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Auction: 374 - The Numismatic Collector's Series Sale at NYINC
Lot: 286

Royal Visit to Canada, May - June 1939, Large Gold Medal, Presented to 15th Governor General of Canada, The Right Honourable John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir GCMG GCVO CH PC DL (2 November 1935 - 11 February 1940), by P Metcalfe for the Royal Canadian Mint, edge plain (unhallmarked), 54mm., 131.50g, 12h, choice, FDC, of the highest rarity in this size and metal, and of national significance, charting the first visit by a reigning British monarch to Canada at the direct request of this very medal's recipient who gained further fame by penning the spy thriller Thirty Nine Steps

John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir of Elsfield (1875-1940) had an extraordinary and varied career as Journalist, Soldier, Lawyer and Politician culminating in being appointed Governor General of Canada in 1935. Throughout his career he was a prolific author most famous for his thrillers of which the Thirty-Nine Steps is one of the best known and most influential spy stories ever written.

John Buchan was born in Perth in 1875, the eldest son of the Reverend John Buchan, a minister in the Free Church of Scotland, and his wife Helen. His early childhood was spent in Kirkcaldy in Fife, moving to Glasgow in 1888 when his father took over a parish in the Goirbals. This enabled him to attend Hutchesons Grammar School and then briefly, Glasgow University before winning a scholarship to Brasnose College in Oxford; where he took a first in Greats. By the time he left Oxford he had already published six books of fiction, poetry and history, and the boy who when he arrived could not afford to dine in hall classed himself as "rather rich for an undergraduate".

After university he worked as a freelancer for the Spectator while studying for the bar. Although he passed his exams in 1901, he did not immediately practice, Instead, he joined Lord Milner coordinating the rebuilding of South Africa after the second Boer War. The two years he spent as part of "Milner's Kindergarten" informed his views on Empire and the potential the imperial ideal had to improve lives, as well as giving him a deep love for South Africa which features in a number of his novels.

Returning from South Africa to London he continued to work for the Spectator, practise as a Barrister and write. In 1907 he married Susan Grosvenor and to support his married status became a partner in the publishers, Thomas Nelson. His interest in politics was growing at this time and in 1911 he became the Conservative and unionist candidate for Peebles and Selkirk though he did not enter parliament until 1927.

At the start of the First World War he was not fit enough for active service suffering from intestinal problems which plagued the rest of his life. However, he worked for the Times as War Correspondent and wrote for the the War Propaganda Bureau. In 1915 while recovering from an illness he wrote his most famous work: Thirty Nine Steps, introducing the world to Richard Hannay who would star in a total of five novels. In 1916 he went out to the Western Front as an Intelligence Officer serving on the headquarters staff with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. In 1917, he was made Director of Information working for Lord Beaverbrook.

After the war he continued to work for Nelsons as well as being a Director of Reuters and moved his family to Elsfield in Oxfordshire. He now had four children. He continued to write prolifically and still nurtured political ambitions which led to hm becoming the MP for the Scottish Universities in 1927 a seat he held until 1935 when he was appointed Governor General of Canada.

John Buchan was the First appointment of Governor General made by the King and the Canadian council rather than a British political appointment. In 1931, the Statute of Westminster had changed the relationship between Britain and Canada granting Canada control over its own foreign policy and making it a political equal of the United Kingdom sharing a common monarch. Although the Canadians wanted a commoner to be appointed the King insisted that the Governor General should be elevated to the Peerage and Buchan became Lord Tweedsmuir of Elsfield.

Arriving in Canada in 1935 Buchan worked to encourage a distinct Canadian identity and national unity and publicly stated that Canada's first loyalty should be Canada and Canada's King rather than the Commonwealth of Nations. He also believed that the different ethnic groups should "retain their individuality and each make a contribution to the national character".

In 1939 with war looming the King and Queen made a state visit to Canada spending a month touring the nation form coast to coast. This was the first time a reigning Canadian Monarch had set foot in Canada and arguably the most successful royal tour in Canadian history. This included the first Royal "walkabout" which arose spontaneously when the royal couple mingled with 25,000 First World War veterans in Ottawa.

The timing of this visit was critical in renewing ties between Britain and Canada helping to ensure support for joining Britain in the war effort. The separation of British and Canadian foreign policy meant that Canada did not automatically declare war along with Great Britain. However, on 10 September 1939 the Canadian Prime Minister, Mackenzie King, advised George VI to declare war on Germany in his capacity as King of Canada - just one week after the United Kingdom made its declaration.

On 6 February 1940 Buchan suffered a head injury brought on by a stroke. He died on 11 February. Mackenzie King in a radio eulogy said, "In the passing of His Excellency, the people of Canada have lost one of the greatest and most revered of their Governors General, and a friend who, from the day of his arrival in this country, dedicated his life to their service.". Buchan was given a state funeral in Ottawa before his ashes we sent back to be interred in the churchyard at Elsfield.








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Sold for
$45,000

Starting price
$10000