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Lot 342
British Empire Medal engraved U4003419 F Sgt Peter Bamford RAF, boxed together with a RAF Long Service and Good Conduct Medal to U4003419 CH Tech P Bamford RAF, boxed with ribbon together with his Certificate of Service Book which notes the LSGC medal awarded July 1964 and the Empire medal in January 1970 Flight Sergeant Peter Bamford was born 24th December 1928 and served with the RAF from 30th July 1946 to 17th October 1972
Lot 345
WW1 Memorial Plaque / Death Penny for Charles Willows together British War Medal and Victory Medal engraved 9603 Pte C Willows K.O.Y.L.I (Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry) together with photocopied paperwork Private Charles Willows was killed in action on 3rd October 1917 and is buried in the Favreuil British Cemetery, France
Lot 339
WW1 medal trio of 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal to J25077 H Goulder Tel. R.N complete with ribbons and boxes together with a cased George VI Imperial Service Medal engraved Harry Goulder with a photocopy of the London Gazette announcement of 18th December 1951 listing him as a Postman, Derby
Lot 341
Group of five WW2 medals to incl 1939-45 Star, Atlantic Star, Defence Medal, War Medal 1939-45 and George VI Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve Long Service Medal engraved to TY Lieut M J Heavyside RNVR together with box plus a photocopy of the announcement in the London Gazette, 15th August 1941, all with ribbons
Lot 264
* Battle of the Nile, 1798, white metal medal by T. Wyon Senior, the obverse showing a seated Victory holding plaque depicting a profile bust of Nelson, a recumbent lion to the right, a pyramid behind, the reverse showing a shield and fouled anchor, 38 mm (Eimer 892), good very fine, together with Death of Lord Nelson, 1805, a white metal medal by P. Wyon, the obverse showing a mourning seaman standing beside tomb, the reverse showing Britannia and Neptune seated beside funerary urn on a plinth, 52 mm (Eiemer 958), areas of wear therefore very fine plus Nelson (Horatio, 1758-1805). Admiral Lord Nelson, gilt metal portrait miniature, profile facing left with date of birth in the exurge, 55 mm diameter, presented in an ebonised frame with gilt metal coronet over fouled anchor hanging clasp, frame size 11 x 11 cmQTY: (3)
Lot 296
* Nelson (Horatio, 1758-1805). A white marble half bust after Franz Thaller (1759-1817) and Matthias Ranson (active, circa 1800), first half 19th century,a fine half bust modelled as Nelson with his head turned slightly to the left, in naval dress with two large naval medals engraved 'Trafalgar' and 'Nelson' and classical drapery, mounted on a socle, unsigned, 68 cm high, damaged, the nose been restored, there are several chips notably to the edges and the Nelson medal, presented on a wooden pedestal inscribed 'The Immortal Nelson' QTY: (1)NOTE:Following a visit by Nelson to Vienna in 1800, the Austrian sculptor Franz Thaller (1759-1817) was commissioned to carve a bust of Nelson and this bust is the most widely reproduced sculpted image of Nelson. Thaller was assisted by Matthias Ranson who was active circa 1800 but little is known of him. The bust was completed in 1801 and shipped to England, where it was kept at Merton by Lady Hamilton. The original bust is inscribed 'Franz Thaller etMatthias Ranson Vienae Austr. MDCCCI'. It is now displayed in the National Maritime Museum along with a plaster cast of Nelson's face which formed thebasis of the bust. The 'Thaller and Ranson' type was reproduced in different media, often with small anomalies. For further reading see Walker (Richard),The NelsonPortraits, pages 235-236. Other examples have been sold at auction in recent years for example,Sotheby's London, 5 October 2005, lot 75, £45,000Cheffin's Cambridge, 23 November 2023, lot 679, £22,000Duke's Dorchester, 5 Apil 2023, lot 97, £40,000
Lot 282
Lord Sebastian Coe signed limited edition print with signing photo Sebastian Coe is one of the great names of British sport with eight world records and two Olympic gold medals during his career. Coe sensationally broke three world records in 1979 in just 41 days: the 800m and mile in Oslo and the 1500m in Zurich. This meant Coe was the first man in more than 50 years to set world records at both 800m and 1500m.The following July Coe added the 1000m record to his list in Oslo, making him the holder, for a short time, of four world records simultaneously.In 1981 Coe broke records again at 800m (Florence) 1000m (Oslo) and the mile (Zurich and Brussels) bringing his total to eight. His 800m world record of 1:41:73, set in Florence in June1981, remained unbroken until 1997. At the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles Coe set an Olympic record at 1500m.He has now successfully led the bid to bring the Olympics to London in 2012.This stunning print shows Coe jubilant in crossing the line to win the Olympic gold medal in 1984. He has personally signed each print and you will receive a separate photo of the signing (as shown in the inset image).Actual Size 560mm x 410mm - limited edition of 250 and part of the Sporting Masters editions - Photo printed on 250gsm, high quality art board - The accompanying photo of the personality signing this item will include a copyright over the image and the edition number may vary. Good condition. All autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £5.99, EU from £7.99, Rest of World from £9.99
Lot 592
1981 Souvenir Medal 'The Royal Wedding'. To celebrate the marriage of H.R.H The Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer. Good condition. All autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £5.99, EU from £7.99, Rest of World from £9.99
Lot 741
A Crystal Palace Handel Festival bronze medal June 1857, an Alexandra of Russia Emancipation of Europe medal 1812, Birmingham copper token, further royal and other commemorative medals, Masonic jewel, and a Joseph II silver couronne 1786, in a silver pendant mount and a Marie Terese thaler 1780, in a silver pendant mount. (qty)
Lot 19
A superb Trafalgar and Arctic exploration pair awarded to Rear-Admiral William Robertson, Royal Navy, a Midshipman in the Defence at the battle of Trafalgar and a Lieutenant in the Isabella in Captain Ross’s expedition to discover the North West Passage in 1818; believed to be the only Trafalgar officer to also serve in Arctic waters and receive medals for both Naval General Service 1793-1840, 1 clasp, Trafalgar (Wm. Robertson, Midshipman.); Arctic Medal 1818-55, unnamed as issued, with original ribbons and Times obituary cutting, and contained in a contemporary fitted case, brilliant extremely fine (2) £30,000-£40,000 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- Provenance: Family source circa 2003. Confirmed on the roll as Midshipman aboard H.M.S. Defence at the battle of Trafalgar, and as Lieutenant in the Isabella under Captain John Ross, commanding the 1818 expedition to discover the North West Passage. William Robertson was born at Leith, Scotland, in 1786 and entered the Royal Navy on 9 June 1803 as Midshipman on board the Defence, in which ship he took part in the battle of Trafalgar. Under Captain George Hope the Defence was with Vice-Admiral Sir John Orde's squadron in April 1805, and later with Sir Robert Calder's and Collingwood's fleets. Then, on the 21st October 1805, she was one of the lee column led by Vice-Admiral Collingwood, but, being very close to its rear, was not able to engage the enemy until some two and a half hours after firing had been commenced by the foe. Then, for nearly half an hour, she plied her guns at the French 74, Berwick; afterwards assailing the Spanish San Ildefonso, also a 74, which fought for about an hour and then struck her flag. It is fair to say that she had been previously engaged by others of the British, which had contributed materially to her roll of casualties, amounting to something like 200 men killed or wounded. The Defence had thirty-six killed and wounded. Her damages were confined to a shot through the mainmast, which was otherwise cut in several places. Much of her lower and topmast rigging was shot away, besides which her gaff was cut in two, and she received some injury to her hanging knees and chain plates. The Defence and her prize, anchoring that evening (as the dying Nelson had desired the fleet should do), weathered the gale that followed the battle, and thus the San Ildefonso became one of the few trophies of victory saved from the tempest on this occasion. It is noticeable that a large proportion of the officers and crew of the Defence at Trafalgar were Scotsmen. After various services afloat he joined Captain Hon. Robert Stopford in the Spencer in the expedition against Copenhagen in 1807, on which occasion he was taken prisoner. Escaping in May 1809, he joined, in August of that year, the Victory, flag-ship in the Baltic of Sir James Saumarez, by whom he was nominated, 20 September, Acting Lieutenant of the Dictator. He was confirmed Lieutenant in February 1810 and subsequently served in the Lynx sloop on the North Sea station, and then in the Sarpedon sloop, Fortunée sloop, and Erne of 20 guns, in which ship he was serving at the close of the war with France in 1814. He next joined the Isabella hired ship under Captain John Ross, fitting out for a voyage of discovery in the Arctic regions. The expedition of 1818 was instigated by the Admiralty for the purpose of discovering the North West Passage to China and to reach the North Pole. Four ships were commissioned for the expedition; Alexander and Isabella to find the North West Passage, and Trent and Dorothea to reach the North Pole. These four ships sailed from England in May 1818 and Isabella and Alexander, under the command of Captain John Ross and Lieutenant William Parry respectively, set out for Baffin Bay, sailing along the west coast of Greenland and reaching Melville Bay before becoming beset by ice. They remained in the ice for some time and were in continual danger of the pack forcing them together with the threat of them smashing into each other. Fortunately the pack ice suddenly receded and the ships were free from danger. They sent a party ashore after rounding Cape York to inspect the cliffs of Cape Dudley Digges, which were covered in what appeared to be crimson snow but what was in fact protococcus, a rapidly multiplying plant that turns red when exposed to light. The ships then continued northwards where they encountered a party of Eskimos, of the Etah race not previously encountered. Ross gave them the name ‘Arctic Highlanders’. Ross continued his voyage passing to the south of Smith Sound giving the names Cape Isabella and Cape Alexander to two cliffs that mark the southern entrance to Smith Sound. He then sailed down Lancaster Sound for some fifty miles until he saw what he thought was land round the bottom of the bay, which formed a chain of mountains connecting the land on the north and south side of the Sound. Parry did not see these mountains and tried to persuade Ross to sail on. Ross, however, turned back when in fact he could have gone further. Ross’s return to England was not popular and he was not given any credit for the discoveries he had made. After serving in the Conway, Creole and Diamond on the South American station, Lieutenant Roberston joined the Galatea as Flag Lieutenant to Admiral Sir Thomas Hardy, in December 1826, when that officer escorted to Lisbon a body of troops intended as a reinforcement to the Portuguese Constitutionalists, and took part in an experimental cruize. He became a Commander in November 1827 and served in that capacity in the Snake on the North Sea station from May 1832, and on the South American station from June 1833, where he captured a Portuguese brig having on board 425 slaves. He subsequently served under Lord John Hay in the Castor on the North Coast of Spain from May 1836 until January 1837, when he was made Captain. He was promoted to his final rank of Rear Admiral on the retired list in July 1857, and died at Bath on 6 April 1861, aged 75. Admiral Robertson is believed to be the only Trafalgar officer to also serve in Arctic waters and receive medals for both.
Lot 217
The First and Second War campaign group of nine awarded to Brigadier Ivan Simson, Royal Engineers, Chief Engineer and Director-General Civil Defence at the time of the fall of Singapore in February 1942, and subsequently a Japanese prisoner of war 1914 Star, with clasp (Lieut, I. Simson. R.E.); British War and Victory Medals (Major I. Simson.); India General Service 1908-35, 1 clasp, Burma 1930-32 (Major I. Simson. R.E.); 1939-45 Star; Pacific Star; War Medal 1939-45, with M.I.D. oak leaf; Jubilee 1935; Coronation 1937, mounted as worn, nearly very fine or better (9) £1,400-£1,800 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- M.I.D. London Gazette 1 August 1946. Ivan Simson was born in India in 1890 and educated at Eastbourne College and the R.M.A. Woolwich. He was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in July 1910. On the outbreak of war he went to France with the 8th (Railway) Company R.E. In June 1915, was put in charge of a detachment loading mine earth at Noeux les Mines, near Lens, using rail mounted steam shovels - the first time that such equipment had been used by the Royal Engineers. A very considerable output was achieved, the mine earth being used as ballast in new railway construction. He later became O.C. 279th (Railway Construction) Company R.E., raised in France from tradesmen in Infantry Battalions for work in the 1st Army area under the Chief Railway Construction Engineer. At various times he volunteered for other jobs and spent short periods with several Field Companies and Tunnelling Companies, and was wounded during the course of the war. From 1919 to 1924 he served as Staff Captain in the War Office. In 1929 he was posted to India where he became Garrison Engineer at Jhansi, and later A.C.R.E. (Works), Calcutta. From 1932 to 1933 he was C.R.E. Burma Independent District, A.H.Q., Maymyo, Burma. On returning to the U.K. he held various posts including Assistant Director Engineering at the War Office and later the Ministry of Supply. For the first five months of 1941 he was Deputy Chief Engineer (Operations) at H.Q. Scottish Command, charged with the construction of airfields and defences against sea borne and parachute attack. On promotion to Brigadier later that year he was selected to become Chief Engineer Malaya Command, and was sent out with verbal instructions, never confirmed in writing, to install the most modern type of defences throughout Malaya and Singapore Island. In his book Too Little Too Late, written after the war, Simson described the frustrating struggle to build up defences before and during the ten week offensive that led to the surrender of Singapore on 15 February 1942, and how, at the last minute, he was appointed Director-General Civil Defence, Malaya, with no resources to carry out any form of defence. He felt particularly bitter towards General Percival, G.O.C. Malaya, who persistently refused permission for the necessary arrangement for defence to be put in place, stating baldly that “I believe defences like those you are suggesting would be bad for the morale of the troops and civilians.” Simson was taken prisoner at the fall of Singapore and remained captive for the duration of the war. He retired in July 1946 but was re-employed until 1951 under the Foreign Office in the Control Commission, Germany. He died on 4 February 1971.
Lot 61
The 4-clasp Naval General Service medal awarded to James Maynard, Gunner in the Star (renamed Meteor in 1812) at all four actions Naval General Service 1793-1840, 4 clasps, Martinique, Guadaloupe, The Potomac 17 Aug 1814, 14 Dec Boat Service 1814 (James Maynard, Gunner.) very fine £8,000-£10,000 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- Provenance: Colin Message Collection, August 1999. A unique combination of clasps. James Maynard is confirmed on the rolls as Gunner aboard Star at the first two actions, and aboard Meteor at the two American actions. This is actually the same ship for all four actions as Star was renamed Meteor in 1812 on conversion from a 16-gun sloop to a bomb vessel. The Boat Service clasp is not recorded on the official claims lists but Maynard is confirmed as serving aboard Meteor at that time. On 17 August 1814, two frigates and six smaller vessels, including the bomb Meteor, sailed into Chesapeake Bay and thence for some 50 miles up the Potomac towards Alexandria and Fort Washington. The American ships harbouring there were destroyed, the fort bombarded and the town of Alexandria forced to surrender. The British force returned safely although under fire from shore batteries and militia bands along the length of the Potomac. Plans for an attack on New Orleans, via Lake Borgne, were put into effect in December 1814, but five oared gunboats under Lt. ap Catesby Jones had to be neutralised before the main expedition could be landed. A large force of ships' boats (including those of the Meteor) was sent in against the Americans and after a fierce fight the gunboats were all captured. The Meteor's log for 12 December 1814 notes, ‘sent the yawl and two gigs armed and with provisions up the lakes to attack the enemy flotilla on Lake Borne’, and on the 15th, ‘returned with... intelligence of the whole of the flotilla being captured’ (ADM 51/2534 refers). James Maynard served as Gunner aboard the sloop Star from 15 July 1808 to 11 February 1812, and in Meteor from 12 February 1812 to 19 February 1815. He served subsequently aboard Trave, February 1815 to July 1821; Plymouth Barracks, July to December 1821; Tartar, January 1822 to March 1826; and finally Proserpine, April 1826 to 10 June 1831. Sold with copied extracts from the ship’s books for the American actions and record of service, together with notes compiled by Colin Message.
Lot 105
The unusual campaign pair awarded to Chief Engineer S. H. Stevenson, Royal Indian Marine India General Service 1854-95, 2 clasps, Burma 1887-89, Chin Lushai 1889-90 (Asst. Engr. S. H. Stevenson H.M.I.M.S. “Irrawaddy”); Africa General Service 1902-56, 1 clasp, Somaliland 1902-04 (Engineer S. H. Stevenson, R.I.M.S. Dalhousie) impressed naming, edge bruise to each medal, otherwise toned, good very fine and rare (2) £1,000-£1,400 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- Provenance: Douglas-Morris Collection, Dix Noonan Webb, February 1997; John Cooper Collection, Dix Noonan Webb, April 2001. Samuel Hedgert Stevenson was born in Kilmarnock, Scotland, on 25 August 1863. He was trained at the G. & S.W. Railway Company, Barr Morrison’s Engineering Works, Tait & Watson Company, and in H.M.I.M. Dockyard Factory. He joined the Indian Marine as a Temporary Assistant Engineer aboard Tenasserim in January 1886, and confirmed as an Assistant Engineer on 17 March 1886. He then served aboard Canning (December 1887), and Irrawaddy (November 1888) during the 1887-89 military operations in Burma. Promoted to Assistant Engineer in Charge, he next joined Pagan (September 1890) and returned to Irrawaddy in October 1890 in the rank of Assistant Engineer. During the expeditions against the Chin and Lushai Tribes the Irrawaddy acted as transport and support vessel for the military land operations, and he thus became entitled to the clasp ‘Chin-Lushai 1889-90’. He next joined Enterprize (July 1891), returned to Irrawaddy (July 1891), and on promotion to Engineer 2 November 1891 joined Mayo (December 1891). He was appointed Engineer in Charge of Ghurkha and Calcutta Yard Craft (April 1892) and served in this capacity until promoted to Engineer on joining Warren Hastings (March 1894), and Canning (May 1895). He was appointed Foreman of the Factory at Bombay Dockyard (July 1895), and Inspector of Machinery-Superintending (April 1897), reverting to the previous appointment in July 1897. In the rank of Engineer he was appointed to Hardinge (June 1900), and Dalhousie (April 1904) and served in the latter ship in Somali waters in 1904. He joined the Bombay Dockyard (December 1905) ‘for General Duties’, and was next afloat aboard Elphinstone (December 1905), Hardinge (July 1907), Lawrence (May 1907), Hardinge (September 1907), Dalhousie (March 1908), and Dufferin (February 1910). He was permitted to Retire on 26 January 1911 having served for 25 years. His service record carries the note ‘Is a very able and zealous Officer, takes an intelligent interest in all matters relating to his profession and has ideas of his own which will no doubt cause him in time to be looked upon as one suitable for the highest posts open to Engineers’.
Lot 185
The Great War M.M. group of three awarded to Corporal F. C. Upton, 63rd Royal Naval Division Signal Company, Royal Engineers Military Medal, G.V.R. (207461 Cpl. F. C. Upton. 63/R.N.D.S. Coy. R.E.); British War and Victory Medals (207461 Cpl. F. C. Upton. R.E.) mounted court-style for display, good very fine and scarce (3) £800-£1,000 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- M.M. London Gazette 16 July 1918 (France). Frederick Charles Upton died of wounds in France on 27 September 1918, aged 27. He was the son of William and Jane Upton, of Deal, and husband of Annie Esther Louisa Upton, also of Deal. He is buried in Ecoust-St. Mein British Cemetery, near Arras. The village of Ecoust-St. Mein was taken by the 8th/9th Devons in a blizzard on 2 April 1917, lost on 21 March 1918, and retaken at the end of August by the 3rd Division.
Lot 245
The poignant post-War Stanhope Gold Medal group of six awarded to Petty Officer (Upper Yardman Air) I. L. Beale, Royal Navy, for saving the life of his observer after their Firefly aircraft crashed into the sea off Land’s End in January 1955; tragically, he was killed in another aircraft accident in the following year, when a Skyraider of H.M.S. Eagle crashed into the Mediterranean on 24 November 1956 Defence and War Medals 1939-45; Korea 1950-53, 1st issue (C/JX.646145 I. L. Beale P.O. R.N.); U.N. Korea 1950-54; Royal Humane Society, Stanhope Gold Medal, 2nd type, 9-carat gold, hallmarked Birmingham 1955 (P.O. (Upper Yardman Air) Ivor Laurence Beale, R.N. 24th Jany. 1955); Royal Humane Society, small silver medal (successful), (P.O. (Upper Yardman Air) Ivor Laurence Beale, R.N. 24th Jany. 1955) mounted for wearing, good very fine (6) £2,400-£2,800 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- Ivor Laurence Beale’s gallant deeds are recorded in the following terms in Royal Humane Society records (Case No. 63945 - Voted to be the Stanhope Gold Medallist for 1955): ‘Saved Midshipman (Air) Richard William Mile Shepherd (21), Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. In the sea 20 miles N.W. of Land’s End. On the night of 24 January 1955, at 7.00 p.m., a Firefly Mk. 7 aircraft of No. 796 Squadron, attached to the Naval Observer and Air Signal School, R.N.A.S. Culdrose, crashed in the sea 20 miles N.W. of Land’s End. The weather was overcast with a force of 4 (11-16 m.p.h.). The wind was S./S.W., moderate sea and swell. The pilot is missing, believed killed, and salvor and saved were in the rear cockpit. On crashing the aircraft turned over and sank. Both rear cockpit occupants released themselves from the aircraft under water but Shepherd’s dinghy snagged and he had to leave it in the aircraft. Beale escaped with his dinghy and on coming to the surface, spent about 2 minutes releasing his parachute and making sure his dinghy was secure. Then realising that Shepherd was in the water 50 feet away, without a dinghy, Beale swam to him and then opened his own dinghy. Seeing that Shepherd was wounded in the head and only partially conscious, Beale pushed him into the dinghy (designed for one man capacity) and then climbed in himself over Shepherd’s legs. Beale’s action in rescuing Shepherd and getting him into the dinghy is most praiseworthy in view of the fact that Beale himself had a badly contused arm and a fractured rib, sustained in the crash (Report of Captain W. W. R. Bentick, R.N. Air Station, Culdrose). Subsequently in the dinghy Beale attempted to revive Shepherd with his own warmth as Shepherd’s immersion suit had been torn in escaping from the aircraft and was full of water, and, when Shepherd had revived, they took it in turns to keep each other warm, Beale having broken the seal on his immersion suit in rescuing Shepherd and so also being wet through. The following statement was made in reply to the Society’s questionnaire: Beale in delaying getting in his own dinghy in his injured condition, by going to rescue Shepherd, and in sharing his own one man dinghy with Shepherd, considerably decreased his own chances of survival or rescue.’ After three hours of exposure the two men were picked up by the British Tanker Scottish Eagle. The Master of the Scottish Eagle reported: Referring back to the incident on the night of 24th inst. I would like the attention of proper authority drawn to the great bravery shown by U. Y. Beale in saving the life of Midshipman Shepherd. When these two men had fought their way out of the aircraft it was submerged to a depth of about 20 feet and both of them were injured and badly shocked. Beale’s dinghy, which was the only one to inflate, was, after all, only a one man dinghy and how he managed to get a helpless semi-conscious man into it, in the sea and swell then running, is almost beyond understanding. He could only have managed this by jeopardising his own life. During all the time they were in the water and alongside the ship, during the recovery from the water and during removal from the lifeboat to the hospital, Beale’s only thought was: For God’s sake mind my legs. A doctor was transferred from H.M.S. Triumph to the Scottish Eagle. He treated the survivors for their injuries, shock and exposure. The Scottish Eagle was diverted to Falmouth where the survivors were landed at 5.30 a.m. on 25 January and transferred to the Sick Bay, R.N.A.S. Culdrose.’ Beale and Shepherd were spotted by a Shackleton aircraft from R.A.F. St. Eval at 2200 hours, and its crew guided the Crested Eagle to their position; the pilot of the Firefly perished. Tragically, Beale was killed in another aircraft accident in the following year, when a Skyraider of H.M.S. Eagle crashed into the Mediterranean on 24 November 1956. Sold with gold and silver ribbon buckles for the Stanhope Gold Medal and R.H.S. silver medal; damaged case of issue for the Stanhope medal; Royal Life Saving Society, bronze medal (I. L. Beale, July 1942), an unnamed gilt metal swimming medal, and embroidered Naval airman’s badge.
Lot 166
The important Great War D.S.O., D.S.C. group of seven awarded to Lieutenant-Colonel Frank Summers, Royal Marine Brigade, Royal Naval Air Service, and Tank Corps (Heavy Branch M.G.C.), who led the first tanks to be used in War on the Somme 1916 Distinguished Service Order, G.V.R., silver-gilt and enamel, with integral top riband bar; Distinguished Service Cross, G.V.R., the reverse hallmarked London 1915 and engraved ‘Captain F. Summers D.S.C.’; British South Africa Company Medal 1890-97, reverse Matabeleland 1893, no clasp (Troopr. F. Summers, Victoria Column.); Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 2 clasps, Cape Colony, Wittebergen (Lieut. F. Summers. 53 Co. Impl. Yeo.); 1914 Star, with clasp (Temp. Lieut. F. Summers, R.M. Brigade); British War and Victory Medals, with M.I.D. oak leaves (Lt. Col. F. Summers.) mounted as worn, light contact marks to the earlier medals, otherwise very fine and better (7) £5,000-£7,000 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- D.S.O. London Gazette 1 January 1917: ‘Temporary Major, Machine Gun Corps.’ D.S.C. London Gazette 1 January 1916: ‘Temporary Captain, Royal Marines. For services with the Royal Naval Division Motor Transport Company in France.’ M.I.D. London Gazette 1 January 1916 and 4 January 1917. Frank Summers served as a Trooper in the B.S.A. Company’s Police during the Matabele Rebellion of 1893, and also acted as a Correspondent for Reuters whilst attached to the Victoria Column. He served during the Boer War as a Lieutenant in the Royal East Kent Yeomanry and was mentioned in despatches. In 1914 Summers volunteered himself and his motor car for service with the Royal Naval Division in Belgium and France, there being a chronic shortage of transport at this time. He was Adjutant of the Royal Marine Motor Transport Company which was formed in September 1914 and disbanded in August 1915. They were employed in transporting troops in every direction as the great move to cover the Channel ports was taking place, and they were very active during the 1st and 2nd battles of Ypres, at Aubers Ridge and at Festubert. Two of its officers were decorated, Captain H. M. Leaf, R.M., with the D.S.O., and Captain Frank Summers with the D.S.C. After serving in France, Summers went to the Dardanelles with the Royal Naval Air Service, probably in armoured cars. His Royal Marine commission was terminated on 27 March 1916, when he transferred to the Army as a Major in the Heavy Branch of the Machine Gun Corps, cover name for the first tank unit, and which later became known as the Tank Corps. He trained and led the original “D” Company of tanks in the attack on Flers-Courcelette on the Somme, 15 September 1916, the first ‘official’ occasion on which tanks were used in the War. However, one of Summers’ “D” Tanks had carried out a lone reconnaissance on the day before, so there can be no doubt that it was one of his tanks that was the first ever to go into action. On 19 November he was in command of three tank companies in the attack on Cambrai. Although the award of his D.S.O. in January 1917 does not carry a citation, there can be little doubt that it was made in recognition of his services on the Somme. He was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in the Tank Corps in November 1916 and commanded the 6th Tank Battalion from January to December 1917. Later in the War he served with the British Military Mission in Washington and lecturing at the War College on tank tactics. Whilst in Washington he met with the young Dwight D. Eisenhower, also a tank specialist and destined to become 34th President of the U.S.A.
Lot 88
A rare and important Victorian Naval group of seven awarded to Admiral Sir William Loring, K.C.B., Royal Navy, Commodore of the Naval Forces in Australia during the War in New Zealand 1860-61 The Most Honourable Order of the Bath (K.C.B.), (Military) Knight Commander’s set of insignia, comprising neck badge in 18 carat gold and enamels, hallmarked London 1874, and breast star in silver with appliqué centre in gold and enamels, the reverse fitted with gold pin for wearing; Naval General Service 1793-1840, 1 clasp, Syria (William Loring, Lieut. R.N.); Crimea 1854-56, 1 clasp, Sebastopol, unnamed as issued; New Zealand 1845-66, reverse dated 1860 (Commodore W. Loring, C.B., H.M.S. Iris) officially impressed naming; St. Jean d’Acre 1840, silver, unnamed, fitted with straight bar suspension and ‘Syria’ clasp; Turkish Crimea 1855, Sardinian issue, unnamed; Ottoman Empire, Order of the Medjidie, 3rd Class neck badge, silver, gold and enamels, small chip to Crescent suspension on this, the K.C.B. set with some chips to green enamel stalk on the star, otherwise generally with light contact marks, good very fine or better (8) £7,000-£9,000 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- Provenance: Alan Hall Collection, June 2000. Only 6 medals issued to the Royal Navy with the reverse date ‘1860’, Commodore Loring being the senior officer to receive one. William Loring, the second son of Admiral Sir John Loring K.C.B., K.C.H., entered the Royal Navy in 1826 as a First-class Volunteer aboard the Undaunted. He afterwards served in the Mediterranean, at Home and in the East Indies aboard the Alligator, Britannia, Melville and Wolf. He passed his examination in 1832 and was promoted to Lieutenant in 1836. He saw service off the Coast of Syria in 1840 aboard Carysfort, and received the medal with clasp 'Syria' and the St Jean D'Acre Silver medal. He was promoted Commander in 1841 and Captain in 1848. In the Crimean War he served in Command of Furious, and was present at the bombardment of Odessa and Fort Constantine in 1854, and Sebastopol and Kinburn in 1855. He received the Turkish and British Crimea Medals, the latter with Clasp 'Sebastopol' and was also awarded the Order of Medjidie 3rd Class. His services in the Crimea were further recognised by the award of the C.B. in 1855. On promotion to Commodore 1st Class in 1860, Loring commanded the Naval Brigade in New Zealand during the 2nd Maori War. He was promoted Rear Admiral in 1866, Vice Admiral in 1871, Admiral in 1877, and Admiral of the Fleet in 1881. Having been created a K.C.B. in 1875, he died in 1895 aged 81. His obituary in The Times, 7 January 1895, states: ‘The death is announced at Ryde, Isle of Wight, of Admiral Sir W. Loring, in his 82nd year. He was the second son of Admiral Sir J. Wentworth Loring, was born at Fareham in 1813, and educated at Twyford and at the Naval College, Portsmouth. Entering the Navy he proceeded on active service in June 1827. He served on the coast of Syria in 1840-1, being present at the bombardment of St Jean D'Acre and the blockade of Alexandria, and was made Commander, R.N. by “special promotion” for his services under Sir Charles Napier and received the English and Turkish Medals. Again he received special promotions for the successful pursuit and capture of the notorious pirate Lin Gahn, on the coast of China. Subsequently he served at the siege of Sebastopol, Eupatoria, Kertch, Kinburn etc. He was Commodore on the Australian Station from 1856 to 1860, and at the same time in Command of the Naval Brigade at Taranaki during the New Zealand war, for which he received a Medal. From 1862 to 1866 he was Captain Superintendent at Pembroke Dockyard, and Rear Admiral Superintendent at Portsmouth Dockyard 1870-1. About this time he was promoted to the rank of Vice-Admiral and in 1877 rose to that of Admiral. He was made K.C.B. in 1875.’
Lot 239
The rare post-War Bomb and Mine Clearance B.E.M. group of seven awarded to Leading Seaman W. G. Reynolds, Royal Navy, Mediterranean Fleet Clearance Diving Team
 British Empire Medal, (Military) G.VI.R., 1st issue (D/KX.90842 W. G. Reynolds L.S., R.N.); 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star, 1 clasp, France and Germany; Africa Star; Italy Star; War Medal 1939-45; Naval General Service 1915-62, 2 clasps, Minesweeping 1945-51, B. & M. Clearance Mediterranean (D/KX.90842 W. G. Reynolds. B.E.M., L.S.M., R.N.) good very fine and better, the last clasp extremely rare (7) £3,000-£4,000 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- B.E.M. London Gazette 1 January 1949; ‘In recognition of Operational Minesweeping service since the end of the War.’ Seedies roll confirms William George Reynolds was serving aboard H.M.S. Sylvia while clearing mines in the Mediterranean. Approximately 60 ‘B. & M. Clearance Mediterranean’ clasps issued to men of the Fleet Clearance Diving Team and men of the seaman branch employed in the removal of recovered bombs and mines. The clasp was awarded for six months’ consecutive work in the disposal of bombs and mines during the period of 1 January 1953 to 31 December 1960. The majority of the work centred around Malta and, in particular, the main harbour of Valletta where large quantities of bombs were recovered from a number of merchant vessels that had been sunk by air attack during the Second War, such as the motor vessels Talbot and Pampas. A replacement B.E.M. G.VI.R 2nd issue is known to have been issued to this recipient.
Lot 60
The 4-clasp Naval General Service medal awarded to Admiral Barrington Reynolds, G.C.B., Royal Navy, who entered the Navy at the age of 9 in the Druid with his father Captain R. C. Reynolds, who he followed into the Amazon and witnessed the action, in company with Sir Edward Pellew in the Indefatigable, with the French 74 Droits de L’Homme in January 1797, being briefly taken prisoner; he served in the boats of the squadron at the cutting out of the Guepe in August 1800 being promoted to Lieutenant. Reynolds was afterwards distinguished at the capture of Java, and commanded the Ganges in the Syria operations in 1840 Naval General Service 1793-1840, 4 clasps, Amazon 13 Jany 1797, 29 Aug Boat Service 1800, Java, Syria (B. Reynolds, Capt. R.N.) some light hairlines, otherwise nearly extremely fine £24,000-£28,000 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- Confirmed on the rolls as Midshipman aboard H.M.S. Amazon for her action with the French 74 Droits de L’Homme on 13 January 1797; in the same rank aboard H.M.S. Impetueux and the boat service action on 29 August 1800; as Commander of H.M.S. Hesper at the capture of Java; and as Captain of H.M.S. Ganges at Syria. Only 6 clasps issued for ‘Amazon 13 Jany 1797’ and 25 for ‘29 Aug Boat Service 1800’. The Amazon clasp is not held by either the National Maritime Museum or the Royal Naval Museum. Reynolds’ service at Java is not to be overlooked. The naval operations were carried out by Captain Sayer, R.N. (Army Gold Medal for Java - Patiala Collection, Sheesh Mahal Museum, India) assisted by Captains Festing (who got a Military G.S. medal for Java), Stopford (N.G.S. 6 clasps in the National Maritime Museum), Maunsell (did not live to claim) and Reynolds. These officers manned the batteries consisting of twenty 18-pounders, with 500 seamen under their direction, which silenced the enemy’s heavy guns at the assault of Meester Cornelis which led to the surrender of the island. Reynolds’ Java clasp is therefore the highest rank available on a Naval General Service medal. Barrington Reynolds was born in 1786 at Penair, near Truro, the second son of Rear Admiral Robert Carthew Reynolds, who died in 1811. He entered the navy in in 1795, on board the Druid, with his father, whom he followed into the Amazon. On 13 December 1797, the Amazon 32, Captain R. C. Reynolds, and the Indefatigable 44, Captain Sir Edward Pellew, about fifty leagues south west of Ushant, discovered a large ship steering towards the coast of France. This was the Droits de l’Homme 74, Commodore J. La Crosse, which had formed one of the French fleet in the expedition to Ireland, and after the failure at Bantry Bay, was now returning home, with about seven hundred trroops on board. The weather was thick and hazy, and the wind blew hard from the westward. Soon after the French ship had been sighted and found to be an enemy, a squall carried away her fore and main top-masts, and the sea ran so high that she was unable to open her lower deck ports. Shortly before 6 p.m. the Indefatigable brought the Droits de l’Homme to action, and in about an hour after, the Amazon came up and took part in the engagement; the enemy making several ineffectual attempts to board, and keeping up an active fire of cannon and musketry. In a little time the British frigates shot ahead, the Amazon to reduce her sail, and the Indefatigable to repair the damage to her rigging. About half-past eight, the frigates renewed the action, attacking their opponent first on the bow, and then on the quarter, often within pistol shot. The contest lasted till twenty minutes past four a.m. when when the sudden appearance of the land, and breakers close ahead, caused all the ships to end an engagement which had lasted ten hours, and make efforts top haul off. The Indefatigable at once bore to the southwards, with four feet of water in her hold, all her masts much damaged, and her crew almost worn out with fatigue. The Droits de l’Homme in attempting to tack, lost her fore mast and bowsprit, and struck on a sand bank in Audierne Bay. The main mast went by the board, and she then fell on her broadside, with a tremendous surf beating over her. The Amazon seeing the danger, also wore, with three feet of water in her hold, but with her mizzen top-mast shot away, and her masts and rigging almost cut to pieces, was unable to haul off, and went on shore about the same time. Her crew with the exception of six, who were drowned, saved themselves on rafts, but on landing were all made prisoners by a body of French soldiers. In the action three men were killed and fifteen wounded. Through the stormy state of the weather the crew of the Droits de l’Homme spent four nights on the wreck without succour, the waves constantly breaking over them, till more than half of them were drowned, or perished from cold and hunger. Her crew with the soldiers ammounted to one thousand three hundred and fifty men, two hundred and fifty of whom were killed and wounded in the engagement with the British frigates. On regaining his liberty in January 1798, Barrington Reynolds again served with his father in the Pomone, and was present in a stiff action which ended in the capture of Le Cheri French privateer of 26 guns and 230 men. He shortly afterwards moved to the Indefatigable, with Sir Edward Pellew, and on 8 August 1798 contributed to the capture of La Vaillante corvette of 20 guns and 175 men. Following Pellew into the Impetueux 74, he sailed in that ship with a squadron sent in June 1800, to co-operate with the French royalists and Chouans in Quiberon Bay and the Morbihan. He assisted, 4 June 1800, while detached in a boat, in silencing the forts at the south west end of Quiberon, where several vessels were brought off and some scuttled. On 6 August he was employed in the boats under Lieutenant John Pilfold, at the capture, in the Morbihan, of two brigs, two sloops, two gun-vessels, and about 100 Frenchmen, and the destruction of L’Insolente 16-gun brig, some smaller vessels, a fort and a magazine. On the night of 29 August 1800, he fought in the boats of a squadron, 20 in number, commanded by Lieutenant Henry Burke, at the cutting out, close to the batteries in Vigo Bay, of La Guêpe privateer of 18 guns and 161 men, which vessel was boarded and carried in fifteen minutes. For his services on this occasion he was made Lieutenant into the Courageux 74. In June 1802 he was appointed to the Hussar 28, and from August 1803 to September 1809 was in the Niobe 40, for the greater part with Captain John Wentworth Loring on the coast of France. On the night of 28 March 1806 he skilfully gained full possession, whilst in command of two boats dropped from the Niobe, of the French corvette La Néarque of 16 guns and 97 men, the rearmost of a French squadron comprising of a further three frigates. He was afterwards in the Russell 74, in the East Indies, and in December 1809 was appointed acting Commander of the Arrogant hulk. In February 1811 he was appointed to the Hesper 18, part of the force employed in the expedition against Java, where he assisted at the bombardment and storming of Fort Cornelis and served on shore with a party of seamen throughout all the operations. After the reduction of the town of Cheribon, Reynolds was appointed temporary commander of that place, and on the final subjugation of the island of Java he was, in acknowledgement of his conduct, appointed Acting Captain of the Sir Francis Drake frigate. On 22 January 1812, he was promoted Captain, independently, by the Admiralty, probably as a mark of their high appreciation of the services of his father, who had perished ...
Lot 9
The Naval General Service medal awarded to Rear-Admiral Donald Campbell, Royal Navy, who served at the battle of Camperdown as a Lieutenant in H.M.S. Russell and afterwards acquitted himself with gallantry and good conduct on several occasions in various boat actions and in South America in support of General Miranda’s expedition to Venezuela in 1806 Naval General Service 1793-1840, 1 clasp, Camperdown (Donald Campbell, Lieut.) two edge bruises and polished, therefore nearly very fine £4,000-£5,000 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- Confirmed on the roll as a Lieutenant aboard H.M.S. Russell at Camperdown. Donald Campbell, born in 1788, is eldest son of the late Colin Campbell, Esq., of Auchendoun, co. Argyle; brother of Lieutenant Duncan Frederick Campbell, R.N., who died in 1837, and of two military officers, who both lost their lives in the active service of their country, the one in consequence of the wounds he had received as Senior-Captain of the 59th Regiment, when landing with the grenadiers of that corps at Java in 1811; the other from the effects of the Walcheren fever; and uncle, by marriage, of Commanders Henry Hope, and John Elliot Bingham, R.N. This officer entered the Navy on 4 June 1791, as Able Seaman on board the Assistance 50, Captain Lord Cranstoun, in which ship he served in the Channel until discharged in September following. He re-embarked in 1793, on board the Otter 10, Captain James Hardy; became Midshipman on 20 October in the same year, of the Scorpion 18, Captain Thomas Western, under whom, on proceeding to the West Indies, he captured, among other vessels, La Victoire French privateer, of 18 guns; and was afterwards transferred in succession to the Swiftsure 74, flag-ship of Rear-Admiral William Parker (in which he was present at the unsuccessful attack upon Leogane, St. Domingo, 22 March 1796), and Venerable 74, bearing the flag in the North Sea of Admiral Duncan. In 1797 Mr. Campbell joined, as Acting-Lieutenant, the Russell 74, Captain Henry Trollope, and, after participating in the battle of Camperdown, was confirmed by the Admiralty, 4 January 1798. His next appointment was, 26 October 1798, to the Galatea 32, Captain Hon. George Byng, on the Irish station, where, during a dark and stormy night in the winter of 1800, he was, with a crew of six volunteers, hoisted in a boat from off the booms of the ship to take possession of El Pensée Spanish letter-of-marque, carrying 20 men, whom for 10 days he had the onerous duty of keeping in subjection. On 15 October 1802, he obtained the First-Lieutenancy of the Carysfort 28, Captains George Mundy and Robert Fanshawe, in the boats of which frigate he captured a French letter-of-marque on the coast of Norway in 1803. He afterwards accompanied a large convoy to the West Indies, and subsequently to his appointment, 20 February 1805, to the command of the Tobago schooner, signalised himself in a successful attack made in company with the Curieux sloop on two merchantmen, lying for protection under the batteries at Barcelona, on the coast of Caraccas. Having assumed, 18 September 1805, the acting-command of the Lily 18, Captain Campbell, in the spring of 1806, had the good fortune, after a long chase, to capture the Leander, of 22 guns and 220 men, with General Miranda on board, returning from a vain endeavour to rear the standard of independence in South America. In the second and equally impropitious attempt which Miranda, owing to the assistance of Sir Alexander Cochrane, was induced to make, Captain Campbell, as the Naval Commander-in-Chief of the expedition, acquitted himself of his responsible charge with all the accustomed gallantry and judgement of a British officer. He subsequently, for his general good conduct and attention to the interests of Trinidad, received the public thanks of the Governor, Council, and merchants; but, in consequence of some mismanagement at head-quarters, he does not appear to have been officially promoted until confirmed, 4 May 1807, in the command of the Pert 16, to which sloop he had been appointed on 30 of the preceding January. On 16 October following he was unfortunately wrecked, and lost 12 of his crew, in a hurricane off the island of Margarita, a disaster, however, of which a subsequent court-martial most honourably acquitted him. Captain Campbell’s ensuing appointments were, 13 September 1809, to L’Espiègle 16, in which he convoyed two ships to the West Indies; 29 April 1810, by exchange, to the Port d’Espagne sloop, on the latter station; and, 22 September 1810, to the Rosamond 18, employed successively in defending the trade of Trinidad, conveying a mail and some specie from Jamaica to England, escorting various fleets of merchantmen, and protecting the fisheries on the coast of Labrador and the north shores of Newfoundland. He attained Post-rank on 1 August 1811, but did not leave the Rosamond until 28 May 1814. He afterwards, from 1822 to 1832, officiated as an Inspecting-Commander in the Coast Guard; and on 1 October 1846, was made a Flag officer. Rear-Admiral Campbell died at Barbrech House, Craignish, Argylshire, on 16 December 1856.
Lot 89
New Zealand 1845-66, reverse undated (H. F. Crohan, Midn. H.M.S. Iris 1860-61) officially impressed naming, light scratching to obverse fields, otherwise good very fine £1,200-£1,600 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- Provenance: Douglas-Morris Collection, Dix Noonan Webb, October 1996. Crohan's medal was issued on 9 November 1878. 72 medals (10 to R.N. officers, 49 to R.N. ratings, 1 to R.M. officer, and 12 to R.M. N.C.Os. and men) were awarded to H.M.S. Iris of which 34 are known, including 4 with undated reverses and 3 with reverses dated 1860. Crohan's medal is the only undated example known to a Royal Navy officer on H.M.S. Iris and is also a rare example with impressed dates on the edge, the issuing authorities having run out of dated reverse medals. Herbert Crohan was born on 16 September 1841, and first entered as a Naval Cadet on 12 April 1855, aboard H.M.S. Pylades. He transferred to H.M.S. Iris in November 1856, to take part ashore (9 July to 11 October 1860) in the early stages of the Second New Zealand War as a Midshipman (seniority 12 April 1857) on the books of H.M.S. Cordelia. Promoted to Acting Mate in October 1860, immediately on return from shore to his proper vessel, H.M.S. Iris, he subsequently served aboard Fawn (1861-62), where he received promotion to Sub Lieutenant in January 1862, and later on Pelorus (1862-63) where he was promoted to Lieutenant in August 1862, followed by Cadmus (1865-68) and Pheasant (1871-73). He was promoted to Commander in February 1873 and appointed to H.M.S. Active, 'additional' as a Transport Officer in October 1873 until May 1874. He was the Senior Transport Officer afloat at Cape Castle during the Ashantee Campaign 1874, receiving the Ashantee 1873-74 medal without clasp for services aboard H.M.S. Active. He completed his service aboard H.M. Ships Flying Fish (1874-78) and Trincomalee (1880-83), and then was with the Coast Guard Service until 1886. He retired with the rank of Captain on 19 September 1889, and died on 23 February 1892.
Lot 175
The Great War posthumous Italian Al Valore Militare group of four awarded to Commander R. G. Fane, Royal Navy, who was killed aboard the cruiser Dartmouth in the Adriatic in May 1917, when an Austrian squadron attacked the Otranto barrage 1914-15 Star (Commr. R. G. Fane. R.N.); British War and Victory Medals (Commr. R. G. Fane. R.N.); Italy, Kingdom, Al Valore Militare, silver, mint mark crowned Z over F.G, the reverse upper surround field engraved ‘Basso Adriatico 15 Maggio 1917’ and the centre ‘R. G. Fane’, together with an engraved silver plaque from an old display frame, this inscribed ‘Commander Robert Gerald Fane R.N., Italian Medal of Valour, H.M.S. Dartmouth’, nearly extremely fine (4) £2,400-£2,800 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- Provenance: Dix Noonan Webb, December 2005. M.I.D. (Posthumous) 29 August 1917. Al Valore Militare London Gazette 6 April 1918. Robert Gerald Fane was born on 8 April 1882, and entered the Royal Navy as a cadet in May 1897. Promoted to Sub. Lieutenant in April 1901, he was advanced to Lieutenant in October 1902 for gaining ‘four Firsts’ in his examinations. By the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914, Fane was serving in the rank of Commander in the special torpedo vessel and depot ship Vulcan, the Navy List for January 1915 also noting after his name, ‘and for duty with submarines’. But by 1917 he was back on more regular seagoing duties as a Commander in the cruiser H.M.S. Dartmouth in the Adriatic. On 15 May 1917, a mixed Italian and French destroyer force led by the British cruiser Dartmouth encountered an Austrian squadron of cruisers, supported by destroyers, who were raiding the allied drifter barrage in the Otranto Straits. Single-handed, the Dartmouth engaged the Austrian ships, her 6-inch guns scoring a direct hit on the fore-bridge of the Austrian cruiser Novara within the opening minutes of the engagement, killing her captain, Commander Szuboritz. But it quickly became apparent that the Dartmouth was outnumbered and outgunned and, having already been “near-missed” by enemy aircraft, was hit several times by gunfire and later by a torpedo fired by the UC-25 - it was most probably this latter explosion that killed Commander Fane. Dartmouth took on a heavy list, forcing her crew to abandon ship, but when the Austrian squadron had departed, her captain, along with a party of volunteers, reboarded her and managed to partially right her, and eventually raised steam for Brindisi. Eighteen D.S.Ms and one Bar were awarded for this action, many of them to the drifter men who made a most spirited attack against the Austrians in their little boats. Foremost amongst these was Skipper Joseph Watt of the Gowan Lea, who was awarded the Victoria Cross. Fane, who was 35 years of age, was buried in Brindisi Cemetery, together with four ratings from Dartmouth killed on the same occasion.
Lot 134
Polar Medal 1904, E.VII.R., silver, 1 clasp, Antarctic 1902-04 (A.B. J. Handsley. “Discovery”) officially engraved naming, nearly extremely fine £6,000-£8,000 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- 37 silver medals awarded for Scott’s First Expedition, 1902-04. Jesse Handsley was born in Skegness, near Lincoln, on 29 March 1876, and was a baker by trade before he joined the Royal Navy on 23 October 1891. Being trained in the Gunnery branch, he was advanced to Ordinary Seaman in March 1894, upon signing on for 12 years’ Continuous Service having reached his 18th Birthday. He was advanced to Able Seaman in April 1895. In December 1901, as an Able Seaman, he was selected as a crew member of the SS Discovery for Captain Scott’s expedition to the Antarctic, and joined Discovery from H.M.S. Ringerooma at Port Chalmers, New Zealand. He was specially promoted to Petty Officer 1st class, from 10 September 1904, ‘in recognition of his services with Discovery.’ Handsley was a PO 1st class for the remainder of his service until 3 June 1916, when he was ‘discharged dead’ from Gibraltar Hospital as the result of a gastric ulcer, and is buried in Gibraltar (North Front) Cemetery. Sold with copied record of service.
Lot 198
The Second War D.S.M. and Bar group of six awarded to Able Seaman S. D. Bennett, Royal Navy, who, having been originally decorated for his part in the famous boarding of the Altmark off Norway in February 1940, went on to win a Bar to his D.S.M. for services in H.M. Submarine Saracen in the Mediterranean: taken P.O.W. following her loss off Bastia in July 1943, he made at least two bids for freedom, one of them leading to him enjoying a period of several months at large, when he worked with the Italian partisans Distinguished Service Medal, G.VI.R., with Second Award Bar (JX. 136296 S. D. Bennett, A.B, H.M.S. Aurora.); 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Africa Star; Italy Star; War Medal 1939-45, mounted as worn, extremely fine (6) £5,000-£7,000 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- Provenance: Sotheby’s, May 1989; Ron Penhall Collection, Dix Noonan Webb, September 2006. Eight D.S.Ms were awarded for the ‘Altmark Incident’, which with the addition of a Bar for services in submarines probably makes Bennett’s award unique; approximately 150 Bars to the D.S.M. were issued in the 1939-45 War. D.S.M. London Gazette 12 April 1940: ‘For gallantry and devotion to duty in the boarding of the Altmark.’ D.S.M. Second Award Bar London Gazette 20 July 1943. The original recommendation states: ‘During her one patrol at home, and eight in the Mediterranean, Saracen has sunk by torpedo two enemy supply ships and one transport, totalling 20,000 tons, two U-Boats and one destroyer; and by gunfire two large tugs and one anti-submarine schooner, and bombarded one shipyard; and damaged one large tanker by torpedo and carried out one successful special operation. Except in the case of the U-Boat, the attacks have been carried out against escorted ships and the Saracen has been depth-charged in consequence. Able Seaman Bennett is recommended for outstanding skill and devotion to duty as gunlayer during the above successful patrols in Saracen.’ Stanley Douglas Bennett was born in November 1915 and entered the Royal Navy in October 1931. Appointed an Able Seaman in 1934, he commenced his wartime career aboard the cruiser H.M.S. Aurora and, in common with a few other crew members, was transferred to the destroyer Cossack off Norway in early 1940. The Altmark Incident On the night of 16 February 1940, in an episode that would be widely reported in the home press, Captain Philip Vian, R.N., C.O. of the Cossack, commanded a brilliant enterprise in neutral waters in Josing Fjord, Norway, when 300 British merchant seamen were rescued from appalling conditions in the holds of the German auxiliary ship Altmark, all of them victims of earlier sinkings in the South Atlantic by the Graf Spee prior to her demise in the River Plate; their rescue was effected by a boarding party from Cossack, armed with revolvers, rifles and bayonets, one of whom was Able Seaman Stanley Douglas Bennett. As a result of the unfortunate delays caused by the implications of the Altmark being in neutral waters, and the presence of two Norwegian torpedo-boats ordered to prevent British intervention, Vian had patiently awaited Admiralty orders before embarking on his desperate mission, but when they arrived, with all the hallmarks of the First Sea Lord, Winston Churchill’s hand upon it, he moved swiftly. Vian’s account takes up the story: ‘Having placed Cossack in a position from which our pom-poms could play upon Norwegian decks, whilst their torpedo tubes were no instant menace to us, I said we could parley no longer, and must board and search the Altmark forthwith, whether we fought them or not. Kjell’s captain decided that honour was served by submitting to superior force, and withdrew. On rounding the bend in the fjord, Altmark at last came into view. She lay bows inshore, encased in ice, her great bulk standing black against the snow-clad mountains. Thoughts of the six-inch guns with which the Altmark was said to be armed were naturally in our minds. Though our own guns were manned we were obviously an easy target, and the enemy’s first shots might well immobilise us at once. There was nothing for it, however, but to go ahead and get to grips as quickly as possible. The Altmark’s Captain was determined to resist being boarded. On sighting Cossack, he trained his searchlight on our bridge to blind the command, and came astern at full power through the channel which his entry into the ice had made. His idea was to ram us. Unless something was done very quickly the great mass of the tanker’s counter was going to crash heavily into Cossack’s port bow. There followed a period of manoeuvring in which disaster, as serious collision must have entailed, was avoided by the skill of my imperturbable navigator, McLean, and by the speed with which the main engine manoeuvring valves were operated by their artificers. Lieutenant Bradwell Turner, the leader of the boarding party, anticipated Cossack’s arrival alongside Altmark with a leap which became famous. Petty Officer Atkins, who followed him, fell short, and hung by his hands until Turner heaved him on deck. The two quickly made fast a hemp hawser from Cossack’s fo’c’s’le, and the rest of the party scrambled across. When Turner arrived on Altmark’s bridge he found the engine telegraphs set to full speed in an endeavour to force Cossack ashore. On Turner’s appearance, the captain and others surrendered, except the third officer, who interfered with the telegraphs, which Turner had set to stop. Turner forbore to shoot him. It was now clear that as a result of her manoeuvres Altmark would ground by the stern, which she did, but not before Cossack, the boarding party all being transferred, had cast off, to avoid the same fate. It was expected, with the surrender of the German captain, that the release of our prisoners would be a drawing-room affair. That this was not so was due to the action of a member of the armed guard which Graf Spee had put aboard. He gratuitously shot Gunner Smith, of the boarding party, in an alleyway. This invoked retaliation, upon which the armed guard decamped; they fled across the ice, and began to snipe the boarding party from an eminence on shore. Silhouetted against the snow they made easy targets, and their fire was quickly silenced by Turner and his men. In the end German casualties were few, six killed and six badly wounded. The boarding party had none, save unlucky Gunner Smith, and even he was not fatally wounded. Resistance overcome, Turner was able to turn to the business of the day. The prisoners were under locked hatches in the holds; when these had been broken open Turner hailed the men below with the words: “Any British down there?” He was greeted with a tremendous yell of “Yes! We’re all British!” “Come on up then,” said Turner, “The Navy’s here!” I received many letters from the public after this affair: a number wrote to say that, as I had failed to shoot, or hang, the captain of Altmark, I ought to be shot myself.’ In point of fact Vian and his men were hailed as heroes the land over, Winston Churchill setting the pace with mention of their exploits in an address to veterans of the Battle of the River Plate at the Guildhall just four days after the Altmark had been boarded: “To the glorious action of the Plate there has recently been added an epilogue - the rescue last week by the Cossack and her flotilla - under the noses of the enemy, and amid the tangles of o...
Lot 226
A Second War Malta convoys D.S.M. and Daily Herald Industrial Order of Merit pair awarded to Carpenter N. W. Owen, Merchant Navy, decorated for his gallant part in ‘Operation Pedestal’, which he completed aboard the tanker S.S. Ohio after the loss of his own ship, the Deucalion; he went on to win the “Worker’s V.C.” for his courage as a deep-sea diver for British Railways during a diving incident off Holyhead in 1952, in which he had to cut off one of his own fingers to save his life Distinguished Service Medal, G.VI.R. (N. W. Owen, Cptr.) in its case of issue; The Daily Herald Order of Industrial Heroism, the reverse officially inscribed, ‘Norman W. Owen, 22nd September 1952’, in its fitted case of issue, extremely fine and rare (2) £3,000-£4,000 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- Provenance: Ron Penhall Collection, Dix Noonan Webb, September 2006. D.S.M. London Gazette 26 January 1943: ‘For distinguished services during the passage to Malta of an important convoy.’ The original recommendation states: ‘The Carpenter, N. W. Owen, continued to sound the ship and make reports, carrying out his many duties in the face of all attacks. This man never ceased doing what was required of him and was perfectly cool and efficient throughout.’ Daily Herald Order of Industrial Merit (Case No. 235): ‘In July 1951, Norman Owen, D.S.M., a British Railways’ deep-sea diver, was working on the removal of old pile stumps of a former pier at Holyhead, when a rope sling 27 feet beneath the surface was found to have twisted. Diver Owen went down to straighten it. While he was working on the wire, a block and pulley dropped a few inches and trapped two fingers on his right hand. The block moved and tore off one of the fingers. He was unable to control the air valve in his diving helmet with his left hand and knew that he could not stay under water much longer. Diver Owen was held 27 feet below the surface with a terrible decision to make. He took his knife from its sheath - and cut off the trapped finger. Then he gave the signal to haul up. But the tale of Owen’s courage does not end there. When he was brought to the surface, he maintained his attitude of calm and after his diving suit had been removed, telling his mates to keep cool, he walked unaided 200 yards to the hospital.’ Norman Warden Owen joined the Merchant Navy as a Carpenter in 1938 and was homeward bound in the Blue Funnel Line’s M.V. Deucalion on the outbreak of hostilities. Having survived bomb damage during a raid on Liverpool docks in 1940, the Deucalion was ordered to the Malta run, in which capacity she participated in “Operation Substance” before her epic part in “Pedestal” - nor was the former trip uneventful for, having withstood aircraft and U-boat attacks, she was damaged by a mine. The M.V. Deucalion and “Operation Pedestal” The importance of the “Pedestal” operation needs no introduction here, but it is worth recalling the bare facts: of the 14 merchantmen that set out, nine were sunk, including Deucalion, and three damaged, while the Senior Service lost an aircraft carrier, two cruisers and one destroyer, as well as having another half a dozen ships damaged. For the likes of Norman Owen, aboard Deucalion, the moment of truth arrived on Wednesday 12 August 1942, when his ship was sunk after two separate enemy aircraft attacks; the first, in which she was hit by bombs, much reduced her speed, and the second, delivered by an enemy torpedo bomber, finished her off. Richard Woodman describes both attacks in his definitive history, Malta Convoy: ‘Leading the port column as a convoy guide, Deucalion was soon in trouble. At 13.00 a stick of bombs fell about her. One hit the starboard after well deck, abreast the mainmast, pierced the ship and did not explode; the second struck the port gunwhale of No. 1 Lifeboat slung outboard on the bridge deck, scraped the side and exploded as it hit the water; and the third burst against the ship’s starboard bow at the after end of No. 1 hatch. Despite Deucalion’s massive scantlings, ‘it seemed as if the ship almost went on her beam ends with the explosion and she seemed to start to settle rapidly and was evidently badly damaged’. The electric power failed, and with the operation of the ship hampered Captain Ramsay Brown stopped the faltering engines, then ordered the chief officer and carpenter [Owen] to sound the bells and had the lifeboats lowered to the embarkation deck ... The bomb explosions along the starboard side of Deucalion had destroyed No. 1 Lifeboat, but the crew mustering at their boat stations began to lower the other boats as ordered. Unfortunately, at this juncture ‘some greasers and assistant stewards took it upon themselves to lower Nos 3 and 6 Lifeboats and pulled away from the ship’, a circumstance which infuriated the preoccupied Brown. They were men who had been drawn from the Merchant Navy pool and put aboard Deucalion as replacements for her normal Chinese crew of ‘Holt’s men’. Reporting afterwards, Brown was scathing about these ‘weak reeds’, fulminating that he ‘could never have imagined that any Britishers could have shown up in such poor colours.’ Once the damage had been located and assessed, and the ‘weak reeds’ re-embarked, Brown was of the opinion that his command was not in immediate danger, and consequently signalled a naval escort, the destroyer H.M.S. Bramham, that he should be able to proceed at around 10 knots. Bramham, thereafter, stayed in close proximity, which was just as well. Woodman continues: ‘Having passed Galita, course was altered at 19.40 to pass north of Cani Rocks, some fifteen miles further east. At 21.20, ‘after sunset when the light was very bad’, with the coast to the south now in shadow, two torpedo-bombers came in low with their engines shut off, one on the port quarter, the other on the starboard bow. Engaged by Deucalion’s guns, ‘The first plane flew along the port side without attacking, then flew off, whilst the second bomber sail-planed to within half a mile of the starboard bow, opened up engines and flew about 50 feet high parallel with the ship not more than 200 yards away. All guns that could bear opened fire and ... [scored] several hits. Nevertheless, as the plane drew level with the bridge ... an object [left] it, evidently fired by an explosive charge, and travel[led] horizontally towards the ship’. This struck Deucalion aft and ‘a tremendous fire broke out at once’ as the aviation spirit and kerosene in No. 6 ‘Tween-deck exploded. A sheet of flame shot skywards, ‘twice the height of the mast’, and the whole after end of the ship became a ‘raging inferno’. ‘The chances of extinguishing it were hopeless from the outset’, a crew member afterwards remarked. Brown ordered the ship abandoned as Baines approached in Bramham. The boats were hurriedly lowered, and a fall of No. 3 slipped on the slaghorn; one end of the boat dropped, spilling those in her into the warm sea, to struggle across the water towards the looming destroyer ... By 22.00 all the survivors were aboard Bramham, where Baines, seeing what he took to be lights of Vichy French vessels approaching, was anxious to get away.’ At 22.40 the Deucalion blew up, a sight no doubt witnessed from a suitable distance by Owen, now aboard the Bramham. But he was not, in fact, destined to end “Pedestal” i...
Lot 62
The exceptional 5-clasp Naval General Service medal awarded to Admiral The Right Honourable Lord William FitzRoy, K.C.B., Royal Navy Naval General Service 1793-1840, 5 clasps, 1 June 1794, 23 June 1795, Egypt, 4 Nov 1805, Martinique (Lord William Fitzroy, Capt.) small edge bruise, otherwise good very fine £16,000-£20,000 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- Provenance: Glendining’s, December 1969; Peter Dale Collection, July 2000. Confirmed as Midshipman of Phaeton in Howe’s action; of San Pareil in Bridport’s; and of Seahorse at the capture of the French frigate Sensible in 1798. Lieutenant of Penelope at the surrender of Malta, and expedition to Egypt. Commanded the Aeolus in Strachan’s action on 4 November 1805, and at Martinique in 1809. The Right Honourable Lord William FitzRoy was born on 1 June 1782, the third son of Augustus Henry, third Duke of Grafton, by his second wife, Elizabeth, daughter of the Rev. Sir Richard Wrottesley, Bart.; and uncle both of the present Duke of Grafton and of Captain Robert FitzRoy, R.N. He entered the Navy on 21 April 1794, on board the Phaeton 38, Captains William Bentinck and Hon. Robert Stopford, one of Lord Howe’s frigates in the ensuing action of the 1st of June. He next joined the Leviathan 74, commanded by Lord Hugh Seymour, and, when with the same officer in the Sans Pareil 80, he took part in Lord Bridport’s action, 23 June 1795. After an occasional attachment to the Niger 32 ,Captain Edward James Foote, Phoenix 36, Captain Lawrence William Halsted, and Cambrian 40, Captain Hon. Arthur Kaye Legge, he rejoined Capt. Foote, in February 1798, on board the Seahorse, of 46 guns and 292 men; in which vessel we find him, off the island of Pantellaria, assisting at the capture, 27 June 1798, after a close action of eight minutes, a loss to the British of 2 men killed and 16 wounded, and to the enemy of 18 killed and 37 wounded, of the French frigate La Sensible, of 36 guns and 300 men. Being promoted to a Lieutenancy, 13 May 1800, in the Penelope 36, Captain Hon. Henry Blackwood, he witnessed the surrender of Malta, and attended the expedition to Egypt. On 31 October 1801, he became Acting-Commander of the Salamine sloop, and, being confirmed, 7 January 1802, in the Mutine, was afterwards employed, from 26 January 1803, until 29 February 1804, in command of the Fairy. As a Post-Captain, a rank he attained on 3 March in the latter year, Lord William FitzRoy appears to have commanded the Duquesne and Vanguard 74’s, Aeolus 32, and Macedonian 38, on the Jamaica, Channel, Irish, Halifax, and Lisbon stations; and, in the Aeolus, to have been present in Sir Rich. Strachan’s action, off Ferrol, 4 November 1805, and at the reduction of Martinique in February 1809. On 1 October 1809 he exchanged into the Squirrel 24, on the Halifax station, and soon afterwards returned to England. His next and last appointment was, about June 1810, to the Macedonian 38. In April 1811, he was dismissed the service by the sentence of a court-martial held at Lisbon, for oppressive and tyrannical conduct, in putting the master of that ship in irons. The latter officer was afterwards tried for contempt to his lordship, and not only dismissed the service, but rendered incapable of serving again as an officer. Lord FitzRoy was reinstated on 22 August following, though never again employed. He was nominated a C.B. on 4 June 1815, and a K.C.B. on 4 July 1840. Having been promoted to Rear-Admiral on 10 January 1837, he advanced to Vice-Admiral on 26 June 1847, and to Admiral in 1853. Admiral Sir William FitzRoy died at East Sheen, near Richmond, on 13 May 1857.
Lot 235
The unusual Second War B.E.M. and Presidential Gold Lifesaving Medal pair awarded to Leading Fireman W. H. A. Crouch, Merchant Navy, the former for bravery under enemy fire during a rescue incident in the Channel in June 1944, some 25 years after receiving his American decoration British Empire Medal, G.VI.R., 1st issue, Civil (William H. A. Crouch); American Presidential Gold Lifesaving Medal, the reverse officially engraved, ‘To W. Crouch, Seaman, of the British Tug Lady Crundall, in recognition of his heroic services in effecting the rescue at sea, on January 31, 1919, of the master and crew of the American Steamship Piave’, nearly extremely fine or better (2) £1,400-£1,800 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- B.E.M. London Gazette 24 October 1944: ‘When a ship was hit and set on fire by enemy shell fire between Dover and Folkestone, the tug was placed alongside whilst shells were still falling nearby. She immediately helped to fight the fires which were extinguished by the time the ship was berthed in Dover ... Crouch showed courage and skill. He was responsible for the efficient working of the pumps and helped to put out the fire in the ship while she was still under enemy attack.’ William Hector Alexander Crouch was serving as a Leading Fireman aboard the rescue tug Lady Duncannon at the time of the above incident involving the S.S. Empire Lough which was lost through enemy shellfire in the Straits of Dover on 24th June 1944. Fellow crew member George Crake also received a B.E.M. and their skipper, Lieutenant G. W. Holman, R.N.R., the M.B.E. Crouch was born in Dover in March 1903 and served in the Mercantile Marine in the Great War, receiving the Mercantile Marine War Medal and British War Medal. He was latterly employed as a greaser for assorted ferries of the British Transport Commission, and died in December 1961, after recently completing an assignment in Dover.
Lot 211
The unique Second War ‘Maritime R.A.’ M.M. group of seven awarded to Gunner F. J. Carus, 6th Maritime Anti-Aircraft Battery, Royal Artillery, who, though wounded in several places, continued to engage enemy aircraft as his ship broke up and sank beneath him Military Medal, G.VI.R. (Gnr. F. J. Carus. R.A.); 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star, 1 clasp France and Germany; Africa Star; Burma Star; Italy Star; War Medal 1939-45, these last six privately inscribed ‘3717702 Gunr. F. J. Carus, M.M., Maritime R.A.’, mounted as worn, extremely fine and unique (7) £1,800-£2,200 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- Only six M.Ms were awarded for actions at sea in the Second World War, prior to Admiralty Orders in Council of July 1942 and November 1942 extending the award of the D.S.M. and D.S.C. to Army personnel. In consequence, Carus was the first and only Maritime R.A. gunner to be awarded the M.M. in the last war. M. M. London Gazette 21 October 1941: ‘In recognition of gallant and distinguished services in the Middle East.’ The original recommendation states: ‘On 25 May 1941, Gunner Carus was a member of an A.A. protection party on the tanker Helka. His Sergeant in charge reports as follows: “Just outside Tobruk we were attacked by 27 bombers, according to the warning issued from TOBRUK. Gunner Carus, though hit in several places, and although the ship had been blown in two pieces, continued firing his gun until he was pulled away and told to get in his boat.’ Francis Joseph Carus was born in Liverpool, Merseyside on 25 May 1911 and originally served in the King’s Own Royal Regiment. Of subsequent events off Tobruk in the tanker Helka in May 1941, the following action report was submitted by Bombardier T. Russell, a fellow member of 6th Maritime A.A. Battery, R.A.: ‘I was 2nd N.C.O.-in-Charge of the Troop on board the S.S. Helka proceeding to Tobruk from Alexandria. We were attacked by 27 Dive Bombers (German markings). We and our Escort opened fire, our Escort being H.M. Sloop Grimsby and an Armed Trawler the Southern Maid. All guns were in action and our ship received a direct hit with a bomb and split in two parts. We carried on firing to the last. The Grimsby had already been hit and was sinking. Owing to the flurry and excitement caused, the accuracy of our fire was indefinite although some of the planes left rather hurriedly damaged. The Officer-in-Charge gave orders to abandon ship and men dived overboard to swim to the only lifeboat which was freed and floating away from the ship. Gunner Carus was still firing the gun of the aft deck although badly wounded. I and an Australian Sergeant went aft and had to use physical force to get Gunner Carus away from the gun, in order that we could get him off the ship before she exploded - her cargo was bensine (sic) spirit. The total number of survivors I do not know. We were picked up by the Armed Trawler and a Roll Call was made. Gunner Cunliffe was missing - the last anyone saw of him, he was on the for’ead part of the ship that was being taken away by the current. Gunner Gilbert was admitted to hospital at Almaza Camp, Cairo with sun-fly fever. I might add that all the Troop acted in a most efficient manner and their conduct was exemplary and no man ever thought of himself first.’ The recommendation for Carus’s M.M. was endorsed by General Auchinleck, C.-in-C. Middle East and he received his award at a Buckingham Palace investiture held on 20 July 1943. His recently released D.E.M.S. gunner’s service record reveals that he also served in the tanker Athel Monarch (December 1941-September 1942); the steamship Sirsa (September-December 1942); the steamship City of Barcelona (December 1942-June 1943); the corrugated ship Colytto (November 1943-May 1944); the Isle of Wight shore establishment Vectis (June-July 1944); Sam Austral (July 1944-December 1944), and the steamship Obsidian (January-May 1945). He died back in Liverpool in December 1978. Sold with his original investiture admittance ticket and copied ‘Secret’ action report
Lot 41
The 2-clasp Naval General Service medal awarded to Admiral Alfred Luckraft, Royal Navy, a Midshipman aboard the Mars at the battle of Trafalgar where he was wounded in the leg; he subsequently distinguished himself in 1828 as First Lieutenant of the Blonde under Captain Edmund Lyons in the operations, jointly with the French, against Morea Castle, the last stronghold of the Turks in the Peloponnesus, being decorated with the Legion of Honour and the Redeemer of Greece Naval General Service 1793-1840, 2 clasps, Copenhagen 1801, Trafalgar (Alfred Luckraft Midshipman) lightly polished, otherwise good very fine £10,000-£14,000 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- Provenance: Fergus Gowans Collection. Confirmed on the rolls as a Volunteer First-class aboard H.M.S. Monarch at Copenhagen, and as Midshipman aboard the Mars at the battle of Trafalgar, Alfred Luckraft was born on 2 April, 1792, is brother of the present Captain William, and half-brother of the late Lieutenant John Luckraft, R.N. This officer, whose name had been borne since 25 July 1799, on the books of the Monarch 74, Captain James Robert Mosse, embarked in that ship in January 1801, and on the 2nd of the following April was present, as First-class Volunteer, in the action off Copenhagen. After a servitude of 19 months in the Blenheim 74, bearing the flag of Sir Archibald Dickson, Oiseau frigate, Captain Phillips, and Courageux 74, Captain John Okes Hardy, he joined, in April, 1803, the Mars 74, Captains John Sutton, George Duff, Robert Dudley Oliver, and William Lukin. While in that ship, in which he soon attained the rating of Midshipman, he was present and slightly wounded in the leg at the battle of Trafalgar 21 October 1805. Under the command of Captain George Duff she was distinguished and lost heavily at Trafalgar, on the 21st October 1805. She was in the lee column, and followed the Belleisle into action. When endeavouring to find an opening at which to pass through the hostile line, she was engaged from astern by the French 74, Pluton. To avoid running into the Spanish Santa Ana, she was obliged to turn her head to wind, and so exposed her stern to the fire of the Spanish Monarca and French Algésiras, which punished her severely, until the coming of our Tonnant took off their attention. Quite unmanageable as she had become, the Mars paid off, but was further wounded by the French Fougueux, and again by the Pluton, one of whose shots carried off the head of Captain Duff. Her losses amounted to ninety-eight killed and wounded. Her main topmast and spanker boom were shot away, and all her lower masts left in a tottering state. She had several guns disabled, her rudder head injured, and all her yards more or less shot. On the surrender of the French Commander-in-Chief and his retinue, they were received on board the Mars. Contributing next to the capture, 28 July 1806, of Le Rhin, of 44 guns and 318 men – assisting also, 25 September in the same year, at the taking, by a force under Sir Samuel Hood, of four heavy French frigates, two of which, the Gloire 46 and Infatigable 44, struck to the Mars – and accompanying, in 1807, the expedition to Copenhagen. In consideration of the wound he received at Trafalgar he was presented with a gratuity from the Patriotic Fund. He became Sub-Lieutenant, in March 1808, of the Steady gun-brig, Captain Arthur Stow, and in the course of the same year sailed for South America, where, in January and February 1809, and May 1810, he was in succession nominated Acting-Lieutenant of the Agamemnon 64, Captain Jonas Rose, Hyacinth 18, Captain John Carter, and President 38, Captain Adam Mackenzie. On his return to England he was confirmed, 3 September 1810, to a Lieutenancy in the Bellerophon 74, bearing the flag in the North Sea of Rear-Admiral John Ferrier, with whom he continued to serve in the Scarborough 74 until May 1814. From the following September until September 1815, he was employed on the Home station as Senior of the Foxhound sloop, Captains John Parish and Thomas Warrand. Being next, 4 February 1828, appointed First to the Blonde 46, Captain Edmund Lyons, he very highly distinguished himself, in October of the same year, during the operations conducted, in unison with the French, against Morea Castle, the last stronghold of the Turks in the Peloponnesus. On that occasion, landing with a party of seamen, he assumed command, supported by Captain Sidney Colpoys Dacres, of the central of five breaching batteries, named George the Fourth’s Battery. He remained in the trenches 12 days and nights, during the three last of which he worked his only 4 guns with such effect as to expend upwards of 1000 18-pound shot, and 6000 lbs. weight of powder. The greatness indeed of Lieutenant Luckraft’s exertions not only procured a strong recommendation in his behalf from his own Commander-in-Chief Sir Pulteney Malcolm, but had the effect of eliciting the loud praise of the French Admiral De Rigny, and of obtaining for him the insignia of the Legion of Honour and of the Redeemer of Greece. His promotion to the rank of Commander did not, however, take place until 28 October 1829, at which period he was invested with the command of the Procris sloop. He was afterwards appointed, 30 November 1829, to the Camelion 10, attached to the force in the Mediterranean, whence he returned in March, 1830; 20 June 1831, to the Revenge 78, Captains James Hillyar and Donald Hugh Mackay, employed, until March 1834, on the Lisbon station; and 13 July 1835, to the Russell 74, Captain Sir William Henry Dillon, again in the Mediterranean. He was superseded from the latter ship on being advanced to Captain on 28 June 1838, and has since been on half-pay. He was promoted Rear-Admiral on 4 November 1857, to Vice-Admiral on 15 June 1864, and to Admiral on 10 September 1869. During the late war he was never a single day on shore. Admiral Luckraft died on 11 December 1871.
Lot 203
The Second War 1940 operations D.S.M. group of nine awarded to Lieutenant (S.C.C.) J. Derrick, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, late Royal Navy, who was serving in H.M.S. Javelin when she was severely damaged by torpedo attack in November 1940, with Lord Mountbatten aboard in his capacity as Captain (D.), and survived 24 hours on a raft after the loss of the Wild Swan to enemy bombers in the Bay of Biscay in June 1942: he had earlier been awarded the Greek Medal of Military Valour for his part in the Chalcidice earthquake relief operations in 1932 Distinguished Service Medal, G.VI.R. (JX. 130198 J. Derrick, L. Smn., R.N.); 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Africa Star; Italy Star; Burma Star; War Medal 1939-45; Greece, Medal of Military Valour, 4th class; Cadet Forces Long Service, E.II.R. (Lieut. (S.C.C.) J. Derrick, D.S.M., R.N.R.), mounted as worn, the first officially corrected in places, very fine and better (9) £2,400-£2,800 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- D.S.M. London Gazette 1 January 1941. John Derrick was born in Bath, Somerset in August 1911 and entered the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class in May 1927. Advanced to Able Seaman in November 1930, he was serving in the repair ship H.M.S. Resource at the time of the Chalcidice earthquake, and was awarded the Greek Medal of Military Valour for his part in the relief operations, having ‘Rendered valuable services and granted permission to wear the Greek Cross of Valour, Class IV, for relief work after the earthquake in Chalcidice, 1932’. Derrick, who qualified as a diver while aboard Resource, also appears to have been awarded the Hellenic Red Cross Medal, or certainly a related Certificate of Commendation (see below). Javelin An Acting Leading Seaman in the destroyer Javelin on the outbreak of hostilities, under Commander A. F. Pugsley, R.N., he was present in operations off Norway and Dunkirk, early actions that no doubt contributed to the award of his D.S.M., but it was following his deeds that November, when Javelin was severely damaged by two torpedo strikes, while engaging enemy destroyers in the Channel, that his decoration was confirmed. As it happened, and as was his want in the absence of the Kelly undergoing repairs, Lord Mountbatten was aboard in his capacity as Captain (D.), 5th Destroyer Flotilla. Christopher Langtree’s definitive history, The Kelly’s, which includes two spectacular images of the damaged Javelin, takes up the story: ‘As they turned the British ships lost the targets on their directors and steamed right into the paths of torpedoes launched by the German ships. Most missed but two torpedoes hit Javelin in the bow and stern. The first hit almost blew the stern off up to Station 64 and ignited the oil tanks. The stern dropped off two minutes after the explosion but luckily the aft magazine did not explode. The second hit blew off the whole bow forward Station 30 and caused rapid flooding up to Station 35, flooding No. 2 Magazine at a rate of 6 inches per hour. The German ships turned away, pursued by the rest of the flotilla, but escaped undamaged. The four ships then returned to stand by Javelin which had been reduced from a length of 366 and a half feet to 155 feet. At midday the tug Caroline Moller arrived and by passing a line round Javelin’s torpedo mount was able to tow her back to Plymouth at two knots, arriving on the 30th.’ As related in the Bath & Wiltshire Chronicle and Herald in March 1955, when Derrick met Mountbatten again during the First Sea Lord’s visit to his local Naval H.Q., the two sailors were quickly overheard recalling the events of November 1940: ‘And as they yarned about that cold November day in 1940, when their destroyer was all but blasted from beneath them by German torpedoes, strong March sunshine picked on two medal ribbons from the rows of insignia on each man’s uniform. For Lord Louis Mountbatten it was the D.S.O.; for C.P.O. Derrick, the D.S.M. - and both medals were won by brave men in the same action ... ’ Afterwards interviewed by the newspaper’s reporter, Derrick recalled: ‘There was a terrific explosion, water went up in the air like a water-spout, and the next thing I knew was that I had two men where I had started with 16 - many of the crew left by small boats and rafts, or were taken off by supporting ships. The Javelin was in such a bad way that she hardly looked worth salvaging. But Lord Mountbatten decided to try and get her in. Throughout the day we were bombed by Dorniers who were trying to finish us off but we were eventually given a strong escort and towed, after-part first, back into port. Lord Haw Haw was gloating that the Javelin had gone down but by the time we returned the B.B.C. were able to put him right.’ Derrick was presented with his D.S.M. at a Buckingham Palace investiture held in March 1941, on which occasion the King asked him about the circumstances leading to the award of his unusual Greek decoration. Wild Swan Next attending the gunnery establishment Excellent, and advanced to Temporary Petty Officer in December 1941, Derrick joined Wild Swan in January 1942, aboard which destroyer, on 17 June of the same year, his recent attendance at Excellent proved telling - no less than six enemy aircraft were downed by her accurate gunfire. The following eye-witness account of that fateful day has been taken from Peter C. Smith’s history of Wild Swan: ‘Within a minute or two, of course, we were at full action stations and then the twelve Huns slowly dropped out from the cloud base. As they crossed ahead of us we opened up with our two foremost 4.7s. The first few rounds burst remarkably close, and at least two of the raiders appeared to be hit, and climbed back into the clouds. A minute or two later these two dropped out of the clouds again steering wildly. We held our breath as they collided head-on, each doing about 300 m.p.h. One caught fire and dived vertically on to a Spanish trawler. The whole lot blew up and a shower of pieces went flying through the air. The other died headlong into the sea, quite close to the burning wreckage of his opposite number. He released his bombs about a hundred feet up - too late - they fell only a few yards away, and he was also blown to pieces. During the early part of this fierce engagement, Wild Swan was steaming at nearly 25 knots, and altering course continuously to try and avoid the bombs which were falling alarmingly close. She had no time to go and look for German airmen in the sea who might have escaped ... ... About this time Wild Swan experienced a very near miss which severely shook her entire hull, and caused extensive damage. As she lost speed, the rudder also jammed and the crippled destroyer was out of control. Her speed through the water had dropped to only walking pace, when the Wild Swan collided with a trawler which became impaled on her bows. The ship soon stopped, and the Spanish crew were hauled aboard ... ... The sixth bomber caught us. He dived down out of the sun at an angle of 50 degrees and, although the starboard pom-pom and Lewis gunner fired through his wings, five bombs hit the water 15 feet from the ship’s side and went off immediately under the keel. All the guns were firing individually as the electrical circuits and supplies were shattered. This quarter of an hour gave us time to rig a jury wireless aerial. One aircraft came in and machine-gunned us. Unfortunately for him the 12-pounder crew - by now all stripped to the waist, scored a direct hit on one of the engines. As he turned away, the forward guns engaged him and he slowly lost height,...
Lot 168
The Western Front D.C.M. group of three awarded to Petty Officer G. W. Mallett, Royal Naval Division Machine Gun Company, R.N.V.R. (Tyneside Division) Distinguished Conduct Medal, G.V.R. (TZ-4741 P.O. G. W. Mallett, 188/Bde: M.G. Coy. R.N.V.R.); British War and Victory Medals (T.Z. 4741 G. W. Mallett, R.N.V.R.) nearly extremely fine (3) £2,000-£2,400 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- D.C.M. London Gazette 17 April 1917: ‘For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He established his machine gun under very heavy fire and maintained his position for three days until relieved.’ George William Mallett, a miner from West Stanley, on Tyneside, enlisted into the Tyneside Division of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve on 1 September 1915. After training in England, he joined the Machine Gun Company of the Royal Naval Division and was posted to 188 Brigade for service in France, where he arrived at the beginning of August 1916. Having distinguished himself in action and won the D.C.M., Mallett was invalided to England in late February 1917, suffering from Trench Feet. He was presented with the D.C.M. by G.O.C. R.N.D. (Reserve) on parade, 12 May 1917. He attended the School of Musketry for a Lewis Gun course at Hayling Island in July and August 1917, gaining a First Class pass, and, although selected for training for a commissioned rank he was eventually demobilized in the rank of Petty Officer. Sold with copied record of service.
Lot 197
The Second War battle of the River Plate D.S.M. group of five awarded to Chief Petty Officer A. E. Fuller, who was decorated for his gallant deeds in Commodore Harwood’s command H.M.S. Ajax, when she took several serious hits from Graf Spee’s main armament Distinguished Service Medal, G.VI.R., the edge officially dated ‘1939’ but otherwise unnamed as issued; 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; War Medal 1939-45; Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., G.VI.R., 1st issue (JX.126965 A. E. Fuller. C.P.O. H.M.S. Mosquito) mounted as worn contact marks, otherwise very fine (5) £4,000-£5,000 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- D.S.M. London Gazette 23 February 1940: ‘For the gallant and successful action with the Admiral Graf Spee.’ The original recommendation states: ‘[He] was in charge of an electrical repair party in the immediate vicinity of a compartment in which an 11-inch shell burst putting out all lights and causing extensive damage to electrical gear. He immediately took efficient action to provide lighting and control the damage, and displayed great courage, presence of mind and good leadership.’ Note: Owing to a special parade being arranged at short notice at Horse Guards in February 1940, at which the King, flanked by Chamberlain and Churchill, presented awards to men from Ajax and Exeter, time prevented the D.S.Ms being fully inscribed. Instead, they were officially dated ‘1939’; Fuller, in common with other decorated River Plate men, chose not to return his award for full and proper naming at a later date. Albert Edward Fuller was born at Woolwich, Kent on 16 September 1910 and entered the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class in May 1926. By the outbreak of hostilities in September 1939, he was serving as a Petty Officer in the cruiser H.M.S. Ajax, and it was in this capacity that he was quickly saw action in the battle of the River Plate. The River Plate In early December 1939, Commodore Harwood in Ajax received action reports from British shipping of an enemy raider. Taking into consideration the locations and timings of those actions, he calculated that if the raider chose to head for South America, it would probably arrive in the area off the River Plate on the morning of the 13 December. The Commodore’s hunch was right, for having collected there on the previous day, with his consorts Achilles and Exeter, smoke was spotted on the horizon on the morning of the 13th. Exeter was ordered to investigate and soon signalled, ‘I think it is a pocket battleship.’ It was indeed the Admiral Graf Spree and on Harwood’s cruisers went into action at 0617 hours. Graf Spee initially concentrated her fire on Exeter, but by rapidly closing their adversary, Ajax and Achilles began to draw her fire and cause significant damage to the enemy raider’s upper decks. In fact, the speed at which they closed Graf Spee rattled Captain Langsdorff, who later observed, “they came at me like destroyers.” In consequence, Graf Spee turned to the west at 0636 hours, from whence she would commence her retreat. Exeter, meanwhile, nursing serious battle damage and a loss of 66 men, made for the Falklands. At around 0725 hours, Graf Spee steadied herself and re-engaged Ajax and Achilles, the former taking serious hits in her X and Y turrets and suffering a dozen casualties, seven of them fatal, whilst Achilles also took severe damage to her director-control. However, Ajax managed to deliver a persuasive torpedo attack, encouraging Graf Spee to maintain her westward course, which she did. In fact, Captain Langsdorff broke off the action. In the words of Leslie Denis, like Fuller, a Petty Officer in Ajax, events subsequently took a turn for the better: ‘Graf Spee then drew off and set a course for Montevideo where the stage was set for her arrival. During the day, a radio operator from New York was giving a running commentary on events. We withdrew out to sea and heard everything on the ship’s radio, broadcast throughout the ship, courtesy of the overseas service of the BBC which was picking up the transmission from the shore. So although we had withdrawn to the horizon, we had a ringside seat. By this time, H.M.S. Cumberland had arrived from the Falkland Islands, and was a valuable addition to our force. We withdrew out to sea and buried our dead. On 17 December the Graf Spee slipped her moorings and proceeded out to sea. We had closed to within five miles of the port. Graf Spee stopped just outside the three-mile limit and disembarked her crew. Shortly afterwards, huge explosions were heard from her - she was on fire. All ships closed in as far as was safe, and the order to cheer was given. The ships’ companies cheered each other like mad … ’ Fuller departed Ajax in late March 1940, but not before participating in the major celebrations that took place in London on Ajax’s return to the U.K. Among those invested with their D.S.M. by King George VI at a special parade held on Horse Guards in February 1940, Fuller would also have attended the subsequent Guildhall ‘victory luncheon’ held in honour of the heroes of the River Plate. Having then spent time ashore at the torpedo establishment Vernon, he returned to sea in the destroyer Hero in the period March 1941 to April 1942. Thereafter, up until June 1944, he served at a succession of Coastal Forces bases, at Wasp and Hornet in the U.K. and at Razorbill in Algiers, Mosquito in Alexandria and Gregale at Malta. His service record also notes that he was admitted to No. 64 General Hospital in mid-June 1942. Awarded the L.S. & G.C. Medal in July 1944, Fuller ended the war back at Vernon, where he was appointed a Gunner (T.) in June 1945. Sold with copied record of service and recommendation for D.S.M.
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