Orders, Decorations and Medals

Pair: Lieutenant F. B. Welch, General Staff and Intelligence Corps

British War and Victory Medals, M.I.D. oak leaf (Lieut.) extremely fine (2) £60-80

Francis Bertram Welch was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant (Interpreter) on 20 February 1916, aged 39 years. His address at the time was Wadham House, Cheltenham. He had studied at Magdalen College, Oxford and was qualified in French, German and Greek. By occupation he was a Schoolmaster but had earlier spent two years working for the British Museum in the Greek islands. With his knowledge in Greek he was posted to Army H.Q. (Salonika) based in Alexandria on 31 March 1916. In March 1917 he was posted as Intelligence Officer to the 16th Corps Cyclist Battalion. On 16 February 1917 he was appointed Temporary Lieutenant and on 12 July the same year was promoted to Local Captain without pay, to command the 10th Civil Labour Battalion. On 3 August 1918, after recovering from dysentery, he was posted to the Intelligence Branch, G.H.Q., reverting to his temporary rank of Lieutenant. For his services he was mentioned in despatches by Lieutenant-General Milne (London Gazette 11 June 1918).

On 19 October 1918 he was employed as an Interpreter in G.H.Q. Constantinople and on 4 March 1919 was appointed Agent 3rd Class (Class HH) in the Intelligence Corps “To complete the Establishment”. He was detailed to work on the Lines of Communication but on 17 April 1919 was posted to Athens and became Assistant Intelligence Officer to the Military Attaché, Brigadier-General W. E. Fairholm. Later in the year he returned to England, relinquishing his commission whilst retaining his rank on 10 October 1919. With copied m.i.c., gazette extract and service details.