Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Five: Lieutenant-Colonel G. B. Roberts, Royal Engineers, who, having been awarded the Order of Medjidie for his work as a Telegraph Officer in the Sudan in 1899, was twice mentioned in despatches for like services in the Somaliland operations in 1902-04

Africa General Service 1902-56, 1 clasp, Somaliland 1902-04 (Capt. G. B. Roberts, R.E.); British War and Victory Medals, M.I.D. oak leaf (Lt. Col. G. B. Roberts); Turkey, Order of the Medjidie, 4th Class breast badge, silver, gold and enamel; Khedive’s Sudan 1896-1908, 1 clasp, Sudan 1899, unnamed as issued, generally good very fine (5) £800-1000

George Bradley Roberts, who was born at Portsmouth in July 1869, was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers in July 1888.

Advanced to Lieutenant in July 1891 and to Captain in July 1899, and having trained as a Telegraph Officer in England, Roberts was selected to go with a small party to the Sudan in January 1899 to build communication lines and, with minimal equipment, assisted in the line laid from Goz Abu Guma to Er Renk and thence to Fashoda and Taufika. He was awarded the 4th Class of the Order of Medjidie (London Gazette 11 March 1902, refers), and the Khedive’s Medal & clasp.

Roberts returned to Africa in 1903, commanding the Telegraph Engineers during the course of the third expedition against the “Mad Mullah” in Somaliland, on which occasion the Engineers laid a main communication line from Berbera to Bohotle, together with various branch lines, services that resulted in Roberts being mentioned in Brigadier-General W. H. Manning’s despatch of 17 August 1903, and in those of Sir Charles Egerton on 30 May 1904, the former ‘for the work done by him in the construction, maintenance and organisation of the telegraph line from Berbera to Damot, a distance of 255 miles’ (Medal & clasp).

Roberts first went out to France as a Lieutenant-Colonel and Commanding Engineer in 59th Division, III Corps, in February 1917, in which capacity he was present in operations at Polygon Wood and Cambrai and was mentioned in despatches (London Gazette 11 December 1917, refers).

Roberts, who retired with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in July 1921 and remained on the list of the Reserve of Officers Royal Engineers until 1924, died at Milford-on-Sea in December 1933; sold with extensive copied service details and medal roll for R.E. personnel employed in Somaliland 1902-04, together with a copied photograph of the recipient at work in Africa.