An extremely rare Second World War D.S.O. and Bar, inter-war O.B.E. group of ten awarded to Captain G. F. Stevens-Guille, Royal Navy, who won his first D.S.O. for services as Senior Officer of an Escort Group in 1939, and a Bar for his command of the destroyer Codrington at Dunkirk, thereby becoming the Navy’s first “Double D.S.O.” of the War - among those he embarked in the course of operation “Dynamo” was a certain Major-General B. L. Montgomery

Distinguished Service Order, G.VI.R., 1st issue, with Second Award Bar, silver-gilt and enamel, the reverse of the lower suspension bar officially dated ‘1939’ and the reverse of the Bar ‘1940’; The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, O.B.E. (Military) Officer’s 1st type breast badge, silver-gilt, hallmarks for London 1930; 1914-15 Star (Mid. G. F. Stevens-Guille, R.N.); British War and Victory Medals (S. Lt. G. F. Stevens-Guille, R.N.); 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Italy Star; Defence and War Medals, M.I.D. oak leaf, together with a set of related Great War period dress miniatures (4), generally good very fine or better (14) £6000-8000

D.S.O. London Gazette 1 January 1940:
‘For faithful devotion to the hazardous duty of escorting and protecting other ships from the violence of the enemy.’

Bar to D.S.O. London Gazette 7 June 1940:
‘For good services in the withdrawal of the Allied Armies from the beaches of Dunkirk.’

The original recommendation states:
‘During the period 28 May-3 June 1940, H.M.S. Codrington made seven trips to Dunkirk, five being to the beaches, and brought home a total of about 6175 troops. Although several times attacked by aircraft and on several occasions under gun fire from shore batteries, Codrington was not hit and suffered no damage.’

O.B.E. London Gazette 3 June 1931.

Mention in despatches London Gazette 23 January 1945.
‘For distinguished service in the planning and execution of amphibious operations in the Mediterranean.’

George Frederick Stevens-Guille, who was born in December 1898, the son of a clergyman from Guernsey, entered the Royal Navy as a cadet in September 1911 and was appointed a Midshipman in the battleship Glory in October 1914. Removing to the Royal Oak in April 1916, in which battleship he was present at Jutland, and advanced to Sub. Lieutenant in March 1917, he joined the torpedo boat destroyer Ferret in June of the latter year, in which capacity he served until the end of the War. Shortly thereafter he attended a course at Cambridge University, but was admitted to the R.N.H. Plymouth with gunshot wounds to his right arm in January 1919 - luckily not of too serious nature for he was back at sea in the Marksman by August of the same year.

Advanced to Lieutenant-Commander in February 1927 and to Commander in December 1931, shortly after being awarded his O.B.E., he was serving as Senior Officer of the 1st Anti-Submarine Flotilla at Portland on the renewal of hostilities, in command of the sloop H.M.S. Bittern.

Quickly ordered to Rosyth, home of the 15th Destroyer Flotilla, he was actively engaged in a spate of coastal convoys between September and November 1939, gallant and demanding work that won him his first D.S.O. Thus convoys F.S. 5 and F.N. 6 in September, when Bittern stopped to pick-up survivors from the mined City of Paris and delivered a depth-charge attack on the 17th; convoy F.S. 20 in mid-October, when Bittern engaged enemy aircraft and delivered further depth-charge attacks; convoys F.S. 24 and F.N. 25 in late October, with further action being taken by Bittern against enemy bombers; convoys F.S. 29 and F.N. 30, and F.N. 32 and F.N. 33, in early November, the latter witnessing at least one engagement with a prowling Dornier; convoys F.S. 37 and F.N. 38 in mid-November, and convoys F.S. 40 and F.N. 41 at the end of that month, the latter witnessing the mining of the S.S. Hookwood on the 23rd, and Bittern once more stopping to pick up survivors.

Stevens-Guille was advanced to Captain in December 1939 and received his D.S.O. at an investiture held on 5 March 1940 - one of the very first such decorations of the entire War, just a dozen or so other R.N. recipients having been gazetted beforehand in December 1939. A brief period of command ensued in the destroyer Duncan, but in mid-May 1940 he removed to the flotilla leader Codrington, in which ship he would quickly win a Bar to his D.S.O., the relevant operations commencing on the 28th, when he oversaw the rescue of 32 survivors from the torpedoed Aboukir in the North Sea, following which Codrington proceeded to Dunkirk’s East Mole. Thereafter, over the coming week, she carried out a punishing agenda of return trips to Dover, eventually bringing back over 6,000 troops, among them Major-General B. L. Montgomery:

‘Saturday 1 June: Secured alongside eastern pier, Dunkirk, at 0525 hours. Embarked about 500 troops, including Major-General B. L. Montgomery, temporarily commanding a corps. The latter informed me that embarkation at Braye had been very difficult due to the pier being unsuitable. While in Dunkirk harbour low cloud persisted and several low bombing attacks took place ... one Heinkel was brought down apparently by the fire of Codrington and another destroyer’ (Stevens-Guille’s official operation “Dynamo” report referes).

He was awarded a Bar to his D.S.O., thereby becoming the Navy’s first “Double D.S.O.” of the War.

Codrington having then been bombed and sunk off Dover in the following month, he came ashore to take up an appointment in Victory, with effect from August 1940, about the time he attended his second Buckingham Palace investiture.

Returning to sea with command of the cruiser Cardiff in February 1942, he removed to the Durban that September and thence to the Algiers base Hannibal in December 1943. Then in the following year he joined the staff of Byrsa, the R.N. base at Bougie, North Africa, which establishment removed to Naples at the end of 1943 - an appointment that would have witnessed him planning amphibious operations in the Mediterranean, not least for the Sicily and South of France landings, for which he won his “mention”.

From June 1946, Stevens-Guille commanded the training establishment Raleigh, and he was placed on the Retired List in January 1949, having latterly been appointed an A.D.C. to H.M. the King - original letter of notification, dated in August 1948, refers.

Sold with a small quantity of other original documentation, including the recipient’s original M.I.D. certificate, in the name of ‘Captain George Frederick Stevens-Guille, D.S.O., O.B.E., R.N., H.M.S. Byrsa’ and dated 23 January 1945, together with his 1939-45 War campaign award forwarding slip and a quantity of his calling cards; and one or two items of uniform, including a fine pair of Captain, R.N’s full-dress epaulettes, by Gieves.