Orders, Decorations and Medals

A Great War ‘East Africa Railways’ D.S.O. group of seven awarded to Lieutenant-Colonel C. F. Anderson, Royal Engineers

Distinguished Service Order, G.V.R.; Queen’s Sudan 1896 (Lt., R.E.); 1914-15 Star (Major); British War and Victory Medals, with M.I.D. oak leaf (Lt. Col.); Delhi Durbar 1911; Khedive’s Sudan 1896-1908, no clasp (Lieutt., R.E.) court mounted, extremely fine (7) £700-900

D.S.O. London Gazette 1 January 1918: ‘In recognition of distinguished services in East Africa.’

M.I.D. London Gazette 30 June 1916 (Smuts), 8 February 1917 (Smuts), and 21 January 1918 (Van Deventer), all for services in East Africa.

Cecil Ford Anderson was born on 23 December 1872, son of Doctor J. F. Anderson, a noted physician. He was educated at Winchester and at the Royal Military Academy Woolwich, and gazetted 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers on 22 July 1892. After two years at the school of Military Engineering at Chatham, Anderson left for India in July 1894, having been assigned to the Madras Sappers and Miners. He served with the 1st Company Madras S. & M. in the Dongola Expedition of 1896 as part of the Indian garrison of 4000 men commanded by Colonel C. C. Egerton. Returning to India, Anderson was given command of the 1st Military Railway Company on its formation at Sialkot in 1902, shortly afterwards re-designated No. 25 Railway Company, Indian Sappers & Miners. Promoted to Captain in July 1903, Anderson’s company was employed on routine maintenance work of the Sialkot and Nushki sections of the NorthWestern Railway. In 1911, he took his company to Delhi under contract to the North Western Railway to build a portion of the Delhi Durbar Railway, for which services he received the Delhi Durbar Medal.

Promoted to Major in July 1912, Anderson was ordered to proceed to East Africa soon after the start of the Great War, arriving with his company at Mombassa in October 1914. His unit was mainly engaged in protecting the Uganda Railway. In September 1915 he was invalided home due to illness but, after recuperating, returned to East Africa where he served as an Engineer Staff Officer to the forces for the remainder of the war. He retired from the Army in 1923 as a Lieutenant-Colonel with an Indian Pension, and returned to live in Dorset where he died in 1950. Sold with further research, including some useful and lengthy instructions for the use of officers undertaking their first tour of foreign service in India, written by Anderson and published in The Royal Engineers Journal 1895.