The James Fox Collection of Naval Awards

An interesting C.B. group of eight awarded to Paymaster Rear-Admiral Henry Horniman, Royal Navy

The Most Honourable Order of the Bath, C.B. (Military) Companion’s neck badge, silver-gilt and enamels; Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, no clasp (Paymaster H. Horniman, H.M.S. Barracouta.); 1914-15 Star (Ft. Payr. H. Horniman. R.N.); British War and Victory Medals (Payr. Commr. H. Horniman. R.N.); Jubilee 1935; France, Third Republic, Legion of Honour, Fifth Class breast badge, silver, silver-gilt and enamels, these last six mounted as worn; Russia, Empire, Order of St Stanislas, Second Class neck badge with swords, 48mm, by Eduard, St Petersburg, gilt and enamel, some minor enamel chips, otherwise good very fine (8) £2,200-£2,600

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The James Fox Collection of Naval Awards.

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Henry Horniman was born in 1870, the son of Paymaster-in-Chief William Horniman, R.N. After attending Christ’s Hospital School, he entered the Royal Navy in January 1887, as an assistant clerk in the paymaster’s department. He spent the next year in various ships and establishments on the Mediterranean station, including the battleship Dreadnought. Here he first came into contact with Prince Louis of Battenberg, for whom he acquired a lasting admiration. In December 1888 he joined the cruiser Amphion, whose other officers included George Warrender and R. F. Scott (of Antarctic fame), for a three year commission with the Pacific Squadron. After further service in Home waters, he was appointed in January 1896 to the Ramillies, the flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet. His next appointment, in October 1897, was to the Surprise, a despatch vessel used as the Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean's yacht, and so he was able to study Sir John Fisher, who assumed command of the station in 1899, at close quarters. Horniman was never impressed by Fisher and was at a loss to understand the "extraordinary ascendancy Fisher exercised over his contemporaries.”

In 1901 Horniman was appointed to the 3rd class cruiser Barracouta on the Cape station, but the ship, which was kept as smart as a millionaire's yacht, was only intermittently involved with the military operations ashore. Further service in Home waters followed until, in 1906, he joined the battleship Duncan, the flagship of the Atlantic Fleet. From 1908 to November 1912, Horniman served successively in the battleships Venerable and Implacable, the cruiser Shannon and the battle cruiser Indomitable, but none of these commissions was especially eventful. He was then appointed to the battle cruiser Inflexible (Captain A N Loxley), the flagship of the Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean, Admiral Sir Berkeley Milne. On 4 August 1914 Inflexible encountered the German battle cruiser Goeben and the light cruiser Breslau but, not being yet at war with Germany, Milne shadowed the Germans until ordered home on 18 August. Inflexible afterwards took part in the battle of the Falkland Islands, the Dardanelles campaign and the battle of Jutland. From 1917-19, Horniman was Paymaster at the Admiralty Controllers’ Department, and then joined Iron Duke, as Paymaster Commander and Fleet Accountant Officer on the Mediterranean station from March 1919, and took part in the post-armistice operations in the Black Sea during the Russian civil war. He was created C.B. in 1922, and was placed on the retired list in 1925. He died at Worthing on 21 May 1956.

Sold with photocopies of ‘Sailing Through, The Autobiography of Henry Horniman, Royal Navy’, 142pp typescript, and ‘Diary of Henry Horniman, Fleet Paymaster R.N. Kept while serving in H.M.S. Inflexible 4 Nov 1914 to 25 April 1915 - Together with a narrative of the first part of the Ship’s Commission from 4 Nov 1912 to 4 Nov 1914’, 73pp typescript transcript. The originals of both are held by the Imperial War Museum Department of Documents. The papers ‘include very interesting assessments of several distinguished officers under whom he served, notably Admirals of the Fleet Lord Fisher of Kilverstone, Prince Louis of Battenberg, Sir Doveton Sturdee, Sir Somerset Gough-Calthorpe and Sir John de Robeck and Admirals Sir Assheton Curzon-Howe, Sir Ernest Troubridge and Sir Richard Phillimore, while they also reflect his life long admiration for the lower deck.’