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Auction: 20001 - Orders, Decorations and Medals - conducted behind closed doors
Lot: 247

A fascinating British War Medal awarded to Major E. O. A. Newcombe, Royal Engineers, a clever and much-decorated logistician who commanded a gunboat on the Nile during the Battle of Omdurman; three times mentioned in dispatches, he administered Sudan's railway network for 20 years, enabling seamless movement of British Empire forces to key theatres during the Great War

British War Medal 1914-20 (E. O. A. Newcombe.), good very fine

Distinguished Service Order, London Gazette 1 January 1917.

Order of the Nile, London Gazette 6 November 1917.

Edward Osborn Armstrong Newcombe was born on 30 August 1874. Educated at Bath College, he attended the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich and commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers on 25 July 1893. He served with the Egyptian Army in the Sudan during Kitchener's campaigns of 1896-98. Appointed to command the gunboat Abu Klea, part of the Nile Gunboat Flotilla under Commander C. Keppel R.N., he helped ensure the successful delivery of supplies to Kitchener's army before the Battle of Omdurman on 2 September 1898. Newcombe took part in the battle, receiving a mention in dispatches (London Gazette, 30 September 1898); his services were further recognised by the award of the Ottoman Order of the Medjidie, 4th Class and the Order of the Osmania, 4th Class. A railway network was clearly needed if the Sudan was to be pacified following the British victory, and Newcombe remained in the Sudan after the British victory as Assistant Locomotive Superintendent. Newcombe went on to serve with the Royal Engineers during the Second Boer War, holding senior staff appointments. Present at the Battle of Diamond Hill, he received another mention in dispatches (London Gazette, 29 July 1902), along with a 4-clasp Queen's South Africa Medal and a King's South Africa Medal.

Returning to the Sudan, Newcombe was appointed Traffic Manager, Sudan Government Railways in 1906. He was to perform this role with great distinction over the next 20 years. At the outbreak of the Great War he was a Major on retired pay, but re-entered active service on 24 October 1914. The efficiency with which he ran Sudan's railways was a pivotal factor in Britain's ability to rush troops to crisis zones, particularly East Africa and the Suez Canal. For these services he was awarded the Egyptian Order of the Nile, 3rd Class, and was again mentioned in dispatches (London Gazette, 25 October 1916). This British War Medal represents Newcombe's sole entitlement for the Great War, and he claimed it on 9 May 1923. He married Annie Maria Courtenay, daughter of The Hon. H. L. Courtenay; sold with copied research and MIC.



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Sold for
£420

Starting price
£50