Previous Lot Next Lot

Auction: 8023 - Orders, Decorations, Medals & Militaria
Lot: 64

The Impressive G.C.M.G., K.C.B., Great War ´Gallipoli and Egypt´ D.S.O. and 1917 ´Flanders Offensive´ Bar for Gallantry at Messines Group of Eleven to Brigadier-General Sir G.H. Gater, Commanded the 9th Battalion of the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment, the 6th Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment, and the 62nd Infantry Brigade in the 1918 German Spring Offensive at the Battle of St. Quentin and Subsequent Operations of the 21st Division; Knighted in 1936 he served as Permanent Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies throughout the Second World War a) The Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George, Knight Grand Cross (G.C.M.G.) Collar Chain, comprising of 24 medallions made up out of six English lions, eight Maltese crosses, four SM cyphers, four SG cyphers, and two pairs of winged lions, one pair surmounted by a crown, 1080mm, silver-gilt and enamel, with screw-ring suspension from crown medallion to support Badge Appendant, in Garrard, London, case of issue b) The Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George, Knight Grand Cross (G.C.M.G.) set of Insignia, sash Badge, 98mm including crown suspension x 70mm, silver-gilt, gold, and enamel; Star, 86mm, silver, silver-gilt, gold, and enamel, with gold retaining pin, minor enamel damage to reverse central medallion of sash Badge, with Evening Dress section of sash riband, in Garrard, London, case of issue c)The Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Civil Division, Knight Commander´s (K.C.B.) neck Badge, 57mm x 38mm, silver-gilt (Hallmarks for London 1937), with miniature width neck riband, in Garrard, London case of issue, lacking Star, together with the related gold miniature award, with integral gold riband buckle, in Garrard, London case d) Distinguished Service Order, G.V.R., silver-gilt and enamel, with Second Award Bar, and integral top riband bar, with Garrard, London, case of issue e) 1914-15 Star (Capt. G.H. Gater. Notts. & Derby. R.) f) British War and Victory Medals, M.I.D. Oakleaves (Brig. Gen. G.H. Gater.), edge bruise to Victory Medal g) Jubilee 1935 h) Coronation 1937, with box of issue i) Coronation 1953, with box of issue j) France, Republic, Legion of Honour, Commander´s neck Badge, 75mm including wreath suspension x 57mm, silver-gilt and enamel, minor enamel damage to central medallion, with full neck riband and lapel rosette, in Arthus Bertrand, Paris, case of issue, together with an Officer´s breast Badge, 55mm including wreath suspension x 40mm, silver-gilt and enamel, with rosette on riband k) France, Republic, Croix de Guerre 1914-1917, extremely fine, the George V awards mounted as worn, with the following uniform and official documents &c.: - Officer´s Tunic, by Walters, Oxford, with scarlet tabs, and medal ribands for the D.S.O. and Bar, and the Croix de Guerre; and the recipient´s cap, with Badge - Bestowal Document for the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George, G.C.M.G., named to Sir George Henry Gater, K.C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O., and dated 1.1.1944 - Bestowal Document for the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George, C.M.G., named to Brigadier-General George Henry Gater, D.S.O., and dated 1.1.1919 - Bestowal Document for the Distinguished Service Order, named to Major George Henry Gater, and dated 3.6.1916 - Three Mentioned in Despatches Certificates, dated 6.3.1916; 13.11.1916; and 8.11.1918 - Invitation to Sir George and Lady Gater to the Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II - A Civilian´s Military Service 1914-1919, a privately published record of the recipient´s Wartime service - Copy of the recipient´s Application and Testimonials for the post of Education Officer, London County Council - Three mounted portrait photographs of the recipient - Seven miscellaneous photographs, including one of the recipient accompanying H.M. The Queen during her visit to Winchester College, July 1955 - Copy of the recipient´s obituary, and the address given at his Memorial Service, 9.3.1963. (14) Estimate £ 4,800-5,200 G.C.M.G. London Gazette 1.1.1944 Sir George Henry Gater, K.C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O., Permanent Under-Secretary of State, Colonial Office. C.M.G. London Gazette 1.1.1919 T./Lt.Col. (T./Brig.-Gen.) George Henry Gater, D.S.O., Notts. & Derby. R. ´´For services rendered in connection with military operations in France and Flanders.´´ K.C.B. London Gazette 12.6.1941 Sir George Henry Gater, C.M.G., D.S.O., Secretary, Ministry of Home Security Knight Bachelor London Gazette 23.6.1936 George Henry Gater, Esq., C.M.G., D.S.O., J.P., Clerk of the London County Council. D.S.O. London Gazette 3.6.1916 Temp. Maj. George Henry Gater, Notts. and Derby. R., Serv. Bn. D.S.O. Second Award Bar London Gazette 17.9.1917 Maj. (T./Lt.-Col.) George Henry Gater, D.S.O., Notts. & Derby. R. ´´For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He led his battalion with brilliant skill and resolution during an attack, minimising their casualties during three days´´ intense shelling by his able dispositions and good eye for ground. He directed the consolidation, and remained in command for three days, although severely wounded in the face early in the action.´´ M.I.D. London Gazette 13.7.1916 Gater, Temp. Maj. G.H., Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment (Service Battalions) ´´For distinguished and gallant services rendered during the period of General Sir Charles Monro´´s Command of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force.´´ M.I.D. London Gazette 4.1.1917 Gater, T./Maj. (T./Lt. Col.) G.H., D.S.O., Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment M.I.D. London Gazette 21.12.1917 Gater, T./Maj. (T./Lt. Col.) G.H., D.S.O., Lincolnshire Regiment M.I.D. London Gazette 20.12.1918 Gater, T./Lt.-Col. (T./Brig.-Gen.) G.H., D.S.O., Gen. List. ´´For distinguished and gallant services and devotion to duty during the period 25th February 1918, to midnight 16th/17th September 1918´´ France, Legion of Honour, Officer London Gazette 22.11.1918 Temporary Lieutenant-Colonel (temporary Brigadier-General) George Henry Gater, D.S.O., General List ´´For distinguished services rendered during the course of the campaign.´´ France, Croix de Guerre London Gazette 6.11.1918 Temporary Lieutenant-Colonel (temporary Brigadier-General) George Henry Gater, D.S.O., General List ´´For distinguished services rendered during the course of the campaign.´´ Brigadier-General Sir George Henry Gater, G.C.M.G., K.C.B., D.S.O., was born at West End, Southampton, in 1886, and was educated at Winchester and New College, Oxford, where he read Modern History. After graduating, he studied for a Diploma in Education, teaching in Oxford before being appointed Assistant Director of Education for Nottinghamshire in 1912. Gallipoli and Egypt, 1915-16 On the outbreak of the Great War, Gater immediately applied for a posting, and was Commissioned Second Lieutenant, 9th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters, 22.8.1914; selected for the Company Commanders Course at the Staff College, Camberley; on the advent of ´´Bombing´´ he trained a unit of ´´Bombers´´, and was promoted Temporary Captain, 31.12.1914. In June 1915 he went with his Regiment to Gallipoli, serving at Cape Helles and Suvla Bay, and was promoted Temporary Major, 25.7.1915. He Commanded his Battalion, October 1915-February 1916, a period which coincided with the withdrawal of the 9th Sherwood Foresters on the Evacuation of Gallipoli, and subsequent service in Egypt, December 1915 to June 1916, for which he was awarded the D.S.O., and received the first of his four Mentions in Despatches. The Somme, 1916 Gater arrived with the Regiment in the French Theatre of War, July 1916. After a month of fighting, he transferred to take command of the 6th Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment, with the rank of Temporary Lieutenant-Colonel, 15.8.1916. The 6th Lincolnshires, part of the 33rd Brigade, 11th (Northern) Division, entrained at Frévent for Acheux on the 2nd September, and from there marched to Léalvillers, before taking over the trenches north of Ovillers on the Somme Front, on the 12th September. Their first major action was the capture and consolidation of the Constance Trench, south-west of Mouquet Farm, during the night of the 15th, and a bombing attack on the Joseph Trench on the morning of the 17th. An enemy counter attack on the Constance Trench that evening was repulsed, in part due to the gallantry of Gater´´s old Battalion, the 9th Sherwood Foresters. On the 29th they were in support of the 32nd Brigade´´s attack on Stuff Redoubt, and were relieved the next day, and retired to Hédauville. Messines and Ypres, 1917 The 11th Division moved onto Messines, June 1917, and it was here that Gater was awarded the Bar to his D.S.O., taking part in the advance on the Oosttaverne Line, and continuing to lead his Battalion despite being wounded in the mouth and ear by a shell splinter. At the Battle of Broodseinde, Ypres, 4th October 1917, the 33rd Brigade were ordered to attack the western half of the village of Poelcappelle; heavy casualties were sustained from machine gun fire from a number of enemy pillboxes, and the Brigade´´s Commander, Brigadier-General F.G. Spring, was amongst them. The day was won in part through the actions of Corporal F. Greaves, 9th Sherwood Foresters, who at once rushed forward to the rear of the enemy pillboxes and bombed the occupants, killing and wounding the garrison and capturing the four machine-guns. For this act of bravery Grieve was awarded the Victoria Cross. Spring Offensives, 1918 Appointed Commander of the 62nd Infantry Brigade, with the rank of Temporary Brigadier-General, 1.11.1917, Gater led his Brigade as part of the 21st Division at the Battle of St. Quentin during the German Spring Offensive; on the 21st March the enemy had penetrated into the valley towards Heudicourt to a depth of over 1,000 yards; however, field guns and machine guns had been placed to command the north, south, and west of the valley, with the 62nd Brigade forming the right defensive flank, so that when the morning fog lifted the Germans in the valley- a mass of infantry and two brigades of artillery- found themselves pocketed in a death trap, and sustained heavy casualties. The following day, however, brought renewed enemy attacks, and the 62nd were ordered to withdraw, surrendering Heudicourt. Over the next two days a desperate rear-guard action was fought, in order to minimise casualties during the German advance, as the Allied Front was pushed right back to the River Somme. The following month attention switched to the German Offensive in Flanders, and during the Battles of the Lys, the 62nd were again in action holding the line south of Ypres. On the First Day of the Battle of the Aisne, 27th May 1918, Gater´´s Brigade was ordered up to the Battle Zone in front and north of Cormicy. By 10:00am the remnants of the two forward Battalions (2nd Lincolnshires and 12th/13th Northumberland Fusiliers) had been driven from the redoubts along the Reims-Berry au Bac road, which formed the front line of the Battle Zone, and were retiring to the Cauroy-Cormicy-Gernicourt Line, which the enemy soon began to attack. Three assaults by the enemy were repulsed by the Lincolnshires, and by 2:00pm the line had been secured. At 7:00pm orders were received for his Brigade to fall back on to the St. Auboeuf Ridge. By this time the enemy was very close, and so some stiff rear-guard fighting took place during the withdrawal. The following day they were attacked in front and enveloped to the left, so that when the enemy appeared on the right they were ordered to retire to the Trigny-Prouilly position, a retreat that involved crossing the Prouilly stream under intense enemy machine gun fire, resulting in heavy casualties. During the course of the battle Gater received a machine gun wound below the left shoulder, but remained on duty (A Civilian´´s Military Service refers). By the morning of the 29th May the 21st Division had suffered a loss of approximately 150 officers and 3,600 other ranks, and as a result it was decided to reorganize the Infantry, with each Brigade forming a composite Battalion, with these combined into the 21st Independent Brigade, under the Command of Gater. On the 6th June, following many successful Allied counter-attacks, the German advance halted on the Marne, and the majority of the British Divisions were withdrawn. Gater´´s 21st Independent Brigade though was lent to the French to assist in holding the line of the Marne near Dormands, and for the next month he successfully held a sector of the French Front whilst serving under a succession of French Generals. Advance to Victory, 1918 By August 1918 Gater´´s 62nd Brigade was once again reformed as part of the 21st Division, and were in action at the Battle of Albert, 21st August. Following an intensive and accurate bombardment by artillery and Stokes mortars, the village of Beaucourt was taken with 93 prisoners at the cost of only 30 casualties, and its capture was reported by pigeon. To the south of Beaucourt accurate enemy machine gun fire held up the rest of the Brigade´´s advance, and it was not until mid afternoon that the Ancre was crossed. The Allied advanced pushed on, with Gater himself personally leading his men during the advance of the morning of the 25th August, when the in the face of heavy enemy machine gun fire the Brigade took Le Sars and the Butte de Warlencourt, a large isolated mound between the two villages, which had offered so much resistance in 1916, capturing a large party of the enemy. On the 29th September the 110th and 62nd Brigades, each with two tanks, crossed the Canal du Nord, and a month later, on 6th November, Gater´´s Brigade crossed the River Sambre in the relentless Allied advance. Rumours that an armistice had been concluded were current on the 10th November, but with no official news having come through orders were issued for the continuation of operations, ´´allowing the troops to press on and kill as many Germans as possible "before the final whistle blew"´´ on the 11th November 1918. The War over, Gater relinquished his commission, with the rank of Brigadier-General, 14th January 1919, with the intention of returning to his educational work at Nottingham; he was also much pressed to take up a Fellowship at Oxford, but the with the Directorship of Education for Lancashire County Council falling vacant, he was invited to apply for that post and was duly appointed to it, taking charge of the County´´s 630 Elementary Schools and 368 Secondary, Technical, and Evening Schools. After five years in Lancashire, Gater was appointed Director of Education, London County Council, 1924, and remained in that job until 1933, when he was appointed Clerk of the Council. Created a Knight Bachelor in 1936, he received the accolade of Knighthood, 15.7.1936 (London Gazette 21.7.1936). In 1939 he moved across Westminster Bridge, and took up the post of Permanent Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, a job which he held throughout the Second World War, whilst also serving as Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Security, 1939-40; Secretary, Ministry of Supply, 1940; and Secretary, Ministry of Home Security, 1940-42. Appointed G.C.M.G. in 1944, Sir Henry Gater retired from Whitehall in 1947, although continued as Chairman of the Special Overseas Appointments Committee until 1961. Having been elected a Fellow of Winchester in 1936, in part, no doubt, because of the knowledge he had of other schools and their administration, he succeeded Lord Simonds as Warden in 1951, and served his old school in this post for the next eight years, with Lady Gater proving a tireless hostess. Sir George Gater died at home in Oxford on 14th January, 1963.

Sold for
£7,500