Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A rare Great War C.B.E. group of eleven awarded to Captain G. H. Finnis, Royal Indian Marine and South African Navy

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, C.B.E. (Military) Commander’s 1st type neck badge, silver-gilt; M.B.E. (Military) Member’s 1st type breast badge, silver-gilt; Africa General Service 1902-56, 1 clasp, Somaliland 1902-04 (Lieut. G. H. Finnis, R.I.M.S. Mayo); Naval General Service 1915-62, 1 clasp, Persian Gulf 1909-1914 (Lieut. G. H. Finnis, R.I.M.S. Minto); 1914 Star (Comdr. G. H. Finnis, R.I.M.); British War and Victory Medals, M.I.D. oak leaf (Commr. G. H. Finnis, R.I.M.); War Medal 1939-45, privately engraved, ‘Capt. G. H. Finnis, H.M.S. Africander IV’; Delhi Durbar 1911; Portugal, Military Order of St. Avis, 2nd Class set of insignia, by Da Costa, Lisbon, comprising neck badge and breast star, silver, gilt and enamel, minor contact marks and enamel slightly chipped in centre of the last, otherwise very fine and better (11) £1100-1300

C.B.E. London Gazette 17 October 1919:

‘For valuable services during the War.’

George Home Finnis, who was born in Kohat in the Punjab in December 1873, entered the Royal Indian Marine as a Sub. Lieutenant in November 1895. Advanced to Lieutenant in April 1900, he was present in the R.I.M.S. Mayo off Somaliland during the operations of 1902-04, and in the Minto in the Persian Gulf during the operations of 1909-14, and by the outbreak of hostilities he was serving in England as a recently promoted Commander ‘in connection with the building of a new lighthouse tender for the Persian Gulf’.

In late November 1914, however, Finnis was appointed Divisional Naval Transport Officer of ‘A’ Force, thereby qualifying for his extremely rare 1914 Star, and in May 1916 of ‘B’ Force, which posting was followed by like services in the Marine Transport Service in East Africa, where he was twice mentioned in despatches (London Gazettes 8 February 1917 and 22 February 1918 refer), in addition to being awarded the O.B.E. ‘for valuable services as Divisional Naval Transport Officer, East Africa’ (London Gazette 1 April 1918 refers) and, just a few months later, the C.B.E. He was also awarded the Commander’s grade of the Portuguese Order of St. Avis.

Advanced to Captain in January 1922, Finnis was placed on the Retired List in May 1924, but returned to uniform in the 1939-45 War as a Captain in the South African Navy, in which capacity he commanded the Durban base Afrikander IV.