Auction Catalogue

19 & 20 July 2017

Starting at 10:00 AM

.

Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Live Online Auction

Download Images

Lot

№ 407

.

19 July 2017

Estimate: £140–£180

A well-documented Great War pair awarded to Driver L. C. Venning, Honourable Artillery Company Artillery, who survived the sinking of the troopship Arcadian when she was torpedoed and sank within five minutes in the Mediterranean, 15 April 1917, with the loss of 279 lives

British War and Victory Medals (624541 Dvr. L. C. Venning. H.A.C. -Art.-) in named card box of issue, with outer envelope addressed to Mr. L. C. Venning, 686 Holloway Rd., Highgate, London’, extremely fine (2) £140-180

Leonard Charles Venning was born in 1896, and was educated at the County School, Harrow. He attested for the Honourable Artillery Company Artillery in London on 5 January 1916, and served with “B” Battery during the Great War. On 15 April 1917 he was on the troopship Arcadian, en route from Salonica, when she was torpedoed in the eastern Mediterranean, and sank within five minutes. Venning was one of the survivors, and recounted the incident in a letter to his old school:

‘We were torpedoed off the Island of Siphnos in the Greek Archipelago at 5:45 p.m. on Sunday, 15th April. I did not manage to get into a boat, and was in the water just about two hours and then I was picked up by one of our escort’s small boats. We had 68 altogether in the boat and others clinging to the side. We tried rowing to land, a distance of five or six miles, with our boat load and pulling three rafts loaded with men behind us. Water was continually running into the boat and we were bailing it out with boots, caps, and anything available. It was now quite dark so we started firing rockets. Rescue boats then began to arrive and were very busy with their searchlights. After rowing for three hours we were picked up by the
Redbreast at 11:00 p.m.; the men on there were extremely decent to us, gave us hot coffee, took all our clothes away to dry them, gave us some of their private togs, and put us into their own beds in their cabins. The Aercadian disappeared in four and a half minutes. We sailed during the night for Milos; we were then transferred to a boat named the Snaefell at 2:00 p.m. on the 16th April, and finally reached Alexandria on 28th April.’ (letter in The Gaytonian, November 1917, refers).

After arriving in Alexandria, Venning was admitted to a Field Ambulance on 31 October 1917 suffering from malaria, and was transferred to the British Red Cross Hospital at Giza on 4 November 1917. He was discharged on 14 March 1919, after 3 years and 69 days’ service.

Sold together with the recipient’s Certificate of Discharge; Certificate of Identity; three copies of
The Gaytonian, the magazine of the County School, Harrow, including accounts of his torpedoing and rescue; Silver War Badge accompanying card; newspaper cuttings relating to the sinking of the Arcadian; various letters written by the recipient; and other miscellaneous photographs and documents.