Exceptional Naval and Polar Awards from the Collection of RC Witte

A rare Baltic 1919 operations D.S.O. group of five awarded to Captain R. V. Eyre, Royal Navy, who had earlier been commended for his command of the destroyer H.M.S. Mounsey at Jutland and awarded the Russian Order of St. Anne

Distinguished Service Order, G.V.R., silver-gilt and enamel; 1914-15 Star (Lt. Commr. R. V. Eyre, R.N.); British War and Victory Medals (Commr. R. V. Eyre, R.N.); Russia Order of St. Anne, 3rd Class breast badge, with swords, by Eduard, St. Petersburg, 36 by 36mm., in gold and enamel, manufacturer’s name on reverse, mounted court style as worn, the first with somewhat recessed obverse centre-piece and the last with upper-right inter-arm ornamentation and sword loose, together with replacement reverse centre, thus refurbished overall, otherwise good very fine or better (5) £3000-3500

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Exceptional Naval and Polar Awards from the Collection of RC Witte.

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D.S.O. London Gazette 8 March 1920:

'Honours for Services in the Baltic 1919'.

Mention in despatches London Gazette 15 September 1916:

‘For services in the battle of Jutland'.

Russian Order of St. Anne, 3rd Class London Gazette 5 June 1917:

‘Russian Government Honours for Grand Fleet Officers, Jutland.’

Ralph Vincent Eyre was born in Mayfair, London, in September 1882, the son of Henry Eyre, a Colonel in the Coldstream Guards. Entering the Royal Navy as a cadet in Britannia in May 1897, he was advanced to Sub. Lieutenant in April 1902 and to Lieutenant in June 1904 and, by the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914, was serving as a Lieutenant-Commander and C.O. of the destroyer Brisk.

Removing to another destroyer, the Mounsey, in November of the following year, he remained similarly employed until January 1918, and was accordingly present at Jutland in the 11th Destroyer Flotilla, being commended for his services and awarded the Russian Order of St. Anne.

Having then been advanced to Commander, and served in a staff appointment, he was appointed C.O. of the destroyer Wryneck in September 1918, and it was in this latter capacity that he went on to win his rare Baltic operations D.S.O. in the following year, when Wryneck was employed in the destroyer flotilla based at Libau, at which port she lent valuable gunfire when it was attacked by German forces in the first two weeks of November 1919.

Also as part of the Naval force under the overall command of Rear-Admiral Walter Cowan - a force sent to encourage the Baltic States to resist German and Red Russian aggression - Wryneck was sent with 150 reinforcements to the garrison of Windau on 5 November 1919, where once more she came under enemy fire. But it was most probably for his gallantry at Libau that Eyre was recommended for the D.S.O., Cowan observing that the enemy’s withdrawal was ‘a death blow to the German attempt to once again overwhelm and dominate the Baltic.’

He received his decoration at Buckingham Palace on 23 July 1920, and was also mentioned in despatches (London Gazette 9 April 1920 refers).

Eyre relinquished command of the Wryneck in August 1920 and his only other command before being placed on the Retired List in March 1923 was the sloop Magnolia. Whilst on the Retired List he was promoted Captain, his seniority dating from 21 September 1927. He died in April 1940; sold with copied research.