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Auction: 24003 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 123

(x) 'But after half an hour nothing had happened and both sides started singing carols. We wandered about a bit, rather nervously, on the parapet and shouted across to the Germans, who were doing the same. After a time a German who spoke English came half-way across and offered to meet one of our men to arrange a twenty-four hour truce. One or two bold spirits went out to meet him and they shouted an arrangement for no firing for twenty four hours'

Twice in a Lifetime by Major M. L. Walkington, refers

A 1914 Christmas Truce group of six awarded to Major M. L. Walkinton, 16th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Queen's Westminster Rifles), later Lincolnshire Regiment and Royal Sussex Regiment, who wrote about his experiences in his autobiography Twice in One Lifetime

1914 Star, clasp (1971 Pte. M. L. Walkinton. 16-Lond. R.); British War and Victory Medals (Capt. M. L. Walkinton.); 1939-45 Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45, his Second War campaign awards privately engraved 'Major M. L. Walkinton', mounted as worn, overall good very fine (6)

Marmaduke Leslie Walkinton was born at Alvingham, East Lincolnshire on 29 July 1897, the youngest of six children to Edwin and Emma Walkington. The younger Walkinton, won a scholarship to Louth Grammer School from which he had just graduated at the age of seventeen when news surrounding the escalating tensions in Europe began to speak of war. Walkington and a friend enlisted with the 16th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment as Territorials as soon as they could.

He described the Battalion thusly:

'Neither of us had heard of the Queen's Westminster Rifles before, and it was pure luck that we joined that particular unit. However, we never regretted the chance that took us there. We found ourselves amongst a congenial lot of men whose one idea was to train as quickly as possible in the hope that they might be lucky enough to see just end of the fighting. These were the days of wild rumours and false reports. We were on tenterhooks for days lest the next Russian victory should bring Germany to her knees and prevent us from doing it. Pessimists went about saying that the war would be over by mid-September and we would be disbanded.'

France 1914

They entered the war in France on 1 November 1914 and went into the Trenches around Chapelle D'Armentieres on 9 December. Walkington was there on Christmas Day 1914 when the opposing lines met under the flag of truce. He goes on to describe the truce in his autobiography, stating:

'Timidly they approached each other- unarmed, of course- until finally a German and an Englishman met and shook hands to the sound of a happy little burst of cheering. Within a few seconds hundreds of people were shaking hands, laughing, exchanging drinks of rum and cognac, cigars and cigarettes, chocolate, sausages and so on.
I talked to a German-American who seemed a very pleasant sort of lad. He had never been to England actually, though his ship had anchored off Plymouth. We tried talking war, but I found he was full of newspaper propaganda, as I suppose I was, and we couldn't make sense of it. He thought that the Germans had made a successful landing in England and were marching on London. I laughed. I told him that we expected to beat Germany by Easter and he roared.
After that I think we talked about food and our respective family histories. He introduced me to his battalion sniper who had just received an Iron Cross from the Kaiser. The sniper showed it to me and seemed very proud of it. I tried to beg it, but he gave me a button on his tunic instead! Several people exchanged addresses and promoted to write to each other after the war, but I don't know if any of them did.'

Commissioned Officer

Returning to Britain in the Spring of 1915 as a result of his poor health, Walkington met a friend who had received a commission and decided to apply for one himself. As such he was commissioned in the 4th (Territorial) Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment on 3 November 1915. He returned to France on 25 December 1915 as the draft officer conducting a 150-man reinforcement to the Battalion but was soon back in Britain. Walkington found himself bored with the reserve Battalion and attempted to join the Royal Flying Corps- with no success- and as decided to apply for the Machine Gun Corps 'because all of their officers had horses to ride'. Joining the 24th Company, Machine Gun Corps at Fricourt Walkington during the Somme Offensive was soon to be thrust into action, joining the line at Ginchy Corner and remaining in the line for some time. He notes of his first time on the front:

'After two days in support half a mile from the front trenches we went forward to relieve Tickler Dorman's section. The weather had become bitterly cold, but the mud had become hard-frozen and much better to get about on. A slight rise in the ground in front of us enabled me to take my men up in daylight and after a dash of about a hundred yards over open ground made very dangerous by shell-fire we got into the communication trench one hundred yards from the front line which was just over the crest. This was the first time I had led the men in the open under heavy fire and I was elated that we had had no casualties and that I had got by without any outward sign to funk.'

Walkington survived the offensive and continued to serve, his account becomes a ceaseless string of battles. Even their daily life was filled with danger however, he relates one account in which, after the fall of Lieraumont in March 1917 the Company established their mess in the upstairs of an abandoned farmhouse.

They were in the middle of lunch when an officer of the Engineers came to inspect the building and informed them that it had been mined, the men of the 24th Company inspected the mine and then finished their meal. Afterwards the sappers came and disarmed the mine, Walkington notes their courage for performing that role.

In on the action during the Battle of Passchendaele Walkington was wounded by shellfire: 'The piece of shell had miraculously missed my femoral artery and there was no bleeding, but it had disturbed my sciatic nerve which twanged away unbearably'.

This wounded prevented him from seeing action during the Spring Offensive and he only returned to the war during the Summer of 1918. He saw action during the Second Battle of the Somme and was appointed Adjutant along with the rank of Captain in September 1918.

Twice in a Lifetime

After the war Walkington- still a Territorial- joined Christ's College, Cambridge for a degree in agriculture after which he undertook a job as farms agent for Lord Moyne. He received a brief glimpse of the disturbing future in 1935 when he visited Hitler's Germany as part of a British Legion delegation.

As War gathered again Walkington, struggled with the dilemma of being a Territorial Officer, at a time when Officers with experience were greatly needed, in the protected field of food production. Fortunately an Officer of the Royal Sussex Battalion pleaded the case for the army with him and he agreed to re-joined, being given command of a Company.

He entered the war in France on 21 April 1940 with the rank of Major and appointment of second-in-command of the 6th Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment. They did not make it to the front before the great collapse in the Ardennes started the pell-mell retreat towards the coast.

They made it through, along refugee clogged roads to St. Nazire, some two weeks after Dunkirk, there they waited for some time. At one stage whilst queuing for a ship Walkington became involved in an argument with another officer as to who should board, he lost the argument and they were embarked upon the next ship. Twice in a lifetime takes up the story:

'Our embarkation on this good ship [S.S. Florestan] was completed in steady, orderly fashion and we found that we had some Indian troops and a few English civilians, including some women and children, as fellow-travellers. We had what seemed a long wait before we moved off, and I understood that there was some difficulty about tugs and pilots. We heard that the French had signed an armistice and that there was some doubt as to what the tugs and pilots were supposed to do. We also heard that the ship which sailed just before us, the Lancastria, had been bombed and sunk in the Loire estuary with the loss of many lives, so we were lucky that we had missed our place in the que'.

Making it back safely Walkington saw out the rest of the war in Britain, returning to farming in 1942 having been informed that the Ministry of Agriculture was low on officials. After the war he became a farming agent and rented three farms from his employers which he ran himself. Notably he was interviewed by the BBC Radio 4.

He died in October 1988 at Ashwell House, Ugbrooke Park, Chudleigh, Devon; sold together with a copied dealers listing, a copy of Twice in a Lifetime by M. L. Walkington and three C.D.s containing a recording of Major Walkington discussing his experiences.

Subject to 5% tax on Hammer Price in addition to 20% VAT on Buyer’s Premium.

Sold for
£2,100

Starting price
£480