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Auction: 25112 - Orders, Decorations and Medals - e-Auction
Lot: 660

A rare Great War M.C. group of 4 awarded to Captain F. F. Arundell, British South Africa Police, for the Battle of Ruhuje River in German East Africa on the 30 August 1917

He remained in Tanganyika (modern-day Tanzania) after the war and became the first Gamer Keeper on the Serengeti National Park and also worked as a Government Official

Military Cross, G.V.R (Lieut. F. D. Arundell. Ruhuje River, G.E.A. August 30th 1917.), privately engraved on the reverse; 1914-15 Star (1629 Tpr. F. D. Arundell. B.S.A.P.); British War Medal 1914-20, neatly erased; Victory Medal 1914-19 (Capt. F. D. Arundell.), mounted for wear, very fine (4)

M.C. London Gazette 4 February 1918:

'For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. When ordered to withdraw his machine gun he lost direction and was fired on from three sides by the enemy at close range. He at once got his gun into action and cleared his way with great determination through the enemy's lines.'

Francis Douglas Arundell was born in 1890 in Southfields, London. He worked as a Warehouseman in a Drapery in Wandsworth until 1911, after which he enlisted in the British South Africa Police as a Trooper. He later commissioned, serving as a Temporary Lieutenant and later Captain. Arundell won his M.C. on 30 August 1917 at the Battle of Ruhuje River in German East Africa and continued to serve with the B.S.A.P. until 25 November 1918.

After the war, Arundell settled in British-ruled Tanganyika and became the first Game Warden of the Serengeti National Park. In 1921, the British Administration set up a partial game reserve on the Serengeti to control the hunting of lions. By 1929 the reserve's status changed from a partial reserve to full game reserve and Arundell, nicknamed 'Dusty', became the game keeper between 1929 and 1931. He is credited with having built the headquarters of the game reserve at Banagi (located within the National Park). In later life, Arundell continued to work as a government official in Tanganyika and lived in Mbeya throughout the 1930s and 1940s, raising his children and died on 8 August 1948.

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Sold for
£1,900

Starting price
£700