Orders, Decorations and Medals

A C.I.E. and Great War group of five awarded to Captain Frederick Williamson, Middlesex Regiment and Gurkha Rifles, later Political Officer in Sikkim and Bhutan

The Order of the Indian Empire, C.I.E., 3rd type neck badge, gold and enamels, in its Garrard & Co case of issue; British War and Victory Medals, with M.I.D. oak leaf (Capt.); Territorial Force War Medal (Lieut., attd. Middx. R.); Jubilee 1935, nearly extremely fine (5) £600-700

Frederick Williamson was born on 31 January 1891, and was educated at Bedford Modern School, and Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He passed the Indian Civil Service examination of 1913, and on arrival towards the end of the following year was posted to Bihar and Orissa. In 1914 he was put on military duty in India during 1915 and 1916, attached to the 1/9th Middlesex Regiment. In 1916 he was posted to the 1/1st Gurkha Rilfes and served with them in Mesopotamia until 1918, during which time he was wounded. He subsequently served with the 1/1st and 4/11th Gurkha Rifles in Palestine and Egypt and was mentioned in despatches (London Gazette 5 June 1919).

After holding various appointments in Bihar and Orissa, and being for a few months from November 1922, Secretary to the Resident in Mysore, he went to Hyderabad in a like capacity. He found his real vocation when early in 1924, he became Trade Agent at Gyantse and Assistant to the Political Officer in Sikkim. Here he quickly felt the attraction of the romance and mystery of what Lord Zetland has so well called “The Lands of the Thunderbolts”, and in his close study of the customs, folklore, and languages of the people, followed in the footsteps of Sir Charles Bell. He looked for and found the best side of Tibetal Lamaism, and his attachment to and trust in the men of Sikkim and Tibet were reciprocated.

Williamson was content to serve on the North East Frontier year after year with little regard for the fact that this greatly limited his chance of high promotion. Proposals of the Political Department to send him elsewhere, though made in his own interest, were unwelcome. After officiating as Political Officer at Gangtok he penetrated deeper into the mazes of Mid-Asia when appointed Consul-General in Kashgar in 1927, but returned to Gangtok as Political Officer in Sikkim in the spring of 1931. He was made C.I.E. and received the Jubilee Medal in 1935. It was a keen satisfaction to him to be deputed to Lhasa to negotiate a settlement between the Tibetan Government and the Tashi Lama, who had been an exile in China for the past 10 years. It was whilst awaiting the return of the Tashi Lama that Williamson fell ill with uraemia and died at Lhasa on 17 November 1935. Sold with full research.