Groups and Single Decorations for Gallantry
Early next day we moved forward in two groups. The first consisted of our entire fighting force, with the M.I. in the lead. The second comprised our thousand carriers and supplies. My medical unit was included in the first group though I and my men carried no arms. Needless to say, we wore no Red Cross or other emblem to show we were non-combatants as such symbols would have had no significance among savages.
Lichtenberg, in light-hearted mood, led his Mounted Infantry rapidly along the margin of our new found ditch with the avowed intention of cutting down any Anuak who dared to show his face. Instead, the Anuaks remained hidden in the grass until the M.I. came within easy range and a sudden burst of fire emptied nearly half the saddles in a few moments. Lichtenberg was one of the first to fall, mortally wounded. Not one of his officers remained unscathed and as a fighting force the M.I,. ceased to exist. We had been led into a well prepared ambush, where we faced a determined enemy armed with large-bore rifles (.450). These weapons, we found, were of Russian origin. They had been retrieved by the Japanese when they defeated the Russians and traded through Abyssinia in exchange for ivory poached from the herds of elephants in our territory. The wounds they inflicted were appalling and mostly fatal. All their bullets were soft-nosed.’
Although this incident effectively brought the Anauak Patrol to an end, the ensuing fighting retreat still took several weeks. Captain Lichtenberg and Captain Kinehan, also killed, were both buried where they fell.
Sold with copied extracts from The 18th Hussars in South Africa, Memoirs of the Eighteenth Hussars, and Rifleman and Hussar by Lieutenant-Colonel P. Marling, V.C., all three of which give lengthy and detailed accounts of the action at Oliphant’s River, and an original copy of The Road to Harley Street which devotes a whole chapter to the Anuak Patrol.
30
A Great War Minelaying operations D.S.O. group of six awarded to Rear-Admiral W. R. G. Petre, Royal Navy, Senior Officer of Minelayers in the Mediterranean after the evacuation of Gallipoli, later Senior Allied Captain of the Port, Constantinople, under the Allied occupation 1921-23
Distinguished Service Order, G.V.R., silver-gilt and enamel, with integral top ribbon bar; 1914-15 Star (Capt. W. R. G. Petre, R,N.); British War and Victory Medals, with M.I.D. oak leaves (Capt. W. R. G. Petrie. R.N.); Coronation 1902, silver; Coronation 1911, mounted as worn, very fine and better (6)
£1,600-£2,000
D.S.O. London Gazette 1 October 1917: ‘For services in mine-laying operations for the period 1 January 1916 to 1 August 1917. M.I.D. London Gazette 16 February 1917: ‘For good services in charge of Eastern Mediterranean Squadron Minelayers.’
M.I.D. M049567/17 ‘Carried out minelaying operations on 21 April 1917 under very difficult conditions: to be considered as mentioned in despatches’ (Record of service refers).
Walter Reginald Glynn Petre was born on 14 December 1873, the youngest son of Sir George Glynn Petre, K.C.M.G., C.B., who was envoy extraordinary and plenipotentiary at Lisbon. He attended the Royal Naval Academy at Gosport and joined H.M.S. Britannia in January 1887, passing out in July 1889 as Midshipman; Lieutenant, 1896; Commander, 1907; Captain, June 1915. He served in the Persian Gulf, 1897 (thanks of Indian Government); served in boat expeditions to capture pirates in Persian Gulf for pearl trade. Served in command of H.M.S. Pigeon when she bombarded the dhows in the Persian Gulf; also landed from Pigeon under the Persian Admiral, in December 1897 to punish the murderers of Mr Graves. Was afterwards Commander of Leviathan which escorted South African troops home.
He served in the Great War in command of minelayers in the North Sea; was Senior Officer of Minelayers in the Mediterranean after the evacuation of Gallipoli for mining operations; British Captain of the Port, Constantinople, 1921-22; retired list, 1923; Senior Allied Captain of the Port, Constantinople, under the Allied occupation, 1921-23; retired March 1923 at his own request and was advanced to Rear Admiral (Retd.) on 8 July 1926. Rear-Admiral Petre died on 26 December 1942. Sold with copied record of service and other detailed research.
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