Orders, Decorations and Medals

An interesting Naval Intelligence C.B.E. group of seven awarded to Captain V. R. Brandon, Royal Navy, tried and imprisoned in Germany for espionage prior to the Great War

The Order of the British Empire, C.B.E. (Military) 1st type neck badge; 1914-15 Star (Lt. Commr., R.N.); British War and Victory Medals, with M.I.D. oak leaf (Capt., R.N.); Africa General Service 1902-56, 1 clasp, Somaliland 1920 (Commr., R.N. H.M.S. Odin); Legion of Honour, Officer, silver-gilt and enamels, these last five mounted as worn; Jubilee 1935, in box of issue, nearly extremely fine (7) £700-900

C.B.E. (Military) London Gazette 12 February 1919: for services as Acting Captain, Assistant Director of Naval Intelligence 1918-19.

Vivian Ronald Brandon was born at Hammersmith, London, on 1 April 1882, and joined the Nvay as Midshipman on 15 January 1898. His subsequent varied naval experience included expertise in intelligence, linguistics, diplomacy, cryptography and seamanship. He was qualified as an Interpreter in German and had two espionage experiences against the Germans prior to the Great War which culminated in his capture and imprisonment. This is fully described in Admiral James’ biography of Admiral Sir Reginald ‘Blinker’ Hall.

In 1908, ‘Blinker’ Hall, Lieutenant Brandon, and Captain B. F. Trench, R.M., borrowed the Duke of Westminster’s motor boat to photograph German buildings and ships in Kiel Harbour. After a successful trip they were commended by the Admiralty. Brandon was further commended for writing additional sailing directions for the Belts, Kattegat and Baltic. In May 1910, Captain C. H. Regnart, of the Intelligence Department, sent Brandon and Trench to the Frisian Islands, off Germany, to photograph and get information on the German sea defences. They planned to leave their findings in Holland before going to Borkum, but did not do so because the Germans were about to begin manoeuvres. They found their way through some barbed wire to study some guns but, like The Riddle of the Sands, Brandon was caught by a sentry. Trench hid their papers and tried to help Brandon, but was also arrested. They were both tried as spies at Leipzig and sentenced to four years imprisonment in the Prussian fortress at Glatz. They were released on 21 May 1913, after being granted a pardon by the Kaiser on the occasion of King George V’s visit to Germany. The Admiralty, however, treated them badly, claiming that the whole espionage idea had been of their own invention and refusing reimbursement for their trial and living expenses whilst in prison. Hall was furious and eventually obtained reimbursement for them when he was appointed Director of Intelligence.

In 1914 Brandon was in command of Bramble in China, and as Interpreter in German. He was recalled in August 1914 and, together with Trench, now a Major, assigned to the German Section of the Naval Intelligence Department in December 1914. A special notation was made on his service record by order of the Second Sea Lord that “This officer is retained at the Admiralty on account of special qualifications for work in the Intelligence Department and his retention in a shore appointment is not to militate against chances of promotion when he becomes eligible under the regulations”. For his services in the Intelligence Department during the war Brandon was made C.B.E. in February 1919, and Officer of the Legion of Honour London Gazette 12 December 1919.

In April 1919 he was assigned as Mine Clearance Officer, Norwegian waters at Lervig, and was mentioned in despatches London Gazette 22 January 1920, and complimented for establishing a base in Norway and having good relations with the Norwegian authorities. He commanded H.M.S. Odin in the Red Sea, from March to September 1920, during the operations in Somaliland (Medal with Clasp). He was next appointed Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf, in command of H.M.S. Cyclamen, September 1920 to May 1923. In 1921 he was complimented by the political resident for valuable assistance against the Sheikh of Agamanis, and again, in 1922, for settling a dispute between the Sheik of Ras-Al-Khaima and the Sali of Rams Village; and also on the occasion of the Anglo-Persian Oil Strike at Abadan in March 1922. He was subsequently Naval Assistant to the Hydrographer of the Navy, 1923-27, and Professional Officer in the Mercantile Marine Department of the Board of Trade from 1927. He was the father of Lord Brandon of Oakbrook and died on 2 January 1944.