Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A fine Royal Household K.C.V.O. group of eleven awarded to Sir George Ponsonby, late Lieutenant, Grenadier Guards - with whom he was severely wounded at Neuve Chapelle in December 1915 - and for many years Comptroller of the Household and Private Secretary to Queen Maud of Norway

The Royal Victorian Order, K.C.V.O. Knight Commander’s set of insignia, neck badge, silver-gilt and enamel, breast star, silver, with gilt and enamel centre, both officially numbered ‘K624’; 1914-15 Star (2 Lieut., G. Gds.); British War and Victory Medals (Lieut.); Jubilee 1935; Coronation 1937; Coronation 1953; Norwegian Order of St. Olaf, Knight’s breast badge, 2nd type (1906-37), with swords, gold and enamel; Norwegian Liberty Cross 1945, silver-gilt and enamel; King Haakon’s Silver Jubilee Medal 1930 generally good very fine or better (11) £1800-2200

K.C.V.O. London Gazette 8.6.1939.

George Arthur Ponsonby was born in 1878, the son of Robert Charles Ponsonby, and was educated at Harrow. A banker with Child & Co. at the time of the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914, he was commissioned into the Grenadier Guards and was posted to France with the 4th Battalion in the following year, where he participated in the battle of Loos. But in the heavy fighting of December 1915, his active military career was brought to an end by a serious leg wound. The regimental history written by his kinsman, The Rt. Hon. Sir Frederick Ponsonby, and Lieutenant-General The Earl of Cavan, takes up the story:

‘The same routine continued until December 12, when a most successful raid on the enemy’s trenches was carried out. At 8.15 p.m. Captain Sir Robert Filmer, accompanied by Sergeant Higgins and three men of No. 3 Company, went out to make a preliminary reconnaissance. By crawling right up to the enemy’s trenches he succeeded in locating the exact position of the German machine-guns, and was able to confirm the report as to the gap in the enemy’s wire entanglements. Captain Sir R. Filmer, who had already earned a name for bravery, crept quite alone down the entire length of the German trench, and carefully noted all he saw. On his return to our line the final orders were issued to the raiding party, consisting of 33 men from No. 3 Company, and the Battalion bombers under Lieutenant G. Ponsonby. The night was very dark, and it was difficult to see any landmarks. Sergeant Higgins led the party over the parapet at 11 p.m., and was followed by Captain Sir R. Filmer and a covering party. Silently they advanced, but lost direction slightly to the left, with the result that they missed the gap and found themselves held up by low wire entanglement. Sir R. Filmer came up to ascertain the cause of the delay, and after considering the situation decided to cut the wire and rush the trench. The wire-cutting was successfully done, although only a few yards from the German line, and the party, headed by Sergeant Higgins, dashed into the trench. At the same time our artillery, in accordance with a previously conceived arrangement, opened a most effective barrage of fire, which continued until the party returned.

Then bombing and bayoneting began in earnest, and the Germans were completely cleared out of the trench. The machine-guns, which were found to be too securely fixed to take away, were destroyed by bombs. It was during this trench fighting that the bombing officer, Lieutenant G. Ponsonby, was badly wounded in the leg. Private W. Sweetman, finding him unable to move, carried him on his back under heavy fire to our lines. The other casualties were one man missing and three wounded. This small number of casualties proved how well arranged the raid had been, and how brilliantly it had been carried out.

General Sir Douglas Haig commanding the First Army specially mentioned this raid in his report, and wrote: “A well-planned and well-executed operation, reflecting the highest credit on all concerned, from Colonel Lord H. Seymour commanding the 4th Battalion Grenadier Guards downwards. The immediate rewards asked for have been well earned, and I shall have very great pleasure in recommending the names put forward.” ’

Private Sweetman was subsequently awarded the D.C.M., the London Gazette of 22 January 1916 stating:

‘For conspicuous gallantry at Neuve Chapelle on the night of 11-12 December 1915, when he took a leading part in a successful attack on the German trenches. When retirement was ordered he remained within 50 yards of the enemy’s trench with Lieutenant Ponsonby, who was wounded, and finally succeeded, under a heavy fire, in getting him to within 100 yards of our trenches, when, with assistance, the wounded officer was brought in. It was a fine display of cool bravery.’

For his own part, the unfortunate Ponsonby, who had successfully led his bombers until felled by his serious leg wound, received no recognition. The extent of his injuries can be gleaned from his subsequent appointment as Honorary Secretary to Lady Haig’s Fund for Disabled Officers, and as Administrative Officer of the Artificial Limbs Department at the Ministry of Pensions. Indeed it was Ponsonby who took up the fight for fellow servicemen who had lost their limb(s) to be given a new metal artificial device, one far more efficient than the usual wooden legs then distributed by the Government. The story of his courageous battle with officialdom was recalled in a letter to The Times on his death in 1969:

‘As a Lieutenant in the Grenadier Guards he had acquired an expensive lightweight metal artificial leg and his surgeon had referred him for training in its use to the Department of Physical Medicine at St. Thomas’s Hospital (then a military hospital).

He became so proficient in manoeuvring the limb that it became as a real leg to him and he was able to demonstrate to fellow victims, limb-makers, and the Ministry representatives the advantages of lightweight metal limbs over wooden ones (as then supplied by the Ministry).

Even so, the Treasury and the Ministry would not consider supplying them owing to the high cost. Undaunted, Lieutenant Ponsonby and others wrote to The Times who kindly gave them publicity. There followed much correspondence in the national press, a strong plea in The Times editorial and finally a question in Parliament by Major Brunel Cohen, M.P.

At last, on April 21 1921, the Minister said that metal limbs would be available and free to all limbless pensioners. So ended the controversy.

The pioneering efforts of Lieutenant Ponsonby, aided by The Times and public opinion, had succeeded.’

In 1919, presumably through his family’s connections in the Royal Household, Ponsonby was appointed Comptroller and Private Secretary to Queen Maud of Norway, in which capacity he served until 1938. Originally awarded the M.V.O. (Fourth Class) in January 1926, he was elevated to C.V.O. in February 1929 and to K.C.V.O. in June 1939, in which latter year he became an Extra Equerry to King George VI. In addition, Ponsonby was also elevated through the ranks of the Order of St. Olaf, ultimately being appointed a Knight Grand Cross. And presumably as a result of assisting the Norwegian Royal Family in exile during the 1939-45 War, he was also awarded the Freedom Cross.

Ponsonby’s final appointment in the Royal Household was to Elizabeth II, again as an Extra Equerry, and he eventually retired to Chichester in Sussex. Sir George died in November 1969, and both the Queen and the King of Norway were represented at his memorial service at the Chapel Royal, St. James’s Palace.