Orders, Decorations & Medals - British Groups

Lot 3840    Session 15 (7.30pm Thursday)    Orders, Decorations & Medals - British Groups

Estimate $10,000
Bid at live.noble.com.au
SOLD $10,500

GROUP OF SEVEN TO REAR ADMIRAL: Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George neck badge and breast star; South Africa Medal 1877-79; 1914-15 Star; British War Medal 1914-18; Victory Medal 1914-19 with MID; Egypt, Order of the Nile Second Class neck badge and breast star; Turkey, Order of the Medjidieh Second Class breast star. The first medal and last two medals unnamed as issued, Sub:Lieut:H.R.Robinson, H.M.S "Orontes" on second medal, R.Adml. H.R.Robinson on third to fifth medals. The first named medal engraved, the other named medals all impressed. The second -fifth medals court mounted, extremely fine.

Together with matching set of court mounted miniatures in case; case for the KCMG by Garrard & Co; case for the Order of the Nile by J.Lattes; case for Order of the Medjidieh by E. & E.Emanuel; Royal Navy belt buckle; photo of medal group and photos of HMS Majestic 1895, Egypt Harbour, HMS Tauranga; postcard of SS Port Macquarie marked 16.9.1910; printed card with specs for HMS New Zealand.

Order of the Medjidieh 2nd Class: LG 15/12/1911, p9444 - The King has been pleased to give and grant unto Rear-Admiral Henry Russell Robinson, Director-General of the Egyptian Ports and Lights Administration, and Sidney Herbert Wells Esq., Director of Technical Education under the Egyptian Government, His Majesty's Royal licence and authority to accept and wear the Insignia of the Second Class of the Imperial Ottoman Order of the Medjidieh, which decoration has been conferred upon them by His Highness the Khedive of Egypt, authorised by His Imperial Majesty the Sultan of Turkey, in recognition of valuable services rendered by them.

Order of the Nile 2nd Class: LG 29/12/1916, p12655 to Rear Admiral Henry Russell Robinson, Director-General of Ports and Lights, Ministry of Finance, Cairo.

KCMG: LG 23/2/1917, p1877 to Rear Admiral Henry Russell Robinson (retired), Director-General of the Egyptian Ports and Lights Administration; in recognition of his services during the war.

MID: Despatch of 21Jun1916 by C-in-C Egypt.

Henry Russell Robinson was born in Birmingham on 28 April 1856. On 15 July 1870 he joined the Royal Navy as a Cadet and was posted aboard HMS Britannia. By 1872 he was commissioned as a Midshipman after serving on HMS Ariadne, Adelaide and Niobe. During the Zulu Wars he served as a Sub Lieutenant on HMS Orontes which transported to France the body of the Prince Imperial killed in the war and also carried the heroic survivors of Rorke's Drift and their return to England.

He was promoted to Lieutenant at age 26 and completed his Naval Certificate in Pilotage as well as other courses of study that saw him progress to be Commander of HMS Galatea in 1894. He provided ship service during the China War and in the Boer War, when he was commander of HMS Majestic and HMS Indus, although he did not qualify for service medals. In 1902 he accepted the post of Assistant Manager in the Royal West India Mail Company. In 1904 he was involved with and commended for the refit of Antarctic ships for Captain Scott's Polar Expedition.

Following this he entered an important period of colonial service where he was responsible for the training of Australian and New Zealand naval men as part of a Naval Agreement Scheme. For this he was specially commended by Admiral Fanshaw, the Commander-in-Chief for Australia, for his services which included time on HMS Tauranga and HMS Phoebe, part of the Royal Navy Australian Auxiliary Squadron, and during this time he rendered special assistance in establishing the Australasian Royal Naval Reserve, New Zealand Branch.

In 1907 he accepted the position of Director General of Egyptian Ports and Lighthouses, a position for which he was decorated as abovementioned. Henry Russell Robinson KCMG died in 1942.

With copies of Gazette pages and research.