Previous Lot Next Lot

Auction: 23113 - Orders, Decorations and Medals - e-Auction
Lot: 169

The fascinating British War Medal awarded to Lieutenant A. J. Boger J.P., Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve late British Red Cross Society, an Old Wykehamist one-eyed pre-war Big Game Hunter who led an extraordinarily varied life

British War Medal 1914-20 (Lieut. A. J. Boger. R.N.V.R.), good very fine

Alnod John Boger, was born at East Stonehouse, Devon, in August 1871 and was educated at Windlesham House School and Winchester College before going up to Magdalen College Oxford. A keen sportsman - with cricket being a great passion - he played for his school XI and for Oxford University, gaining a blue at the latter in both cricket and golf by the time of his graduation.

Called to the bar at the Inner Temple in 1897 he does not appear to have practiced for long, instead embarking on several years' worth of travel 'out East' both as an explorer and hunter of Big Game. His biographical entry in 'An Annotated Bibliography of African Big Game Hunting Books, 1785 to 1950' notes: Boger, a barrister and teacher, recounts his travels abroad to Southern Asia and China, which whetted his appetite for big game hunting. In 1907, he journeyed to the Rovuma River on the border of Tanganyika, then went via the Zambesi River to Northeastern Rhodesia on an extended hunt. He bagged waterbuck, roan, and sable, but was unlucky with lion. Nearing the Luangwa River, he collected elephant and rhinoceros. In 1909, he returned to Africa, this time hunting in Uganda for Buffalo and elephant.' It is likely that, during his travels and extensive hunting activities, the latter resulted in an accident and the loss of an eye.

When the Great War broke out in 1914 Boger was clearly keen to do his bit, but with his eyesight affected active service appeared out of the question: nevertheless he is noted as becoming a Volunteer Driver with the British Red Cross Society, and was in France from 14 November 1914 with No. 1 Motor Ambulance Unit; he would have driven his own vehicle in this role. In November 1917 he was appointed a temporary Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, attached to H.M.S. Impregnable, the training establishment at Devonport. A July 1918 report on his service noted his as being 'Above average' and 'very accurate and reliable'. Some further indication of his character and attitude can be gleaned from his obituary in a local newspaper: ...'for two years drove an ambulance in France. Then, when he came home, still eager to serve his country and being a skilled craftsman, he built his own workshop and made munitions for his country.' (Western Morning News, 10 June 1940, refers). Whether or not these home-made munitions were more dangerous to the manufacturer or the enemy can only be imagined!

Demobilised in January 1919, Boger returned to the ancestral home at Wolsdon in Cornwall (which he had inherited from an uncle in 1909) and settled down to become a pillar of the local community, becoming a Justice of the Peace and, from 1925-26, was High Sheriff of Cornwall. Alnod Boger died in Oxford in June 1940 at the comparatively young age of 68; in 1936 he published the book 'The Road I Travelled', an account of his life which focuses on his travels and hunting exploits in India and East Africa.

Sold with a large and comprehensive file of copied research, including copied photographs.

Subject to 20% VAT on Buyer’s Premium. For more information please view Terms and Conditions for Buyers.

Sold for
£260

Starting price
£40