Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Army L.S. & G.C., G.V.R. (3), 1st issue (4213 F. of W. Q.M. Sjt: G. A. Baldwin. R.E.); 2nd issue, with fixed suspension (2) (1852547 W.O. Cl. II. J. E. H. Hawkins. R.E.; 1862165 Spr. H. Parry. R.E.) the first two very fine; the last with heavy contact marks, therefore good fine (3) £100-£140

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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George Arthur Baldwin enlisted in the Royal Engineers as a boy recruit in January 1900, aged 14. He subsequently witnessed active service in the Great War, in which he was awarded his L.S. and G.C. Medal in January 1918 and mentioned in General Allenby’s despatch dated 3 April 1918, for distinguished services in the Palestine operations. Post-war, Baldwin was posted to North China, where he appears to have taken his discharge and found employment as a civilian Foreman of Works in Tientsin. If so, he was likely persuaded to return home as the Sino-Japanese conflict got underway in the 1930s. He died in Gosport, Hampshire in April 1966.

John Ernest Harry Hawkins was born in Emsworth, Hampshire on 16 February 1891 and enlisted in the Royal Engineers in January 1910. In his subsequent career of 21 years with the Colours, he qualified for the British War Medal 1914-20 for his services in the U.K., but he is known to have served overseas in the period October 1924 to February 1928, during which time he was appointed a Mechanic Quarter-Master Sergeant in the Establishment of Engineer Services. Awarded his L.S. and G.C. Medal in 1928, Hawkins was discharged in January 1931.

Henry Parry was born on 24 May 1891 and originally enlisted in the Sherwood Foresters, in which he served in the 1st Battalion in India in the period leading up to the Great War. Embarked for France in November 1914, he first saw action at Neuve Chapelle in March 1915 and was later advanced to Corporal. Then in November 1921, he transferred to the Royal Engineers as a Musician, and he remained likewise employed until discharged in July 1938. He died in Rochester, Kent in November 1958.