Lot 4013

Description

Pair: The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (type 1) (Member) (Civil); Colonial Auxiliary Forces Decoration (EVIIR), with pin-back ribbon suspender. First medal unnamed as issued, Captain W.H.Osborne on second medal. The named medal engraved. Extremely fine.

MBE (Civil): LG 19/10/1920, p10097 to Col William Henry Osborne, Asst Secretary of the Department of Defence.
CAFD: CAG No.91 7/11/1914, p2483 to Capt. W.H. Osborne Aust. Engrs 3rd M.D.
Also entitled to Colonial Auxiliary Forces Long Service Medal.
CAFLSM: CAG No.50 6/8/1910, p1367 to Capt. W.H. Osborne Corps of Aust. Engrs.
William Henry Osborne was one of three Engineer Militia officers conducting Submarine Mining training in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria. He also trained at Swan Island Fort with No. 2 Submarine Mining Coy. During WWI he was involved in Home Defence including organisation of the Cadet system and Rifle Ranges. He was awarded an MBE on 19 October 1920 as Assistant Secretary, Department of Defence. William Henry Osborne MBE, VD died at Warragul, Victoria on 16 March 1948.
The following report was published in The Sun News-Pictorial, Melbourne, Victoria on Friday 16 March 1923 on page 6.
Controlling the Riflemen
The new secretary of the Commonwealth Council of Rifle Associations (Lieut.-Colonel Osborne, M.B.E., V.D.), has had long association with rifle-shooting, and probably has had the best experience of any Australian in its control. First he was a musketry instructor. Then as C.O. of the Submarine Miners, he led a winning team in the Tulloch match. When the Boer War gave such an impetus to shooting that Victorian clubs increased to 400, he became first supervisor under Colonel Templeton. Later he was private secretary to Lord Forrest and Sir Wm. Lyne. Colonel Osborne succeeded Colonel Boam as Director of Rifle Association and Rifle Clubs, which he relinquished under the recent retrenchment. He is on the retired list of officers.
With research including extensive history of Australian Engineers involvement in Submarine Mining and an 1880-81 Victoria Torpedo Report of the enquiry into the circumstances connected with, and to discover the cause of, the fatal accident to a boat's crew of the "Cerberus", at Queenscliff, by the explosion of a torpedo.