Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A Great War ‘Mesopotamia’ M.C. group of four awarded to Captain R. C. Lord, Royal Engineers, who was wounded in the action at Majanina Creek on 24 July 1915

Military Cross, G.V.R., the reverse engraved ‘Captain R. C. Lord. R.E., Mesopotamia. 1914-15’; 1914-15 Star (Capt. R. C. Lord. R.E.); British War and Victory Medals, M.I.D. oak leaves (Capt. R. C. Lord. R.E.) good very fine (4) £600-£800

This lot is to be sold as part of a special collection, Medals from the Collection of Lieutenant-Colonel Edward De Santis.

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M.C. London Gazette 17 April 1916.

Robert Cecil Lord was born at Heaton, Lancashire on 21 February 1885 and was educated at Repton School and the R.M.A. Woolwich. Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in October 1905, one of his early appointments was at the Balloon School at South Farnborough, where he would have witnessed experimental flights in gliders and the Dunne biplane.

Having then been advanced to Lieutenant in March 1908 and served in 12 Field Company in Ireland, he was embarked for India, where he was attached to 17 Field Company, 3rd Bombay Sappers and Miners. And it was in that capacity, as a recently promoted Captain, that he was embarked for Mesopotamia in November 1914. He subsequently witnessed extensive action, most notably at Sahil on 16-17 November 1914, when he had to lead the right half of 17 Field Company through a hail of fire to move his men against the Turkish forces on the left flank of 18th Brigade. His second major action occurred on the night of 12-13 April 1915, when his company were placed in line at Shaiba to defend against heavy Turkish attacks on their defensive position. Then on the following day his company was given a rear guard mission, one normally assigned to the infantry, to cover the retirement of 18th Brigade from the battlefield at South Mound. And finally, he was present at the heavily contested crossing of the 60-foot wide Majanina Creek, south of Nasiriyeh, on the 24 July 1915, when he and his men placed three barge bridges in the creek under heavy fire in order to assist in the infantry assault. Lord received a serious leg wound in this latter action and was invalided to India.

Awarded the M.C. and mentioned in despatches (London Gazette 5 April 1916), he saw no further action and ended the war with a staff appointment at H.Q. Simla, adding a second ‘mention’ to his accolades in June 1919. Having then been placed on the Retired List as a Major in August 1922, he worked for the Foreign Office in Burma. Lord died at Streatham, London in December 1933.