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Auction: 5005 - Orders, Decorations, Campaign Medals and Militaria
Lot: 545

The Historically Interesting Group of Twelve to Rt. Hon. Sir Philip Sassoon, P.C., G.B.E., C.M.G., M.P., Private Secretary to Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig 1915-18 and Under Secretary of State for Air 1924-29 and 1931-37, Hon. Air Commodore No. 601 (County of London) Squadron, Auxiliary Air Force (a) Order of the British Empire, First Type, Civil Division, Grand Cross (G.B.E.) set of insignia, Badge, silver-gilt and enamel, Star, silver, silver-gilt and enamel, with sash riband (b) Order of St. Michael and St. George, Commander´s (C.M.G.) Badge, silver-gilt, gold appliqué and enamel, with riband, in Garrard, London, case of issue (c) 1914 Star (Lieut. Sir P.A.D.G. Sassoon. R.E.Kent Yeo.) (d) British War and Victory Medals (Major Sir P.A.G.D. Sassoon) (e) 1935 Jubilee, 1937 Coronation, both engraved (A/Cdre Sir Philip Sassoon 601 Squ. A.A.F.) (f) France, Legion of Honour, Knight´s Badge, silver, gold centres and enamel, enamel damage (g) France, Colonial Order of the Black Star, Officer´s Badge, silver-gilt and enamel, enamel damage (h) Belgium, Order of the Crown, Officer´s Badge with rosette, silver gilt and enamel, enamel damage (i) France, Croix de Guerre 1914-18 (j) Belgium, Croix de Guerre, except where stated good very fine or better, the medals mounted as worn (k) Bronze Plaque by Devambre, Paris, 108mm. x 83mm., commemorating the visit of King George V and The Prince of Wales to Merville, 1.12.1914, in case of issue (13) Estimate £ 2,400-2,800 Rt. Hon. Sir Philip Albert Gustave David Sassoon, P.C., G.B.E., C.M.G., M.P. (1888-1939), educated Eton and Christ Church, Oxford; Third Baronet Sassoon and M.P. for Hythe since 1912; on the outbreak of War he went to France as a Second Lieutenant Royal East Kent Yeomanry, serving as Private Secretary (unpaid) on the General Staff, and later as Private Secretary to Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, Commander-in-Chief British Armies in France, 1915-18. Chateau Demont, Merville The King and The Prince of Wales paid their first visit to the Army in France between 30 November and 5 December 1914. His Majesty visited the Hospital at Boulogne and then visited G.H.Q. where he met the Maharaja of Jodhpur, the Maharaja of Kishanghar, Maharaja Sir Pertab Singh, the Maharaja of Bikanir, and Malik Umar Hyat Khan. On 1 December the royal party stayed at Chateau Demont at Merville, then the Headquarters of IV Corps. The bronze plaque commemorating this visit records on the obverse: ´En souvenir de la visite faite par S.M. Georges V Roi d´Angleterre d´Ecosse d´Irelande Empereur des Indes a Merville (Nord)le 1er Décembre 1914. Etaient présents Mr Raymond Poincaré Président de la République Française, S.A.R. Le Prince de Galles, Mr René Viviani Président du Conseil, Le Général Joffre Commandant en Chef des Armées Françaises, Le Général Foch Commandant d´Armées. Le Général Sir H. Rawlinson Bt. C.B., Commandant le 4e Corps d´Armée des Troupes Britanniques opérant en France´, and on the reverse ´Present at the Chateau Demont at Merville G.O.C. Lt. Gen. Sir H.S. Rawlinson Bart. C.B., A.D.C. Major the Honble. W.L. Bagot D.S.O., A.D.C. Capt. the Honble. G.E. Boscawen D.S.O., Personal Staff of G.O.C., Col. A. Rawlinson, Major C.A. Borrett, General Staff, Brig. Genl. R.A.K. Montgomery C.B. D.S.O., Col. A.G. Dallas, Capt. L.S. Amery M.P., Lt. J.G. Lumsden, 2nd Lt Sir Philip Sassoon Bart. M.P., Lt. Col. Chauchat of the French Artillery Staff.´ Sassoon remained on the General Staff for the duration of the War; Captain 9.8.1916; Major 23.1.1917; M.I.D. three times (London Gazette 4.1.1917; 15.5.1917; 5.7.1919); C.M.G. 1916; returning to political life after the war he was appointed Under Secretary of State for Air 1924-29 and again 1931-37; Hon. Air Commodore No. 601 (County of London) (Bomber) Squadron, Auxiliary Air Force, also known as ´The Millionaire´s Squadron´ because it was reported to have six millionaire members (presumably Sassoon being one of them). The Philip Sassoon Memorial Prize for the best Cadet of the Initial Officer Training Course, R.A.F. College Cranwell, is still given today. As a politician Sassoon was conscientious but he failed to break into the very top ranks of the Tory political elite. A great socialite and entertainer, he made more of a mark as a patron of the arts and an arbiter of taste. Guests at his London house in Park Lane and his country estates, Trent Park in Hertfordshire and Port Lympne in Kent, included Winston Churchill, Louis Mountbatten, Neville Chamberlain, Lloyd George, The Prince of Wales and Wallis Simpson, Noel Coward, Charlie Chaplin, and T.E.Lawrence (who signed the visitors´ book ´338171 A/C Shaw´). He was never close to his more left-wing second cousin, Siegfried Sassoon, and indeed this was only to be expected, as Philip was one of those ´scarlet majors at the base´ of whom Siegfried was so critical. Philip Sassoon had no interest in marrying, and died a confirmed bachelor in 1939. (The latest account of his life is Peter Stansky, ´Sassoon, The Worlds of Philip and Sybil´)

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£4,400