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Auction: 4020 - Orders, Decorations, Campaign Medals & Militaria
Lot: 93

An Interesting Great War O.B.E. Group of Four to Engineer Commander T.A. Graham, Royal Naval Reserve Order of the British Empire, Officer's (O.B.E.) breast Badge, Military Division (Hallmarks for London 1918), in its 'Garrard, London' case of issue; 1914-15 Star (Ch. Eng. T.A. Graham, R.N.R.); British War and Victory Medals (Eng. Commr. T.A. Graham. R.N.R.), in boxes of issue, the group extremely fine, with four related miniature awards, these mounted as worn, and a quantity of original documents including Board of Trade Certificate of Competency as First Class Engineer, dated 24.10.1885, letter of congratulations from the Directors of the Pacific Steam Navigation Company dated 2.9.1919, four Certificates of Conduct dated 1916-1919, 21 letters written by Graham from sea, dated between 1911 and 1921, and a number of typed pages recording the service of Commander Graham and the war time service of Armed Merchant Cruiser, H.M.S. 'Orbiter' (4) Estimate £ 200-250 Chief Engineer Thomas Alexander Graham R.N.R. born 1856 in Tillicoultry, Clackmannan, joined the Pacific Steam Navigation Company in 1881; appointed Chief Engineer, S.S. Orbiter, 1915; in April the Orbiter was commissioned by the Admiralty as an Armed Merchant Cruiser; for the next three years and two months the Orbiter was continually on active service. 'H.M.S. Orbiter had a roaming commission, during which she was, at different times, in four Oceans, was within 40 miles of the Alaskan coast, cruised for some months far to the south of Cape Horn, rounded the Cape of Good Hope and carried bullion to the amount of millions of pounds from South Africa to Halifax for New York and Ottawa. While Orbiter was in commission she carried the famous British Political and Commercial Mission to the Republics of South America. This mission it will be remembered was under the able leadership of Sir Maurice de Bunsen the British Ambassador who represented King George V at Vienna until the outbreak of the war. In Canada in 1917, the Duke of Connaught inspected the ship while on his farewell visit to Vancouver Island. In 1918 H.M.S. Orbiter was in sole charge of a convoy of 40 ships from Newport News to Europe. Only two ships out of this large convoy were lost. During the latter part of 1918 she took a convoy across the Atlantic to Canada and was in Quebec when the Armistice was declared on the 11th of November 1918. The total distance steamed during her commission was 135,000 miles.' (extract from 'Items of Interest Regarding the R.M.S.P. Orbiter', dated Purser's Office 12.5.1921 and signed by Mr. T. A. Graham.)

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£280