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Auction: 24002 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 173

An unusual M.B.E. pair awarded to Victualling Store Officer, H. G. Arnold, Royal Navy

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Civil Division, Member's (M.B.E.) breast Badge, silver, hallmarks for London 1917; Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 1 clasp, Cape Colony (H. G. Arnold, Deputy Victg. Store Officer, Cape of Good Hope), impressed naming, extremely fine and rare (2)

M.B.E. London Gazette 3 June 1918.

Henry George Arnold was appointed Acting Assistant Storekeeper in April 1896 at the Admiralty, as part of the Victualling Department of the Civil Service of the Royal Navy. Posted to Malta on 10 April 1898 as Assistant Victualling Store Officer he was re-appointed there on 26 August.

Posted to the Cape of Good Hope on 19 November 1898 as Assistant Victualling Store Officer in Charge he was present there on the outbreak of the Anglo-Boer War. Promoted Deputy Victualling Store Officer in Charge on 3 August 1900 Arnold was the second most senior Victualling Officer at the Cape Victualling Yard. There are only eight medals issued to this station of which Arnold's is unique to his position, being outranked only by Victualling Store Officer J. B. Hickman.

Transferred to Malta as Deputy Victualling Store Officer in January 1904 and in the same capacity to Gibraltar in February 1905. Posted to the Royal Victoria Yard at Deptford, the main Royal Navy Victualling Yard, in April 1907. Joining the Admiralty as a Deputy Store Officer in 1908 followed by two appointments as a Victualling Store Officer, at Gibraltar from January 1909, and then at Deptford again from March 1911. Arnold was still there during the Great War, performing the vital work of supplying the fleet, he which he was appointed an M.B.E. (Civil).

Appointed a Superintending Clerk in the Victualling Department at the Admiralty in 1918, he remained there for the rest of his service being retitled Victualling Store Officer in 1924. Arnold is last mentioned in the Navy List for October 1930, and he presumably retired at that time; sold together with copied navy lists, medal roll and a former auction listing, as well as a C.D. of copied research.

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Sold for
£420

Starting price
£350