The unique Victorian gold C.B. and Royal Visit to India C.S.I. group of nine awarded to...

The unique Victorian gold C.B. and Royal Visit to India C.S.I. group of nine awarded to Vice-Admiral Hon. H. Carr Glyn, Royal Navy, who served with distinction in command of a gunboat flotilla on the Danube in the summer of 1854, gaining special promotion to Commander and one of just two Turkish General Service Medals in gold awarded to Naval officers; then, on being appointed A.D.C. to Admiral Lord Lyons in the Crimea, he was attached to Lord Raglan’s staff at the battle of the Alma, thereby becoming one of only two Naval officers to gain entitlement to the relevant clasp The Most Honourable Order of the Bath, C.B. (Military) Companion’s breast badge, 18 carat gold and enamels, hallmarked London 1875, complete with gold ribbon buckle; The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India, C.S.I., Companion’s breast badge, gold and enamels, with central onyx cameo of a youthful Queen Victoria, the motto of the order set in rose diamonds, suspended from a five-pointed silver star and gold bar suspension, complete with gold top suspension; Crimea 1854-56, 2 clasps, Alma, Sebastopol (H. C. Glyn. Lieut. H.M.S. Britannia) contemporary engraved naming, clasps attached in reverse order; Ottoman Empire, Medal of Iftihar 1855, gold; Turkish Crimea 1855, Sardinian issue, unnamed; Order of the Medjidie, 3rd Class neck badge, silver, gold and enamel; Portugal, Kingdom, Order of Aviz, breast star, silver-gilt, gold and enamels; International, Sovereign Military Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Rhodes & Malta, Knight of Honour and Devotion neck badge with trophy of arms suspension, silver-gilt and enamels; together with Prince of Wales’ Visit to India 1875-76, large silver medal, the edge officially numbered ‘246’, and a small silver medallet for the same, minor enamel chips to the Turkish and Portuguese orders, otherwise generally very fine or better (10) £10,000-£14,000 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- Provenance: Alan Hall Collection, June 2000. C.B. London Gazette 29 May 1875. C.S.I. London Gazette 8 March 1876. Henry Carr Glyn was born on 17 April 1829, the fourth son of George Carr, 1st Lord Wolverton, and entered the Royal Navy as a First Class Volunteer aboard America in March 1844. He subsequently saw extensive service on the Pacific, East Indies and China Stations, and in 1850, in the latter theatre, under Commander Edmund Lyons, he distinguished himself in the suppression of piracy. On one occasion, in fact, he came prominently under the notice of the authorities for his gallant conduct in boarding a pirate junk. During the engagement Captain Lyon’s Brig happened to sheer off from the pirate junk which had just been boarded, and young Carr Glyn, with his Commander, and about a dozen others, was left on board to fight the crew and take the ship, in which enterprise they were, after some heavy fighting, successful. On the outbreak of the Crimea War, Carr Glyn was appointed First Lieutenant of Britannia, the flagship of the Naval Commander in Chief, Vice-Admiral J. W. D. Dundas, and was subsequently chosen to command the small naval gunboat flotilla on the Danube. His orders were to assist the Turkish Army, together with a party of 30 English Sappers and 15 French Pioneers, in securing a bridgehead over the River Danube at Giugevo. Travelling by sea to Varna, the naval party then journeyed on horseback to Rhoustchouk, a distance of some 130 miles. They arrived on 10 July 1854 to find a Russian Army 70,000 strong, under Prince Gortschakaff, threatening a Turkish force of a few thousand men which had crossed the Danube and was now camped on the northern bank at Giurgevo. Having thus become separated from the main Turkish Army it was soon clear that the small force would be unable to withstand the impending Russian offensive. Immediately on arrival Carr Glyn, assisted by Midshipman His Serene Highness Prince Leiningen, took command of the few Turkish gun boats on the river and thrust them down a narrow loop stream which split away from the main river above Giurgevo. By this action he placed the boats between the two armies and, though under heavy fire from the north bank, maintained his position and relieved the pressure on the small isolated Turkish advance party. Prince Gortschakaff, uncertain as to the strength of the newly arrived British force, decided against an immediate attack. While he hesitated, the naval party assisted the sappers in constructing a pontoon bridge, 787 yards long, using 55 commandeered boats. The bridge was completed by 10 August and the main Turkish Army, under Omar Pasha, was now in a position to cross the Danube River and to counter the Russian threat. In conclusion to this spirited affair it might be claimed that Carr Glyn’s actions had been entirely responsible for thwarting the Czar’s intention of invading Bulgaria. Certainly he was generously rewarded, being mentioned in despatches and promoted to Commander. He was also awarded the 3rd Class Order of Medjidie and was given a Gold Turkish General Service Medal, the latter being one of only two awarded to British Naval officers, Midshipman His Serene Highness Prince Leningen receiving the other. Admiral Lord Lyons, being much satisfied with Carr Glyn’s conduct, appointed him to his staff as A.D.C., and in this capacity he was seconded to attend on Lord Raglan and was present at the battle of Alma on 24 September 1854. In consequence he received the Crimea Medal with ‘Alma’ clasp, one of only two such distinctions issued to Naval officers; see Clowes, Volume 6, page 432. Following the Crimea War, Glyn saw varied service off the West Coast of Africa and in the Mediterranean, and he was advanced to Captain in August 1861 after being commended by Commodore Seymour for his valuable assistance in conveying troops to New Zealand in the Miranda. In 1870 he assumed command of the ironclad Warrior – today residing in all her glory at Portsmouth – and in March 1874, after being appointed an A.D.C. to Queen Victoria, he was ordered to ‘meet and attend the Grand Duke Alexis of Russia while in England.’ (his service record, refers). He was appointed a C.B. On appointment to the command of Seraphis in 1875, he conveyed the Prince of Wales to India for the Royal Visit. In recognition of these services, he was created a C.S.I. in 1876, and also received the large oval Silver Commemorative Medal issued to senior dignitaries. Carr Glyn became Rear-Admiral in September 1877 and Vice-Admiral in June 1882. He died suddenly from an attack of peritonitis in February 1884. Sold with copied record of service and other research.