Award of Croix de Guerre

[George Rayner]

ANy help gratefully received...

Is there a comprehensive list of British Officers who were awarded the French Croix de Guerre in WW1 please?

 

Specifically

Roland James Milleville Raven-Hart (Suffolk Regiment; Royal Engineers; Communications Officer

 

Much obliged

 

George

[ForeignGong]

Hi

The only listing is in the LG and I cannot find him nor do I have him listed in the few un gazetted awards I know of.

His service papers may have a mention of it. Quite a few were awarded and not gazetted.

If you do confirm him, can I ask that you let me know please, so I can add him to my database.

 

Thanks

Peter

[HarryBrook]

I agree with Peter regarding no LG notification for a French C de G but it may be of interest, if you do not already know, that he was twice M.i.D., both for Egypt.

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/31138/page/1157

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/31383/supplement/7183

[Interested]

My GF was awarded the Belgian CdG and I wrote via the Embassy for further details; they couldn't identify the reason for the award but sent me a photocopy of the entry in a list of other British soldiers who had received the award.  Not everything is on the Internet.

[Coldstreamer]

3 hours ago, Interested said:

My GF was awarded the Belgian CdG and I wrote via the Embassy for further details; they couldn't identify the reason for the award but sent me a photocopy of the entry in a list of other British soldiers who had received the award.  Not everything is on the Internet.

 

but was the award gazetted?

 

[George Rayner]

Thanks for your thoughts.

Peter-yes I will let you know if I confirm the award. He is a devilishly slippery character!

 

A letter to the French Embassy and a teacher colleague in Haut de France next I think

 

George

[Interested]

15 hours ago, Coldstreamer said:

but was the award gazetted?

Thanks for asking.  I've checked back through my file and I don't appear to have made any note to that effect; something for me to research, I suppose  I believe that the award was made 2nd or 3rd October  1916.

Did foreign awards appear in the Gazette?

Edited 6 April , 2021 by Interested
omission, typo

[Coldstreamer]

The majority did yes. 

[ForeignGong]

The LG was the authority to wear for military recipients. There are cases where military recipients have been given permission to accept and wear such as some Army Orders( AO466 was for the period 23 to 30 Aug 1914 and lists awards of the French Medaille Militaire) and Admiralty Orders,  (Admiralty Fleet Weekly Order No 1774 was for the Battle of Jutland) as an example. White Russian awards were issued under what is called the Confidential List for the military involved in the Russian Intervention 1918-20. These were given permission to wear but not gazetted for fear of upsetting the Reds.

 

Recipients from societies, such as St John, Red Cross, Scottish Women's Hospital etc., did not have to ask the War Office for permission but had to let the Foreign Office know. There are hundreds of FO files relating to these awards and they are not gazetted but the recipient is able to wear the award.

 

Some army recipients, who are not gazetted, have a reference in their service papers for foreign awards but as yet I have not been able to find an authority that states these people can officially wear the award. They can accept them only.

Good luck with your search.

 

Peter

Edited 6 April , 2021 by ForeignGong

[George Rayner]

Thanks for that information Peter.

 

Would be good to have a photo of Raven-Hart in uniform to see what ribbons he wore.

 

George