Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A Great War M.B.E. group of five awarded to Shipwright Lieutenant-Commander A. C. Smith, Royal Navy

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, M.B.E. (Military) Member’s 1st type breast badge, silver, hallmarks for London 1919; Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, no clasp (Carp., R.N., H.M.S. Pearl); 1914-15 Star (Ch. Carp., R.N.); British War and Victory Medals (Shpt. Lt., R.N.), very fine and better (5) £400-450

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Barrett J. Carr Collection of Boer War Medals.

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Collection

A total of 203 Queen’s South Africa Medals were awarded to the ship’s company of H.M.S. Pearl, 189 of them without clasp.

M.B.E. London Gazette 27 June 1919:

‘For valuable services as Barrack Master, Cranwell Air Station’.

Alfred Charles Smith, who was born in September 1866, was appointed a Carpenter, R.N. in June 1896, in which capacity he served in H.M.S. Pearl off South Africa in April-May 1902. He subsequently served in the battleship Thunderer from February 1911 to January 1916, in which period he was advanced to Commissioned Shipwright, following which he was appointed Barrack Master at Cranwell Air Station, where he gained further promotion to Shipwright Lieutenant and was awarded the M.B.E. Smith was placed on the Retired List in September 1921 and died in May 1930, having in the interim received promotion to ‘Shipwright Lieutenant-Commander (Retd.)’.