Orders, Decorations & Medals - Australian Groups

Lot 1113    Session 5 (2:30pm Tuesday 26th July)    Orders, Decorations & Medals - Australian Groups

Estimate $20,000
Bid at live.noble.com.au

TRIO FOR AUSTRALIAN SUBMARINE AE1: 1914-15 Star; British War Medal 1914-18; Victory Medal 1914-19. O.N.7297 G.C.Corbould Ldg. Sea. On first medal, 7297 G.C.Corbould. Ldg. Smn. R.A.N. on last two medals. All medals impressed. In original boxes as delivered, uncirculated.

Note: Gordon Corbould was a member of the Australian Navy Contingent to the Coronation of King George V thus qualifying for the Coronation Medal 1911. Presumably he kept this in his possession in the event that he might have to wear it on official occasions that might arise and therefore it was with him when the submarine was lost.

Together with,
1. Memorial Plaque named to Gordon Clarence Corbould, W Woolwich mark on reverse and 10 with dot above 1 above lion's back paw, in original cardboard holder and original envelope bearing number 939137, this envelope with tears.
2. Booklet, hard cover and gold blocked title, 'Loss of Submarine A.E.1', inside is list of crew and also messages of sympathy from various governments, organisations and significant people, also the original Memorial Scroll named to 'Lg. Smn. G.C.Corbould H.M.A.Submarine E.1', and King George V printed message of sympathy.
3. Telegram dated at Epping 19 September 1914 from Captain Brownlow, District Naval Officer, Sydney, to Mrs Corbould, Asheldone, Essex St, Epping (this was the family home [photo included with lot]), advising 'that it is feared that submarine AE1 has been lost. Your son was on Board and in view of probability of loss of Vessel I desire to convey to you and yours the deepest sympathy and condolences of the Minister of Defence the Naval Boards and myself in your loss.' The writing on page one of the message is affected where it is obvious that Mrs Corbould's tears have dropped on the page as she read the sad words. The envelope for the telegram is also included.
4. Letter dated 11 October 1914 to Mrs Corbould from Mollie Patey on Admiralty House, Sydney letterhead. Mrs Patey was the wife of Admiral Sir George Patey, Commander of the Australian Naval & Miltary Expeditionary Force that captured German New Guinea. In her letter Mrs Patey advises Mrs Corbould of the details of what her husband had told her regarding the loss of AE1 and her hope that she is feeling better than when she last met her.
5. Various letters of condolences including from Epping Branch Red Cross Society; Sydney City Mission; Christ Church, Enmore.
6. Flodial compass by Short & Mason, c1915.
7. Large b&w photo (oval 35x27cm) of Gordon Corbould in navy uniform and with Submarine qualification badge on right arm, in decorative, shaped timber frame (63x53cm) with a small rectangular plaque fitted and inscribed, 'Gordon Clarence Corbould/Leading Seaman - Age 26/Lost A.E. 1 R.A.N./14th. Sept. 1914'. Also a small studio photo from which this large photo has been made.
8. Book titled 'Hymns for Infant Minds and Original Hymns for Sunday Schools' by Ann & Jane Taylor, London 1881, hard cover, 139pp, inside at front inscribed, 'Gordon Clarence Corbould/With his Aunt Charlotte's Kind love/ Christmas 1893'.
9. Letter handwritten in ink from Gordon to his mother on H.M.Submarine Depot, Fort Blockhouse, Gosport letterhead and dated 24th Feb 1913. In it he advises her of his promotion to Leading Seaman. He also mentions classing up for one month's course of theory on Submarines and also that he expects to go straight to Barrow-in-Furness straight after Easter leave to stand by our own Subs, but he does not think he will be coming home to Australia any time soon as they are no where ready and when they are they will need to go through an exhaustive series of trials.
10. Another hand-written letter from H.M.Submarine Depot dated 17th June 1913 in which, among other things, Gordon tells his mother that 'the latest buzzes that are going round, we will be leaving for Barrow at the end of this month to get our own Subs which are nearly ready for us & we leave in October for Australia.'
11. Large, material covered box containing numerous photos, letters of condolences on death of Gordon, postcards (many unused), and various other business documents all relating to the Corbould family, and also many other photos, newspaper cuttings and other documents including a hand drawn family tree going back to King Edward III of England, and a Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee tinnie, 1897, double sided with suspension ribbon. Also included is a large file of similar related Corbould family documents and newspaper cuttings, noted a photo of Mrs Corbould (Gordon's mother), and a 4-page illustrated letter dated Feb 28th 1909 with one of the illustrations being that of a naval rating.
12. The Sydney City Mission Herald, December 1, 1914 with a feature including photo of Gordon Corbould on page 11.
13. Combined Churches - Epping - Memorial Service programme for Ceremony of Unveiling of Monument to the Fallen which bears among its inscriptions the name, 'G.Corbould'.
14. The Times magazine Part 42 Vol 4 June 8 1915, History of the War, devoted entirely to The Submarine and its Work, with a photo of Lt-Com N.D.Holbrook VC (Submarine B11) on the cover, pp81-120.
15. Large book titled, The Corbould Genealogy', by George C.B.Poulter, 1935, hard cover, 167pp.

Gordon Clarence Corbould was born 10Apr1887 at Strawberry Hills, Surry Hills, Sydney, NSW; Enl.30Sep1908 in RN for 5 years; on 08Dec1910 as Able Seaman on HMS Challenger agreed to serve for a further 5 years from that date; he served with RN service no.1090; he entered the RAN on 17Dec1912 for a period of 7 years under no.7297 with units, ANF (Australasian Naval Forces comprising Australians and New Zealanders who had joined the RN), RAN, AE1; prior to WW1 Gordon went to England for higher ratings training and while there he joined the submarine service; posted at London Depot from 17Dec1912 to 27Feb1914 during the construction and trials of the Australian submarines; he returned to Australia when submarines AE1 and AE2 sailed from the UK on 28 February 1914 and arrived in Sydney on 24 May 1914.

When Gordon returned in May, one tribute stated that when he came home to his mother and sister he was 'a manly man, six feet tall, broadened out, and as handsome as ever, brace as a lion, and God-fearing, knowing that at any moment he might be called upon for real war.' Gordon had some illustrious forbears including a great uncle, Admiral Sir James Scott, whose services secured him the thanks of both Houses of Parliament and at his death honourable burial at St Paul's Cathedral, London. His grandfather, Richard Chilton Corbould was an artist of Kensington and a great uncle, Edward Henry Corbould, was another artist of note whose painting 'Lady Godiva' was placed in the Sydney Art Gallery.

Died in accidental loss of AE1 in St George's Channel, New Pomerania, Bismarck Archipelago, German New Guinea on 14Sep1914.

Commemorated in the Commemorative Area at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra, also at the Monument to the Fallen at Epping, Sydney, NSW and at Plymouth Naval Memorial, Plymouth, Devon, England.

Submarine AE1 was the first of two E Class submarines built for the newly formed Royal Australian Navy and was commissioned at Portsmouth, England on 28 February 1914. She sailed from England to Australia with her sister ship AE2 and arrived at Sydney on 24 May 1914. She was crewed with a mixture of Australian RAN sailors and British RN on attachment, all under the command of British officers on loan to the RAN. When WWI broke out AE1 and 2 joined with the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force assigned to capture the German Pacific colonies and both took part in the operations that led to the Australian occupation of German New Guinea when the German forces at Rabaul surrendered on 13 September 1914.

The following day the destroyer HMAS Parramatta rendezvoused with AE1 off Herbertshohe at 8.00am and exchanged signals before proceeding to Cape Gazelle. The ships arrived at about 9.00am and again had an exchange of signals with Parramatta advising AE1 that her orders were 'to search to the south'ard with submarine and anchor off Herbertshohe at 5.30pm'.

Parramatta then proceeded independently in a southerly direction while AE1 advanced in a north-easterly direction. The weather was hazy and visibility was observed to be about 9 to 10 nautical miles, at times decreasing to 5 miles. Parramatta reported that AE1 was obscured by the haze for some time, as was the nearest land. Because of these conditions, Parramatta's Captain, Lieutenant W.H.F.Warren, RAN, considered it advisable not to lose sight of the submarine for too long.

At 12.30pm Parramatta turned to the north-west and by 2.30pm she was close to AE1 when the submarine asked by signal: 'What is the distance of visibility?' Parramatta responded: 'About 5 miles'. At 3.20pm Parramatta lost sight of AE1 and despite heading to her last known location no sign of AE1 was found. Parramatta was operating under the assumption that AE1 had returned to Herbertshohe. Parramatta later anchored off Herbertshohe at 7.00pm but by 8.00pm the submarine had not returned and Parramatta and HMAS Yarra were ordered to search for her. HMAS Sydney, also heading to the area was instructed to keep a lookout and later HMA Ships Encounter and Warrego also joined the search together with launches from Rabaul and Herbertshohe. No trace of AE1 was ever found, not even a shimmer of escaping oil on the water which would indicate some mishap.

The loss of AE1 with her entire complement of 3 officers and 32 sailors was the RAN's first major loss of WWI and it marred an otherwise successful operation to seize the German possession in New Guinea and the South Pacific. It is not known what caused AE1 to disappear without trace. The area where she disappeared has many deep water areas and there is much volcanic activity throughout the region which has an affect on instruments used to locate wrecks and there are presumed to be many other wrecks in the region from WWII action. Despite several searches to locate her none have been successful. AE1 was finally recognised for her service with the retrospective award in 2010 of the battle honour 'Rabaul 1914'.

The crew lost on AE1 comprised 3 officers of the Royal Navy, and the ratings included 16 other RN serving with RAN, 1 RN on loan to RAN and 15 RAN, the nationalities being 20 Great Britain, 14 Australian and 1 New Zealand.

There is a stained glass window at the naval chapel at Garden Island commemorating the WWI loss of both AE1 and AE2. There is also a floating structure to AE1 outside the Australian National Maritime Museum at Darling Harbour, Sydney.

See lot 144.