Orders, Decorations and Medals

A superb O.B.E. and Great War M.C. and Two Bar group of nine awarded to Lieutenant Colonel C. V. Stewart, Royal Garrison Artillery, later Royal Engineers, wounded in both World Wars

The Order of the British Empire, O.B.E. (Military) 2nd type; Military Cross, G.V.R., with Second and Third Award Bars, the reverse of the cross inscribed ‘Lt., Somme, 14th July 1916’, the reverse of the bars inscribed ‘Ypres, June 1917’ and ‘Lys, 9th April 1918’; 1914-15 Star (2.Lieut., R.G.A.); British War and Victory Medals, M.I.D. (Major); 1939-45 Star; France and Germany Star; Defence and War Medals, M.I.D., together with a fascinating photocopy of his memoirs written for the Imperial War Museum in 1979 (77 pp) and copies of letters written to his son in 1975 (21pp) both containing detailed information of his services in both World Wars, nearly extremely fine (9)

O.B.E. London Gazette 1 February 1945. In recognition of gallant and distinguished services as Senior Officer in charge of D-Day transport, North West Europe.

M.C. London Gazette 25 August 1916. ‘For conspicuous gallantry on 14 July 1916 during operations on the Somme. When unable to carry out his dutied as Forward Observation Officer, he volunteered and led forward a party of infantry in the attack after they had been hung up, and remained to consolidate the position won. He was slightly wounded.’

First bar to M.C. London Gazette 26 July 1917. ‘For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty during the Ypres operation. He showed great ability and accuracy in directing the fire of his own and other batteries. His calmness and coolness under heavy fire were at all times admirable, and when very severely wounded in the leg and sent to the hospital, his services were very greatly missed.’

Second bar to M.C. London Gazette 16 September 1918. ‘For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty during an enemy attack on 9 April 1918 at Lys. Under very heavy fire he saw to his only remaining gun being made useless, destroyed all papers and records, and superintended the evacuation of his wounded, remaining behind alone and covering the removal by rifle fire. he behaved splendidly.’

Charles Victor Stewart was born in Wales but in 1890 he went with his family to St Petersburg, where they owned mills and timberland in northern Russia. He was educated at Harrow from 1899 to 1904 when he joined the family timber business in Oraniebaun. In November 1914 he returned to England and was commissioned into the Royal Garrison Artillery, and posted to 26 Siege Battery at Lydd. He went to France in August 1915, seeing action at loos and subsequently on the Somme. On the opening day of the battle of the Somme, 1 July 1916, he was wounded in the left shoulder, and on the next day was hit in the throat by a shell splinter while saving three men who had been buried by a shell. Twelve days later he won the first of his three Military Crosses. He won the first bar during the Ypres operations in June 1917, and the second bar at Lys in April 1918. In this last action his battery lost 14 killed, 22 wounded, 4 gassed and one prisoner out of a total strength of 4 officers and 91 other ranks. The four forward guns were only 900 yards from the enemy trenches and his position was under heavy fire for four hours, but the remaining guns continued firing after the surrounding batteries had been captured by the enemy. He and 28 of his men then held a river crossing for four hours before retreating back behind British lines. For this action Stewart’s battery won two M.C’s, one D.C.M. and 6 M.M’s.

In June 1918 he was hospitalised for five days with trench fever, and in July he returned to England. He left for Russia in August 1918, arriving at Archangel to become assistant to General Ewart and liaison officer to the Russian Artillery. He was instrumental in developing Russian artillery in northern Russia and also took part in the battle of Kurgomin. He left Russia in July 1919 and returned to England where he was demobilised. After leaving the army he returned to the family business, spending half the year in Russia and half in England but, in 1925, the business was nationalised and he subsequently worked in the UK for a timber exporting business and as an arbitrator for the Timber Trade Federation.

In September 1939, he volunteered for active service and was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers, joining No. 4 Docks Operating Group. He was sent to Norway in 1940 with 4 officers and 125 men, but was evacuated when Norway fell to the Germans. He subsequently landed in Normandy on 6 June 1944, in a LST towing a landing pontoon and proceeded on a reconnaissance of the port of Courcelles. After two weeks in Normandy he returned to the War Office and a week later was hit in the head by a splinter from an exploding ‘buzz bomb’. As Assistant Director of Transportation to General Thorne’s Norway Liberation Forces, he accompanied the troops to Norway in May 1945. He was promoted to Colonel in December 1945, and appointed Port Superintendent of No. 2 Military Port at Stranraer in Scotland. Stewart was finally demobilised in August 1948.