A SUPERB MILITARY MEDAL
“& SECOND AWARD BAR”
(With Full Papers)
925060 GNR: G. H. DONOVAN. A. 280/ BDE: R.F.A.
1st (City of London) Brigade R.F.A.
From Harringay (North), London.
The 280th & 281st (Howitzer) Brigades R.F.A. provided field artillery for the 56th (London) Territorial Divisional Artillery.
[BIOGRAPHY] 1894- to about 1958.
George Henry Donovan was born in Southampton, Hampshire in 1894 and prior to his enlistment on 16th April 1913 had worked as a clerk at a Goods & Export Clearers office at 34 Red Lion Street, London E.C.
His home address was 48 Mattison Road, Harringay, North London.
We can see from the copies of two hand written letters sent to the Army at the end of his service in connection with his delayed pension and the delivery of his 2nd award clasp, that George Donovan was a very well educated man with excellent grammar and a tip top writing style.
At the start of The Great War he continued to serve in the U.K. from
5th August 1914 to 3rd October 1915 when he left for active service in France.
[TO FRANCE: 4th October 1915]
His initial service with the B.E.F. in France was from 4th October 1915 until 21st August 1917.
[WOUNDED]
He was wounded in France on about 21st August 1917 at the tail end of The Battle of Langemarck, and is listed as “wounded” on The War Office Weekly casualty list of 1st October 1917 (5378) . He sustained two *Gun Shot Wounds (*normally considered to be the result of an exploding shrapnel shell) to his face and right forearm.
These wounds were described as “mild” but never the less he was then shipped back to U.K. & hospitalised and in three days he was in the County of Middlesex War Hospital, Napsbury, St Albans on 26th August 1917. The clearing office were informed on 5th September 1917 and he remained in hospital until 9th November 1917 until he’s then seen recovering at home for 10 days furlough until 19th November 1917 at 511 Green Lane, Harringay.
He was promoted to Bombardier on 16th April 1918 but reduced back to Gunner a month later on 14th May for being A.W.O.L for 24hrs on 11th & 12th of May. This minor breach quite obviously “alerted” his superiors and just 10 days later he’s seen making a “swift return” to active service in France on 20/21st May 1918.
[SPANISH FLU ...IN HOSPITAL]
He is then seen hospitalised again on 25th October 1918 at 3rd Canadian General Hospital, Boulogne with INFLUENZA, (The dreaded Spanish Flu) where he’s sick in bed until 7th November 1918 when he’s then again sent home to U.K. for the final time. (*He was actually lucky to survive as this infamous world flu pandemic killed people in an average of just three days and caused the death of 100 million people worldwide, many of them being military men & women.)
The war ended four days later on 11th November and he is then granted furlough from 22nd November 1918 ‘till 2nd December 1918.
His papers are seen with a final date of discharge on 31st March 1920.
[THE MEDAL & CLASP]
The M.M. is confirmed on his service papers as being for “Auchy”
London Gazette;
Military Medal 28th September 1917.
2nd Award Bar 13th March 1919.
George Donovan is also entitled to a 1915 trio.
[THE INTERESTING HISTORY OF HIS 1915 TRIO]
His 1915 Star was apparently issued and delivered to his Haringey address, but his war medal & victory medal which were sent to him overseas at: “Millers Ltd, Kingsway Stores, Accra, Gold Coast Colony WEST AFRICA” (ex-Ghana) were returned as undeliverable. The M.I.C. confirms that his pair were returned to the medal branch in Woolwich under King’s Regulations.....see paragraph below for further details.
Clearly Millers Ltd (now part of The Unilever Group) were then a new & upmarket colonial business with several newly opening branches in West Africa serving ex-pat Brits with high quality English merchandise. They had obviously known that Mr Donovan had been a London export shipping clerk before the war and probably just after resuming his pre-war job in London upon his discharge from the army, they had offered him a much better job in their Accra retail store which was a new branch in their fast expanding operation. This opened in 1920 right after his army discharge so it’s clear that he jumped at the opportunity.
The War & Victory medals being returned as undeliverable & unclaimed on 31st October 1923 were sent to Royal Dockyard (Medal Branch), Woolwich where they were broken up.
(King's Regulations (1912) para 1743) refers):
“Medals which at the end of 10 years, still remained unclaimed, will be sent to the deputy director of ordnance stores, Royal Dockyard (Medal Branch), Woolwich to be broken up."
The war medal and victory medal were then apparently re-issued in 1958 when we believe Mr Donovan then aged 64 and almost at U.K. pension age returned to live in England, but they were clearly never successfully & permanently tied up with the M.M. & Bar....so the 1914-15 star and later pair are still clearly “out there somewhere” !
DO YOU HAVE THE 1915 TRIO to: “ 925060 Bmbr G.H. DONOVAN. R.F.A.” ?
This is an outstanding “Double Gallantry” medal and from a research papers point of view it’s a quite exceptional item, as all the normally “destroyed, burnt, weeded & vanished” original attestation, discharge & other personal pension papers have in this case all survived and they even survived the Arnside Street, record office WW2 London blitz fire.....which all together is a near miracle situation !
The papers were obviously in the approx 23% of those which survived The London Blitz fire, as a slight degree of burning and trimming is visible on the edges of the 1913 attestation sheets.
A superb & extremely high grade piece in “ABOUT MINT STATE” which has clearly never been worn or obviously in contact with the other medals and is still on its original ribbon.
A very exceptional “Double Gallantry” medal with a full service history.
£1550
(With Quality Part Exchanges Welcome)
[BIOGRAPHY] 1894- to about 1958.
George Henry Donovan was born in Southampton, Hampshire in 1894 and prior to his enlistment on 16th April 1913 had worked as a clerk at a Goods & Export Clearers office at 34 Red Lion Street, London E.C.
His home address was 48 Mattison Road, Harringay, North London.
We can see from the copies of two hand written letters sent to the Army at the end of his service in connection with his delayed pension and the delivery of his 2nd award clasp, that George Donovan was a very well educated man with excellent grammar and a tip top writing style.
At the start of The Great War he continued to serve in the U.K. from
5th August 1914 to 3rd October 1915 when he left for active service in France.
[TO FRANCE: 4th October 1915]
His initial service with the B.E.F. in France was from 4th October 1915 until 21st August 1917.
[WOUNDED]
He was wounded in France on about 21st August 1917 at the tail end of The Battle of Langemarck, and is listed as “wounded” on The War Office Weekly casualty list of 1st October 1917 (5378) . He sustained two *Gun Shot Wounds (*normally considered to be the result of an exploding shrapnel shell) to his face and right forearm.
These wounds were described as “mild” but never the less he was then shipped back to U.K. & hospitalised and in three days he was in the County of Middlesex War Hospital, Napsbury, St Albans on 26th August 1917. The clearing office were informed on 5th September 1917 and he remained in hospital until 9th November 1917 until he’s then seen recovering at home for 10 days furlough until 19th November 1917 at 511 Green Lane, Harringay.
He was promoted to Bombardier on 16th April 1918 but reduced back to Gunner a month later on 14th May for being A.W.O.L for 24hrs on 11th & 12th of May. This minor breach quite obviously “alerted” his superiors and just 10 days later he’s seen making a “swift return” to active service in France on 20/21st May 1918.
[SPANISH FLU ...IN HOSPITAL]
He is then seen hospitalised again on 25th October 1918 at 3rd Canadian General Hospital, Boulogne with INFLUENZA, (The dreaded Spanish Flu) where he’s sick in bed until 7th November 1918 when he’s then again sent home to U.K. for the final time. (*He was actually lucky to survive as this infamous world flu pandemic killed people in an average of just three days and caused the death of 100 million people worldwide, many of them being military men & women.)
The war ended four days later on 11th November and he is then granted furlough from 22nd November 1918 ‘till 2nd December 1918.
His papers are seen with a final date of discharge on 31st March 1920.
[THE MEDAL & CLASP]
The M.M. is confirmed on his service papers as being for “Auchy”
London Gazette;
Military Medal 28th September 1917.
2nd Award Bar 13th March 1919.
George Donovan is also entitled to a 1915 trio.
[THE INTERESTING HISTORY OF HIS 1915 TRIO]
His 1915 Star was apparently issued and delivered to his Haringey address, but his war medal & victory medal which were sent to him overseas at: “Millers Ltd, Kingsway Stores, Accra, Gold Coast Colony WEST AFRICA” (ex-Ghana) were returned as undeliverable. The M.I.C. confirms that his pair were returned to the medal branch in Woolwich under King’s Regulations.....see paragraph below for further details.
Clearly Millers Ltd (now part of The Unilever Group) were then a new & upmarket colonial business with several newly opening branches in West Africa serving ex-pat Brits with high quality English merchandise. They had obviously known that Mr Donovan had been a London export shipping clerk before the war and probably just after resuming his pre-war job in London upon his discharge from the army, they had offered him a much better job in their Accra retail store which was a new branch in their fast expanding operation. This opened in 1920 right after his army discharge so it’s clear that he jumped at the opportunity.
The War & Victory medals being returned as undeliverable & unclaimed on 31st October 1923 were sent to Royal Dockyard (Medal Branch), Woolwich where they were broken up.
(King's Regulations (1912) para 1743) refers):
“Medals which at the end of 10 years, still remained unclaimed, will be sent to the deputy director of ordnance stores, Royal Dockyard (Medal Branch), Woolwich to be broken up."
The war medal and victory medal were then apparently re-issued in 1958 when we believe Mr Donovan then aged 64 and almost at U.K. pension age returned to live in England, but they were clearly never successfully & permanently tied up with the M.M. & Bar....so the 1914-15 star and later pair are still clearly “out there somewhere” !
DO YOU HAVE THE 1915 TRIO to: “ 925060 Bmbr G.H. DONOVAN. R.F.A.” ?
This is an outstanding “Double Gallantry” medal and from a research papers point of view it’s a quite exceptional item, as all the normally “destroyed, burnt, weeded & vanished” original attestation, discharge & other personal pension papers have in this case all survived and they even survived the Arnside Street, record office WW2 London blitz fire.....which all together is a near miracle situation !
The papers were obviously in the approx 23% of those which survived The London Blitz fire, as a slight degree of burning and trimming is visible on the edges of the 1913 attestation sheets.
A superb & extremely high grade piece in “ABOUT MINT STATE” which has clearly never been worn or obviously in contact with the other medals and is still on its original ribbon.
A very exceptional “Double Gallantry” medal with a full service history.
£1550
(With Quality Part Exchanges Welcome)