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Auction: 26003 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 174

The Second World War group of five awarded to Lieutenant R. S. Buck, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, including the Order of Kinabalu

1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star, France and Germany Clasp; British War Medal 1939-45; Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve L.S. & G.C., G.VI.R. (Ty. Lieut. R. S. Buck. R.N.V.R.); Malaysia, Sabah, Order of Kinabalu, Fourth Class (Companion), neck Badge, Spink & Son, London, silver and enamel, 65mm, sold with attributed ribband bars and original boxes of issue, last minor wear, fine, rest very fine (5)

The Illustrious Order of Kinabalu, Fourth Class, Sabah Government Gazette, 16 December 1971.

Ronald Stuart Buck was born in St. Pancras, London on 31 March 1918 to parents Henry James, a Bank Messenger, and Kathleen Emily Kirkham. Little is known about his early life.

He attested for the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve on 10 February 1937. The trade on his Certificate of Service indicates that he may have been working as a clerk prior to the outbreak of war. Having already undertaken his training pre-war, he was able to go into service immediately, at the rank of Able Seaman. The first postings aboard H.M.S. Pembroke and Dunvagen Castle were Atlantic convoys, transporting food and troops.

During one such convoy, S43, the Dunvagen Castle was sailing from Africa into the North Atlantic, when they were ambushed by U-46 on 27 August 1940. They were hit three successive times by torpedoes, leading to the gradual sinking of the vessel. By the next day, the H.M.S. Harvester and Primrose had arrived to collect the survivors before the ship sunk entirely. 27 men were killed, with 249 other men being rescued.

After surviving this attack, Buck was posted to the Special Combined Operations branch of the Navy, and was commissioned as a Temporary Lieutenant. The Special Combined Operations focused on joint Naval and Army invasions using landing crafts. It was this group of soldiers who planned the eventual landings in North Africa, Sicily, and, most importantly, those at Normandy on D-Day.

After the war, he remained in the R.N.V.R. and was a member in 1949, acting as Honourable Secretary to the Plymouth and South Western Unit. Buck was appointed as a Professional Associate of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors on the 15 November 1949, later becoming a fellow in December 1958. During this period, he became an expatriate surveyor in Malaysia, and latterly Brunei.

His first position was as a Surveyor in Kuala Lumpur, and then on to North Borneo, now Sabah, Malaysia, working for the government. It was here that he received the Illustrious Order of Kinabalu, fourth class, for his government service in December 1971. The Bucks were at an event for the visit of H.M. Queen Elizabeth II to Kota Kinabalu on 28 February 1972, which Mrs Marjorie Buck writes an extensive report on, stating:

'By this time the Duke had arrived near us, looked at Ron, almost passed on, but paused and came back to him saying "and what do you do?" "I am a Chartered Surveyor Sir" says Ron, "I see you are wearing the State tie, are you with the government?" said Philip... So this was quite a long conversation, during which I was glued to Ron's side and all the other people were pressing round, trying to hear what the Duke was saying to him!!!'

The Bucks were prominent in the expatriate sphere in Sabah, being members of the Yacht Club and the Flying Club. They relocated to Brunei briefly in the 1980s, but returned to Britain, settling in North Walsham, Norfolk. Buck died in June 2001. Sold together with an extensive original archive, including:

i)
Original box of issue for the Order of Kinabalu.

ii)
Various licences and identification cards belonging to Buck.

iii)
Second World War identification tag chain.

iv)
Original service records and certificates.

v)
Personal diaries of experiences in Sabah.

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Estimate
£300 to £400

Starting price
£240