Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

The important Great War campaign group of four awarded to Captain F. N. Fargus, Royal Naval Division and Royal Navy, who commanded the Benbow Battalion during the defence of Antwerp in 1914, and was interned in Holland after the fall of the city. He served as Commandant of the Naval Internment Camp at Groningen - H.M.S. “Timbertown”

1914 Star, with copy clasp (Commander F. N. Fargus, R.N. Cdg. Benbow. Bttn. R.N.D.); British War and Victory Medals (Commr. F. N. Fargus. R.N.); Coronation 1911, unnamed as issued, mounted for wear, very fine (4) £2,000-£2,400

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, A Collection of 1914 Stars to the Royal Naval Division.

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Frederick Noel Fargus was born in Clifton, Bristol in December 1875. He joined the Royal Navy as a Cadet in January 1890, and was appointed to H.M.S. Trafalgar on the Mediterranean Station in January 1892. Fargus advanced to Midshipman in May 1892, and to Acting Sub Lieutenant in November 1895. He passed out from Royal Naval College with 1st Class Certificates in Gunner and Torpedo, and 2nd Class Certificates in Pilotage and College Part 1 and 2, in consequence of his exam results Fargus received accelerated promotion to Lieutenant in November 1897.

Subsequent service included with H.M. Ships Volage and Hannibal prior to deciding to specialise in Torpedoes. As a consequence of the latter, Fargus was posted to H.M.S. Vernon in September 1899. Having received another certificate he was posted to H.M.S. Hecla, before returning to Vernon as part of the Senior Instructional Staff. Fargus was appointed Torpedo Lieutenant to H.M.S. Hannibal in January 1905, and served in a similar capacity with the Exmouth before being appointed to the command of the torpedo gunboat Niger.

Fargus was appointed First and Torpedo Lieutenant of the battleship Majestic in January 1910. He advanced to Commander in June 1910, and subsequent appointments included H.M. Ships Blenheim and London. Following the declaration of War with Germany in August 1914 Fargus was appointed to H.M.S. Victory for duty at the Naval Camp at Walmer, where he was placed in Command of Benbow Battalion, Royal Naval Division.

Fargus sailed with his Battalion to defend Antwerp where, in early October, having belatedly received the order to withdraw, he was one of approximately 1,600 men of the Benbow, Collingwood and Hawke Battalions of the 1st Brigade who were forced to take refuge in neutral Holland in order to prevent unnecessary casualties or capture by the enemy. Fargus was interned under International Law on 9 October 1914 and housed in barracks in Groningen where, he became Commandant of the Naval Internment Camp. The camp at Groningen, because of its wooden construction, was to later become known as H.M.S. “Timbertown”.

Fargus was detained for the duration of the war, other than for periods of leave from Holland. Following the Armistice he was appointed Naval Attaché at The Hague, where he became responsible for overseeing the repatriation of the Royal Naval Division. Fargus received an expression of appreciation from the Foreign Office for his services for acting as Assistant to the Naval Attaché during his period of internment in Holland. He was appointed Divisional Coast Guard Officer at Lymington as part of the Staff of Admiral Commanding Reserves at H.M.S. President in March 1919. Fargus retired with the rank of Captain in June 1922, and died in September 1955.

Sold with copied research.