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A 5MM FINELY CONSTRUCTED MINIATURE FLINTLOCK SPORTING GUN BY ALBERT GRIFFITHS, ARMOURER SERGEANT, 2ND BATALLION 60TH ROYAL RIFLES, CIRCA 1860-80, BY TRADITION PURCHASED BY CAPTAIN, LATER FIELD MARSHALL, ROBERTS AND PRESENTED BY HIM TO THE MAKER with tapering sighted barrel etched in imitation of damascus twist, inscribed 'London' on the flat within a linear frame incorporating a sunburst, the breech inlaid with two gold lines, blued vent, engraved grooved tang, signed engraved lock fitted with cock of late form (mainspring missing), rainproof pan and roller, figured walnut half-stock with chequered grip, engraved silver mounts comprising trigger-guard incorporating an external button at the front engaging the trigger, butt-cap, fore-end cap and escutcheon and barrel bold escutcheons, German silver-tipped ramrod and ramrod-pipes: in original fitted mahogany case lined in purple velvet, together with two early photographs of the owner and correspondence regarding its provenance; together with a carved staghorn nozzle from a powder-flask, probably Black Forest, 19th century, and a sliding patchbox cover from a German wheel-lock rifle, early 18th century 8.9 cm; 3 1/2 in barrel (3) Provenance Robin Wigington Collection (1932-2002) The accompanying paperwork states that this '.....miniature rifle was made in India by my great-great-grandfather prior to.....the time of the Indian Mutiny who I believe was serving with the 2nd Batallion 60th Royal Rifles transferred from the 75th Sterlingshire Regiment.....this miniature was made for a regimental charity and was bought by a Captain Roberts who later became Field Marshall Lord Roberts.....he.....later presented it back to my ancestor.....'

A LARGE JAPANESE MEIJI PERIOD IVORY SECTIONAL OKIMONO OF A MASK SELLER, in the company of his son who bears a stringed samisen, with drums and other objects on the ground before them, 12.5in high.

EDWARD LEAR (1812-1888) A signed letter to the Hon. Augusta Bethell (Gussie), written in ink and with caricature self portrait sketch, and dated 1875. Gussie Bethell was a childhood friend of Lear's, one who he remained close to and indeed almost proposed to several times throughout his life. For more information please see 'The Jackdaws - a History of the Koe family' by Wendy Short Koe (whose grandmother was first cousin to Gussie Bethill), ISBN 0 9507542 0 X, pub. 1981

1st American Squadron Home Guard WWII Cap badge, (Brass, lugs). This was a U.S. Army Officers cap badge - but without the Presidential seal. It was worn by American Soldiers and officers who were stationed in Britain during WWII. Scarce

Jutland VC Jack Cornwell Interest - He was a young sailor who was previously with the Little Ilford Scouts and later served on the Chester, during the battle almost all the gun's crew were killed or mortally injured except Cornwell, who, although severely wounded, managed to stand up again and remain at his post for more than 15 minutes, until Chester retired from the action with only one main gun still working. A King George V School Attendance Medal named to John T. Cornwell, a small medallet, image of VC to Obverse with 'For Valour' and JTC engraved on cross, reverse named to Mrs Lily Cornwell 31 May 1917, from J.F. Avery, Little Ilford Troop, Boy Scouts, another in bronze to Mrs Alice Payne "In Gratitude" Little Ilford Troop, Boy Scouts. These awarded to Jack Cornwell VC's Mother and Sister by his Boy Scout troop leader for assistance to the troop after Jack's Death. The date 31. May 1917 is the first anniversary of his VC action. comes with an original newspaper clipping of his Mother reading his citation and working in a hospital to treat wounded sailors, with research. Excellent for both Military and Scout collectors.

RAF No.1 Dress Uniform dated 1951, as worn by one of the last RAF National Servicemen 8/1/56 - 22/12/57, the uniform belonged to a Radar Operator who served at RAF Schleswig on the Baltic coast. The uniform consists of the Jacket, trousers, jumper and collarless shirt (with detached collar). In excellent condition, size 36 jacket and 30 trousers. Including photos of the Gentleman who the uniform belonged and donated.

Lord Kames - Essay on the Principles of Morality and Natural Religion (1758 second edition). By Henry Home, Lord Kames. Contemporary calf rubbed but sound. Neatly written presentation inscription for Mary Pickering who was given the book as a prize. (1)

Imperial German WWI mounted group of three, Bavarian Medal of Merit 3rd class with crossed swords, The Kyffhäuser Medal and a WWI German Veterans Cross "Fur Treue I'm Verein" (25 years). Mounted highest decoration to lowest right to left which was the custom of Cavalry divisions who wore their medals on the right side of the tunic.

RAF-Football-Two scrap books detailing the life and careers of Thomas Hogg of Bradford who was an all round athlete playing soccer, cricket, rugby and hockey, after qualifying as a school teacher he was offered a contract after trials, to play for Bradford FC as a Professional. The second World War saw Hogg serving in the RAF reaching the rank of flying officer, Hogg's two scrap books contain many photographs and newspaper cuttings relating to his football career and war service. Also including his contract with Bradford FC, photographs of torpedo training in 1945 and even details of a useful win on Vernons football pools in 1936.

Royal Military College Sandhurst Officer Cadet D.G. Lashmar Cameronians who served in the Parachute Regiment, AAC

Middlesex Sports Medal 1927-28 E.V.H. Hudson who was a Lt. Col at the end of WWII.

*Dowson (Russell 1841 - 1914 & others). A mixed collection of thirty-eight watercolours and pencil drawings, watercolours and pencil drawings of cooastal scenery, topographical views and bucolic scenes, various sizes and condition Russell Dowson was a Landscape and coastal painter who exhibited at the Fine Art Society, The Royal Insitute for Painters in Watercolours, Royal Birmingham Society of Artists and exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1883 and 1896. This collection of watercolours which cover the Iberian peninsula, the Mediterranean, Suez and the Gulf, the Far East, Japan and the Indian ocean were compiled on a world cruise taken by Dowson between 1874 and 1876. This collection also contains drawings by Anna Enfield (who married one of the numerous Dowson family). (38)

*Dowson (Russell 1841 - 1914). Point du Garillon, Cap d'Antibes, watercolour, 28 x 37.5 cm (11 x 14.75 in) with another similar of a French provincial town Russell Dowson was a Landscape and coastal painter who exhibited at the Fine Art Society, The Royal Insitute for Painters in Watercolours, Royal Birmingham Society of Artists and exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1883 and 1896. This collection of watercolours which cover the Iberian peninsula, the Mediterranean, Suez and the Gulf, the Far East, Japan and the Indian ocean were compiled on a world cruise taken by Dowson between 1874 and 1876. (2)

*@Rosenkrantz (Arild, 1870-1964). Adoration, pastel, showing a standing male figure in a blue tunic with arms outstretched in worship before an elevated cross transfigured by light, with a lantern on the ground beside, signed lower right, 63.5 x 45.5cm (25 x 18ins), original architectural gilt frame (slight loss to upper right), with Horner Galleries, Sheffield, label on verso Baron Arild Rosenkrantz was a Danish painter, sculptor, stained glass artist and illustrator, who studied in Rome and Paris, and spent much of his working life in England. He was influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites, in particular Edward Burne-Jones, and also by William Blake, Turner and Monet. In 1894 and 1895 he travelled to New York where he started working with stained glass, carrying out work for The Decorative Stained Glass Company and Tiffany. In England he showed work in the final exhibitions of the New Gallery, the favoured gallery of Burne-Jones and his followers in the 1890s, which closed in 1909. He had many commissions, including twelve large panels for the ceiling in the dining room at Claridges Hotel in London. He made stained glass windows and bronze sculptures for a number of English churches, houses and castles, and also established himself as a portrait painter, as well as a book illustrator. Arild Rosenkrantz was a spiritual seeker throughout his life, meeting Rudolf Steiner in 1912, founder of the philosophy of anthroposophy, the connection of the human understanding with the spiritual world. This painting, in both technique and subject matter, is typical of the deeply emotive and otherworldly quality of his work. (1)

*Dowson (Russell 1841 - 1914). Fuji Sama from the Plains of Heaven, watercolour, 25.5 x 35.5 cm ( 10 x 14 in) with two other similar watercolours of Mount Fuji various sizes Russell Dowson was a Landscape and coastal painter who exhibited at the Fine Art Society, The Royal Insitute for Painters in Watercolours, Royal Birmingham Society of Artists and exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1883 and 1896. This collection of watercolours which cover the Iberian peninsula, the Mediterranean, Suez and the Gulf, the Far East, Japan and the Indian ocean were compiled on a world cruise taken by Dowson between 1874 and 1876. (3)

*Dowson (Russell 1841 - 1914). A collection of thirty-eight watercolours (on thirty-four sheets of card), watercolours of coastal seascapes of Spian, Malta, Suez, Ceylon, India, Indonesia and Japan, including two portraits of Japanese natives, various sizes and condition Russell Dowson was a Landscape and coastal painter who exhibited at the Fine Art Society, The Royal Insitute for Painters in Watercolours, Royal Birmingham Society of Artists and exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1883 and 1896. This collection of watercolours which cover the Iberian peninsula, the Mediterranean, Suez and the Gulf, the Far East, Japan and the Indian ocean were compiled on a world cruise taken by Dowson between 1874 and 1876. (38)

*Buhler (Robert, 1916-1989). Portrait of the author Robin Fedden, pastel on paper, head and shoulders portrait of a sandy-haired man half-turned to the right, wearing a white shirt, and blue jacket and tie, signed upper right, 53 x 41cm (20.75 x 16ins), framed and glazed Primarily a painter of places, Robert Buhler is also much praised for his portraits, which are characterised by simple and uncluttered design with the use of strong tones. He received many commissions but most of all enjoyed painting friends from London's artistic and literary circles. Among his sitters were Steven Spender, Ruskin Spear, Barnett Freedman, John Davenport, John Minton and Francis Bacon. Henry Robin Romilly Fedden, CBE, (1908-1977) was an English writer, diplomat and mountaineer. He was the son of artist Romilly Fedden and novelist Katherine Waldo Douglas, and cousin to artist Mary Fedden who taught at the Royal College of Art alongside Robert Buhler. He served as a diplomat in Athens and taught English Literature at Cairo University, where he became part of the literary group of Cairo poets, and co-edited the literary journal 'Personal Landscape' with Lawrence Durrell and Bernard Spencer. After the second world war he worked for the National Trust, rising to the post of Deputy Director-General. He wrote a number of books on a variety of different subjects, his best-known being 'The Enchanted Mountains: A Quest in the Pyrenees' and 'Chantemesle'. (1)

*Both (Jan, 1615-1652). Sight (t'Gesicht), Smell (De Reuck) & Taste (De Smaek), from the series The Five Senses (De Vijf Zintuigen), circa 1642-1650, together 3 etchings on laid paper by Jan Both after his brother Andries, with foolscap watermark to each, numbered 1, 3 & 5 lower left or lower right, plate size 224 x 176 mm (8.8 x 6.9 ins) and similar, with margins, (the first plate with upper left corner repaired and extreme lower left corner with slight loss, just touching plate mark), early 19th century ink ownership initials WC to lower right corner of each plate, and inscription in brown ink to verso of the first plate with the Bartsch reference and '1829 WE Josi's sale 5 Pcs N 160' Barsch 11-15. Provenance: Christian Josi (died 1828), printmaker and art dealer, who inherited the collections of Cornelis Ploos van Amstel in 1800. Sold Christie's, March 1829. William Esdaile (1758-1837), banker and collector, who lived on Clapham Common, and whose picture collection included works by Durer, Ostade, Rubens, Ruisdael, Richard Wilson and Gainsborough. (3)

*Walking stick. A late 20th-century rustic walking stick, with deer antler handle carved with a Gold Finch nestling within the antler signed 'GL Morgan' mounted on a hazelwood shaft with horn ferrule, 89.5cm long together with another stick carved with a parrot handle and hazelwood shaft, 91cm long G.L. Morgan was an Oxfordshire artist who specialised in birds. (2)

*Rogers (Jane Masters, fl. 1847-70, circa 1823-1909). Portrait of a young woman in a white dress, 1855, pastel and pencil on dark buff paper, half-length, seated, signed and dated 'J.M. Rogers, London, 1855' lower left, 66 x 51cm (26 x 20ins), framed and glazed Jane Masters Macdonald (circa 1823-1909) was born into a family of artists from Cork. Her father was James McDaniel/Macdonald (circa 1789-1865) and her brother Daniel Macdonald (1820-1853), who painted the only known painting of the Great Famine. The earliest records for Jane's works shown at the Cork Art Institute is 1841. She married William Richard Rogers and at some point moved to London. She worked as a portrait painter, exhibiting 16 works at the Royal Academy (including one in 1855 which may have been this painting), and others at the British Institute and Suffolk Street Gallery. A similar portrait of a woman in a blue dress from 1863 is held in the collection of the Geffrye Museum, London. (1)

*Anrep (Boris, 1883-1969). Design for an embroidery, pen, black ink and watercolour on wove paper, unsigned, sheet size 360 x 255 mm (14.2 x 10 ins) Provenance: From the collection of Lady Ottoline Morrell by descent. Boris Anrep (1883-1969), Russian artist and mosaicist who established his mosaic studio in London in 1911. An important member of the Bloomsbury Group, Anrep assisted Roger Fry with the Russian section of the famous Second Post-Impressionist exhibition in 1912. He was a friend of the Morrells and a frequent visitor to Garsington Manor. With a letter from Annabel Anrep dated October 16th 1998, confirming the attribution of this work by the artist's son Igor Anrep. (1)

*@Gormley (Antony, 1950-). Still life on a kitchen window, circa 1974-75, pen and black ink on 3 conjoined black postcards (each with printed address to top margin), with handwritten message by Antony Gormley and Alison Bromhead to verso, overall size 85 x 420 mm (3.4 x 16.5 ins), framed and double glazed Provenance: Executed by Antony Gormley for the architectural draughtsman John Nankivell while the artist was staying with Alison Bromhead at the Glebe House, Abbots Leigh, near Bristol, who was a mutual friend. (Letter of provenance provided). (1)

*Colquhoun (Robert, 1914-1962 & MacBryde, Robert, 1913-1966). Original sketch book of Colquhoun and MacBryde, circa 1949, containing 30 leaves of notepaper with printed all-over small check, containing sketches and figure studies, initially in dark brown and occasionally blue ink, including still life compositions, figures and horse, bull's head, donkey, etc., later with 21 studies of a standing female figure, in brown ink, the final 11 leaves with small stain to lower outer corners, and singed with slight loss to edge, original black morocco-backed upper wrapper printed with the words 'Blocco per Appunti', inscribed in pencil to upper margin 'Colquhoun MacBryde', and additionally inscribed 'Siena Pensione Senese Main St.', blue ink stain and some other marks, 120 x 180 mm (4.75 x 7 ins) Provenance: Private collection, Dorset. An important artistic document of the Scottish painters Robert Colquhoun and Robert MacBryde, which would appear to have been used by them during their trip to Italy between May and October 1949, accompanied by the poet and friend George Barker, who had been commissioned by John Lehmann to write an illustrated book about Italy (never realised). 'In Modena, Colquhoun made drawings of the puppet shows and, as planned, they visited Siena to see the famous Palio horse race which Colquhoun also sketched, intending to use these and other Italian drawings as the basis of paintings to be completed later on their return to Britain' (Roger Bristow, The Last Bohemians, 2010, page 224). (1)

*Watercolour Album. Album Choisi [so titled to cover], circa 1835-70, containing hand-coloured decorative title, and approximately 50 original watercolours and drawings, including 20 watercolour views of Oxford, Malvern 1835, Alderley Rectory 1840, Tewkesbury Abbey, The Wynde Cliff 1841, Sedgley 1840 (all apparently by the same hand, and several initialled CG), Laleham Middlesex, Bloxham 1840, several views of the Thames at Eton, Windsor, Virginia Water, etc., 20 mostly pencil drawings including some pen & ink, including one of Broad Street, Oxford by Delamotte, 1834, A Mill near Barnstaple, River Iffley, near Oxford, by Sarah Golden, etc., 12 mostly fine botanical and bird studies by Sophia Parker, Sarah Golden and Ann Patteson, including one leaf of four fine watercolour studies of butterflies, etc., mounted, some loose (on album leaves, watermarked Whatman 1832), all edges gilt, contemporary gilt-decorated plum full morocco, rubbed and scuffed, 4to (267 x 215 mm, 10.5 x 8.5 ins) Provenance: Likely to have belonged to Sarah Parker, daughter of John Parker of Oxford, who married John Golden, of Lincoln's Inn in April 1824 (the marriage listed in Gentlemen's Magazine Volume 94, Part 1). (1)

*@Hamilton (Letitia Marion, 1878-1964). Irish landscape, oil on wood panel, showing a group of cottages amidst fields huddling under a stormy sky with scudding clouds, initialled lower left, 30.5 x 31.5cm (12 x 12.25ins), framed Letitia Marion Hamilton was an Irish artist who, with her sister Eva, studied under William Orpen at the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin and under Frank Brangwyn. She was the great-granddaughter of the artist Caroline Hamilton (1771-1861). Letitia was a prolific painter of the Irish countryside, exhibiting more than 200 paintings at the Royal Hibernian Academy, of which she became a member in 1943. She was a founder member of the Society of Dublin Painters in 1920, which marked the start of modernism in Irish art. (1)

*Spencer (Stanley, 1891-1959 ). Autograph letter signed, 'Stanley Spencer', The Hill, Wangford, Lowestoft, Suffolk, 17 November 1926, to Lady Ottoline [Morrell], thanking her for her card expressing her appreciation of his Almanack, 'It especially pleased me as I had just heard from Chatto & Windus that it had had the appreciation of a few (the minority) and the intense dislike of many (the majority). Isn't that extraordinary? I wonder why! Who can these dislikers be I wonder', then detailing each of the illustrations in the Almanack and explaining what they represent, recounting their life with their 11-month-old baby and mentioning a landscape of 'a heap of stinging nettles', 4 pages on 3 leaves, written to rectos of first 2 leaves and both sides of final leaf, somewhat browned along centrefold and along upper margin, 4to, together with 2 autograph letters signed 'Stanley', to Julian Morrell, both from Cornerways, Bourne End, Bucks, 6th October and 14th November 1920, 4 & 8 pp., 8vo, plus 3 further letters to Lady Ottoline Morrell from Gilbert Spencer, and Ursula Spencer [wife of Gilbert], both circa 1937, and from William Spencer [father of Stanley and Gilbert], Fernley, Cookham, 17 July 1914, in reply to an invitation to go to the opera at Covent Garden for a performance of 'Don Giovanni' following a visit by Ottoline and Philip Morrell to the Spencer family at Cookham, plus a collection of 11 autograph letters and a postcard from Gilbert Spencer to Julian Morrell (later Goodman), dated 1925/1928, 2 letters with comic pen and ink illustrations, one letter in the shape of a foot and one a piece of music, plus an autograph letter from Anna Caroline Spencer [mother of Stanley and Gilbert] to Julian Morrell, from Fernley, Cookham, 4 November 1920, all 4to/8vo An important and illuminating letter relating to the book in the preceding lot. (18)

DALEK: A Doctor Who ' Character Toys ' Radio Controlled ' Dalek '. Large scale, within the original box. With partial interior packing remaining, complete with controller. Untested. Original box.

A 19TH CENTURY MOURNING RING, 1835Set centrally with a frame of enamel surrounded by half-pearls, between carved trifurcated shoulders, mounted in 18K gold, hallmarked London 1835 and engraved Dorcas Grives obt 4 June 1835 Oct 79 with heart-shaped fitted case, ring size U Mourning rings are commemorative rings created and worn to pay tribute to a deceased relative, close friend or historical figure. Accounts of mourning rings date back as far as the Roman Empire. After the defeat of the Romans by the Carthage Army lead by Hannibal at the battle of Cannae c.216 BC (a great battle of the Second Punic War), the Carthaginian general ordered all gold rings of the slain Roman soldiers to be removed and sent back to Carthage as proof of the army’s great victory. In remembrance of the fallen soldiers or others who had passed away, the elite of Roman society would remove their gold rings and replace them with iron ones to show they were in mourning. This tradition was only practiced by the upper classes as under Caesar’s reign only the rich could wear gold rings. Centuries later mourning rings were still in use and have been identified from the 15th to the early 20th Century, the pinnacle of their popularity being during the 18th Century.

After Kyffin Williams, a pencil initialled and titled lino-cut, Pryderi a'r Moch, a Christmas card inscribed and signed John, 23.5 x 16cm, this is accompanied by fourteen other lino-cut Christmas cards, each inscribed and one pencil initialled top front, also two other pencil initialled cards and sixteen further cards, all with hand written greeting, there are also three hand written letters from the artist and various printed ephemera. This collection as consigned by the neighbour of a retired art teacher who studied at the Slade in the 1930s, she met Williams sometime later, and formed a close relationship with him. The cards are signed from 'John', a term believed to be used for the artist's closest friends

AN INUIT CARVED BONE KAYAK WITH SEAL HUNTER, 16 cms long, mounted on a wooden base with additional carved fittings and hunting gear along with a carved soapstone model of a seal (the hunter's catch), (Provenance: reportedly owned by a John Christian Olsen, a member of the Danish Resistance in World War II who was captured by the Germans and sent to Buchum Concentration Camp, upon liberation in 1945 and walking back to Denmark found it difficult to adjust to a normal life, he travelled and lived in the wilderness of Greenland befriending Inuit Eskimos and obtaining carvings during this time, copy included of a Red Cross notification listing his time in the Concentration Camp of March 1944 until May 1945)

Augustus John and his Galway Connections JOHN, Augustus, painter [1878-1961]. An attractive ink drawing of a nude woman, rear view, drying herself with her elbow on a pillar, signed lower right 'John', 9 ins x 7 ¼ ins, framed and glazed. With an autograph signed letter (2 pp, single sheet) from John (giving a Salisbury address, dated 'Friday'), to a Mr. Conroy, saying he spoke to Mr. McDonough about rooms [in Galway] but has heard nothing, and asking Conroy to make enquiries about the rooms, 'those behind the new dock .. If I had these rooms and got them simply furnished I would come over to Galway to do some work'. Also mentions Macnamara, presumably Francis, father of Caitlin, who married Dylan Thomas (after having an affair with John). Also with an autograph signed letter to John, March 1902, 1 pp, addressed from 'On the Veldt, Western Transvaal', from Tom McDonagh (probably one of the Galway merchant family). 'I am now trekking with Keirs Column .. under Walter Kitchener, in all I think we have about 20,000 men & and are in search for Boers .. I expect there will be a hell of a fight soon. I am with the field hospital. I expect this time they will collar De La Rey for we are after him .. Don't write, we may be away three months.' The letter in two portions, with tape stains at the separation. A most interesting collection, which effectively authenticates the drawing. Augustus John did stay in Galway for a time, and produced a major mural painting there; he also stayed at Coole with Robert Gregory. As a collection, w.a.f. (1)

Great War Memorial Window [Northern Ireland?] A fine original watercolour drawing for a massive stained glass Window, 'To the Glory of God in memory of the men of this Parish who gave their lives in the Great War of Liberty 1914 - 1918.' With two large centre windows, four smaller and three hexagonal windows, & other smaller ditto, overall approx. 21 1/2" x 17 1/2", framed. (1) * By tradition a window in Northern Ireland.

A collection of vinyl long play records to include Wizzard Brew, Eno - Here Come The Warm Jets, Tommy The Who, Sprit x 3 Twelve Dreams of Dr Sardonicus, The Adventures of Kaptain Kopter and Commander Cassidy in Potato Land and Sons of Spirit, The Rolling Stones Made In The Shade and Beggars Banquet x 2, Canned Heat Living The Blues, Dread Zepplin picture disc, John Mayalls Blues Breakers Bare Wires, Tubular Bells ( Quadrophonic ), The Byrds Ballad Of Easy Rider, Songs In The Key Of Life Stevie Wonder and The Story of the Blues compiled by Paul Oliver

An Intriguing WW2 ‘Warsaw Uprising’ and S.O.E. interest Group of Ten attributed to Major Jerzy Feliks Szymanski, Polish ‘Home Army’ (A.K.) and member of the Intelligence division of the elite ‘Cichociemny’ or ‘Silent Unseen’ paratroop force. Wounded and taken P.O.W. by German forces at the Battle of Tomaszow Lubelski, he later escaped to Paris, and then to Britain. Having received S.O.E. training in Scotland, Szymanski returned to occupied Poland where he operated under the name ‘Doctor Borkowski’ and other pseudonyms, and played a role in the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 as Operations Officer in the Podobwodu District. Supporting documentation shows that he was known to Major General Sir Colin Gubbins, the wartime head of S.O.E., who later assisted with his application for British citizenship in 1965, comprising: Poland, Silver Merit Cross of the Order of Virtuti Militari, unnumbered, in silver, with gilt and enamel centre; Cross of Valour, dated 1920, with two bars; Cross of Merit, 2nd Class with swords, in silver and enamel; Medal for the War of 1939; Warsaw Uprising Cross, 1944; Great Britain, King’s Medal for Courage in the Cause of Freedom; 1939-1945 Star; Italy Star; Defence and War Medals; Original riband bar as worn, and an unrelated Belgian Congo, Bronze Service Medal, Leopold III issue (1935-53); Also offered with a quantity of documentation, including an original letter, signed by Major-General Sir Colin Gubbins, war-time head of the Special Operations Executive (S.O.E.) regarding Szymanski’s application for British Citizenship. It is addressed to S. Grocholski, Veritas Foundation, dated 7 May, 1965; also included are various hand-annotated copied photographs, and other copied letters; first with chipped enamel, King’s Medal for Courage with Royal Mint case of issue, generally good very fine (12). Major Jerzy Feliks Szymanski was born on 27 September 1909 at Wloclawek, Poland, and served in the Polish Army prior to WW2 as a cavalry officer between 1934 and 1939. He served in the 1st Mounted Rifles at the Battle of Tomaszow-Lubelski during the invasion of Poland, where he was wounded in action on 25 September 1939 and was captured by Nazi forces there. Managing to make a quick escape, he first travelled to Paris, where he became a personal emissary for General Sikorski, and then during the fall of France, he moved onward to Britain. There, he assisted the S.O.E. with the training of select Polish officers and soldiers in Biggar, Scotland in 1940, creating a new, elite paratrooper & espionage force called the ‘Cichociemny’ or ‘Silent Unseen’. Szymanski appears to have been an Intelligence instructor at this time. Those who passed the various examinations were then air-dropped back into occupied Poland to support the Home Army. After some work in Cairo and in Iraq, Szymanski made his return to Poland, and research suggests that he was in joint-command of the downtown Podobwodu District of Warsaw during the Warsaw Uprising in 1944, where despite some impressive initial success, the Polish forces were slowly crushed whilst Soviet forces halted outside the city and failed to assist them. For his role in the uprising it appears he was awarded the Silver Merit Cross of the Order of Virtuti Militari. He was taken prisoner of war once again, and having been moved around various POW camps (including one unsuccessful escape attempt), he did eventually escape from a small camp called Licterfelde near Berlin in March 1945. He reached the Polish Legation in Stockholm on 22 April 1945. Some years after the war he applied for British citizenship – his application supported by letters of recommendation (one original of which is included with the otherwise unnamed medals) written by Major-General Sir Colin Gubbins, the wartime head of S.O.E., who wrote: “He did great service during the War and we as a Nation are indebted to him, as so many other Poles for their gallantry and comradeship which was in so many cases so ill-rewarded by our country.” Major Szymanski eventually settled in Ealing, London, where he worked for Securicor, amongst other roles, and appears to have continued in further intelligence roles reporting ‘anti-Polish exile activities in London’. His name appears in numerous Polish-language books concerning the ‘Cichociemny’ force and he also penned the book ‘Losy Skoczka’ which appears to relate to the same elite paratroop force. He died in 1995. Ex Sotheby’s, 10-12 November, 1997, lot 91.

*Poland, Order of St Stanislaus, a fine jewelled 18th century small-sized sash badge attributed to Stanislaus August Poniatowski, who reigned as the last King of Poland, Stanislaw II August (1764-1795), in gold and enamels, the eight points of the badge and the centre of the upper limb all set with a single diamond, the suspension ring set with three diamonds either side of the gold top and the circular green enamelled wreath surrounding the saint also set with four single diamonds at each 90° point, the white and black finely-enamelled eagles in angles of the cross with plain gold crowns and beaks, width 43.5mm, enamel chipped in places, better than very fine and extremely rare. Provenance: Private purchase from Spink & Son, London, 3 March 1966, when attributed to Stanislaw August Poniatowski (1732-1798). The piece was originally acquired together with the diamond type 1 set of insignia of the Polish Order of the White Eagle sold at Morton & Eden, 11-12 June 2015, lot 575 and which can be traced to a New York auction in the early 1960s; further research documentation and a related letter are also included in the lot as well as an edited copy of the 1966 Spink invoice. Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski (1732-98), a member of the Polish nobility, arrived at the Russian Court in 1755 where he became romantically involved with the future Catherine II. In 1764 he was elected King of Poland with Catherine’s support, and in the following year he founded the Order of St Stanislaus in honour of the country’s Patron Saint. The last King of Poland was himself a great patron of the Arts and founded the Polish National Theatre as well as commissioning many notable works. However with Austria, Prussia and Russia all seeking to dismember Poland in pursuit of their own interests, the country’s existence as a sovereign state was effectively ended in 1795. Poniatowski was forced to abdicate in November 1795 and died on 12 February 1798, a virtual prisoner in the Marble Palace, St Petersburg.

*U.S.A., American Cross of Honor, by Meyer of Washington D.C., gold and enamel cross bearing ‘A.C.H. 1906’ to obverse, set within a wreath with eagle above, 33.5mm width, with engraved gold ‘For Valour’ brooch bar bearing makers marks to reverse and ‘14k’ gold mark, on fraying length of original blue ribbon, slight wear to enamels, otherwise extremely fine, and rare. The American Cross of Honor, instituted in 1906, was awarded annually for lifesaving to ‘the person who has performed the most heroic act in the saving of life’, and only to those who had already received a government issued life-saving award.

*Waterloo, 1815 (Jeremiah Donovan, 32nd Regiment Foot.), original steel clip and split ring suspension, surface scratches behind Regent’s head, good very fine. Roll confirms Private Jeremiah Donovan, Captain Robert Dillon’s Company, of Barry, Cork, born 1798, who enlisted at the age of only 15 on 4 February, 1813.

A Great War Trio awarded to Captain & Adjutant Claude Leonard Eyre Muntz, 1st Battalion, RMLI, who died on 17 November, 1916 from a head wound received four days earlier from sniper fire during the Battle of the Ancre (Beaumont Hamel), comprising: 1914-15 Star (Capt. C. L. E. Muntz. R.M.L.I.); British War and Victory Medals (Capt C. L. E. Muntz R.M.L.I); with original card box of issue for 1914-15 Star, toned, good extremely fine (3). Claude Leonard Eyre Muntz was born at Ramikhet, India, on 21 August 1880, the son of John Frederick (formerly a Captain, East Lancashire Regiment) and Alice Maud Muntz, of Ellesmere, Paignton, Devon. He was educated at King William’s College, Isle of Man, and entered the Royal Naval School, Eltham in 1894; passing his Sandhurst examination at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich in 1898; commissioned 2nd Lieutenant, R.M.L.I. in 1899; Lieutenant, 1900; served aboard H.M.S. Niobe escorting Prince and Princess of Wales to Canada in 1909; Wei-Hai-Wai, 1913. During the Great War he served with the 1st R.M. Battalion, R.N.D. in Gallipoli, prior to being posted to the Western Front. During the Battle of the Ancre (Beaumont Hamel), he received a sniper round to the head, shattering his skull. He subsequently died of wounds on 17 November 1916, at 44 Casualty Clearing Station, and is buried at Puchevillers British Cemetery, Somme, France.

*A Great War and Third Afghan War M.C. Group of Eight awarded to Colonel G.G. ‘Georgie’ Rogers, 1st Gurkha Rifles, awarded the M.C. for his command of the reconnaissance piquets at Khurd Kyber Pass, where his company met and repelled some 2,000 Afghan tribesmen from two hillside positions with rifle, grenade and kukri. A renowned expert in Gurkha dialects and customs and the scion of an established family of Gurkha Officers, he later became an expert advisor for the 1945 film ‘Johnny Gurkha’, comprising: Military Cross, G.V.R., unnamed as issued; 1914-15 Star (Lt. G. G. Rogers, 2/1 Gurkha Rfls.); British War and Victory Medals (Capt. G. G. Rogers); India General Service 1908-35, 3 clasps, Afghanistan N.W.F. 1919, Waziristan 1919-21, Waziristan 1921-24 (Capt. G. G. Rogers, 2-1 Grks.); War Medal 1939-45; India Service Medal 1939-45; Jubilee 1935, court-mounted on board for display, toned, generally good very fine or better (8). M.C.: London Gazette, 3 August 1920: ‘For distinguished service in the Field in the Afghan War, 1919.’ George Gordon Rogers was born on 9 April 1893, at Dharamsala, India. His father, Colonel G. W. Rogers, D.S.O. of the 4th Gurkha Rifles, had originally raised the 2nd Battalion, 1st Gurkha Rifles in 1886 and both his paternal and maternal grandfathers were Major-Generals in the Indian Army (The latter, J.S. Rawlins, had commanded the 1st Battalion). George (or “Georgie”) was educated at Bedford College and at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, being commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant in January 1912. He joined the 2nd Battalion of the 1st Gurkha Rifles in Chitral in early 1913 and served during the operations against rebellious tribesmen in the Swat Valley in August 1915. Soon after he was transferred to the Nepalese Contingent, whose soldiers were sent to help maintain order in India, whilst most of the Indian Army was in France and Mesopotamia. During this period he also served as Staff Officer at the Mountain Warfare School at Kakul, near Abbottabad, for which he was rewarded with an appointment to the Order of the Star of Nepal (this order not present with group). Rogers rejoined his regiment in early 1919, when, having been promoted to Captain, he was given command of ‘D’ Company. Three days after war was declared against Afghanistan in May 1919, his battalion left by train from Nowshera for the Khyber Pass area. They arrived at Ali Masjid on the 10th, and marched the following morning to Landi Kotal where they formed the reserve for an attack on the Afghan positions at Bagh. Hearing the sound of heavy gunfire, the Battalion made a forced march to Loe Dakka on the 17th and found that a Sikh regiment had just captured Sikh Hill. ‘B’ and ‘D’ Companies were sent to occupy it but lacking adequate food or water, and being laden with ammunition and entrenching tools on a very hot day, the had a very tough time of it. That night an Afghan battalion attacked their position on the hill, but was successfully driven off. On 14 June, Rogers provided the piquets and advanced guard for a force sent out to intercept a tribal raiding party (“lashkar”). Surprisingly no opposition was encountered, but two Afghan envoys presented themselves under a white flag, carrying sealed letters from the Amir, and they were duly escorted to Headquarters. On the evening of the 16th Rogers was in command of No. 5 piquet when, at roughly 9.30 p.m., it came under attack from about 80 tribesmen. The attack was driven off with accurate Lewis-gun fire, and on the 27th, Rogers and ‘D’ Company established two new piquets on Conical Hill and West Ridge to protect the Kabul Road, which passed between the two features. On the morning of 13 July, ‘D’ Company under Rogers went to furnish the piquets on the Khurd Khyber Pass for the cavalry reconnaissance, and was so strongly opposed by some 2000 tribesmen that another company had to be called up before the piquets could be set up. Fortunately, Rogers had taken the initiative to set up piquets on two hills about 1,000 yards south-west of the pass which had never before been occupied. The tribesmen had hoped to find the hills again unoccupied, intending to use them to harass the reconnaissance from the flank, but they were foiled by Rogers’ forward thinking. Fierce combat ensued, with the Gurkhas holding one side of the hill and the enemy the other; at times resorting to hand-to-hand fighting with kukris drawn. The orderly withdrawal of the piquets was covered by machine guns and howitzers which inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy. The battalion suffered casualties of just three killed and seven wounded in this action, and it was for this operation that Rogers was awarded the M.C. At this time Rogers also played a key role in forming the ‘Gurkhas Scouts’, formed of picked men from the Gurkha regiments nearby. This detachment would lie up after dark in likely approaches and deal with snipers and intruders with hand grenades or kukris, leading to several successful ambushes and providing a strong deterrent. At the end of 1920 Rogers was attached to the 2nd / 6th Gurkha Rifles and deployed to southern Waziristan. According to the regimental history, ‘The men were fresh from the rigours of the Great War and were in no mood to adopt kid-glove methods with the Mahsud tribesmen. This did not fit in with the policy envisaged by the political authorities and so the Battalion was moved (from Kotkai camp) to a quieter area to Manzai where it was thought “incidents” were less likely to occur.’ However in April 1921, the Mahsuds devastated two Punjabi regiments by ambushing a convoy, and thereafter the Battalion spent more time on road-protection duties. After returning to his own regiment, Rogers was then attached to the 1st / 4th Gurkha Rifles, from May 1923 to March 1924, and served with them during the disturbances in the Sikh state of Mabha. Through his upbringing and service, Rogers became a master of Nepalese dialects, mastering both Gurung and Magar, as well as the court language of Kathmandu. He was an expert in Gurkha songs and dances and, as one colleague reported, ‘He was usually found in the centre of a fascinated group of men who hung on his word ... it was in these inter-war years in Dharmsala and the N.W. Frontier that we got to know Georgie well, accompanied him on shooting trips, attended his nautches, and learnt something of our men and their language.’ In January 1929, Rogers was promoted to Major and from 1934 he was senior Major - in effect the second-in-command. He was placed on the Supplementary Unemployed List in 1936, and settled for a time in South Africa, before being recalled in June 1940. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel (Temporary) and, in November 1940, appointed to be Commandant of the Regimental Centre at Dharmsala. During this time, when the decision had been taken to double the size of the Gurkha regiments, the 1st Gurkha Rifles faced the challenge of raising an extra battalion to replace the 2nd Battalion, which had been lost when Malaya was over-run. The Regimental Centre was thus responsible for both recruitment and specialist training, and Rogers oversaw the enormous expansion of the Centre - at one time commanding some 5000 men. He was promoted to Colonel in May 1943. An officer who trained at the Centre late in 1942 described Rogers as ‘a tall, remote and austere figure. His knowledge of Gurkhas, their languages and dialects was legendary ... the depth and width of his linguistic knowledge was thought to be unmatched among his contemporaries either in the 1st or other Gurkha regiments.’ He died in Maidenhead in May 1966, and was buried at Hampton Cemetery, Middlesex. Offered with a large file of copied research, including several picture post cards, and a photo of the Officers of the 2nd / 1st Gurkha Rifles, 1933, with Rogers shown wearing his M.C. and group. The foregoing catalogue notes are largely adapted from Rogers’ formal obituary by Pat O’ Ferrall.

William Moorcroft for Mr and Mrs Lasenby Liberty, a commemorative mug, 1902, for the Coronation of Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, the central band with crown, orb and sceptre, between raised inscription, above a band of thistle, rose and shamrock, painted to the base 'From Mr and Mrs Lasenby Liberty, The Lee Manor Bucks' WM monogram and designers monogram AL for Arthur Lasenby Liberty, 10cm high Note: a personal commission by the founder of the London department store, Liberty, the mug was believed to have been presented to friends and employees. It was designed by Mr (later Sir Arthur) Liberty himself, who established the now world famous shop in 1875.

*A Canadian WW2 and Korean War Group of 7 awarded to Petty Officer 1st Class Josephy Slusarenko, Gunnery Armourer, Royal Canadian Navy, comprising: Canadian Volunteer Service Medal; War Medal 1939-1945; Korea Medal, 1950-53 (J. Slusarenko 5512 ‘H’); UN Korea Medal; U.N.E.F. Medal; Coronation Medal, 1953; Canadian Forces Decoration (PO 1/C J Slusarenko), medals swing-mounted on bar with brooch pin, some surface marks, very fine (7). Petty Officer Slusarenko was featured in ‘Crowsnest’, the journal of the Royal Canadian Navy (Vol 7, January 1955), as follows: ‘ARMOURER NAMED SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR. PO Joseph Slusarenko, a husky Polish-born gunnery armourer from Winnipeg, was named ‘Sportsman of the Year’ in the Quebec near the end of her South American cruise. Since he joined the training cruiser in February 1953, PO Slusarenko has taken part in every sport...he has played hockey, soccer, basketball, volleyball, baseball, with softball his favourite… Born on November 30, 1926, in Tloumach, Poland, he was brought to Canada four years later by his family who settled in Winnipeg. He left the technical high school there to join the Navy in January, 1946, as an ordinary seaman. He served successfully in the Uganda, Ontario, Cayuga and Swansea, transferring to the ordnance branch in mid-1950. Since then he has served in the Portage, in Korea with the Nootka and now is concerned with the maintenance of secondary and close range armament in the Quebec.’

*A Rare Egypt Campaign & Royal Humane Society Medal & Bar Group of 3 awarded to Commander Charles Sedgfield Donner, Royal Navy, Principal Transport Officer in Egypt between 1882-1884, who ‘jumped into the sea from four different ships to save the lives of ratings who had fallen overboard’, comprising: Egypt 1882-89, no clasp (Comder. C. S. Donner, R.N. H.M.S. “Thalia”); Khedive’s Star, 1882-91, dated 1882; Royal Humane Society Medal, in silver, successful type, 38.5mm width (Lieut. Charles S. Donner, R.N. 25, June, 1867.), with additional ‘R.H.S.’ second award bar (C. S. Donner. 1878.) with silver top bar and reverse brooch pin, campaign pair swing-mounted on bar, in fitted leather and velvet-lined case, and RHS medal in original ‘Warrington’ case of issue, a few light marks in places, generally about extremely fine and a scarce combination of awards; offered with a glazed photographic portrait of the recipient wearing both his pair and RHS medal with bar, taken at Alexandria, Egypt, c.1882 (lot). Royal Humane Society Medal, awarded 8 January 1868 – ‘It was resolved unanimously that the noble courage and humanity displayed by Charles S Donner, Lieut. R.N., of HMS Surly, in having jumped overboard at Sea to the relief of George Rudland ordinary seaman who had fallen overboard and whose life with the assistance of Richard Pratt he saved, calls forth the admiration of this General Court, and justly entitles him to the Honorary Silver Medal of this Institution which is hereby awarded.’ Bar to Royal Humane Society Medal, awarded 8 July 1879 – ‘It was resolved unanimously that Lieut. Charles Sedgfield Donner, R.N. H.M.S. Euryalus, is justly entitled to the Honorary Silver Clasp of this Society which is hereby awarded him (he having already received the Silver Medal in 1868) for having on the 17th September 1878, jumped overboard through a port on the upper deck at Sea between Malta and Port Said, to the rescue of Mark Jewell, Ship’s Boy 1st Class, and whose life he saved.’ Charles Sedgfield Donner, son of Edward Sedgefield Donner of Scarborough, was educated at St Peter’s School, York. He entered the Royal Navy in 1861 coming aboard HMS Britannia, and become a Gunnery Officer. He was awarded the silver medal of the Royal Humane Society for saving the life of a drowning Ordinary Seaman on 25 June 1867 as a Lieutenant aboard HMS Surly, and similarly again on 17 September 1878 whilst aboard HMS Euryalus. He was promoted to Commander with seniority of 30 June 1882, and was appointed Principal Transport Officer in Egypt in August of that year. He was commended for his work by Major General W. Earle for his significant role in supporting the Suakin Expedition. After a time as Commander of HMS Monarch, he transferred to HMS Thunderer in 1887, and was later asked by Rear-Admiral Robinson to be his Flag Captain aboard HMS Boadicea. It was aboard this ship that he died in Trincomalee from heat apoplexy in 1892. Offered with a useful biography and transcripts of some of Donner’s letters in an article by Lt. Cdr. F. D. Franks, R.N., who records that the recipient made life-saving attempts on four separate occasions; see also following lot and lot 516 above.

*Military General Service, 1793-1814, single clasp, Chateauguay (A. Onellet, Canadn Militia), minor graze to reverse rim at 6 o’clock, otherwise well-toned, good very fine and scarce. This recipent’s name can now be confidently confirmed against the original handwritten records held by the ‘Library and Archives Canada’ as Antoine Ouellet. The style of the writing used for the recipient’s name on this roll makes the minor, single letter error in the medal naming more understandable. A note is also made beside his entry, and that of another soldier Pierre Oman, as follows: ‘Sent by mail this 6th day of August 1852 to L M Laureau (?) Esq. of Isle Verte vide his letter of 6th July 1852. Mr Laureau has acknowledged receipt of these two medals – ‘. Using this new information, genealogical research appears to link directly to one Antoine Ouellet, born 29 April 1782 (thus aged 30 in the year 1812) at Kamouraska, and who died 29 May 1858, at the aforementioned Isle Verte - a coastal town on the south shore of the St Lawrence River, near Québec City. One particular roll, as given by Michelle Guitard’s: ‘The Militia of the Battle of Chateauguay – A Social history’ records an Antoine Ouellette as a Private Soldier in the 3rd Battalion of the Select Embodied Militia, serving in Captain Charles Daly’s Company. Daly’s Light Company is believed to have been present with 50 or 60 troops during the actual fighting, from some 77 previously available. Daly’s company, along with a company from the 2nd Battalion Embodied Militia under Captain de Tonnancoeur and another company of Beauharnois Sedentary Militia under Captain Bruguière; were sent by Lieutenant-Colonel Charles de Salaberry to guard a ford across the Chateauguay river roughly a mile behind the abatis blocking the main approach road, in a deliberate attempt to avoid being outflanked. Seeing enemy troops emerging from the woods on 26 October 1813, Captains Daly and Bruguière immediately led a small force (estimated at about 100 - 160 soldiers) in an attack which drove back the American Colonel Robert Purdy’s 1st Brigade (a much larger force of roughly 1,000 men), although Captain Daly and Captain Bruguière were both severely wounded in the process as they continued to pursue the retreating American soldiers. Offered with useful genealogical research.

An Attractive Silver-Framed WWI Memorial scroll awarded to Major Reginald John Lowcock D.S.O. M.C., Royal Flying Corps, late Notts & Derby Regiment, twice wounded in action and who, having been presented with the D.S.O. personally by King George V in 1917 he was later killed in a flying accident in a Bristol Fighter at home on 22 June, 1918, comprising a large, glazed silver frame, 20.5mm x 34mm, with R.A.F. emblem above, containing an original WWI memorial certificate, hallmarks probably for Charles S Green & Co., Birmingham, 1918. M.C.: London Gazette, 11.12.1916: ‘For conspicuous gallantry in action. He beat off an attack by four enemy machines and continued his ranging. Later, he flew under 1,000 feet, in a zone full of our shells, in order to silence hostile batteries.’ D.S.O. London Gazette 09.01.1918 – ‘For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in carrying out artillery observation with great skill and success, in spite of very unfavourable weather and strong hostile opposition. On one occasion, although attacked by five hostile machines, he carried on with his work until his machine was riddled with bullets and he was wounded in the leg. He then succeeded in landing in safety, having destroyed one of the hostile machines. He has also done some exceptionally fine patrol work.’

*Pair: Waterloo, 1815 (D. Corp. John Duensing, King’s Germ. Artillery), with contemporary silver loop and split ring suspension, considerable surface and edge knocks and has been polished, fine; mounted with Hanover Volunteer Medal in bronze, unnamed; has also been polished, very fine (2). Roll confirms Driver-Corporal John Duensing, 1st Company, King’s German Artillery. Henry John Duensing enlisted on 8 December 1805, joining the 4th Foot Battery, KGA, in the Peninsula, in France, and at Waterloo. He was also awarded the Guelphic Medal (not offered here) on 25 May 1841, as recorded by Von Wissel, p. 206: ‘The Fourth Foot Battery, during the campaign in the Peninsula and France, acquired a reputation not just for their artillery achievements under fire, but also because their teams were always in better condition than any others despite long marches and shortage of fodder. In the battle of Toulouse, the artillery had to move forward out of a valley up on to a difficult height and, on the way, cross over a deep ditch. The Battery crossed the latter and moved on to the hill in excellent order; not so an English battery, their horses did not have sufficient strength, and required the help of the German teams. When towards the close of the battle an English battery had to retire with their infantry, their horses were so exhausted that they were only able to perform their duty with assistance from the Germans. This was both a source of pride and of pleasure to the Battery. A great part of the credit, which came to the Battery through the condition of their horses, was ascribed by the officers themselves to this efficient N.C.O., who had looked after the horses with untiring attention and care. These excellent qualities Duensing has also shown in peacetime here in Hannover, where the artillery horses entrusted to him were cared for in the most zealous way without a break, until his death in 1844. Through his honourable and trustworthy behaviour he will long be held in affection and respect by both his seniors and those under him. In addition, in the field he performed the following important service: The French made a violent sortie on the 19th March 1812 at the beginning of the Siege of Badajoz. Two guns of the Battery, which were out on picquet, helped in repulsing this attack. Because of the pursuit they had come too close to the works of the fortress, where heavy calibre guns were free to be fired by the enemy. Thus the retreat of the two guns had become very hazardous, although they had quickly sought cover behind a house, which was immediately shot at by the enemy. They were almost considered lost, as the only route back seemed to lie across an open field. Then Duensing remembered a sunken road which he had seen a long time before and knew must lie in the vicinity. Quickly he sought this, despite a rain of enemy shot. He soon found it and, as it was very near and provided a covered route back, the two guns escaped with trivial loss.’ Previous applications for the award of a Guelphic Medal had been refused to Henry John Duensing, having been based on the earlier Badajoz incident in 1812. In 1841, however, the Medal Commission recommended that his case should fall within the terms of made. He died in 1844 before the issue of the M.G.S. medal, but his Guelphic Medal was recorded in the Gaskell Collection in 1905. Ex Gaskell Collection, 1911, MacDougall Collection, 1917 and Dix, Noonan & Webb, 2 April, 2003, lot 23.

*The Indian Mutiny ‘Secundra Bagh’ Victoria Cross awarded to Private John Smith, 1st Battalion Madras (European) Fusiliers, awarded for his gallant conduct in action as one of the first soldiers to enter the fray inside the Secundra Bagh on 16 November, 1857. With ‘bullets raining in every direction’ and despite being severely wounded, Private Smith led an attack inside the gates with three other Fusiliers and ‘bayonetted every sword-bearing Ghazi who resisted’, comprising: Victoria Cross, suspension bar engraved to reverse Private J. Smith, 1st Madras Fusrs, centre of cross engraved to reverse with the date ‘16 Nov. 1857’, about extremely fine and with a superb fighting citation. Victoria Cross: London Gazette, 24.12.1858: ‘For having been one of the first to try and enter the gateway on the north side of Secundra Bagh. On the gateway being burst open, he was one of the first to enter, and was surrounded by the enemy. He received a sword cut on the head, a bayonet wound on the left side, and a contusion from the butt end of a musket on the right shoulder, notwithstanding he fought his way out, and continued to perform his duties for the rest of the day. Elected by private soldiers of the detachment, 1st Madras Fusiliers.’ (Date of Act of Bravery: 16th November, 1857). Previously noted scant details of the recipient, used in combination with new genealogical research, suggest that he was John Thomas Smith, born in the Parish of St Luke’s (Islington), near Old Street, London on 16 January 1822, being baptized on 28 July 1822. He enlisted for service in the 1st Madras Fusiliers (later the Royal Dublin Fusiliers) in 1841. Commanded by the eccentric, brave and often ruthless Lieutenant-Colonel James Neil (nicknamed ‘the Avenger’), the 1st Madras Fusiliers were formed of tough European soldiers from varied backgrounds. Known as ‘Neill’s Blue Caps’ in reference to their distinctive uniform, this battalion served in the suppression of the Indian Mutiny from May 1857 until November 1858. At the outbreak of the rebellion they swiftly left Madras for Benares and then marched to Allahabad to assist the besieged Europeans, as well as to join the forces commanded by Brigadier-General Henry Havelock. Continuing onwards, this combined force then advanced upon Cawnpore, already aware that they were now too late to save the doomed European civilians from slaughter. They marched 126 miles in 9 days despite the incredible heat, during which time they won four pitched battles against Nana Sahib’s forces, captured 23 guns, and inflicted severe losses upon the enemy. On 15 and 16 July at Aong and the approach to Cawnpore, Neill’s Blue Caps took part in the defeat and indeed rout of the Nana’s Army of 10,000 soldiers before the great city, amid the now-famous shouts of ‘Remember Cawnpore’. Despite this success, the 1st Madras Fusiliers’ casualties were such that a time of recuperation and barrack duties was necessary. Returning to active service in September that year, the 1st Madras Fusiliers rejoined Havelock’s column, and left their sick and wounded behind at Cawnpore. This column, supplemented by the arrival of Sir James Outram’s Division, moved toward Lucknow, where 9 days later Havelock entered the city with the first relief force. The second relief force under Sir Colin Campbell, which included a detachment of Madras Fusiliers, moved to assist the beleaguered British troops besieged inside the Lucknow Residency on 9 November. During the morning of 16 November, as they neared their objective, Colonel Neil was shot in the head by a sniper and died in the last street approaching the Residency. Soon after, this second force began to come under tremendous fire from the fortified enclosure of the Secundra Bagh, which had become a stronghold and focal point for the besieging enemy forces. Recognizing it strategic importance Sir Colin ordered for guns to be brought up to breach the wall – just two hundred years ahead. Within as little as 15 seconds a team of Blue Caps had hauled one gun into position upon a raised mound, and put it to immediate use whilst ‘bullets rained like hail on the metal’. Roughly half an hour later, men from the 93rd Highlanders and 4th Punjab Infantry were ordered to enter the breach; this only large enough for one man to enter at a time, and meanwhile a detachment of Madras Fusiliers was sent to force entry through the gates at the north wall facing the River Gomti. Inside the walls was an impressive garden with a colonnaded pavillion at its centre which the defenders used for their last stand, and which later formed the backdrop to Felice Beato’s famously macabre photo of the interior taken soon afterwards - complete with skulls and remains in the forefront. In any case, it seems that at least two; the South (see cover) and North, were simultaneously attacked and forced in addition to the action taking place at the breach in the South East bastion of the outer wall. The northern gate mentioned in the citation for John Smith’s V.C. was well-covered by two loopholes for enemy snipers, and initially the Blue Caps struggled to force the gate, which moved only slightly with their efforts, and calls for a gun were sent out. Moments later, however, one of the detachment (and possibly John Smith) ‘placed his Enfield against what seemed to be the rivet of the obstructing bar of the gate and blew it away in a moment.’ As the party of 14 men from the 93rd Highlanders and 4th Punjab Infantry set to work cutting down the defenders inside the breach, Smith charged through the gate into the main courtyard, where ‘bullets were raining in every direction and these soon made the gateway a kind of target for the enemy who were now in the further turrets.’ Smith then led the attack, encouraging three other Blue Caps with him, where they ‘bayonetted every sword-bearing and shield-carrying Ghazi who resisted’ and all the defenders were slaughtered to a man. As mentioned in the citation to his V.C., Private John Smith received three separate wounds in the process of this attack on the Secundra Bagh, from sword, bayonet and musket stock, but he held fast and possessed sufficient strength to also take part in the fighting near the Shah Nujjef Mosque that very same day. An officer is recorded as having returned to the Secundra Bagh later that evening to assess the enemy casualties, arriving at a figure of 1800 men killed. Later figures based upon subsequent burials reach a figure of approximately 2500. Upon the departure of the 1st Madras Fusiliers from Calcutta, Lord Canning gave a speech in recognition of their achievements in April 1859, and said: “Yours was the first British regiment which took assistance to the Central Provinces, and gave safety to the important posts of Benares and Allahabad. You were part of that brave band which pushed forward to Cawnpore, and forced its way to Lucknow…From that time you have, with little intermission, been in the front of danger. You are now returning to your presidency, your ranks thinned by war and sickness, but you return covered with honour…When you reach Madras, tell your comrades in the Madras Army that the name of the 1st Fusiliers will never be forgotten on this side of India.” Smith was eventually discharged to pension in 1861, and died of ‘asphyxia’ on 6 May 1866 at Taujore, Trichinopoly, India, where he is buried in an unmarked grave in Taujore Cemetery. In addition to his Victoria Cross (one of 8 awarded for this action), Smith was entitled to the Indian Mutiny Medal with 2 clasps Relief of Lucknow and Lucknow, which does not appear to have been offered on the market to date. It may be noted in this regard that the name is unique on the Indian Mutiny roll for the 1st Madras Fusiliers and that the V.C. has only been known as a ‘single’ since its first known sale in 1924. Ex Glendining, 29 May 1924, Sotheby’s, 26 January 1977, lot 131 and Spink, 8 November 1994, lot 296.

*The Most Noble Order of the Garter (K.G.), an 18th century Knight’s bullion and cloth Star, the rays of the star covered with overlapping silver scales, and eyelets for sewing at each point, the reverse with printed paper label attached to the backing (presumably taken from an old auction catalogue) ‘52 Queen Anne’s star of the Garter,’ and additional paper attached to the backing with old ink inscription ‘This star worn by Queen Anne given to me by my friend Colonel Tynt who [had it?] from his father’ 120mm, some original paper backing lacking and gum applied to reverse points, some eyelets lacking and wear to some of the points, fine or better. Research suggests the most likely candidate for the ‘Colonel Tynt’ cited may be Colonel John Johnson, Grenadier Guards, of Glaiston in Rutland and Burhill Surrey. He married Jane Hassell in 1765 and, upon his wife’s succession to the estates of both the Kemeys family in Glamorganshire and the Tyntes of Somerset in 1785, he changed his name by Royal Licence as a stipulation to this inheritance. He thus became Colonel John Johnson Kemeys-Tynte and was appointed Comptroller of the Household of the Prince of Wales (later George IV) in 1791, and also as Groom of the Bedchamber. He died in 1795 and was succeeded by his son Charles Kemeys Kemeys-Tynte, born in 1788, who later also became a Colonel.

*The Trio awarded to Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander William Duncan, Royal Artillery, who was wounded in action uring an Ashanti attack on the town of Fommanah, which post he commanded, in February 1874. For his services he was given a Mention for his ‘energetic defence of the post’ and the Brevet of Major, comprising: Ashantee 1873-74, single clasp, Coomassie (Capt: & Bt. Major. A. W. Duncan, B By. 4th Bde. R.A., 1873-74); South Africa 1877-79, single clasp, 1879 (Major. A. W. Duncan. R.A.); Spanish Medal for Campaigns in Africa , dated 1860, silver; Medals court-mounted, the first with officially corrected unit and date, generally good very fine or better and rare, with contemporary velvet-lined, fitted leather storage case for the three previously unmounted medals (3). Alexander William Duncan was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in April 1856, and first aw active service as an Observer with Spanish forces engaged in North Africa in 1860. He was promoted to Captain in August 1866, and then served in the Ashantee War 1873-74, where in the role of Transport Officer he found himself participating in the defence of Fommanah, latterly as C.O. when his senior officers had become casualties. Captain Henry Brackenbury, R.A., who wrote the ‘Narrative of the Ashantee War’ described the events as follows: ‘On the morning of the 2d [February 1874], he [Colonel Colley] pushed on to Fommanah, and on his arrival found the place warmly attacked on all sides. The post was in command of Captain Steward, 1st W.I.R., who had a garrison of 1 officer and 38 non-commissioned officers and men, 1st West India Regiment; and Lieutenant Grant, 6th Regiment, with 102 of the Mumford company of Russell’s Regiment. There were also present two transport officers - Captain North of the 47th Regiment, and Captain Duncan, R.A. - three surgeons, and two control officers; and in the palace, which was situated in the middle of the main street of the long straggling town, and used as a hospital, were 24 European soldiers and sailors, convalescents. The picquets had reported Ashantis in the neighbourhood early in the morning, and had been reinforced; but the village was far too large to be capable of defence by this small garrison; and when, about 8.30 a.m., the place was attacked from all directions by the enemy, they were able to penetrate into it. Captain North, in virtue of his seniority, assumed the command, but while at the head of his men was shot down in the street of the village, and was obliged by severe loss of blood to hand over the command to Captain Duncan, R.A. The enemy, as has been said, penetrated into all the southern side of the village, which they set on fire; meanwhile the sick from the hospital were removed to the stockade at the north end of the village, which was cleared as rapidly as possible, the houses being pulled down by the troops and labourers acting under Colonel Colley’s orders. At half-past two Colonel Colley reported as follows: “We have now cleared the greater part of the village, preserving the hospital and store enclosure. Difficult to judge the numbers of the Ashantis; they attack on all sides, and occasional ones creep boldly into the village, but generally keep under cover of the thick bush, which in places comes close to the houses.” The firing ceased about 1 p.m.; but on a party going down for water an hour later, they were hotly fired upon. No further attack was made upon the post. Captain North was severely wounded, dangerously so, and one of the convalescents in the 42d Regiment severely. Other Europeans were slightly wounded, among them Captain Duncan, R.A., five West Indians, and three privates of Russell’s Regiment. Colonel Colley reported that he would be unable to move any more convoys on from Fommanah for the present.’ Duncan was later mentioned in despatches for his ‘energetic defence of the post’ and given the Brevet of Major. Reaching the substantive rank of Major and the command of ‘O’ Battery, 6th Brigade, he was present during the South Africa operations of 1879. ‘O’ Battery arrived in Durban from England in April 1879, and having initially been in command of the ammunition column, Duncan went on to command the artillery of Clarke’s Flying Column in the second advance on Ulundi. Ex Dix Noonan & Webb, 16 December 2003, lot 487.

*A Great War 1914-15 Trio awarded to the Reverend Canon Reginald Jeffcott Dickson, Army Chaplains’ Department, who served as Chaplain to the Forces 4th Class on attachment to the R.A.M.C. and later to the 28th General Hospital at Salonika, comprising: 1914-15 Star (Rev. R. J. Dickson. A. C. D.); British War and Victory Medals (Rev. R. J. Dickson.); and a silver plaquette, bearing hallmarks for Chester dated 1910, engraved ‘To the Rev. R. J. Dickson, B.A., from the Choir Sunday School Teachers and Friends of St Saviour’s Penrith, in remembrance of 5 Years of Happy Friendship, Novr 1910’, with set of related dress miniatures, cased, toned, good extremely fine (7). Reginald Jeffcott Dickson was born 13 December 1876, the son of Major General E.J. Dickson (91st Foot, late 75th) of The Green, Castletown, Isle of Man and Lucy Mylrea Quayle, and younger brother of Graham Joseph and John (see preceding and following lots). Educated at King William’s College, Isle of Man, and then at Queen’s College Cambridge, gaining a B.A. in 1900 (and later an M.A. in 1916). After joining the priesthood as Deacon in 1901 and Priest in 1903, he served in WWI with the Army Chaplain’s Department as Chaplain to the Forces 4th Class, and saw service with the RAMC, and then at the 28th General Hospital in Salonika. He took up clergy positions in Carlisle, Penrith, Crossrake, Ivegill, and Cockermouth, and latterly became Reverend Canon. He died in 1954. His son, Major Reginald Graham Dickson, of the 2nd Royal Berkshire Regiment, was killed on the 30th of January 1945. Sold with come copied paperwork, and worthy of further research.

*The Unique and Important Great War Anglo-American Group of 15 to Colonel Harold Fowler, Commanding Officer of the 17th ‘Aero’ Squadron, USAAS, late Royal Flying Corps and Royal Artillery, who was one of the founding figures of the USAAS and US Liaison Officer with British Forces; wounded four times and shot down seven times as a pilot during WWI, he went on to receive no fewer than 11 separate Orders and decorations for gallantry or distinguished service comprising: U.S.A., Distinguished Service Medal, officially numbered (1680), roll confirms; U.S.A., Purple Heart, in gilt metal and enamels (123917); The Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George, Companion’s breast badge, in silver-gilt and enamels; Distinguished Service Order, GVR, in silver-gilt and enamels; Military Cross, GVR, unnamed as issued; 1914-15 Star (2. Lieut. H. Fowler. R.F.A.); British War Medal, this erased and unnamed; Victory Medal (Capt. H. Fowler.); Belgium, Order of the Crown, Knight’s breast badge in gilt metal and enamels; France, Médaille Militaire, in silver and enamels, in original case of issue; France, Croix de Guerre, 1914-1918, with bronze star, in original case of issue; France, War Medal, 1914-1918; Italy, Al Valore Militare, in bronze, believed to be of French manufacture; Romania, Virtute Militara, in silver; Russia, Order of St Anne, Military Division, Third Class breast badge, French-made, in silver, gilt and enamels, several medals with brooch-pins removed having previously been displayed in a frame, generally good very fine (17). M.C.: London Gazette, 18.07.1917: ‘For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He has done invaluable service in co-operating with the artillery. On one occasion he descended to 200 feet, and turned our guns on to parties of hostile troops. During the advance he was able to furnish much valuable information.’ U.S.A. Distinguished Service Medal, 09.07.1918: ‘for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility during World War I. Colonel Fowler rendered notable aid in planning the movements of the night bombing squads of the American Air Service. Later, appointed Air Service Commander of the 3rd Army, he assisted largely in the joint training of air and ground troops, at all times handling his troops well and establishing liaison between the air and ground forces.’ Colonel Harold Fowler (1886-1957) was born in Liverpool in 1886 to Anderson and Emily Fowler, of Ireland and England respectively, however he and his parents returned to New York during his early childhood. He was educated at Columbia University, where he was a popular student, and of the Varsity Football team. After working for a time on the New York Stock Exchange he was invited by Walter Hines Page, the US Ambassador to Great Britain, to become his personal Secretary. This appears to coincide with his recruitment into the U.S. Secret service, reputedly at the request of President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. Upon the arrival of war in late 1914, he applied and was approved for special dispensation to join the British Army. In ‘The Life and Letters of Walter Hines Page’, his former colleague reported that he had been working as a sniper ‘in command of a three-inch sniping gun just back of the trenches’. In this vein, and as recorded in the book ‘Harold Fowler 1886-1957: A Remembrance’ by his wife Thyrza Fowler, he was later awarded the D.S.O. for singlehandedly creeping out into No Man’s Land to silence a troublesome German battery. Promoted to Lieutenant on 1 January 1916, he was seconded to the Royal Flying Corps for training as an Observer, being confirmed as a Flying Officer (Observer) on 19 April 1916. He served with 26 Squadron until November that year, before qualifying as a full Pilot, gaining his ‘Wings’ on 28 July 1917. He was promoted to Temporary Captain whilst with 2 Squadron, and was transferred as Flight Commander to 12 Squadron, equipped with BE2c’s. During this time Fowler, with his Observer Lt F E Brown, was credited with sending a Halberstadt Scout down in flames on 25 February 1917, and soon after engaged a German Albatros in aerial combat, but this ended in a stalemate. Soon after, he was awarded his M.C., along with his D.S.O. and C.M.G., all on one occasion, by King George V, whom he had met once prior to the war with Ambassador Page. Once the U.S.A. had joined the war on 6 April 1917, Fowler was granted permission to resign, with the rank of Honorary Lieutenant, and his experience was in much demand in the USAAS. He was wounded in action several times, at least twice severely, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. According to a report in Time Magazine, he reputedly flew an aircraft under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris as the result of a bet made in the Café Montmartre on Armistice Night amongst French and American aces. In total, for his official and unofficial work as USAAS Liaison Officer to the RFC, he was awarded what is believed to be a unique combination of British, American, and other international awards and decorations. Judging by the style of manufacture of both his Russian Order of St Anne and Italian Al Valore Militare, it appears these awards were made during this same period. After the war, he alternated between banking work with the firm White, Weld & Co. and his secret work. In his personal life, he was a keen sportsman, big-game hunter and skilled equestrian, and he twice rode as Gentleman Rider in the Grand National at Aintree, each time on his own horse. In 1927, on Pop Ahead, and again in 1928 on Scotch Eagle, the assessments of contemporaneous pundits were sadly correct as, despite bold attempts, his horses failed to complete this most difficult of Steeple Chase courses. In the Second World War Fowler volunteered to interview commercial pilots in New York being considered for the Royal Canadian Air Force, and in 1941, he was granted an official role, being sent to Montreal and then to London. He reputedly was on board a bomber on the first raid on Berlin, presumably for intelligence reasons, and in 1942 he was given the honorary rank of Group Captain in his role as part of the Staff of the Commander of the RCAF. Later that year he was made a Colonel in the USAAF, was made Air Attaché to the US Embassy in London in 1942, and also gave intelligence advice regarding the North Africa and D-Day landings. He was involved in a plane crash in North Africa, and severely wounded with a broken right fibula, chipped ankle, dislocated shoulder and various severe cuts, but he still managed to drag both himself and the unconscious pilot from the burning wreckage. He returned home soon after D-Day, but had one final clandestine mission of two weeks’ duration. After the War he returned to ‘business’ and no doubt other clandestine work in New York before retiring with his wife to Palm Beach, Florida, where he died on 17 January, 1957. Fowler was a life-long friend of the celebrated author (and Great War spy) W. Somerset Maugham, who wrote that he was ‘a character out of our times… ...like one of those great adventurers of the reign of Elizabeth I. If he had been alive then he would have been a buddy of Drake and Raleigh… ...he had, of course, the courage of the devil.” Offered with a silver-framed and glazed portrait, c. 1942-4, a framed and glazed ‘Society of the Four Arts’ certificate and an original hardback copy of ‘Harold Fowler 1886-1957 : A Remembrance’, by Thyrza Fowler, signed by the author. See also following lot.

*Gulf 1990-91, 1 clasp, 16 Jan to 28 Feb 1991 (45105 Pte R E Barosen Normedcoy); with Norway, Innsatsmedaljen 1991; Saudi Arabia, Liberation of Kuwait 1991 and Kuwait, Liberation 1991, first in named box of issue, last two also in boxes of issue, extremely fine and very rare, with related Normed Coy Saudi Arabia 1991 booklet (4). Normed Coy ran a field hospital in Saudi Arabia from January-April 1991 staffed by over 200 personnel who were attached to the British Field Hospital in the Gulf. Another group, with identically-named Gulf medal but without the boxes of issue, was offered by Dix Noonan & Webb in January, 2006.

*The Second World War ‘Escaper’s’ K.C.V.O., O.B.E., M.C. & Bar Group of Ten awarded to Lieutenant-General Sir Chandos Blair, Queen’s Own Highlanders, G.O.C. Scotland and Governor of Edinburgh Castle, late C.O. of the 4th Battalion King’s African Rifles, and formerly of the 2nd and 7th Battalions Seaforth Highlanders. Captured during the Seaforths’ hard-fought rearguard action at St Valéry in June 1940, and widely reputed to have become the very first army officer to successfully escape and return home from a German Prisoner-of-War camp, he was later called upon to deliver the Queen’s Message and to handle the delicate negotiations involved in getting overturned the death sentence imposed on the British national Dennis Hills, who was due for execution by firing squad at the orders of President Idi Amin of Uganda (whom Blair had known many years before as an N.C.O. in the King’s African Rifles), comprising: The Royal Victorian Order, Second Class Knight Commander’s Set of Insignia by Collingwood, in silver, gilt and enamels, neck badge and breast star both numbered (1110) to reverse, in fitted case of issue; The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (Military Division), Officer’s breast badge, in silver-gilt, in case of issue; Military Cross, reverse engraved ‘1941’, with second award bar upon ribbon, engraved ‘1944’; 1939-1945 Star, France and Germany Star, Defence Medal, 1939-1945 War Medal, all unnamed as issued; General Service Medal, 1962-2007, single clasp, Radfan (Brig. C. Blair. O.B.E. M.C. Staff.); Silver Jubilee 1977; group swing-mounted on bar with reverse brooch pin, very fine and in original card box; together with Sir Chandos’s original commission document and K.C.V.O. Warrant (lot). K.C.V.O.: 25 October, 1972 (on relinquishing appointment as Defence Services Secretary); O.B.E.: London Gazette, 1 January 1962; M.C.: London Gazette, 30 September 1941: ‘for distinguished services in the field’;; Bar to M.C.: London Gazette, 19 October 1944, recommendation reads as follows: ‘Major Chandos Blair was in command of the advanced guard on Le Valtru on 28 June 44. Just short of the objective the left hand platoon was temporarily pinned by the fire by the enemy from a post some 400 yds away. Major Blair personally cleared the house which commanded the enemy post. Regardless of the heavy fire he moved about amongst his platoons, explaining his plan and by his disregard of enemy fire helped his men to disregard it also. He was almost the first man to reach the objective. Quickly rallying the assaulting troops he led them personally forward to the main objective on Le Valtru crossroads. This he cleared himself personally but the company was hampered by snipers from a nearby orchard. Again disregarding this fire he cleared the orchard. Throughout the attack on Le Valtru he was always to be found where fire was heaviest. His enthusiasm was an inspiration to his men and his determination to go forward and attack dominated the battle. On 29 June when both the C.O. and 2.I.C. of the Battalion were wounded, Major Blair assumed command of the Battalion. There had been many casualties and mortar fire was both heavy and spasmodic, but Major Blair moved about without fear, encouraging his men and held them firm in their posts until relieved some 36 hours later. Throughout the whole period of operations from 26 June to 30 June, Major Blair showed complete disregard to his personal safety and was at all times and inspiration to his company and later on to his Battalion.’ Lieutenant-General Sir Chandos ‘Chan’ Blair was born on 22 February 1919, the son of Brigadier-General Arthur Blair (K.O.S.B.) and Elizabeth Mary Blair (née Hoskyns). He was educated at Aysgarth School, then at Harrow, where he was a keen golfer, and finally at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst where he received the Sword of Honour. Receiving his first commission as a Second-Lieutenant in ‘C’ Company of the 2nd Battalion Seaforth Highlanders on 26 January 1939, he soon after took part in the fighting in France in June 1940, and at the time when much of the B.E.F. was being evacuated from Dunkirk, the 51st (Highland) Division took part in a gallant but ultimately doomed battle against Rommel’s 7th Panzer Division at Le Tot near St Valery-en-Caux. Surrounded, outnumbered and desperately short of ammunition or supplies, on 12 June thousands of the division’s men were taken prisoner, including 2nd Lt Chandos Blair. After a 14-day, 220--mile march, a journey by barge from Hulst in Holland down the Rhine to Baden-Württemburg, and a 60-hour train journey he arrived first at Oflag VIIC at Laufen Castle, where he remained until 1 March 1941 when he was moved to Stalag XXID - comprised of numerous forts at Posen, in Poland. Feeling his capture with a sense of ‘disgrace’ and ‘dishonour’ as mentioned in his letters, it was here that he made his first attempt at escape with 4 others, escaping his cell by ladder into a deep surrounding moat, in which they were eventually caught, reputedly turned in by a German guard who had accepted their bribe nonetheless. After some 21 days of subsequent confinement, they began collecting equipment, civilian clothes and supplies once again. On 4 June he was sent with 300 others to Oflag VB at Biberach, in Southern Germany. En route, Blair and his immediate friends had lost ‘the toss’ to another group who took an opportunity to escape from the train, but were later captured. After arriving at Biberach, and realising that if he were ultimately to escape then he needed to do so quickly, he immediately set about monitoring the camp movements and routines, and making plans for an escape. Taking turns to toss two dice with his two friends, on this occasion his score won, and thus it was he who was successfully extricated by hiding in a small handcart which was carrying stacked wooden beds to a shed beyond the gates. At this point one of the Blair’s friends offered the German guard a cigarette, and in this moment of diversion Blair made his escape to the shed. Armed only with a packet knife, homemade compass, matches, chocolate and a tin of Horlicks tablets, he emerged that night and survived by hiding in the woods and fields by day, and moving only under the cover of darkness. He remarked that for the first mile beyond the wire his ‘feet hardly touched the ground’ and that he ‘thoroughly enjoyed being hunted like a wild animal’ during his escape. After just over a week he passed Singen and reached the Swiss border, having covered 75 miles, and as he recalled in his second letter home from the Berne Legation: ‘When I got into Switzerland I only knew I was near the frontier….when I was challenged by a man in German, I thought the game was up…but continuing the conversation in French I discovered that the was a Swiss policeman who had been looking for a burglar. I nearly embraced him there and then I was so excited.’ After a short stay at Berne, where he was issued with false passports and other necessary provisions, he and another evader - Wing Commander P.A. Gilchrist, R.A.F. - left for Gibraltar on 12 January 1942 via France and Spain. Arriving safely, Gilchrist was first extracted on 27 January 1942, with Blair following on 11 February, both leaving by Sunderland flying boat. For his escape; the first successful ‘home run’ back to Britain made by a British army officer from a German POW Camp, Blair was awarded the Military Cross. Returning home to army service, he later was present as a Major with the 7th Battalion Seaforth Highlanders shortly after the D-Day Landings, where the 15th Scottish Division took part in Operation Epsom and the heavy fighting against German SS Tanks at Le Valtru near Caen. For his bravery in commanding his company and indeed his Battalion once his senior officers were wounded between 26 and 30 June, he was awarded a second award bar for his Military Cross….PLEASE GO TO WWW.MORTONANDEDEN.COM FOR FULL FOOTNOTE

*An Interesting Crimea D.C.M. Group of Five awarded to Private Robert Buchanan, 79th Foot (Cameron Highlanders), probably in recognition of being one of just 10 Volunteer Sharpshooters supplied by the Cameron Highlanders to pick off enemy Officers, gunners and riflemen during the siege of Sebastopol, comprising: Distinguished Conduct Medal, Victoria (R. Buchanan. 79th Highlanders.); Crimea, 1854-56, three clasps, Alma, Balaklava, Sebastopol (R. Buchanan. 79th Regt.), officially impressed; Indian Mutiny, 1857-58, single clasp, Lucknow (Robt. Buchanan, 79th Highlanders); Army Long Service and Good Conduct, Victoria (3156. R. Buchanan, 79th Foot); Turkish Crimea, Sardinian die (3156. Robert. Buchanan. 79th. Cameron Highlanders.), depot impressed; group swing-mounted on card in an incorrect order, the last with replacement Crimea suspension, polished with occasional contact marks, about very fine, D.C.M. somewhat better (5). Ex M. Taylor Collection, 1984 and Spink, 28 March 1995, lot 788. D.C.M. Recommendation dated 15.1.1855 (16 D.C.M.’s were awarded to the Cameron Highlanders for service in the Crimea). Private Robert Buchanan, D.C.M., was born in Barony, Glasgow in June 1823, and enlisted in the 60th Rifles February 1852, having previously worked as a Weaver. He transferred to the Cameron Highlanders the following year, and saw service in Turkey and the Crimea for 2 years - being awarded the D.C.M. with a gratuity of £5. Whilst no concrete information regarding this award has been found to date, it is known that 10 Cameron Highlanders were granted the medal for their work as volunteer sharpshooters, who engaged enemy riflemen and gunners at the siege of Sebastopol. As recorded in the ‘79th News’ in May 1909, the following excerpt from the obituary of Sergeant A. Sandison, 79th Highlanders, makes mention of this group of 10 volunteer sharpshooters awarded the D.C.M.: “After the Russian defeat at Alma, and their retiral upon Sevastopol, the 79th took up their position to assist in the protracted and memorable siege. On the 17th of October an incident occurred in which the late Sergeant Sandison, then, however, only a private, showed the stuff he was made of. The 79th was on this occasion called upon to furnish ten volunteers to act, along with equal numbers from other regiments, as sharpshooters, picking off the enemy’s gunners and engaging his riflemen. Sandison and another Caithness soldier, to wit, Private Donald Angus, were among the gallant ten who volunteered from the 79th for this particularly dangerous work. Both of them escaped unscathed, and were rewarded for their bravery with the medal for distinguished conduct.” Buchanan also served in the Indian Mutiny, where the roll confirms his entitlement to the clasp ‘Lucknow’ – with the note ‘invalided to Europe’. His L.S.G.C. with a gratuity of £5 was awarded in July 1861 and he was later discharged in December 1863 after 21 years’ service. Offered with copied service papers and some copied research.

A South Russia Pair awarded to Major Lenox Brett O’Brien, Royal Artillery, who was the Senior Liaison Officer for the Royal Artillery during the South Russian Campaign, attached to the Ural Cossacks, and who was also awarded the O.B.E. for services rendered in the Ural Region between January and April 1920, comprising: British War and Victory Medals (Major L. B. O’Brien.), good very fine, toned (2). O.B.E. London Gazette 16.07.1920 – ‘in recognition of valuable services rendered in connection with Military Operations in South Russia’. Major Lenox Brett O’Brien’s manuscript report relating to his time spent in the Urals is held by the Liddell Hart Military Archives.

*Nelson Testimonial Medal, 1844, in white metal, by E. Avern, bust of Nelson left within garter bearing england expects etc, rev., Trafalgar Square and Nelson’s Column; inscribed to commemorate the opening of the nelson testimonial trafalgar sque – 21 october 1844, 61mm (BHM -; Eimer -; Hardy 97; MH 531), pierced, about extremely fine and rare. Testimonial Medals such as this were presented to 357 Greenwich Pensioners who had served at one of Nelson’s four major actions, those of St. Vincent (39), Nile (35), Copenhagen (45) and Trafalgar (238), together with a gratuity of ten shillings, at a ceremony held at the Royal Greenwich Hospital on 2nd April 1845. The awards were funded by the Testimonial Committee of the parishioners of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. For more details see Captain K.J. Douglas-Morris, Naval Medals, 1793-1856, pp. 49-53. The Captain knew of only a few surviving examples (one of which was paired with an NGS medal).

*Dress Miniatures: France, a Second Restauration Trio, Order of St Louis in gold, Légion d’Honneur Knight’s breast badge, in silver, with gold centre, Spain, Order of St Ferdinand, in gold (as awarded to French troops who participated in the intervention of 1822), on a curved and ornately decorated ribbon bar with ribbon attached, good very fine (3)

London General Omnibus Co Ltd CERTIFICATE OF THANKS for services during the General Strike 4-14 May 1926, signed by Lord Ashfield and issued to Mr W Mollan who acted as a Volunteer Driver. A few foxing marks but generally in good condition complete with original mount. [1]

1912 Central London Railway POCKET MAP titled 'Central London (Tube) Railway' with a brown border and in a very similar style to maps produced by the Underground Group (who took over the CLR the following year) but with considerable prominence given to its own line. The Ealing Broadway extension, not yet open, is shown in hatched form and that to Liverpool Street shown as operational. In lightly-used condition with a little wear but very presentable. [1]

Original 1937 London Transport double royal POSTER 'Coronation Day' (King George VI and Queen Elizabeth) by Harold Stabler (1872-1945) who designed posters for the Underground Group/LT from 1923-1937. Poster shows the Coronation Area, Royal Route and lists appropriate Underground stations plus those with restricted access etc. Linen-backed with a little creasing and edge-scuffs but very reasonable overall. [1]

Original London Transport double royal POSTERS from the long-running series promoting the Country Walks booklets and comprising 1967 "High on the chalk downs..." by Christopher Hill, about whom little is known other than that he designed posters for LT from 1964-67, and 1971 "Epping Forest" by Peter Roberson (1907-1989) who worked for LT from 1948-78. A few creases but both generally in good condition. [2]