Exceptional Naval and Polar Awards from the Collection of RC Witte

‘One might go on for ever with stories of “Daddy” Edwards; but as one never knew what he was going to say or do next, he certainly kept us amused whenever he was in company. Some people called him a “pirate” and senior officers were sometimes shocked by his queer signals. All the same, if he was a pirate, he was a very loveable one. His saving sense of humour forgave him much.’

Taffrail’s Endless Story refers.

The Great War campaign group of four awarded to Captain G. R. L. “Daddy” Edwards, C.B.E., Royal Navy, one of the great characters to emerge from the war at sea and the subject of numerous glowing testimonials - his ‘overwhelming sense of humour; his cheerfulness and unorthodox methods in getting the job done’ endeared him to all

British War and Victory Medals (Capt. G. R. L. Edwards, R.N.); France, Legion d’Honneur, Chevalier’s breast badge, silver-gilt, silver and enamel; France, Croix de Guerre 1914-1917, with bronze palm, good very fine (4) £400-500

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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Graham Richard Leicester Edwards was born at Ware, Hertfordshire, in June 1878 and entered the Royal Navy as a Cadet in Britannia in January 1892. Subsequently specialising in gunnery, he enjoyed a succession of seagoing appointments in home waters and on the China Station, gaining advancement to Commander in June 1912.

Early actions

C.O. of the Harwich-based destroyer H.M.S. Laforey on the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914, he quickly saw action in the Heligoland Bight on the 28th, for which he was mentioned in despatches (London Gazette 23 October 1914 refers); so, too, in the following year, when Laforey was involved in the action fought off Noordhinder Bank on the Dutch coast on 1 May 1915, an action that led to the destruction of two German torpedo boats. By and Large takes up the story:

‘He [Captain G. R. L. Edwards] was thirsting for battle and always complaining of the lack of opportunity afforded him of distinguishing himself. However, one day he was on patrol off the Belgian coast when he ran into two of the diminutive and old-fashioned torpedo-boats which the Germans employed for coastal work, and sent them to the bottom without much difficulty. Then, proud of heart, he brought his ship the Laforey back to her Harwich home. The pride was not diminished by getting a most effusive message from Winston Churchill, who was First Lord at the time. But, alas, one of his comrades, Rafe Rowley-Conwy, fearful lest pride should be his downfall, despatched the following signal: Lark to Laforey: “It is unusual in most rivers to put back all fish under six inches!” Dear Graham Edwards - I am sure he is as bright a spot in Heaven as he was at Harwich.”

Having then commanded Laforey off Gallipoli - the whereabouts of his 1914-15 Star remains unknown - he removed to another destroyer, the Hoste, in October 1916.

Loss of the “Hoste”

However, Edwards’ new command was short-lived, his ship being lost after her consort Negro collided with her in atrocious weather conditions during a Grand Fleet exercise that December - Hoste’s stern was blown off by her depth charges and, at length, as described by Taffrail in Endless Story, she went down after most her crew had managed to transfer to the aptly named Marvel. Losses aboard the Negro, however, were severe; also see Edwards’ own account of the incident in S. W. Coxon’s Dover During the Dark Days, from which the following extract has been taken:

‘All hands now mustered on the forecastle, and there waited for the ship to sink under their feet. It is hard to describe the scene. Not a word nor a cry was heard from any man-they just stood round me and waited for the last-pitch darkness, the little ship rolling 40 to 50 degrees each way, huge seas breaking over all, and nothing in sight but the navigation lights of the Marvel astern bobbing about as though they were waved on a wind.

Suddenly a searchlight blazed out from her and played over us. What a blessed relief that light was! Out of the gale she came, cutting through at high speed with seas breaking right over her from stem to stern. Then she stopped abeam of us, her searchlight flicking all the time, and tried to make out our real plight. She expected us to take to the water and trust to being picked up; but, as we were still floating and the end must inevitably be the same in either case, there seemed to be no reason in taking to the water before we should have to, when the ship sank under us.

Suddenly the Marvel was seen to be gathering sternway, and away she went at full speed stern into the seas, which smothered her and carried away every article on her upper deck except her most solid fixtures. Then, to our amazement, we saw her coming straight at us. What a cheer went up from us all! With a terrific crash she came into us, forecastle flare to forecastle flare, and as she crashed the front rank of our men leapt on to her forecastle. The next sea had carried her a hundred yards away and astern, but thirteen times in all did the Marvel, under her gallant captain, come alongside us, and each time the leading rank of the ship's company jumped.

At times the rise and fall between the two ships was quite 30 feet and both were rolling 30 to 40 degrees. At the same time our torpedo tubes had broken away from their training stops and were trained on the beam towards her and half out of their tubes, with their wicked war-heads waiting to be crushed against the Marvel's side.

And so with the thirteenth attempt the last of us jumped; 8 officers and 126 men were saved by the Marvel. Two men, having missed their stride, had been crushed between the two forecastles as the ships crashed into one another, and two had leapt on to the other forecastle and gone clean over the other side into the sea, where nothing could save them. Some also fell in between the two ships, but were pulled out by willing hands in some miraculous way. A large number were injured in jumping, but, by superb handling of the ship and indomitable courage in risking his own ship and the lives of all his ships' company, the captain of the Marvel, Commader Homan, D.S.O., R.N., saved the ship's company of the Hoste. Five minutes after the last of us had left her the Hoste foundered.’

Flag Captain - Dover Patrol

Absolved of any blame by Their Lordships - indeed Edwards acted with great courage and was the last man to leave his ship - he next took command of the flotilla leader Botha in the Dover Patrol and was similarly employed when advanced to Captain in December 1917. In the following year, however, he became Flag Captain to Rear-Admiral C. F. Dampier, the S.N.O. Dover, in which capacity he was appointed to the command of the Motor Launches intended for the Zeebrugge operations, but, as verified by Admiral Sir Roger Keyes in his autobiography, he fell ill before the raid took place.

Edwards was awarded the C.B.E. (London Gazette 11 November 1919 refers), which distinction he added to his earlier honours of Chevalier of the French Legion d’Honneur (London Gazette 15 September 1916 refers), and the French Croix de Guerre (London Gazette 17 May 1918 refers).

Placed on the Retired List in 1922, he became Chief Lecturer for the Navy League, in which capacity he lectured on the Zeebrugge Raid at the Wembley Exhibition in 1924 and 1925. The Captain, ‘whose success as a popular speaker was only equalled by his skill as a seaman’, died in Havant in October 1928; sold with copied service record.