Exceptional Naval and Polar Awards from the Collection of RC Witte

A good Great War Eastern Mediterranean operations D.S.C. group of four awarded to Captain K. Edwards, Royal Navy, who was commended for his gallantry at the landing and evacuation of Cape Helles

Distinguished Service Cross, G.V.R., hallmarks for London 1916; 1914-15 Star (Lieut. K. Edwards, R.N.); British War and Victory Medals, M.I.D. oak leaf (Lieut. K. Edwards, R.N.), contact marks and a little polished, otherwise generally very fine (4) £1800-2200

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.C. London Gazette 11 April 1917:

‘He performed good service at the landing and evacuation of Cape Helles and set a fine example to his men whilst assisting at salvage operations on Monitor M. 30 under fire from the enemy’s guns.’

Kenneth Edwards was born in February 1891, the son of Major Eustace Edwards, a retired gunner, and entered the Royal Navy as a Cadet in September 1903. A gifted student, he took a 1st Class Certificate in Seamanship and was awarded the Goodenough Medal for his Gunnery Examination.

A Lieutenant serving in the battleship H.M.S. Lord Nelson by the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914, he was subsequently present at the Gallipoli landings on 25-26 April 1915, gaining a commendation for his services in action (London Gazette 16 August 1915 refers), and, later still, the D.S.C., the citation also citing his part in salvage operations on the monitor M. 30 off Long Island in May 1916 - owing to nearby enemy batteries, the work had to be carried out between darkness and dawn.

In exactly which capacity he was employed at the landings remains unknown, but it is quite probable he was given command of one of the Lord Nelson’s boats, bound for ‘W’ Beach, scene of the famous landing of the Lancashire Fusiliers, who won “Six V.Cs before Breakfast”. One of those V.Cs, Captain R. R. Willis, later described how the little flotilla of boats came under murderous fire:

‘Not a sign of life was to be seen on the Peninsula in front of us. It might have been a deserted land we were nearing in our little boats. Then crack! The stroke oar of my boat fell forward, to the angry astonishment of his mates. The signal for the massacre had been given: rapid fire, machine-guns and deadly accurate sniping opened from the cliffs above, and soon casualties included the rest of the crew and many men ... The timing of the ambush was perfect; we were completely exposed and helpless in our slow-moving boats, just target practice for the concealed Turks, and within a few minutes only half of the thirty men in my boat were left alive. We were now 100 yards from the shore, and I gave the order “Overboard’. We scrambled out into some four feet of water, and some of the boats with their cargo of dead and wounded floated away on the currents still under fire from the snipers. With this unpromising start the advance began. Many were hit in the sea, and no response was possible, for the enemy was in trenches well above our heads ... ’

Subsequently engaged with the Goeben off Gaba Tepe, and at the bombardment of Turkish batteries on 6 May, prior to the second battle of Krithia, the Lord Nelson afterwards became the flagship of Vice-Admiral Rosslyn Erskine-Wemyss, and was present in her at several more notable bombardments.

Edwards came home to an appointment at the gunnery establishment Excellent in July 1916, but returned to sea as a Gunnery Officer in the cruiser Achilles (March-June 1918), and the battleship Centurion (June 1918-June 1919).

And enjoying a spate of seagoing appointments between the Wars, he was advanced to Commander in December 1925 and to Captain in December 1932, and onetime served as Executive Officer of the carrier Glorious, when he was described as being ‘a great man, a great character, and greatly loved by everyone, though he did hit the bottle a bit.’

Having been placed on the Retired List in October 1934, Edwards embarked on a career as a naval historian, publishing among other titles The Mutiny at Invergordon, We Dived at Dawn and Men of Action.

Recalled on the renewal of hostilities in September 1939, he served briefly as an Assistant Commandant, R.A.F.V.R., but subsequently in his old rank at Daedalus, under Rear-Admiral R. Bell-Davis, V.C., C.B., D.S.O. And he was similarly employed at the time of his death in July 1943. He is buried in Haslar Royal Naval Cemetery.