Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Seven: Miss Emily Georgiana Kemp, F.R.S.G.S., ‘Adventurer and Sinophile’ - late Directrice of the French Red Cross

British War and Victory Medals (E. G. Kemp); France, Medal of Honour (2), Ministry of War for Epidemics, silver, reverse embossed, ‘Miss E. G. Kemp 1919’, both in cases of issue with lids inscribed, ‘Ministère de la Guerre Miss E. G. Kemp 1919’; France, Medal of Gratitude (2), bronze, unnamed; France, Geographical Society, Gold Medal, 50mm., silver-gilt, reverse embossed, ‘Mlle Kemp Chinese Mettle 1922’, in fitted case of issue, extremely fine (7) £300-400

Emily Georgiana Kemp (1860-1939) was a remarkable British female adventurer, artist, writer and celebrated 'Sinophile'. Her love and interest for China never waned, and is the more remarkable when one considers that a sister, brother-in-law and nephew were collectively butchered by members of the 'Harmonious Fists Society', a.k.a. 'Boxers', during the 1900 'Boxer Rebellion' in China. Indeed Emily's epitaph as recorded on her plaque at Somerville College, Oxford is simply 'Friend of China'.

Emily Kemp was a Baptist from a wealthy Lancashire industrialist family - her brother was Lord Rochadale. In her youth Emily was one of the first female students at Somerville College, Oxford. After Oxford, she continued her studies at the Slade School of Fine Art. However, it was for her travels in Central-Asia and the Far East that she is best remembered, having made at least two crossings of the Pamirs and many other journey's to China, Korea, India, Central Asia and the Amazon, during which she sketched, painted and wrote down her experiences and observations, with a focus on the education and welfare of women, and their role in religion.

She was friendly with the theologian Marcus Dods, the explorer Francis Younghusband and Albert Schweitzer. She donated the chapel at Somerville College as a "house of prayer for all people" (i.e., non-denominational, and for all religions).

Appointed a Fellow of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, her highest award came from the worlds oldest geographic society, that of France, when she was awarded the Grande Médaille de Vermeil by the French Geographical Society for her seminal work 'Chinese Mettle'.

Emily bequeathed her extensive archives of papers, paintings and Chinese art to the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

A prolific writer and published author, Emily wrote numerous books, including: The Face of China (1909); The Face of Manchuria, Korea and Russian Turkestan (1910); Wanderings in Chinese Turkestan (1914); Reminiscences of a Sister, S. Florence Edwards, of Taiyuanfu (1920); Chinese Mettle (1921); There Followed Him, Women (1927).