21st Nov, 2024 10:00
Military & Aviation History, Medals & Militaria, The Bill Townsend Dambusters Collection
Gallipoli. WWI C.G.M. group awarded to Petty Officer Frederick Gibson, C.G.M., M.I.D., Royal Navy
Estimated at £20,000 - £25,000The historically important WWI ‘Gallipoli Landings, “V” Beach’ C.G.M. medal group awarded to Petty Officer Frederick Gibson, C.G.M., M.I.D., Royal Navy. Gibson, on seeing that the landing bridge from the River Clyde didn’t reach the shore, jumped overboard from his ship H.M.S. Albion and, under heavy enemy fire, transported multiple wounded men back to River Clyde in a rowing boat. On his second trip to the beach, he grabbed a tin of biscuits and used this to protect his back; the tin was hit three times
a) Conspicuous Gallantry Medal, G.V.R. (191025. F. Gibson. P.O.2Cl. H.M.S. Albion.)
b) 1914-15 Star (191025. F. Gibson. C.G.M., P.O.1.R.N.)
c) British War and Victory Medals (191025. F. Gibson. P.O.1. R.N), with M.I.D. oakleaves
d) Royal Fleet Reserve Long Service Medal, G.V.R. (191025 (Ch.B. 3829) F. Gibson. P.O. R.F.R.)
e) France, Médaille Militaire, silver and enamel, polished, very fine or better, presented in a 'Spink' glazed case with biographical information and copied photographs of both River Clyde and HMS Albion, to verso, case size 45.5 x 43 cm
(Quantity: 6)
C.G.M. London Gazette: 13 August 1915 Gallipoli Campaign, Landings
Petty Officer, Second Class, Frederick Gibson, H.M.S. Albion
'He jumped overboard with a line and got his boat beached to complete bridge from 'River Clyde' to shore. He then took wounded to 'River Clyde' under heavy fire'
Médaille Militaire London Gazette: 28 August 1918
Gallipoli Campaign - Landings 25 and 26 April 1915
The landing commenced at 4.20 am on the 25th. The general scheme was as follows. Two main landings to take place, the first at a point just north of Gaba Tepe, the second on the southern end of the peninsula. In addition, a landing was to be made at Kum Kale, and a demonstration in force was to be carried out in the Gulf of Xeros near Bulair.
Landing at "V" Beach
This beach was anticipated to be the most difficult to capture, it possessed all the advantages for defence that "W" beach had (1st Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers had embarked for "W" beach in HMS Euryalus and Implacable. The regiment had come under heavy fire from the enemy suffering many casualties). In addition, the flanks were strongly guarded by the old castle and village of Seddul Barhr on "V" beach, the whole foreshore was covered in barbed wire entanglements which extended in places under the sea. The position formed a natural amphitheatre with the stage being the beach.
The first landing here, as at all the other beaches ("W", "X", "Y" beaches) was made in boats, but the experiment was tried of landing the remainder of the force by means of a collier River Clyde. This steamer had been specially prepared for this occasion under the direction of Commander Edward Unwin V.C., large ports had been cut in her sides and gangways built whereby the troops could reach the lighters which were to form a bridge onto the beach.
"V" beach was subjected to a heavy bombardment similar to "W" beach, with the first attempt to land being met with heavy fire from rifle, pom-pom and machine gun, which was not opened until the boats had cast off from the steamboats.
A landing on the flanks on this beach was impossible and practically all of the first wave was either killed or wounded, though a few managed to find shelter under a bank on the beach. In several boats all were either killed or wounded. Immediately after the boats had reached the beach the River Clyde was run ashore under heavy fire on the eastern end section.
As the River Clyde grounded, the lighters which were to form the bridge to the shore were run ahead of the collier but unfortunately, they failed to reach their proper stations and a gap was left between two lighters over which it was impossible for men to cross, some men attempted to land by jumping from the lighter and wading to shore. This method proved too costly with the lighter being heaped with dead and the disembarkation was ordered to cease.
The troops in the River Clyde were protected from rifle and machine-gun fire. Commander Unwin, seeing how things were going left the River Clyde and standing up to his waist in water under heavy fire, got the lighters into position.
The bridge to the shore, though now passable, could not be used by the troops, anyone appearing on it being instantly shot, and the men in the River Clyde remained until nightfall.
At 9.50am HMS Albion sent in launch and pinnace (ship's boat) manned by volunteer crews to assist in completing the bridge, these boats, however, could not be got into position until dark owing to heavy fire.
It had already been decided not to continue to disembark on "V" beach, and all other troops were diverted to "W" beach. The position remained unchanged on "V" beach throughout the day, the remaining crew of River Clyde did their utmost to keep down the fire directed on the men under the partial shelter on the beach.
During this period many heroic deeds were performed in rescuing wounded men from the water.
During the night of the 25-26th, the troops in River Clyde were able to disembark under cover of darkness and obtain some shelter on the beach and in the village of Seddul Bahr, this was proceeded by heavy fighting. The fight continued, supported by gunfire from HMS Albion until 1.24 pm, when the troops had gained a position from Hill 141. The hill was gallantly stormed by the troops led by Lieutenant-Colonel C.H.H. Doughty-Wylie, who fell as the position was won. The taking of this hill effectively cleared the enemy from the neighbourhood of the "V" beach, which could now be used for the disembarkation of the Allied armies. The capture of this beach called for a display of the utmost gallantry and perseverance from the officers and men of both services.
Frederick Gibson was born in Reed Street, West Hartlepool, Durham in 1880. He was a wagonway man at Littleburn Brandon and Wingate Collieries before joining the Royal Navy in 1898 for a period of 12 years. He served in various ships, his first being HMS Impregnable from 1896-97, followed by 8 further ships up to 1906. He then rejoined the Royal Naval Reserve at Chatham in March 1906 and re-enrolled in 1910 to 1916. His service saw him serve in HMS Prince George in 1914, Albion from 17 August 1914 to 18 May 1916, and 3 further ships, his last being HMS Pembroke I on 26 December 1918.
Gibson distinguished himself during the Gallipoli landings when he and Ordinary Seaman Jesse Lovelock got the boats into position and also assisted in getting the wounded from "V" beach and the lighters back into the River Clyde. Gibson jumped from HMS Albion with a line and beached his boat to complete the bridge from the River Clyde to shore. He then took the wounded to River Clyde under heavy fire. Both men were awarded the rare and historically important Conspicuous Gallantry Medal.
A report in the Northern Daily Mail on 1 November 1915, incorrectly headlined 'Wingate man wins the V.C.', gives a first-hand account of the action by Gibson.
"I volunteered to go in and try to get a better landing stage rigged to get the soldiers ashore, but the firing was too heavy: it was impossible for me and my men and a soldier wounded in my boat within a few minutes of my arrival. I saw soldiers leave the River Clyde - only two got safely on the beach.
I busied myself doing what I could amongst the wounded dressing wounds, getting some out of the water etc, but I had to give up the work, not that I valued my own life, a thing I never thought of at the time, but the enemy had shot two of the wounded whom I had already got out of the water. One bullet shaved my hair, while another grazed my little finger. After that I had 13 wounded and seven dead in two boats put into my care for transmission to the hospital ship.
I received my thanks from the wounded and was also cheered. This seemed to give me the strength of a lion. Where I got my strength from to handle the helpless and wounded God only knows.
An officer, with two men, brought a boat to me, and we managed to get 11 off and safely back to the River Clyde. When rowing back the second time I placed a large box full of biscuits at my back safety. The box got three bullets into it.
My narrowest escape on the shore was when I left the boat. I took a few of our soldiers by surprise, for I was the only person on the beach wearing blue clothes and my black silk handkerchief was over my head to keep the sun off. One of our soldiers, thinking I was one of the enemy aimed his rifle at me, and had his bayonet fixed.
As luck would have it I was close enough to him to knock his rifle into the air. At the same time clicked off my silk handkerchief and the mistake was discovered."
You can make a purchase at Dominic Winter Auctioneers by using any of the following methods:
In person: Being present at the auction provides the convenience of being able to remove the lots that you have purchased when the sale ends, provided you choose to pay by credit or debit card, guaranteed cheque or cash.
Online bidding: You can bid live online at our auctions via our own website (dominicwinter.co.uk) after completing the registration process or alternatively you can live bid on the-saleroom.com or invaluable.com
Please note successful bids made via live bidding cannot be invoiced or paid for until the day after an auction. A live bidding fee of 3% + VAT (Dominic Winter website or Invaluable.com) or 4.95% + VAT (the-saleroom) will be added to your invoice.
Commission bid: Also called an 'Absentee bid'. A member of our staff will bid on your behalf and attempt to purchase the lot as cheaply as is permitted by other bids or reserves. Commission bids can be posted, faxed or emailed to us (please remember to provide your full name and address), or you can enter a bid on our website after completing the registration process.
Telephone bid: You can contact our office to arrange a telephone bid. A member of our staff will telephone you a few minutes before bidding commences on your specified lot and will bid on your behalf, according to your instructions. This service is only available on lots with a minimum pre-sale estimated value of £300.
Auction: Military & Aviation History, Medals & Militaria, The Bill Townsend Dambusters Collection, 21st Nov, 2024
Dominic Winter (Auctioneers) Ltd
Conditions Of Sale And Business
Terms and Conditions of Sale
1. (a) Dominic Winter (Auctioneers) Ltd ("the Auctioneer") sells as agents for the seller (except where otherwise stated) and as such is not responsible for any default by buyer or seller.
(b) The Seller warrants to the Auctioneer and to the buyer that he is the true owner or is properly authorised to sell the property by the true owner and is able to transfer good and marketable title to the property free from any third party claims.
2. (a) The highest bidder to be the buyer. If during the auction the Auctioneer considers that a dispute has arisen he has absolute authority to settle it or to re-offer the lot. The auctioneer may at his sole discretion determine the advance of bidding or refuse a bid, divide any lot, combine any two or more lots or withdraw any lot without prior notice.
(b) Where goods are bought at auction by a buyer who has entered into an agreement with another or others that the other or others (or some of them) shall abstain from bidding for the goods and the buyer or other party or one of the other parties is a dealer as defined in the Auctions (Bidding Agreements) Act 1927 and 1969 the buyer warrants that the goods are bought bona fide on a joint account.
3. The buyer shall pay the price at which a lot is knocked down by the Auctioneer to the buyer ("the hammer price") together with a premium of 22% except those lots asterisked (*) in the title, in which case the buyer's premium is 26.4% inclusive of VAT. By making any bid the buyer acknowledges that his/her attention has been drawn to the fact that on the sale of any lot the Auctioneer will receive from the seller commission at its usual rates in addition to the said premium and assents to the Auctioneer receiving the said Commission.
4. (a) The buyer shall forthwith upon the purchase give his name and permanent address together with proof of identity and pay the Auctioneer immediately after the conclusion of the auction the total sum due.
(b) The buyer may be required to pay down during the course of the sale the whole or any part of the total sum due, and if he fails to do so after such request the lot or lots may at the Auctioneer's absolute discretion be put up again and resold immediately.
(c) The buyer shall at his own expense take away any lot or lots purchased no later than five working days after the auction day.
(d) The Auctioneer may at his discretion agree credit terms with a buyer and extend the time limits for collection in special cases but otherwise payment shall be deemed to have been made only after the Auctioneer has received cash or funds by bank transfer or a sterling banker's draft or the buyer's cheque or debit/credit card payment has been cleared.
(e) All sums due to the Auctioneer shall be paid as shown and he reserves the right to charge interest which shall accrue at the rate of 4% over such base lending rate of National Westminster Bank Plc as shall be in force at the date that interest becomes due, such sum to be calculated per annum from day to day on all amounts due but unpaid. This right shall be exercisable without prejudice to any other right of the Auctioneer.
5. (a) If the buyer fails to pay for or take away any lots pursuant to clause 4 or breaches any other condition of that clause the Auctioneer as agent for the seller shall be entitled after consultation with the seller to exercise one or other of the following rights:
(i) Rescind the sale of that or any other lots sold to the buyer who defaults and re-sell the lot or lots whereupon the defaulting buyer shall pay to the Auctioneer any shortfall between the proceeds of that sale after deduction of costs or re-sale and the total sum due. Any surplus shall belong to the seller.
(ii) Proceed for damages for breach of contract.
(b) Without prejudice to the Auctioneer's rights hereunder if any lot or lots are not collected within five days or such longer period as the Auctioneer may have agreed otherwise, the Auctioneer may charge the buyer a storage charge up to £1.00 per lot per day.
6. (a) The seller shall be entitled to place a reserve on any lot and the Auctioneer shall have the right to bid on behalf of the seller for any lot on which a reserve has been placed. A seller may not bid on any lot on which he has placed a reserve.
(b) Where any lot fails to sell, the Auctioneer shall notify the seller accordingly. The seller shall make arrangements either to re-offer the lot for sale or to collect the lot and may be asked to pay a commission not exceeding 50% of the selling commission and any special expenses incurred in cataloguing the lot.
(c) If such arrangements are not made within seven days of the notification the Auctioneer is empowered to sell the lot without reserve by auction or by private treaty and to receive from the seller the normal selling commission and special expenses.
7. Any representation or statement by the Auctioneer in any catalogue, brochure or advertisement of forthcoming sales as to authorship, attribution, genuineness, origin, date, age, provenance, condition or estimated selling price is a statement of opinion only. Every person interested should exercise and rely on his own judgement as to such matters and neither the Auctioneer nor his servants or agents are responsible for the correctness of such opinions. No warranty whatsoever is given by the Auctioneer or the seller in respect of any lot and any express or implied warranties are hereby excluded.
8. (a) Notwithstanding any other terms of these conditions, if within fourteen days of the sale the Auctioneer has received from the buyer of any lot notice in writing that in his/her view the lot is a deliberate forgery and within fourteen days after such notification the buyer returns the same to the Auctioneer in the same condition as at the time of the sale and satisfies the Auctioneer that considered in the light of the entry in the catalogue the lot is a deliberate forgery then the sale of the lot will be rescinded and the purchase price of the same refunded. "A deliberate forgery" means a lot made with intention to deceive.
(b) A buyer's claim under this condition shall be limited to any amount paid to the Auctioneer for the lot and for the purpose of this condition the buyer shall be the person to whom the original invoice was made out by the Auctioneer.
9. Lots may be removed during the sale after full settlement in accordance with 4.d. hereof.
10. All goods delivered to the Auctioneer's premises will be deemed to be delivered for sale by auction unless otherwise stated in writing and will be catalogued and sold at the Auctioneer's discretion and accepted by the Auctioneer subject to all these conditions. In the case of miscellaneous books, maps and other items, the Auctioneer reserves the right to extract and dispose of items that, in the opinion of the Auctioneer at his absolute discretion, have no saleable value and, therefore, might detract from the saleability of the rest of the lot and the Auctioneer shall incur no liability to the seller in respect of the items disposed of. By delivering the goods to the auctioneer for inclusion in his auction sales each seller acknowledges that he/she accepts and agrees to all the conditions.
11. (a) Unless otherwise instructed in writing, all goods on the Auctioneer's premises and in his custody will be held insured against the risk of fire, burglary, water damage and accidental breakage or damage. The value of the goods so covered will be the hammer price, or in the case of unsold lots the lower estimate, or in the case of loss or damage prior to the sale that which the specialist staff of the Auctioneer shall in their absolute discretion estimate to be the auction value of such goods.
(b) The Auctioneer shall not be responsible for damage to or the loss, theft, or destruction of any goods not so insured because of the seller's written instructions whether caused by negligence or otherwise.
(c) Any liability of the Auctioneer for any claim arising from loss or damage of any kind in respect of goods whether caused by negligence or otherwise including any claims for compensation will be limited to the amount of insurance cover effected in accordance with the provisions of clause 11.a. above.
12. The Auctioneer shall remit the proceeds of the sale to the seller thirty days after the date of the auction provided that the Auctioneer has received the total sum due from the buyer. In all other cases the Auctioneer will remit the proceeds of the sale to the seller within seven days of the receipt by the Auctioneer of the total sum due. The Auctioneer will not be deemed to have received the total sum due until after any funds received from the buyer have cleared. In the event of the Auctioneer exercising his right to rescind the sale his obligation to the seller hereunder lapses.
13. In the case of the seller withdrawing instructions to the Auctioneer to sell any lot or lots, the Auctioneer may charge the seller a fee of 12.5% of the Auctioneer's middle estimate of the auction price of the lot withdrawn together with Value Added Tax thereon and any expenses incurred in respect of the lot or lots.
14. If, on collation, any named items in the catalogue prove defective, in text or illustration, the buyer may reject the lot provided he/she returns it within fourteen days stating the defect in writing. This however will not apply in the case of unnamed items, periodicals, autograph letters, manuscripts, music, maps, atlases, prints or drawings, nor in respect of damage to bindings, stains, foxing, marginal wormholes or other defects not affecting the completeness of the text, nor in respect of lack of list of plates, inserted advertisements, cancels or subsequently published volumes, supplements, appendices or plates or error in the enumerating of the plates, nor in respect of defects mentioned in the catalogue or announced at the time of sale.
15. The Auctioneer accepts no responsibility in connection with the commissioning of his staff to bid for any lots. Reserves, and commission bids given by telephone are accepted only at the sender's risk and must be confirmed in writing before the date of the sale. Lots will always be bought as cheaply as is allowed by other bids and such reserves as are on our books.
16. Buyers are advised that a storage charge of £1.00 per lot per day plus Value Added Tax at the current rate will be levied on all purchases not cleared within fourteen working days of the sale. After this period the buyer will be responsible for loss or damage.
17. Artist's Resale Rights ("Droit de Suite"). Lots marked with "AR" or another appropriate symbol and referenced as such in the catalogue are subject to the Artist's Resale Right law. The buyer agrees to pay the Auctioneer an amount equal to the resale royalty and the Auctioneer will pay such amount to the artist's collecting agent. Resale royalty applies where the Hammer Price is 1,000 Euro or more and the amount cannot be more than 12,500 Euro per lot.
The amount is calculated as follows:
Royalty For the portion of the Hammer Price (in Euro)
4.00% up to 50,000
3.00% between 50,000.01 and 200,000
1.00% between 200,000.01 and 350,000
0.50% between 350,000.01 and 500,000
0.25% in excess of 500,000
Invoices will be issued in Pounds Sterling. For the purposes of calculating the resale royalty the Pounds Sterling/Euro rate of exchange will be the European Central Bank reference rate on the day of the sale. Please refer to the DACS website www.dacs.org.uk for further details.
18. These conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English Law.
Buyer's Premium :
The buyer's premium is 22%, except those lots asterisked (*) in the title for which Value Added Tax (VAT) will be added to the premium, resulting in a buyer's premium of 26.4% inclusive of VAT. Eligible items include manuscripts, prints, photographs, drawings, framed maps, paintings, pens and other objects which are subject to VAT at a rate of 20% on the buyer's premium as part of the Auctioneers Margin Scheme. VAT zero-rated items such as books, unframed maps and albums are not subject to VAT on the buyer's premium.
Live Auction Charges
An additional commission of 3% plus VAT (3.6% inclusive of VAT) on the hammer price is payable if you use the live auction bidding facility on the Dominic Winter Auctioneers website (dominicwinter.co.uk). This charge will be added to your invoice automatically.
An additional commission of 4.95% plus VAT (5.94% inclusive of VAT) on the hammer price is payable if you use the live auction bidding facility on the ATG Media website (the-saleroom.com). This charge will be added to your invoice automatically.
An additional commission of 3% plus VAT (3.6% inclusive of VAT) on the hammer is payable if you use the live auction bidding facility on the Invaluable website (invaluable.com). This charge will be added to your invoice automatically.
Payment (UK Buyers)
Payment is preferred by direct Bank Transfer to our bank account. Our bank details will be supplied to you with your invoice.
Payment can be made in cash at the Cashier's Office, either during or after the sale. Alternatively, you can pay by cheque (Pounds Sterling only), please allow 5 working days for the cheque to clear before collection of goods.
Credit or Debit Card payments will not be accepted by telephone unless by prior arrangement with the auctioneers. Card payments can be made in person at our premises but must be accompanied by relevant ID confirming address details. We do not accept payments by American Express.
Payment (Overseas Buyers)
Payment must be made by direct Bank Transfer to our bank account. Our bank details will be supplied to you on your invoice. No card payments will be accepted unless by special prior arrangements with the auctioneers. All transfers must state the relevant invoice number. The amount we receive must be the total due after currency conversion and the deduction of any bank charges (normally £7).
UK Shipping
We are not specialist shippers. Some items, such as framed & glazed or fragile goods, will require specialist handling and buyers will be asked to use Mailboxes or RF Shipping Ltd. (details below).
For non-fragile items and items of reasonably small size, we offer an in-house packing and shipping facility for UK buyers. When possible, purchases will be sent by either Royal Mail Special Delivery or DPD overnight service. The charge for this service is variable (£15 minimum per parcel) and will be added to your invoice. Please note shipments to the Highlands and Islands may require shipment by courier and may be more expensive. Please contact us for a quote before bidding.
For larger packages and fragile goods, we recommend Mailboxes, Pack & Send or RF Shipping Ltd who will collect fully paid-for purchases from us twice a week and liaise with the buyer direct. For more information please contact Sarah Ball by telephone on +44 (0)1285 860006 or email sarah@dominicwinter.co.uk. These companies will require payment direct for their services.
