Monday 12th February 2018:
A military medal with a Warminster connection is currently for sale in a catalogue-only auction online.
Lot 233 in the sale hosted by Wellington Auctions is described as follows:
"A fine Colonial Auxiliary Forces Long Service Medal, GVR bust, awarded
to Major G.H. Wakeman, Hong Kong Rifle Volunteer Corps, late 1st
Volunteer Battalion, Wiltshire Regiment, who having studied at Caius
College, Cambridge, was commissioned into the Volunteer Force in 1887,
and having gone out to Hong Kong, became Land Officer and Official
Receiver in Bankruptcy with the Hong Kong Civil Service, and Crown
Solicitor at Hong Kong. Colonial Auxiliary Forces Long Service Medal,
GVR bust, officially engraved naming; (MAJOR G.H. WAKEMAN APRIL 1918).
George Herbert Wakeman was born on 14th June 1866 in Warminster,
Wiltshire, the son of Herbert John and Ellen Wakeman. Educated at
Bradfield College in Reading, he then went on to study law at Caius
College, Cambridge, and having matriculated in 1885. Commissioned in
1887 as a 2nd Lieutenant into the 1st Volunteer Battalion, Wiltshire
Regiment, he was promoted to Lieutenant on 8th February 1890, and then
opted to follow in his father’s footsteps, became a solicitor, being
admitted in July 1891, and practised in Warminster. Wakeman was promoted
to Captain with the Volunteer Force on 21st April 1894. Wakeman then
went out to Hong Kong, where he resided on Peak Road, and was appointed
Assistant Land Officer with the Hong Kong Civil Service on 29th June
1900. Wakeman then became the Land Officer and Official Receiver in
Bankruptcy in August 1905. An enthusiastic rifle shot, he retained his
links with the Volunteer Force out there, and joined the Colonial
Volunteers as a Captain with the Hong Kong Rifle Volunteer Corps. From
1906 to 1907 he was honorary secretary of the Volunteer Reserve
Association, and became President of the Committee of the Hong Kong
Volunteer Reserve in 1912. Wakeman was ultimately promoted to Major, and
received the Colonial Auxiliary Forces Long Service Medal in April
1918. Wakeman was some time a Justice of the Peace and also a Crown
Solicitor at Hong Kong, and worked in the Land Office out there till
1933. Having returned to England, Wakeman settled in Worthing, Sussex,
and died there on 6th October 1937, his death being reported in The
Times on 8th October 1937."
The auctioneer's estimate for this medal, which is described as in "good very fine" condition, is £180 to £200 (GBP). The opening bid is £180. The auction ends at 9.00 p.m. (GMT) on Thursday 22nd February 2018.
https://wellingtonauctions.com/a-fine-colonial-auxiliary-forces-long-service-medal-gvr-bust-awarded-to-major-g-h-wakeman-hong-kong-rifle-volunteer-corps-late-1st-volunteer-battalion-wiltshire-regiment
https://wellingtonauctions.com/
Wellington Auctions, are an online auction specialist dealing in Medals & Militaria. Their correspondence only address is: 37 Rookery Lane, Great Totham, Maldon, Essex, CM9 8DF. Telephone: 07976 266293.
Email: mail@wellingtonauctions.com
For over a third of a century Danny Howell has been avidly researching the past and recording the present in his home town of Warminster, as well as the Wylye Valley and south-west Wiltshire ~ this online reference source shares Danny Howell's fascinating collections of archives, ephemera, photographs, film, tape-recordings and books, plus new work in progress and much much more . . . . including his family tree, his autobiographical notes and things that interest him generally!