The latter was taken in tow after the use of explosive charges to free her. Throughout these operations it was not unusual for the temperature to fall as low as minus 20 degrees, a hard test indeed on the morale and well being of the Jupiter’s crew. Her mission completed by May 1915, the Tzar expressed his gratitude by the presentation of a variety of Russian Honours and Awards to her crew. Edwards transferred to Vivid on 20 May 1915, and saw further service at sea in Endymion from June 1915 to December 1917, when he returned to Vivid for the remainder of the war. He was demobilised on 22 May 1919. Sold with copied record of service which confirms Russian Medal for Zeal, and other research including a copied page from The Cambrian News with photographs of ‘Aberystwyth Patriots’ including Seaman James T. Edwards, ‘who has received the Russian Medal for service in the White Sea on H.M.S. Jupiter in 1914 (sic).’
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteSweden, Kingdom, King Charles XIV John’s Medal 1854, 31mm, silver, the obverse with bust of King Charles XIV (Bernadotte) with the year dates ‘MDCCCXIII-MDCCCXIV’ below, the reverse with an equestrian figure of the King, with ‘DEN IV NOVEMBER MDCCCLIV’ in exergue, with replacement ring suspension, good very fine £140-£180 --- Presented by the King to officers who participated in the wars in Germany and Norway 1813-14.
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteA United States of America Second War Silver Star group of eight awarded to Commander J. F. Walling, United States Navy, who was posted Missing in Action, presumed killed, when his Submarine the U.S.S. Snook failed to return from a War patrol in the South China Sea, May 1945 United States of America, Silver Star, two-piece construction, with silver star placed upon a silver gilt star-shaped base, unnamed as issued; Purple Heart, two-piece construction, bronze gilt and enamel, reverse officially named ‘Comdr. Jon F. Walling USN’; China Service Medal, bronze; American Defense Service Medal, 1 clasp, Fleet, bronze; American Campaign Medal 1941-45, bronze; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal 1941-45, bronze; with two bronze star emblems on riband; World War II Victory Medal, bronze; United States Navy Expert Rifleman Medal, bronze, all with original ribands with brooch pinback mounting); together with the recipient’s Submarine Combat Patrol Insignia with three stars, silver; and a Submarine Service Badge, bronze, nearly extremely fine (8) £1,000-£1,400 --- Silver Star awarded 30 January 1943. The Citation states: ‘For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action in the line of his profession as Diving Officer of the U.S.S. Flying Fish (SS-229), during successful attacks against one enemy Kongo Class battleship and one enemy patrol vessel. One attack against a patrol vessel was followed by a severe enemy counter-attack during which the Flying Fish was severely damaged. With a badly leaking after trim tank, with an up angle of eighteen degrees and with depth charges exploding very close aboard, it was only by his skill and calm courage that proper depth was maintained and the boat was capable of returning to port. His courage and skill were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.’ Submarine Combat Patrol Insignia awarded posthumously. The Citation states: ‘The U.S.S. Snook, on an offensive war patrol in confined and heavily patrolled enemy waters, failed to return as scheduled. Although there is no information as to the number of successful attacks delivered against the enemy during during this patrol, this vessel has continuously distinguished herself since her first appearance in enemy waters by her successful and relentless attacks against the enemy and it is believed the Snook undoubtedly was pursuing just such bold and aggressive tactics up until the time she was declared missing. As Commanding Officer of the U.S.S. Snook, Commander John Franklin Walling’s skill, daring, courageous leadership and unfailing devotion to duty contributed directly to his ship's many successful attacks against the enemy. The Commander Submarine Force, Pacific Fleet, forwards this commendation in recognition of the splendid performance of duty, which was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.’ John Franklin Walling was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on 2 February 1912, his hometown listed as Nantucket, Massachusetts. He was appointed a Midshipman on 15 June 1931, and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis as an Ensign, U.S. Navy, on 6 June 1935. After service in the cruiser U.S.S. Tuscaloosa from 28 June 1935 to 1 June 1937, he transferred to the Submarines, and was assigned to U.S.S. S-37 on 12 November 1937. Advanced Lieutenant (Junior Grade) on 6 June 1938, and qualified for command of submarines on 21 August 1940. Walling served initially during the Second World War in the U.S. Submarine Flying Fish from 10 December 1941, and received a Commendation on 19 October 1942 for his efforts while Engineering Officer of the Flying Fish: ‘The U.S.S. Flying Fish sank a 450 ton patrol vessel and seriously damaged a 29,300 ton enemy battleship, during the second patrol conducted by that submarine in enemy waters. This thirty-four day war patrol was made in an area adjacent to a strongly fortified, major enemy island base in the Pacific area, where antisubmarine measures were persistent and effective. After each submarine attack, aggressively, courageously and effectively consummated by the commanding officer, enemy depth charge and bombing attacks were made on the submarine. Although the Flying Fish was damaged by these attacks, the commanding officer dauntlessly patrolled his station until forced to effect jury repairs and return to a friendly base. As the Engineering Officer of the U.S.S. Flying Fish, your performance of duty was an important and material contribution to the success of this mission. The Commander Submarine Force, Pacific Fleet, is pleased to commend you on your splendid performance of duty.’ Advanced Lieutenant, Walling would earn a further Commendation, and the Silver Star, for the first attack on a Japanese Kongo class battleship on 28 August 1942, his Commendation, dated 12 January 1943 stating: ‘On the third war patrol conducted by the U.S.S. Flying Fish, she attacked and sank two Japanese destroyers of 1,368 tons each, both of these attacks being aggressively, courageously, and effectively conducted. As Executive Officer of the U.S.S. Flying Fish, your performance of duty was an important and material contribution to the success of this mission. The Commander Task Force Forty-two is pleased to commend you on you splendid performance of duty.’ Appointed Lieutenant-Commander on 1 May 1943, Walling was given the command of the U.S.S. Marlin from this date, and was advanced Commander on 1 March 1944. On 5 December 1944 he assumed command of the U.S.S. Snook and commanded her during her eight War patrol in the Pacific, 25 December 1944 to 17 February 1945. Departing for her ninth War patrol on 25 March 1945, she left Guam with orders to patrol Luzon Strait, the South China Coast, and waters along the east coast of Hainan. Her last radio message was near the Luzon Strait on 8 April 1945, and the submarine was never heard from again, the circumstances of her loss never determined. Japanese records of anti-submarine attacks do not account for her sinking and she had been fully informed of the location of minefields in the Sakeshima Gunto area. It is possible that she was the victim of a Japanese submarine. Five Japanese submarines were lost in waters of the Nansei Shoto during April and May of 1945, therefore, one of these may have sunk the Snook before its own sinking by United States warships. The official statement from the United States Navy states: ‘Presumptive 6 May 1946 - Officially determined to Missing in Action as of 5 May 1945, having served aboard the U.S.S. Snook when that submarine failed to return from a war patrol in the South China Sea. In compliance with Section 5 of Public Law 430, as amended, death is presumed to have occurred on the 6th day of May 1946.’ In all, 84 of the crew perished. Walling has no known grave and is commemorated on the Walls of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Philippines. Sold together with a Commendation Letter for the Submarine Combat Patrol Insignia; the recipient’s rank insignia shoulder boards; three embroidered Commemorative Patches (’Fish’; ‘U.S.S. Flying Fish’; and ‘U.S.S. ...
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteFour: Chief Petty Officer J. B. McIndoe, Clyde Division, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, who served at Gallipoli and in France with the Howe Battalion, Royal Naval Division 1914-15 Star (C.3-506, J. B. Mc Indoe, C.P.O., R.N.V.R.); British War and Victory Medals (C.3-506 J. B. Mc Indoe. C.P.O. R.N.V.R.); Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve L.S. & G.C., G.V.R., 1st issue (3/506. J. B. McIndoe. C.P.O. Clyde Div. R.N.V.R.) nearly extremely fine (4) £80-£100 --- James Brown McIndoe was born at Grebe, Greenock, on 20 June 1886. He joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve in April 1904, becoming Able Seaman in 1909, Leading Seaman in 1914, Petty Officer in 1915, and Chief Petty Officer in November 1915. Called up to R.N.V.R. Headquarters at Glasgow on 31 October 1914, he was posted to Victory for Royal Naval Division the following day. He joined the Howe Battalion at Gallipoli on 18 July 1915, and from there went to France on 1916, disembarking at Marseilles on 12 May. His L.S. & G.C. medal was issued on 10 June 1918. Sold with R.N.D. record card and confirmation of medals.
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteSold by Order of the Family The Governor-General’s Uniform worn by the Rt. Hon. Sir George Stanley, G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E., C.M.G., who served as Governor of Madras from 1929-34 and Acting Viceroy of India in 1934 Comprising a Court Dress coatee this in navy cloth lavishly decorated with panels of black velvet bearing gold wire leaf and sequin decoration, front, back, tails, collar, cuffs; all large size gilt buttons are present and feature the mounted post 1901 Royal Arms, these all by ‘Gaunt & Son Ltd. London’. Tailored by ‘Meyer & Mortimer 36 Conduit St. London’, for ‘Col. Hon. G. F. Stanley’, order number 9494, dated 1929. This garment would have been worn with ivory coloured wool breeches, long silk hose and court pumps. A Dress coatee for other occasions, again of navy cloth, the collar, cuffs and ‘pockets’ (back & front) again decorated with black velvet panels bearing gold wire and sequin leaf decoration, the large size gilt buttons bear as a mount the Imperially crowned Garter enclosing the Royal Arms (Jennens & Co. London). A pair of Dress trousers in navy blue cloth, the seams decorated with full length broad acorn and scallop pattern gold lace (6.4cm). Nine stiffened white linen collars and a black crepe mourning arm band, four ivory silk ‘knots’ for attachment to the metal ‘collar’ as a G.C.S.I., the whole contained in a japanned metal named carrying trunk, the gilt lace panels are in excellent condition overall, there are only minute moth holes to the Court coatee, slightly more damage to the Dress coat and trousers, small areas of surface moth damage, the gold lace trouser seams in very good condition but part detached (lot) £1,400-£1,800 --- The Rt. Hon. Sir George Frederick Stanley was born on 14 October 1872, the sixth son of the 16th Earl of Derby, and was educated at Wellington College and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. He was commissioned into the Royal Horse Artillery in 1893, and served during the Boer War and later during the Great War, where he was twice Mentioned in Despatches and was appointed a Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George. He served as a Conservative MP for Preston from 1910 to 1922, and for Willesden East from 1924 to 1929, and held various junior ministerial appointments during his time in Parliament, being appointed a Privy Councillor 1927. Stanley was appointed Governor of Madras in 1929, and was created a Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire on his appointment. He briefly served as acting Viceroy of India in 1934, and was created a Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India. He retired in November 1934, and died on 1 July 1938. A portrait of the recipient, by Sir Oswald Birley, wearing this uniform together with the Mantle of the Order of the Star of India, is on display in the Madras Mueum. Please note that this lot is not suitable for shipping, but can be hand delivered within mainland Britain by prior arrangement with Christopher Mellor-Hill.
In order to view full details and any additional images for this lot as well as place advanced bids or bid live, please click here to view this lot on the auctioneer's websiteGreat War tunic ribbons attributed to Captain P. H. Hansen, V.C., D.S.O., M.C., 6th Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment. Comprising Victoria Cross, with the miniature cross emblem, Distinguished Service Order, Military Cross, 1914-15 Star, and French Croix de Guerre, with bronze star, all sewn to a buckram reinforcing strip, very fine £100-£150 --- V.C. London Gazette 1 October 1915: ‘For most conspicuous bravery on 9th August, 1915, at Yilghin Burnu, Gallipoli Peninsula. After the second capture of the “Green Knoll” his Battalion was forced to retire, leaving some wounded behind, owing to the intense heat from the scrub which had been set on fire. When the retirement was effected Captain Hansen, with three or four volunteers, on his own initiative, dashed forward several times some 300 to 400 yards over open ground into the scrub under a terrific fire, and succeeded in rescuing from inevitable death by burning no less than six wounded men.’ D.S.O. London Gazette 16 September 1918: ‘For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He volunteered to carry out a reconnaissance, and brought back valuable information obtained under heavy artillery and machine-gun fire, which had been unprocurable from other sources. Throughout he did fine work.’ M.C. London Gazette 29 October 1915: ‘For conspicuous gallantry at Suvla Bay on 9th September, 1915. He made a reconnaissance of the coast, stripping himself and carrying only a revolver and a blanket for disguise. He swam and scrambled over rocks, which severely cut and bruised him, and obtained some valuable information and located a gun which was causing much damage. The undertaking was hazardous. On one occasion he met a patrol of 12 Turks who did not see him, and later a single Turk whom he killed. He returned to our lines in a state of great exhaustion.’
Indistinctly finely painted floral watercolours, in matching thing frames,Both w/c's 24 x 19 cmPlease note - Both w/c's have John Magee gallery labels verso who were leading art dealers in the city throughout the first three quarters of the 20thC & who were based at, 4 Donegal Square West, Belfast
Two Maling lustre ceramic items, to include a small milk jug with inscription 'ladies all pray make free and tell me how you like your tea', and a bowl, depicting a ship and bearing inscription 'be wise then Christian while you may for swiftly time is flying the thoughtless man who laughs today tomorrow will be dying', the milk jug 8cm high, the bowl 18cm diameter.
Twelve Beswick Beatrix Potter figures - Diggory Diggory Delvet, Timmy Tiptoes, Pilgling Bland, Cousin Ribby, Mr Benjamin Bunny, Tom Kitten, Timmy Willlie, Tommy Brock, Samuel Whiskers, Little Black Rabbit, Mr Alderman Ptolemy and The Old Woman who lived in a Shoe "Knitting" plus Three Royal Albert figures - Mr Jackson, And this Pig had none and Hunca Munca Sweeping (15)Condition report: Timmy Willie has crazing to glaze, otherwise all figures and in good condition
Collection of 45 music papers including Disc, New Musical Express, Record Mirror etc, great covers to include, The Who, Small Faces, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix etc. 1966-1971Condition report: Overall condition is good. As seen in the images, some of the papers have been folded in half and have a crease line down the middle. On average no pages appear to be missing or cut out.
Fine Victorian 1887 Pattern Heavy Cavalry Officers' sword by Henry Wilkinson ( No 29135) made for Captain William Henry Rycroft 7th Dragoon Guards in April 1888 - who became Major-General Sir William Henry Rycroft K.C.B.,K.C.M.G.(1861-1925). The sword with honey suckle hilt, etched fullered blade with Rycroft crest and W.H.R. Initials, crowned V.R. Cipher and scrolls, retaining most original polish in steel scabbard. Rycroft had a distinguished career and fought in numerous campaigns including Egypt 1884, Sudan 1887, India Frontier Expedition 1897, Commanded 11th Hussars in South Africa 1900-1901, Somaliland 1903, Staff Officer First World War (mentioned in despatches seven times), Black Sea Command, Irish Command and finely Governor of British North Borneo . Sold with Wilkinson archive extract and Peter Dale Ltd information card and other records. A fine sword with a fascinating history.
Three Beswick Beatrix Potter figures - Jemima Puddleduck, Chippy Hackee and Mrs Rabbit and Bunnies, five Royal Albert Beatrix Potter figures - Benjamin Bunny Sat on a Bank, Lady Mouse made a Curtsy, The Old Woman who lived in a Shoe knitting, Mr Jackson and Jemima Puddle-Duck Made a Feather Nest, plus nine Royal Doulton Brambly Hedge figures - Lily Weaver, Basil, Mr Apple, Old Mrs Eyebright, Dusty Dogwood, Lady Woodmouse, Poppy Eyebright, Mrs Crustybread and Old VoleCondition report: Lady Mouse has a nick on the footrim. Mr. Jackson has a nick to his jacket. Old Mrs. Eyebright has a chip to her hat and some crazing to the base. Lily Weaver has a small ear chip. Otherwise good condition.
Collection Beat instrumental magazine, 1968 - 1973, covers to include The Who, Led Zeppelin etc. 47 issuesCondition report: Overall the magazines appear to be in good condition with no pages missing or pieces cut out. A few small bends to some of the corners and wear to some of the spines but nothing major.
C. AD 618-907. Tang Dynasty. Terracotta head of a court lady. This beautiful ceramic depicts the full face of a well-off court lady with delicate facial features modelled in careful detail and an extremely elaborate hairdo. Court attendants served an inportant role in the management of the imperial palace’s private quarters. During the Tang period service as a court attendant conveyed high status to the women who had served and increased their marriage prospects. Good condition.Size: L:210mm / W:100mm ; 1kg; Provenance: Private collection of an Oxford professional, formed in the 1970s-1990s on the UK art market.
ca. 1100 AD. Seljuk. This lot of beautiful medieval Islamic period glazed lamps were probably made under the Seljuk dynasty. Three of these lamps have a globular bodies, projecting spouts, and D-shaped handle with a thumb rest. The Fourth and fifth lamps have beautiful domed, openwork bodyies and a D-shaped handles with a projecting thumb-rests. The Seljuks were a Turkic dynasty who swept out of Central Asia in the early 10th century and conquered an enormous expanse, covering most or all of present-day Turkmenistan, Iran, Iraq, Turkey and beyond. After inflicting crushing military defeats on a host of rivals, the most famous of which was perhaps that against the Byzantines at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, the Seljuk sultans became major patrons of art and architecture. This lamp is a beautiful example of Seljuk art and reminds the viewer of Medieval Islamic folklore surrounding genies entrapped in lamps. Excellent condition.Size: L:Set of 5: 92 - 113mm / W:150 - 165mm ; 1.22kg; Provenance: From an old London collection formed in the 1990s.
C. AD 618-907. Tang Dynasty. Two full-figured court attendant terracottas. Both of these court attendant ladies are posed with both hands held up in front of the torso, one bare and one covered by a long sleeve. Both figures figure are presented wearing a long vest, tied to the waist, and an under layer with long sleeves. Each lady is highly detailed with her robes picked out in pastel tones, her upturned shoes a deep black and her hair arranged in an elaborate double bun updo. Court attendants served an inportant role in the management of the imperial palace’s private quarters. During the Tang period service as a court attendant conveyed high status to the women who had served and increased their marriage prospects. This piece has been precisely dated having undergone Thermo Luminescence analysis by Ralf Kotalla, an independent German Laboratory. The samples collected date the piece to the period reflected in its style, whilst also showing no modern trace elements. Its TL certificate with full report will also accompany this lot. Good condition.Size: L:Set of 2: 490mm / W:190mm ; 7.25kg; Provenance; Property of a Central London gallery, acquired from an established English collection; formerly acquired in Hong Kong, Hollywood Antique Center in the early 1990s.
ca. 1100 AD. Seljuk. This lot of beautiful medieval Islamic period glazed lamps were probably made under the Seljuk dynasty. Five lamps with a globular bodies, projecting spouts, and D-shaped handles with a thumb rest. The Seljuks were a Turkic dynasty who swept out of Central Asia in the early 10th century and conquered an enormous expanse, covering most or all of present-day Turkmenistan, Iran, Iraq, Turkey and beyond. After inflicting crushing military defeats on a host of rivals, the most famous of which was perhaps that against the Byzantines at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, the Seljuk sultans became major patrons of art and architecture. This lamp is a beautiful example of Seljuk art and reminds the viewer of Medieval Islamic folklore surrounding genies entrapped in lamps. Excellent condition.Size: L:Set of 5: 60 - 95mm / W:147 - 185mm ; 1.26kg; Provenance: Private London collection, formed since the 1970s on the UK and European art market.
100-300 AD. Gandharan. Schist figure of a bodhisattva, backed by a halo, who sits, gazing serenely into the distance. He is dressed in an elegant sanghati or mantle and wears elaborate jewellery, including a beaded necklace, armbands and bracelets, reflecting his spiritual wealth. His identity as a bodhisattva is established by the presence of an incised urna on his forehead, perhaps originally ornamented with a jewel. Together, these details create a majestic impression of a bodhisattva or individual who is able to reach nirvana (enlightenment) but delays doing so through compassion for suffering beings. In one hand he holds fruit, perhaps to be identified as pomegranates, which symbolise fertility in Buddhist tradition. Gandhara was an ancient region in the Peshawar basin in the north-west of the ancient Indian subcontinent. The Kushan period (c. 75-451 AD) of Gandharan art, to which this schist figure belongs, was the golden age of artistic production in the area. For further information on Gandharan art, see Jongeward, D. 2019, Buddhist Art Of Gandhara in the Ashmolean Museum. Oxford, Oxford University Press. Excellent condition; Size: L:540mm / W:330mm ; 31.5kg; Provenance; Property of a Central London gallery, obtained from a private London collection (M.A); formerly acquired on the UK art market in the 1970s and 80s.
100-300 AD. Gandharan. A giant schist figure of a bodhisattva, backed by a halo, who stands, gazing serenely into the distance. He is dressed in an elegant sanghati or mantle and wears elaborate jewellery, including a beaded necklace, armbands and bracelets, reflecting his spiritual wealth. His identity as a bodhisattva is established by the presence of an incised urna on his forehead, perhaps originally ornamented with a jewel. In one hand he holds fruit, perhaps to be identified as pomegranates, which symbolise fertility in Buddhist tradition Together, these details create a majestic impression of a bodhisattva or individual who is able to reach nirvana (enlightenment) but delays doing so through compassion for suffering beings. Gandhara was an ancient region in the Peshawar basin in the north-west of the ancient Indian subcontinent. The Kushan period (c. 75-451 AD) of Gandharan art, to which this figure belongs, was the golden age of artistic production in the area. For further discussion on Gandharan art, see Jongeward, D. 2019, Buddhist Art Of Gandhara in the Ashmolean Museum. Oxford, Oxford University Press. Good condition; some repairs.Size: L:1100mm / W:400mm ; 65+kg; Provenance; Property of a Central London gallery, obtained from a private London collection (M.A); formerly acquired on the UK art market in the 1970s and 80s.
100-300 AD. Gandharan. A giant schist figure of a bodhisattva, backed by a halo, who sits, gazing serenely into the distance. He is dressed in an elegant sanghati or mantle and wears elaborate jewellery, including a beaded necklace, armbands and bracelets, reflecting his spiritual wealth. His identity as a bodhisattva is established by the presence of an incised urna on his forehead, perhaps originally ornamented with a jewel. Together, these details create a majestic impression of a bodhisattva or individual who is able to reach nirvana (enlightenment) but delays doing so through compassion for suffering beings. In one hand he holds fruit, perhaps to be identified as pomegranates, which symbolise fertility in Buddhist tradition. Gandhara was an ancient region in the Peshawar basin in the north-west of the ancient Indian subcontinent. The Kushan period (c. 75-451 AD) of Gandharan art, to which this schist figure belongs, was the golden age of artistic production in the area. For further information on Gandharan art, see Jongeward, D. 2019, Buddhist Art Of Gandhara in the Ashmolean Museum. Oxford, Oxford University Press. Excellent condition; Size: L:740mm / W:320mm ; 50+kg; Provenance; Property of a Central London gallery, obtained from a private London collection (M.A); formerly acquired on the UK art market in the 1970s and 80s.
c. 323-31 BC. Greek Hellenistic period. A rare gold ring with a D-shaped hoop, scalloped shoulders and elliptical plate bezel bearing an engraved erotic scene. The bezel shows a male figure (right) engaged in coitus with a female figure (centre) who lies on her back, reclining against a second female figure (left). The second female figure places a crown on the head of the man. The Hellenistic period, which runs from the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC to the battle of Actium is 31 BC, was an era in which Greek-speaking peoples controlled much of the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Asia as far as present-day Afghanistan. This period saw many momentous scientific discoveries and artistic developments, including the creation of intricate jewellery, as this gorgeous piece exemplifies. This beautiful piece may have belonged to an ancient courtesan of the Hellenistic period. In order to confirm its authenticity, this piece has undergone X-Ray Fluorescence analysis by an independent Belgian Laboratory. The samples collected show the chemical composition to reflect the typical metal contents of the described period, whilst also showing no modern trace elements in the patina. Excellent condition; wearable.Size: D: 19.31mm / US: 9 3/8 / UK: S1/2; 16.2g; Provenance: Property of a professional Ancient art and jewelry expert; previously with a London gallery; initially from a private British collection formed in the 1980s.
C. 700-1100. Viking Age. Silver gilt amulet featuring a disc shape with an integral suspension loop. The central section depicts the god Odin gripping two ravens. The ravens probably represent Hugin and Munin (pronounced “HOO-gin†and “MOO-ninâ€; Old Norse Huginn and Muninn), two ravens in Norse mythology who are helping spirits of Odin, the god of knowledge, war and battle. Excellent condition; wearable. Size: L:21mm / W:20mm ; 2.4g; Provenance: Property of a North London professional; previously acquire on the UK/European art market before 2000.
700-1100 AD, Viking Age. A bronze coiled ring with ttwisted railing ends and lozenge-shaped central plate bearing a line of applied granulations, intended to evoke the form of a snake. In Norse mythology, Jormungand (pronounced “YOUR-mun-gand;†Old Norse Jörmungandr, “Great Beastâ€), also called the “Midgard Serpent,†is a snake or dragon who lives in the ocean that surrounds Midgard, the visible world. He was so enormous that his body forms a circle around the entirety of Midgard. He is one of the three children of Loki and the giantess Angrboda, along with Hel and Fenrir. Excellent condition; beautiful patina; Size: L:8 1/4mm / W:Q1/2mm ; 8.5g; Provenance: Property of a North London gentleman; previously acquire on the UK/European art market before 2000.
C. 1000-1500 AD. Crusaders period. A bronze, disk-shaped medallion with scalloped edges depicting the Virgin Mary holding an infant Jesus in an abstract, stereotyped style typical of medieval art. The Virgin Mary was one of the most important figures of medieval Christian spirituality. She served as the mediator between humanity and Christ. The Crusades were military expeditions, beginning in the late 11th century, that were organized by western European Christians in response to centuries of Muslim wars of expansion in the Holy Lands. People of all social classes took place in the Crusades, from heavily armed knights to humble peasants using improvised weapons, all in pursuit of salvation in the afterlife. This gorgeous item may once have belonged to a crusader, who carried the item as a reminder of his faith during his pious travels. Excellent condition; beautiful patina.Size: L:33mm / W:37mm ; 40.2g; Provenance: Property of a professional Ancient art and jewelry expert; previously with a London gallery; initially from a private British collection formed in the 1980s.
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