Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

The exceptional Belgian Congo U.N. Force M.C. group of six awarded to Lieutenant-Colonel D. F. “Frank” Edge, Lancashire Regiment, onetime attached Queen’s Own Nigeria Regiment, who in retirement rarely ventured from home on Friday the 13th - this being the date on which he was severely wounded winning his M.C. in a protracted firefight with Baluba tribesmen in the Belgian Congo in January 1961, so, too, the date on which he received shrapnel wounds in Aden

Military Cross, E.II.R., the reverse officially dated ‘1961’; General Service 1918-62, 1 clasp, Canal Zone (2 Lt. D. F. Edge, S. Lan. R.); U.N. Medal, clasp, Congo; General Service 1962, 1 clasp, South Arabia (Major D. F. Edge, M.C., Lan. R. (P.W.V.)); Cadet Forces Long Service, E.II.R. (Maj. D. F. Edge, M.C., A.C.F.); Nigeria Independence 1960, unnamed as issued, the second and fifth with named card boxes of issue, good very fine and better (6) £15000-20000

M.C. London Gazette 19 December 1961:

‘On 13 January 1961, ‘D’ Company, 4th Battalion, Queen’s Own Nigeria Regiment, under the command of Major Edge, took up positions covering an airstrip at Manono in North Katanga. An aircraft bringing in Moroccan reinforcements was heavily engaged from positions beyond the limits of the airstrip. The aircraft landed safely, but soon afterwards heavy fighting broke out. Early in the fighting Major Edge, who was directing operations from the control tower at the airstrip was very seriously wounded in the groin and lower abdomen. Despite the severity of his wound, he continued to control and direct his men by using a loud hailer. Finally, when a cease fire was arranged, and Major Edge was evacuated, his main concern was for the safety of his men and the care of the wounded. He set a magnificent example, and his courage and selfless devotion to duty inspired all those under his command.’

By way of career summary, the recipient’s Daily Telegraph obituary, which was published in July 2004, is quoted here in full:

‘Lieutenant-Colonel Frank Edge, who has died aged 73, was awarded an M.C. in 1961 while serving with a United Nations force in the Belgian Congo.

On Friday 13 January 1961, Edge, then serving as a Major, was a company commander in the 4th Battalion Queen's Own Nigeria Regiment. His unit had been sent to the Belgian Congo as part of a United Nations force, with the objective of helping to restore law, order and political stability to Katanga province, which had declared itself independent from the central government.

D Company, comprising 130 men, was based at Manono airfield, north Katanga. The Baluba tribesmen, who were loyal to the former Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, suspected that the U.N. aircraft which were bringing in reinforcements were in fact carrying gendarmes opposed to Lumumba.

The tribesmen's suspicions were groundless, but Edge's company became involved in a fierce gun battle with a force of 600 of them. Early in the fight, which lasted for six hours, Edge was shot in the stomach but, despite being severely wounded, he continued to direct operations from the airfield's control tower.

Bleeding heavily, he was exasperated when a native soldier who was close by his side made no effort to help him. "Don't just stand there," Edge yelled. "Do something!" The soldier made his apologies but explained that, for him, it was taboo to touch a dying man.

Nothing daunted, Edge continued to direct his men with the use of a loud-hailer until a cease-fire could be arranged. He was finally evacuated, bleeding badly, to the field hospital at Kamina for emergency surgery. His pilot during the flight was a Swedish count, Carl Gustav von Rosen, who was so impressed by the bravery of his passenger that he named his aircraft Major Edge of Manono.

The citation for Edge's M.C. stated that ‘despite his own very serious injuries, his main concern throughout was for the safety of his men and the care of the other wounded. He set a magnificent example and his courage and selfless devotion to duty inspired all those under his command.’

David Frank Edge was born of Welsh parents on March 18 1931 at Tidworth, Hampshire. He was educated at Greenhill Grammar School, Tenby, and at the Lewis School, Pengam, Cardiff. Among his classmates was the future fashion designer Mary Quant, whom he described as ‘only a moderate scholar, but stunningly good at art’.

In 1952, after his National Service, Edge was commissioned into the South Lancashire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Volunteers). He served in the Canal Zone as a platoon commander and subsequently as Intelligence Officer at H.Q. 3 Infantry Brigade.

The South Lancashire Regiment was amalgamated with the East Lancashire Regiment to form the Lancashire Regiment in 1958. That year, Edge was seconded to the Queen's Own Nigeria Regiment and posted to the 4th Battalion in Nigeria.

Edge returned to England in 1962 and attended the Royal Military College of Science, Shrivenham. After graduating, he moved to the Royal Armament Research and Development Establishment, Sevenoaks, where he specialised in the design and development of weapons systems; among his other projects, he played a leading role in the design of the new infantry combat rifle, the SA 80.

In 1967 Edge returned to active service as, a company commander of The Queen's Lancashire Regiment (P.W.V.) in Aden. Terrorists attacked his patrol with grenades - the date, as it had been in 1961, was Friday the 13th - and he suffered shrapnel wounds that put him in hospital.

Edge then served in a number of staff appointments in Hong Kong and Singapore before moving to the Ministry of Defence and subsequently Shape, by which time he had reached the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.

His last appointment was as G.S.O.1 (W) at the Proof and Experimental Establishment at Pendine, Dyfed. After retiring in 1981, he became cadet executive officer for the Dyfed Army Cadet Force, a position that he held for the next 15 years. He believed profoundly in the value of the Armed Services giving young people a positive start in life and found his work with the cadets highly satisfying.

Edge was a gentle, unassuming man who inspired great affection and loyalty. He was particularly proud of his grandchildren, and would form them up as an ad hoc platoon, equipped with cloth caps and walking sticks, and march them around the garden to collect kindling wood or loose apples. On Friday the 13th, however, he never ventured far from home.

He had a keen sense of fun and was a talented mimic; his Inspector Clouseau will remain an abiding memory for his family and friends. A natural optimist, he doggedly supported his local club, Cardiff City F.C., throughout their long years in the wilderness; their recent revival in fortune was a great joy to him.

Frank Edge, who died on July 3, married, in 1954, Pauline (Polly) Cowie. She survives him with their son and daughter. A second daughter predeceased him.’

Sold with the recipient’s light khaki uniform jacket, complete with aiguilette, medal ribands and Queen’s Lancashire Regiment badges and buttons, and his O.N.U. peaked cap, together with a large file of research which includes copies of original documents and photographs, together with recent correspondence.