Two groups of medals awarded to distinguished British serviceman have been consigned to an auction in Shrewsbury next week by their Shropshire descendants.
18/02/2025
The medals, together with associated items, will be going under the hammer at Halls Fine Art’s Militaria, Naval and Aviation Auction on Wednesday, February 26.
Valued at up to £1,800 is a remarkable medal group awarded to Captain Colin Wauchope, CBE, (November 10, 1900 to May 26, 1945) of the Royal Navy who served in both the First and Second World Wars.
The medals include the 1914-‘18 British War Medal and Victory Medal, the 1939-‘45 Star, Africa Star, Defence Medal and 1939-‘45 War Medal, a George VI Distinguished Service Cross, a Military CBE and three ribbon bars, including one with a silver rosette on the 1939-‘45 Star. They are being sold with related items.
“Captain Wauchope's distinguished career included a series of pivotal roles that reflected his gallantry, resourcefulness and dedication to the Royal Navy,” said Caroline Dennard, Halls Fine Art’s militaria specialist.
“This historically significant medal group, enhanced by associated items, offers an insight into the career of a highly respected Royal Navy officer who contributed immeasurably to the Allied effort in two world wars.”
In the First World War, he served aboard the Revenge-class battleship HMS Royal Sovereign from January 1917. Between wars, he was promoted to Lieutenant in 1921 and progressed to Commander Staff Courses by 1935.
During the Second World War, Wauchope served in the Local Defence Division in 1940. As a Commander in the secretive Mobile Base Defence Organisation (MNBDO), he participated in critical operations, including the evacuation of Crete and supply landings for the Eighth Army.
His Distinguished Service Cross, awarded in January, 1942, recognised "outstanding gallantry, fortitude and resolution" during the Battle of Crete.
He received the Military CBE in1943 for his "enterprise and resource in control of the landing of sea-borne supplies during the advance of the Eighth Army from El Alamein to Tripoli."
Shortly after being invalided from active service, he died on May 26, 1945.
The second medal group, valued at up to £1,200, was awarded to a father and son during the Boer, Korean and First World Wars and is accompanied by extensive supporting documentation, photographs and related items.
Private Henry John Lawrence, of Sussex Regiment, was awarded five medals - Queen’s South Africa Medal with Cape Colony, Orange Free State and Transvaal clasps, King’s South Africa Medal with South Africa 1900 and 1901 clasps, 1914 Mons Star with clasp, 1914-‘18 War Medal and Victory Medal.
Born in Oakwood Hill, Surrey in 1870, Lawrence enlisted in the Sussex Regiment in October, 1899 and served in South Africa during the Boer War (1900–‘02). He later joined the British Expeditionary Force in France from August ,1914 and in India in 1917. He was discharged in November, 1917, following more than 18 years’ service.
His son, Company Sergeant Major Francis John De Moulan Lawrence, of the Sussex and Royal Leicestershire Regiments and Sherwood Foresters, was awarded eight medals, including an MBE.
The group also includes the George VI General Service Medal with Palestine and Palestine 1945-48 clasps, 1939-‘45 Star, Africa Star, Defence Medal, 1939-4’5 War Medal, Korea Medal with MID oak leaf and UN Korea Medal. The medals are accompanied by extensive documentation and related items.
Born on March 29, 1913, Lawrence died in December,1999 and his service included Dunkirk, El Alamein and Korea, where he was Mentioned in Despatches for gallant and distinguished services in May, 1952.
He was seconded to the Ghana Army in the late 1950s and was awarded the MBE in the 1959 New Year Honours.
For more information, please contact Caroline Dennard at Halls Fine Art on Tel: 01743 450700.
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