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Lot 7A
Two pairs of silk JAB Fabrics "Hakkaido" peach ground with grey crane pattern decoration interlined curtains with taped pencil pleat headings approx. 243 cm drop x 220 cm wide at bottom plus six matching tie-backs, three shaped with smocked and gathered pelmets with Wemyss fringing together with a pair of cream damask foliate decorated lined curtains with fixed triple pencil pleat headings approx. 226 cm drop x 128 cm wide at bottom and 73 cm wide at top together with two matching plaited tie-backs together with a pair of peach damask foliate decorated lined curtains with fixed triple pencil pleat headings approx. 226 cm drop x 126 cm wide at bottom and 70 cm wide at top CONDITION REPORTS Condition poor, edges badly rotted, some sun fading to edges and small marks, linings marked. Cream damask curtains: poor condition, small marks and spotting to face, lining numerous marks and sun damage. Peach damask curtains: similar to cream pair. General wear and tear conducive with age and use - see images for more details
Lot 429
The Archive of Lady Mary Pamela Madeline Sibell Strickland / Lyon (1895-1991), née CharterisTo include nine various leatherbound diaries in manuscript spanning 1916-1927; including some typewritten transcripts thereof (Volumes 1-4)Two ring binder files containing letters of response to the wedding of Ariel Susan Clare (adopted daughter of Mary Lyon) to Christopher Elliott in 1964, predominantly from the gentry of Gloucestershire and including from the author Michael Innes and Anne Fleming (wife of Ian Fleming)Two prisoner of war diaries by Lieutenant Algernon (Tom) Walter Strickland of the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars Yeomanry, dating from 1916-18, written while he was held prisoner in Turkey, measuring 13cm x 8.5cm each with cloth boards, with an accompanying manuscript book by his wife, Mary Strickland, summarising letters received from her husband while imprisoned, with a folded map of Gallipoli, alongside two files of manuscript letters from Algernon (known in the family as Tom or Tommy) to Mary spanning 1917-1938 including those from camps in Egypt, Switzerland and Gallipoli (Turkey).A folder of various letters to Mary Pamela Lyon, some dealing with the publication of Cynthia Asquith's diaries (Mary's sister), including from Sir Rupert Hart-Davis (1907-1999) and an envelope of press cuttings and reviews of Elizabeth Longford’s biography of Wilfred Scawen Blunt, letters from Elizabeth Longford and Roger FulfordTwo small notebooks with manuscript entries in pencil, one entitled 'Bird Notes' (spanning 1955-1965) and Birds seen in South Africa Orange Free State Dec 1937- March 1938A folder of Letters entitled 'Letters from Sara from 1929 up to 1950' (daughter of Mary Lyon) including juvenile correspondenceA folder of documents relating to World War I & II with related memorabilia including a typed manuscript ‘Torpedoed’ by Martin Charteris (1913-1999), a favourite courtier of Queen Elizabeth II and her longest serving Private Secretary, several ephemera publications by the British Legion, 1950-54, an auction catalogue Bruton, Knowles & Co. ‘The Gloucestershire Treasure Sale’ 1944 for the Red Cross, including a pencil drawing ‘Paternity’ by H.G. Wells, Mary Strickland and Mrs Belloc Lowndes, drawn at Stanway as part of a parlour game. Several WWII armbands for the British Red Cross, WVS Rest Centre and WLA (Women’s Land Army), several badges including a Royal British Legion Poppy brooch, ARP Women’s Voluntary Services, Women’s Land Army and Civil Defence CorpsA folder entitled ‘Soldier’s Letters 1917-1918’, mostly addressed ‘Dear Nurse’ to Mary StricklandA folder of newspaper cuttings Jan 1977 to ..., a further folder of press cuttings of reviews of Cynthia Asquith’s diaries, 1968 and other booksA marbled paper notebook entitled ‘Last Will and Testament of Mary Constance Wemyss’ dated March 9th 1929A manuscript poem by Herbert Asquith ‘Youth in the Skies’ with his accopmpanying letter, dated 1940An envelope of letters and ephemera relating to J. M. Barrie including two copies each of Stanway Mysteries programmes for ‘The Wheel’ and ‘Where was Simon’ by Barrie, nine signed manuscripts letters by J. M. Barrie, all to ‘Lady Mary Strickland’ at various addresses, 1923-1936Folders of LettersFolder entitled ‘Cynthia Asquith to her sister Mary’ but containing various letters including one manuscript letter from Augustus John, September 19, 1936 to Lady Mary regarding his works in Chelsea portraits and advance for his portrait of Mary and another letter from Augustus John regarding the same; a typewritten autograph letter to Lady Mary from Anthony Powell, 1977Folder of Letters to Mary Lyon on occasion of Cynthia Asquith’s death, amongst others by Osbert Sitwell, ‘Bibs’ Plymouth, Denis Mackail, Lord Tavistock, etc.Five folders of letters from Mary Strickland/Charteris to her mother (1899-1937)A folder of letters entitled ‘Bibs’ Plymouth (1910s-1920s)A folder of letters from Denis Mackail 1920s-1960sFive letters from Wilfred Scawen Blunt to Mary Constance Wyndham Countess Wemyss (1862-1937) [with whom she allegedly had an affair] including one poem dedicated to herAn extensive collection of letters dating circa 1899-1978 to Mary Strickland from various correspondents including from Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, Sir Walter Raleigh, George Vernon, Cynthia Asquith, various members of the Asquith, Wemyss and Charteris family, Denis Mackail, Augustus John, H. G. Wells, Violet Bonham Carter, Henry Yorke, Hugo Charteris, Osbert Sitwell, L. P. Jacks, Joan Webster-Young, Sybell Fulford , Roger Fulford, Anne Fleming and others Lady Mary was the adopted daughter of Percy Scawen Wyndham. Her mother was Mary Constance Charteris Wyndham and her biological father Wilfrid Scawen Blunt. Wyndham and her siblings and their spouses were members of The Souls, an elite English social group. She and her two sisters were the subjects of John Singer Sargent's 1899 painting The Wyndham Sisters.Mary was first married to Algernon (Tom) Strickland, who died in 1938, her second husband was Major John (Jack) Lyon, whom she married in 1943. Her older sister was the author and society hostess Lady Cynthia Asquith, married to Herbert Asquith, younger son of the Liberal Prime Minister Herbert Henry Asquith, who was Prime Minister at the outbreak of the First World War. Mary lost both her brothers during the war in quick succession, Yvo Alan Charteris in October 1915 and Hugo Francis Charteris (Lord Elcho) in April 1916. She resided both at Stanway House (her family home) and Apperley Court (family home of the Strickland's).Her fascinating diaries span the early years of a young Mary Strickland, documenting the outbreak of the First World War and its aftermath, nursing duties, attending seances with her mother, escapades to London and household and society gossip. Through her sister Lady Cynthia Asquith, the English writer and socialite, she was well connected with the literary elite and through her brother-in-law's family, she gained intriguing insights into the political machinations at the time. The diaries intersperse major international events with the comparative monotony of daily life in a country house and seemingly endless letter writing. An avid correspondent, the diary also documents, alongside original letters, the death in service of her brother Yvo in Gallipoli. The diaries describe varied events, from an altercation with her maid at Harrods, lunch at 10 Downing Street, bombs dropped in London, dinner with H.G. Wells, descriptions of her nursing duties during WWI at Winchcombe Hospital, her husband's imprisonment in Turkey and country house visits interspersed by reports and commentary on the events and battles of the First World War.Alongside the diaries, the archive includes extensive correspondence and documents spanning most of the 20th century with letters from literary figures such as H.G. Wells, J. M. Barrie, Denis Mackail and Osbert Sitwell alongside the family correspondence.Lady Mary Charteris pictured in the Tatler at the time of her engagement to Lieutenant Algernon W. Strickland of the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars.
Lot 29
Griselda Hill Pottery (Wemyss) plate, 17.5cm diameter (Please note condition does not form part of the catalogue description. We strongly advise viewing to satisfy yourself as to condition. If you are unable to view and a condition report is not already available, please request one and it will be provided in writing).
Lot 135
A collection of various toys and games including Britains tractor and loader (boxed), animal transporter (9580) (boxed), Fisher Price play family camper, lithograph decorated block puzzle, Victory jigsaw puzzle "The Circus", Spear's size 4 weaving loom, Wemyss style cherry decorated conserve pot, Rank Aldis slide projector, Harry Juniper of Bideford water jug "The Golden Hinde Appledore 1973" together with a similar larger jug, Victory jigsaw puzzle "Elizabethan England", Ainsley table bell for Charles and Diana Royal Wedding (boxed), box of vintage Spanish pottery and Japanese pottery figures, basket of Thermos and other picnic items and a bag of assorted Lego
Lot 241
* JAMES FULLARTON (SCOTTISH b. 1946), THE FRENCH FAMILY acrylic on board, signed, titled verso framed and under glassimage size 26cm x 30cm, overall size 40cm x 45cm Handwritten artist's label verso.Note: Born in Glasgow, James Fullarton studied at the Glasgow School of Art under Donaldson, Goudie and Shanks. Since gaining his Diploma in Drawing and Painting in 1969, he has worked full-time as a professional painter based in Ayrshire. He is a regular exhibitor with the Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts and has exhibited with the Royal Scottish Academy and lectured for the Scottish Arts Council. He has also won several prizes and awards throughout his career including the David Cargill Award and the Britoil Award. James has enjoyed a long and successful career with many solo shows. His work is sold in a number of galleries across Scotland and England and has been acquired for many public and corporate collections including; Adam and Company, Arnold Clark Organisation, The Bank of Scotland, Greenock Art Gallery, Guinness Plc, Heriot-Watt University, Lillie Art Gallery (Milngavie), Lord Macfarlane of Bearsden, Macfarlane Group Plc, Maclaurin Gallery (Ayr), Northern Corporate Bank, Proctor and Gamble, Robert Fleming Holdings Ltd, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, Scottish Power Plc, Scottish Television, Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum, TSB Collection, The Earl of Wemyss and March, The Indian Empress (Yacht), United Distillers and many private collections worldwide.
Lot 288
* JAMES FULLARTON (SCOTTISH b. 1946), COASTAL SCENE oil on canvas, signed and dated '73framedimage size 35cm x 75cm, overall size 46cm x 86cm Note: Born in Glasgow, James Fullarton studied at the Glasgow School of Art under Donaldson, Goudie and Shanks. Since gaining his Diploma in Drawing and Painting in 1969, he has worked full-time as a professional painter based in Ayrshire. He is a regular exhibitor with the Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts and has exhibited with the Royal Scottish Academy and lectured for the Scottish Arts Council. He has also won several prizes and awards throughout his career including the David Cargill Award and the Britoil Award. James has enjoyed a long and successful career with many solo shows. His work is sold in a number of galleries across Scotland and England and has been acquired for many public and corporate collections including; Adam and Company, Arnold Clark Organisation, The Bank of Scotland, Greenock Art Gallery, Guinness Plc, Heriot-Watt University, Lillie Art Gallery (Milngavie), Lord Macfarlane of Bearsden, Macfarlane Group Plc, Maclaurin Gallery (Ayr), Northern Corporate Bank, Proctor and Gamble, Robert Fleming Holdings Ltd, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, Scottish Power Plc, Scottish Television, Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum, TSB Collection, The Earl of Wemyss and March, The Indian Empress (Yacht), United Distillers and many private collections worldwide.
Lot 239
* JAMES FULLARTON (SCOTTISH b. 1946), PITTENWEEM acrylic on board, signed, titled versomounted, framed and under glass image size 25cm x 30cm, overall size 59cm x 69cm Handwritten artist's label versoArtist's label verso.Note: Born in Glasgow, James Fullarton studied at the Glasgow School of Art under Donaldson, Goudie and Shanks. Since gaining his Diploma in Drawing and Painting in 1969, he has worked full-time as a professional painter based in Ayrshire. He is a regular exhibitor with the Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts and has exhibited with the Royal Scottish Academy and lectured for the Scottish Arts Council. He has also won several prizes and awards throughout his career including the David Cargill Award and the Britoil Award. James has enjoyed a long and successful career with many solo shows. His work is sold in a number of galleries across Scotland and England and has been acquired for many public and corporate collections including; Adam and Company, Arnold Clark Organisation, The Bank of Scotland, Greenock Art Gallery, Guinness Plc, Heriot-Watt University, Lillie Art Gallery (Milngavie), Lord Macfarlane of Bearsden, Macfarlane Group Plc, Maclaurin Gallery (Ayr), Northern Corporate Bank, Proctor and Gamble, Robert Fleming Holdings Ltd, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, Scottish Power Plc, Scottish Television, Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum, TSB Collection, The Earl of Wemyss and March, The Indian Empress (Yacht), United Distillers and many private collections worldwide.
Lot 244
* JAMES FULLARTON (SCOTTISH b. 1946), BOATS AT ST MONANCE (ST MONANS) oil on board, signed, titled label versoframed and under glassimage size 26cm x 31cm, overall size 40cm x 45cm Handwritten artist's label verso.Note: Born in Glasgow, James Fullarton studied at the Glasgow School of Art under Donaldson, Goudie and Shanks. Since gaining his Diploma in Drawing and Painting in 1969, he has worked full-time as a professional painter based in Ayrshire. He is a regular exhibitor with the Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts and has exhibited with the Royal Scottish Academy and lectured for the Scottish Arts Council. He has also won several prizes and awards throughout his career including the David Cargill Award and the Britoil Award. James has enjoyed a long and successful career with many solo shows. His work is sold in a number of galleries across Scotland and England and has been acquired for many public and corporate collections including; Adam and Company, Arnold Clark Organisation, The Bank of Scotland, Greenock Art Gallery, Guinness Plc, Heriot-Watt University, Lillie Art Gallery (Milngavie), Lord Macfarlane of Bearsden, Macfarlane Group Plc, Maclaurin Gallery (Ayr), Northern Corporate Bank, Proctor and Gamble, Robert Fleming Holdings Ltd, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, Scottish Power Plc, Scottish Television, Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum, TSB Collection, The Earl of Wemyss and March, The Indian Empress (Yacht), United Distillers and many private collections worldwide.
Lot 321
The rare Baltic 1855 operations C.B. group of four awarded to Colonel J. M. Wemyss, Royal Marine Artillery, whose innovative command of the R.M.A’s mortars at the bombardment of Sveaborg achieved spectacular results: ‘In the thirty daylight hours, during which the bombardment continued, the guns and mortars discharged on either side averaged between 20 or 30 a minute, which will convey some idea of the furious nature of the engagement’ The Most Honourable Order of The Bath, C.B. (Military) Companion’s breast badge, 22 carat gold and enamels, hallmarked London 1843, with narrow gold swivel-bar suspension and ribbon buckle; Naval General Service 1793-1840, 1 clasp, Syria (John M. Wemyss, Lieut. R.M.A.); Baltic 1854-55, unnamed as issued; St. Jean d’Acre 1840, silver, unnamed as issued, fitted with straight-bar suspension and plain faced clasp, the first with slightly chipped central wreaths, one or two edge bruises and minor contact wear, otherwise generally good very fine (4) £4,000-£5,000 --- 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. C.B. London Gazette 2 January 1856. John Maurice Wemyss was appointed a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Marine Artillery in December 1837. He subsequently distinguished himself in the Syria operations of 1840, being mentioned in the despatch of Captain Austin, R.N. of H.M.S. Cyclops. In his own words, taken from his statement of services, Wemyss describes his part in the campaign thus: ‘On 10 September 1840, I landed with the Anglo-Turkish force at D’Jouni Bay on the coast of Syria and remained nine days in the field citadel constructed there. On the 19 September 1840, I re-embarked in the Cyclops, which vessel was much employed in distributing arms, stopping convoys and firing on the enemy whenever they appeared on the coast. On 26 September 1840, I landed with the Turkish force under the orders of Captain Austin, commanding H.M.S. Cyclops, for the purpose of carrying by assault the town of Sidon, and on this occasion was favourably spoken of by that officer for having turned one of the enemy’s guns (mounted in an outwork) on the Egyptian soldiers defending the town, thereby facilitating the disembarkation of the Turkish troops. This piece of service is adverted to in my certificate from the Cyclops. During the remainder of my time in the Cyclops, I served in various ports of the Mediterranean, chiefly at Alexandria, with a sketch of the defences of which I furnished Captain Austin for the information of their Lordships.’ Advanced to 1st Lieutenant in October 1841, and to Captain in October 1851, Wemyss spent most of the intervening period as a Gunnery Examining Officer back in the U.K., but in 1855 he arrived in the Baltic aboard the Orion, and, as the C.O. of the R.M.A’s mortar detachments at the bombardment of Sveaborg on 9 August 1855, distinguished himself sufficiently to be given the Brevet of Major and awarded the C.B., the latter a rare distinction indeed for a Captain of Marines. Of this fact Wemyss’ senior stated: ‘This is the first instance in the Naval service of the C.B. being given for service as a Captain of Marines, but in his case most justly given, as he had an important command and by his throwing away old ideas and pouring in more rapid mortar fire in the first hours than ever had been thought of before, he greatly contributed to the success, as we got up rapidly such a body of fire that it could not be put out.’ While in his Sveaborg despatch, Admiral R. S. Dundas, C.B., noted: ‘The direction of this service (mortar boats) was confided to Captain J. M. Wemyss of the Royal Marine Artillery, assisted by Captain Lawrence, and Captain Schomberg, and every exertion was used by these officers to press the fire of the mortars to the fullest extent, which could be deemed proper. My especial thanks are due to the Officers and men of the Royal Marine Artillery for the manner in which their important duties have been performed. The cool and steady manner with which they continued to conduct the duties of their staticas deserves the highest praise, and I have much pleasure in calling their Lordships attention to the services of Captain Wemyss, as well as those of Captains Lawrence and Schomberg of that distinguished Corps.’ An indication of the rate of fire of the R.M.A. detachments may be gleaned from the simple statistic that the 15 British mortar vessels expended 3100 shells (equivalent to 1000 tons of iron), hot work that resulted in three of the mortars bursting. Wemyss later wrote: ‘If it is unpleasant to stand over a bursting shell, how much more so was it to have to serve a mortar which is likely to burst the next round. I think our men in the Baltic behaved splendidly in making no difficulty when three mortars had burst and the remainder were so unsound ... I had in the Baltic not only to organize a new service with a long forgotten weapon, and answer for its effects in action being destructive at a great distance, but also I had to depart from the old custom of firing slow.’ Finally, for the purposes of illustrating the devastating effect the R.M.A’s mortars had upon the enemy, the following eye-witness observations are not without interest: ‘By 7 o’clock all was ready for the opening of the bombardment, and at 7.30 Captain Wemyss gave the signal by firing a shell from the Pickle. As every mortar was loaded, the response was immediate and terrific. With a simultaneous roar about five and twenty huge shells sped away, and mounting up, until over Vargon and Gustafsvard, thundered straight down upon them with destructive effect. Of the opening salvo, one or two exploded short or went over among the shipping in the harbour, but the majority crashed down where intended, right over the magazines, and, on bursting, threw up columns of white smoke, mingled with dark earth and rubbish. At the same moment as the mortars, the gunboats also opened a very heavy fire on the forts of shot and shell from their 68-pounders. The Russian reply was immediate and appalling; as if by magic the smoke of heavy guns issued from every nook and post, high and low, all over the islands, from hundreds of cannon and mortars; a perfect storm of shot, hot and cold, and shell at all angles of cross fire, came towards us, hissing, splashing, ricocheting in every direction. If that awful shower of missiles had reached us with effect, we should, indeed, have been in a bad way! Fortunately, it did us no practical harm, but some of the gunboats had narrow escapes ... Shortly after 9 o’clock it was becoming very evident our shell fire was having a terrible effect, especially on Vargon, from which, as the barracks, stores, and various buildings caught fire in detail, dense columns of smoke began to arise. The magazines also were becoming denuded of the earth masses atop through the explosion of our embedded shells. Altogether the fire was constant and relentless; while the Russian’s was fitful and almost ineffective. At 10.30 our shells reached a magazine, and a prodigious cloud of white smoke arose over Vargon; from which emerged dark masses of stones, guns, and even men’s bodies. It was followed by a noise like thunder, and a heavy concussion as of an earthquake. When the smoke cleared away, one of the great forts was disclosed a ruin, at which our men manned the rigging and cheered. The tremendous nature of the explosion so frightened the sightseers, especially the ladies at Helsingfors, that they scuttled off in every direction ... great shouts and commotion overhead caused a simultaneous rush on ...
Lot 417
The rare Great War Tigris gunboat operations D.S.C. group of eight awarded to Surgeon Captain J. P. Shorten, Royal Navy, who was decorated for treating wounded under very heavy fire in H.M.S. Mantis in February 1917 Distinguished Service Cross, G.V.R., the reverse hallmarked London 1918; British War and Victory Medals, with M.I.D. oak leaves (Surg. Lt. J. P. Shorten. R.N.); 1939-45 Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45; Jubilee 1935; Coronation 1937, mounted as worn, very fine or better (8) £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: Glendining’s, November 1999. D.S.C. London Gazette 21 September 1917. The original recommendation states: ‘He continued to dress and attend to the wounded in the open while under very heavy fire.’ James Percy Shorten was born in Co. Cork, Ireland on 30 May 1888, the son of a country doctor, and himself qualified in medicine in 1910. Entering the Royal Navy as a Surgeon Lieutenant in the lead up to the Great War, he served in the Harwich Force prior to transferring to the river gunboat Mantis in Mesopotamia in September 1916. The Mantis was actively employed on the River Tigris for much of the Great War, not least at the time of the famous siege of Kut, when she was charged with taking in supplies and trying to break the Turkish grip on the town. But it was for Mantis’s subsequent part in the advance on Baghdad, and the recapture of Kut, on 24-26 February 1917, that Shorten was awarded his D.S.C., treating as he did her wounded under a heavy fire. He was also mentioned in despatches (London Gazette 7 August 1918, refers). Admiral Wemyss’ Tigris despatch for December 1916-March 1917 describes the events of 24-26 February 1917 in detail, the following extract covering the actions of Mantis and her consorts immediately following the fall of Baghdad: ‘The Turks retreating on the left bank were becoming more numerous; they now had our cavalry division in pursuit of them on their right flank and the gunboats on their left. The enemy were firing at us from three directions, and on approaching Nahr Kellak bend I observed a large body of enemy on the left bank at the head of the loop in the river, and gave orders for all guns to be fired on them. They proved to be a strong rearguard, and opened on us with field and machine-guns and heavy rifle fire. At this close range there were casualties in all ships, who were all hit many times, but our guns must have caused immense damage to the enemy, as we were at one time firing six-inch guns into them at about 400 to 500 yards. Besides the Turkish Artillery there were a large number of enemy with rifles and machine-guns behind the bend at a range of about 100 yards from the ships. In the act of turning round the bend shot came from all directions, and casualties of Moth, which came last in the line, were particularly severe. There were casualties in all three ships, Moth, which was magnificently handled by Lieutenant-Commander Charles H. A. Cartwright, who was himself wounded, had three officers wounded - all severely - out of four, and two men killed and eighteen wounded, which is about 50 per cent, of her complement. She was hit eight times by shell - one from ahead hit the fore side of stokehold casing, burst, and pierced the port boiler, both front and back, but luckily missed the boiler tubes. The after compartment was holed below the water line, and the upper deck and funnels of all ships riddled with bullets. The quartermaster and pilot in the conning tower of H.M.S. Mantis were killed, but the prompt action of her Captain saved her from running ashore. I consider that the excellent spirit of the men and skilful handling of the ships by their Captains in a difficult and unknown shallow river were most praiseworthy. We thus passed the enemy rearguard, and large numbers of the retreating Turkish Army were on our starboard beam. I opened rapid fire from all guns that would hear (this included heavy and light guns, pom-poms, maxims, and rifles), and at this short range we did enormous execution, the enemy being too demoralised to reply, except in a very few cases … I have the honour to submit the following for special mention, promotion, honours or awards: H.M.S. Mantis Commander Bernard Buxton, R.N. For good work done on all occasions. His prompt action under heavy fire on 26th March saved H.M.S. Mantis from running aground in a critical position. Surgeon James P. Shorten, R.N. Continued to dress and attend to the wounded in the open while under very heavy fire.’ After the war Shorten served in various naval hospitals, specialising in general surgery and ophthalmology. Among other appointments he was Principal Medical Officer to the battleships Emperor of India and Revenge. And during the Second World War he was Surgeon Captain at a Royal Naval Auxiliary Hospital at Newton Abbot and later at a naval training establishment in Great Malvern. Retiring after the war, he settled at Newton Abbot, where he continued the practice of ophthalmology and spent his spare time working in his garden. He died in February 1978, his obituary in the British Medical Association Journal stating that he was ‘a good shot, a keen fisherman, and a first-class golfer. In 1929 he was the Dorset County golf champion.’
Lot 395
The exceptional Great War Tigris Flotilla operations Posthumous V.C. awarded to Lieutenant-Commander C. H. Cowley, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, the “Pirate of Basra”: having served on steamships up and down the Tigris and Euphrates rivers pre-hostilities, he mastered Arabic and made many local friends, and was ideally suited to serve as a river-pilot, interpreter and intelligence agent for the British - small wonder then that his Turkish captors murdered him after he was taken prisoner in a suicidal attempt to reinforce the Kut garrison in the Julnar in April 1916 Victoria Cross, the reverse of the suspension bar engraved (Lt. Comdr. C. H. Cowley, R.N.V.R.), the reverse centre of the cross dated ‘24 April 1915’, in its Hancocks & Co case of issue; together with his original Buckingham Palace memorial scroll in the name of ‘Lt. Commander Charles Henry Cowley, V.C., R.N.V.R.’, extremely fine £180,000-£220,000 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- Provenance: Private sale by Cowley’s descendants to Spink & Son and thence to the R. C. Witte Collection. V.C. London Gazette 2 February 1917 - joint citation with Lieutenant H. O. B. Firman, R.N.: ‘At 8 p.m. on 24 April 1916, with a crew from the Royal Navy under Lieutenant Firman, R.N., assisted by Lieutenant-Commander Cowley, R.N.V.R., the Julnar, carrying 270 tons of supplies left Falahiyah in an attempt to reach Kut. Her departure was covered by all artillery and machine-gun fire that could be brought to bear, in the hope of distracting the enemy’s attention. She was, however, discovered and shelled on her passage up the river. At 1 a.m. on the 25th, General Townshend reported she had not arrived, and that at midnight a burst of heavy firing had been heard at Magasis, some eight and a half miles from Kut by river, which had suddenly ceased. There could be but little doubt that the enterprise had failed, and the next day the Air Service reported the Julnar in the hands of the Turks at Magasis. The leaders of this brave attempt, Lieutenant H. O. B. Firman, R.N., and his assistant - Lieutenant-Commander C. H. Cowley, R.N.V.R. - the latter of whom throughout the campaign in Mesopotamia performed magnificent service in command of the Mejidieh - have been reported by the Turks to have been killed; the remainder of the gallant crew, including five wounded, are prisoners of war. Knowing well the chances against them, all the gallant officers and men who manned the Julnar for the occasion were volunteers. I trust that the services in this connection of Lieutenant H. O. B. Firman, R.N., and Lieutenant-Commander C. H. Cowley, R.N.V.R., his assistant, both of whom were unfortunately killed, may be recognised by the posthumous grant of some suitable honour.’ Charles Henry Cowley was born in Baghdad in February 1872, the eldest son of Henry Victor Cowley, an Irishman who was Senior Captain of the Euphrates and Tigris Steamship Company. His mother was half Armenian, being the daughter of Captain A. C. Holland, a former officer of the Indian Navy who later became a Tigris river boat captain, and Sushan Minas, a refugee from Persia who had fled to Baghdad in the 1830s, following the massacre of her parents. However, under English Law at the time of his birth, Cowley was a British subject - a significant distinction in light of future events. Educated in Liverpool, Cowley joined the training ship Worcester as a Cadet in January 1885 and, in July 1888, he was apprenticed to McDiarmid & Co., with whom he gained his first seagoing experience under sail. Four years later, on the sudden death of his father, he joined his mother at her adopted home in Baghdad, where he followed his grandfather and father into Lynch Bros employ on the waterways of Mesopotamia. A professional to his finger tips, he quickly soaked up the local language and customs, so much so that a fellow employee observed that by the outbreak of hostilities, no man carried greater influence over the Arabs than Cowley. By August 1914, he was the company’s senior captain and in command of the Mejidieh, in which steamer he was ordered from Basra to Baghdad to evacuate all British nationals who wished to leave. His command having then been formally requisitioned by the Royal Navy, he went on to play a critical role in carrying troops back and forth on the Euphrates and Tigris, fine work that also came to the attention of the Turks, who sentenced him to death in absentia at a military court hearing held in Baghdad - and even sent him a message declaring him to be a ‘pirate’. Such accusations appealed to Cowley’s sense of humour and, far from being perturbed, he took to flying the ‘skull and cross-bones’ flag whenever he returned to Basra. Among the more notable operations carried out by the Mejidieh in this period was her part in shelling enemy troops during the capture of Kurnah, when she had embarked two 18-pounder guns and some gunners from the R.G.A. Cowley’s ‘meritorious conduct’ was duly noted by their Lordships and he received a special letter of thanks from the Admiralty. While during the rapid advances made in the spring and summer of 1915, Cowley’s command was a leading participant of “Towshend’s Regatta”, often acting as a floating H.Q. for the General and his staff. Later still, after the tide turned at Ctesiphon, the Mejidieh was the means by which hundreds of wounded men escaped Basra. In August 1915, in an effort to protect Cowley in the event of capture, he was appointed to the temporary rank of Lieutenant-Commander in the “Wavy Navy”, and duly borne on the books of H.M.S. Espiegle for service with river steamers in Mesopotamia. But by this stage his reputation for being an infuriating thorn in the side of Turkish interests was sufficient to prompt an attempt to have him murdered, an assassin with a dagger boarding the Mejidieh one night in November 1915, only to seriously wound Captain Wingate, who was occupying the bed normally used by Cowley. Here, then, admirable evidence to contend that his subsequent decision to join the ill-fated Julnar enterprise was doubly courageous. Of his subsequent V.C.-winning exploits, Stephen Smelling’s history of Great War Naval V.Cs states: ‘Cowley received orders to take Julnar to Amarah on 14 April. The following day a call for volunteers to crew her resulted in every man of the Tigris Flotilla stepping forward. Twelve unmarried men were selected: Leading Seaman William Rowbotham, Engine Room Artificer Alexander Murphy, Leading Stoker Herbert Cooke, Able Seaman Montague Williams, Stoker Charles Thirkill, Stoker Samuel Fox, Able Seaman Herbert Blanchard, Able Seaman John Featherbee, Able Seaman Harold Ledger, Stoker George Foreshaw, Able Seaman Alfred Veale, and Able Seaman William Bond. And on 19 April Wemyss reported Julnar commissioned ‘for special duty’. Like Reed’s rank, the steamer’s new status was to be a brief one, lasting only as long as the mission. Six days were spent in Amarah fitting out. Reed wrote: ‘All cabin woodwork was removed from the inside, and the mast and top-deck stanchions were cut away. The ship was plated with armour 3/8-inch thick round the bridge and over the boiler and engine rooms, bags of atta [flour] being placed between the armour and the ship’s sides to give additional protection against bullets and shell splinters.’ The steamer was then carefully loaded with around 270 tons of food and medical provisions until, in Able Seaman Bond’s description, she resembled a floating &...
Lot 9223
Eleven Suffolk related titles, including R. Green: 'A Guide to Framlingham, its Church and Castle, with Short Memoirs of the Once Illustrious Possessors of the Domain.', Framlingham, Robert Lambert, [1895], 4th edition revised and corrected, with additions and illustrations, frontis + numerous b/w illustrations from photographs, wood engraved ills. in text etc, original cloth gilt, Nicholas Fenwick Hele: 'Notes or Jottings about Aldeburgh, Suffolk', L, John Russell Smith, 1870, 1st edition, frontis + 4 plates (1 folding) complete, orig. cloth gilt, armorial bookplate to front pastedown of Colonel Henry Wemyss Feilden (1838-1921), British Army officer, Arctic explorer and naturalist, Churchill Babington: 'Catalogue of the Birds of Suffolk; With an Introduction and Remarks on Their Distribution', London, John van Voorst, 1886, map frontis + 7 autotype photographic plates at end complete, original cloth gilt, bookplate to front pastedown of Sir Robert Lloyd Patterson (1836–1906), Irish naturalist and linen merchant, and with his ownership signature at head of title page, Hugh Pigot: 'Hadleigh: the town, the church, and the great men who have been born in, or connected with, the parish', Lowestoft, Samuel Tymms, 1860, 10 lithograph plates (of which many folding) complete, original cloth gilt, James Blyth: 'Edward Fitzgerald and "Posh" "herring merchants" : including a number of letters from Edward Fitzgerald to Joseph Fletcher or "Posh", not hitherto published', L, John Long, 1908, 1st edition, 16 b/w plates from photographs complete, original cloth gilt, much content Lowestoft, Woodbridge, Suffolk coast, fishing etc, Charles golding: 'The Coinage of Suffolk, consisting of the regal coins, leaden pieces and tokens of the Seventeenth, Eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries.', London, Privately Printed, 1868, 1st edition, 6 engraved plates + 9 woodcut ills. & 14 engraved Suffolk armorial bearings complete, 4to, original cloth gilt, scarce title, particularly in the original cloth and in collectable condition, 'The Southwold Recorder', bound volume of the monthly newspaper 1930, January-December 1930, 12 issues complete, each issue approx. 44pp, news/content covers the area of Reydon, Southwold, Lowestoft, Wangford, Wrentham, Kessingland, Walberswick, Blythburgh, Halesworth, Wenhaston, 4to, contemporary cloth gilt, C.H. Evelyn White (Intro., Notes): 'The journal of William Dowsing, of Stratford, Parliamentary Visitor : appointed under a warrant from the Earl of Manchester, for demolishing the superstitious pictures and ornaments of churches &c., within the county of Suffolk, in the years 1643-1644.', Ipswich, Pawsey & Hayes, 1885, new edition, 61pp + [2]pp adverts at end, 4to, orig. cloth gilt, bookplate to front pastedown of William Blyth Gerish (1864–1921), English antiquarian, biographer and folklorist, with 4 pages of contemporary manuscript notes (presumably by Gerish) to blank leaves at end, plus 3 others Wrentham, St. Olaves and Bury St. Edmunds (11)
Lot 3234
A collection of 35 postcards of railway interest, the majority of stations, including postcards titled ‘G.W.R. Coastal Express leaving Paddington’, ‘Cheshunt Station’, ‘Railway Station, Mowbray’, ‘Wemyss Bay Station’ and ‘Willesden Junction’, together with two photographs of related interest.
Lot 115
Broadsides. Two 1821 Festival Ball broadside posters. Reading: There will be a Grand Ball in the Assembly Rooms, George Street, on the Evening of Thursday next, on which occasion the Directors of the Festival have the satisfaction of announcing, that the following Ladies of distinction have kindly undertaken to act as Patronesses. The Music will be under the direction of Messrs Litolff and Stockham of London; and the Directors have obtained the additional aid of the Military Band of the Royal Dragoons from Piershill Barracks. Tickets of Admission, 10s. 6d. each, may be purchased at any of the Music Shops, or at the Rooms. The Doors will be Opened at Ten o'Clock, and Dancing commence at half-past Ten. Countesses being of Caithness, Morton, Moray, Wemyss and March, Dalhousie, Leven and Melville, and Rosebery. A pair of watermarked 1821 printed broadsides advertising a ball at the Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh, with musical direction by Henry Litolff. Light age-toning to right edge, folded centrally & offset as to be expected. An exceptional and scarce pair of Regency survivors. Measuring approx. 22cm x 18cm.
Lot 170
SIX VARIOUS BLUE AND WHITE TRANSFER PRINTED DRAINERS 19TH CENTURY comprising ‘Europa’ by J & R Riley; an ‘Italian Scenery’ example by John Meir; Minton ‘Chinese Marine’; ‘Parkland Scenery’ by Chetham & Robinson; a small William Smith & Co ‘Eton College’ drainer; an example printed with Duff Castle and the Wemyss Caves; various marks; together with a SMALL PLAQUE PRINTED WITH AN ORIENTAL SCENE, unknown maker (7) largest 36.5cm wide, plaque 19cm wide The Maisels Collection of British Ceramics
Lot 150
A Wemyss ware cylindrical pot decorated with strawberries, 12cm high; together with two stoneware pots (one with lid missing)There is a visible hairline crack close to the rim of the wymes, this measures 4cm. The wymes also rings incorrectly which indicates the crack. The other two stoneware pots are in good condition with no visible cracks.
Lot 300
EDMUND DULAC (FRENCH 1882-1953) LADY CYNTHIA ASQUITH Watercolour Signed and dated '14' (upper left) 37 x 29cm (14½ x 11¼ in.) Lady Cynthia Charteris was born in 1887 to Hugo Charteris, 11th Earl of Wemyss and Mary Constance Wyndham. In 1910 she married the writer and poet Herbert Asquith, the second son of the future Prime Minister. Moving in fashionable literary circles, she worked as Secretary for J. M. Barrie and was a close confidante of D. H. Lawrence and L. P. Hartley. When Asquith's diaries were published posthumously in 1968, the latter composed the introduction and fondly reflected that 'You could truly say of her, in the words of Shakespeare...that a start danced when she was born and went on dancing till she died.'Asquith was herself a successful writer, primarily known for her ghost stories, Royal biographies and for editing anthologies. Admired for her beguiling beauty, she was also painted by Ambrose McEvoy, John Singer Sargent and Augustus John.
Lot 281
A rare Copeland water can, the painting attributed to Edwin Sandland, the Wemyss ware decorater, c1916, of white 'Crown' earthenware, painted with lilies and dog roses on a blue ground, 23cm h, impressed crown, COPELAND and potting date 14 for 1914 Edwin Sandland (w.1916-28) hailed from the Potteries and is known to have painted dog roses in oil paint on bought in Copeland tea sets. His style of painting was notably freer and idiosyncratic than that of his immediate predecessor Karel Nekola Some professional restoration of fine appearance, crack in base
Lot 388
London, and other subjects including Papworth, John B. Select Views of London. London: R. Ackermann, 1816. First edition. 8vo, 76 hand-coloured plates, contemporary diced calf, joints rubbed, spine chipped, erased ownership signature from paste-down endpaper;[Bookplates] 130 bookplates laid into a 20th century vellum album, including: Charles Tollemache Scott, Edward Tighe, Rosslyn Erskine Wemyss, H.S. Thorne [being a woodcut design after Bewick], John Webb Singer, Sir John Stirling Maxwell, Colonel Colin Campbell, Herbert Jekyll, May Gaskell, and others; Thornbury, Walter. Old and New London. London: Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co., [n.d.] 2 volumes, 8vo, modern red half morocco gilt;Randell, J.O. Pastoral Settlement in Northern Victoria. Melbourne: Queensberry Hill Press, 1979. Volume 1 only, original quarter morocco, inscribed by the author with accompanying letters (5) Select items from the estate of the late Lady Penn.
Lot 193
* JAMES FULLARTON (SCOTTISH b. 1946), THE HARBOUR, CRAIL oil on canvas, signed, titled verso framed image size 75cm x 91cm, overall size 94cm x 109cm Artist's label verso Note: Born in Glasgow, James Fullarton studied at the Glasgow School of Art under Donaldson, Goudie and Shanks. Since gaining his Diploma in Drawing and Painting in 1969, he has worked full-time as a professional painter based in Ayrshire. He is a regular exhibitor with the Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts and has exhibited with the Royal Scottish Academy and lectured for the Scottish Arts Council. He has also won several prizes and awards throughout his career including the David Cargill Award and the Britoil Award. James has enjoyed a long and successful career with many solo shows. His work is sold in a number of galleries across Scotland and England and has been acquired for many public and corporate collections including; Adam and Company, Arnold Clark Organisation, The Bank of Scotland, Greenock Art Gallery, Guinness Plc, Heriot-Watt University, Lillie Art Gallery (Milngavie), Lord Macfarlane of Bearsden, Macfarlane Group Plc, Maclaurin Gallery (Ayr), Northern Corporate Bank, Proctor and Gamble, Robert Fleming Holdings Ltd, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, Scottish Power Plc, Scottish Television, Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum, TSB Collection, The Earl of Wemyss and March, The Indian Empress (Yacht), United Distillers and many private collections worldwide.
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