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Auction: 15037 - Autographs, Historical Documents, Ephemera and Postal History
Lot: 55

Documents
Lord Byng of Vimy
1915 and 1922 two Grants of Dignity of the Knight Commander and Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, both signed by the King, "George R.I.". With one copy of the statutes, both covering letters (one with even toning) and one distressed envelope addressed to the recipient in Canada. An appealing group. Photo

Field Marshal Julian Hedworth George Byng, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy, GCB GCMG MVO (1862-1935) served as Governor General of Canada.

Known to friends as "Bungo", he was born to a noble family at Wrotham Park in Hertfordshire, England, and educated at Eton College. Byng received a commission as a militia officer and thereafter saw service in Egypt and Sudan before he enrolled in the Staff College at Camberley. Following distinguished service during the First World War—specifically, with the British Expeditionary Force in France, in the Battle of Gallipoli, as commander of the Canadian Corps at Vimy Ridge, and as commander of the British Third Army—Byng was elevated to the peerage in 1919

In 1921 he was appointed as governor general of Canada by King George V to replace the Duke of Devonshire as viceroy, and occupied that post until succeeded by the Viscount Willingdon in 1926. Byng proved to be popular with Canadians.

After the end of his viceregal tenure, Byng returned to the United Kingdom and there served as the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis and was promoted within the peerage to become Viscount Byng of Vimy. Three years after being appointed as a field marshal, Byng died at his home on 6 June.

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Sold for
£700