Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A fine post-War M.B.E., Great War ‘Passchendaele’ M.C. group of six awarded to Major A. C. Faulkner, Devonshire Regiment, who was severely wounded and decorated for his gallantry at Sans Souci Farm during the storming of the Zonnebeke Redoubt in August 1917

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, M.B.E. (Military) Member’s 2nd type breast badge, silver; Military Cross, G.V.R., reverse privately engraved ‘Captain A. C. Faulkner – 2nd Devons – Sans Souci Farm Ypres August 15th 1917’; British War and Victory Medals (Capt. A. C. Faulkner); Defence and War Medals 1939-45; together with a Masonic Million Memorial Fund Jewel 1922, silver (hallmarks for Birmingham 1921), the reverse inscribed, ‘W. Bro. A. C. Faulkner No. 549’; and the recipient’s wound stripe, very fine or better (7) £800-£1,200

M.B.E. London Gazette 1 January 1949.

M.C. London Gazette 18 October 1917; citation published 7 March 1918:
‘For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He led his company with great gallantry under heavy fire. He set a very fine example to his men, and, though badly wounded in several places, he refused to leave his company until he was satisfied that it was properly organised and in the best position.’

Amory Cornelius Faulkner was born in 1894 in India and educated at Marlborough College where he was a member of the Officer Training Corps between January 1908 and May 1911. He was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the 3rd Battalion, Devonshire Regiment (Special Reserve of Officers) on 30 June 1915 and attached to the Second Battalion with which he served in France from 18 August 1916. After completing a Lewis Gun course upon his arrival in France, he rejoined his Battalion, accompanying them into action on 22 October in the Gap and Punch trenches at Montauban on the Somme. This attack, targeting a set of trenches covering Le Transloy known as Orion, Zenith, Mild and Stormy, was partially successful with Orion and Zenith being taken.

Remaining on the Somme, he was again in the front line on 6 January 1917 as Lewis Gun Officer attached B Company, 2nd Battalion in the Pollux Sector. Terrible conditions prevailed with the line here consisting of a series of shell holes, full of mud and water, converted into posts in front of the St. Pierre Vaast Wood.
Faulkner took command of B Company on 31 July 1917, his unit now having been relocated into the notorious Ypres Salient for what became known as the Third Battle of Ypres or simply ‘Passchendaele’. Around midnight on 15 August 1917 both B and C Companies, were moved into assembly positions on Westhoek Ridge with the objective of storming the Zonnebeke Redoubt in support of the 2nd West Yorkshires. Although their objectives were reached, some difficulty was encountered in Sans Souci Wood which contained two enemy machine guns and it was here that Faulkner was severely wounded, receiving gun-shot wounds to the head, left arm and left hand. He was awarded the M.C. for his gallantry on this occasion, the Battalion also receiving a D.C.M. to Private H. R. Collins, A Company, and M.M.s to Sergeant E. S. Eyre, B Company and Sergeant H. Unsworth, B Company for this action.

Faulkner embarked for England on 8 August 1917 and was treated for a number of months at the Royal Free Hospital and further convalesced at the Victoria Hotel, Sidmouth. In April 1919 the Medical Board at 3rd Southern General Hospital determined that some of his injuries were still severe and declared him permanently unfit. He was categorised as 50% disabled and awarded a wound pension. He relinquished his commission on 1 April 1920 and is entitled to a Silver War badge.

In 1941, despite the permanent nature of some his wounds he was granted an Emergency Commission as a Lieutenant in the Devonshire Regiment and after the Scond World War he was granted a Short Service Commission as Captain with seniority dating back to 25 April 1941. He was appointed M.B.E. in 1949 and finally retired in 1952 and was granted the Honorary rank of Major. He died in Exeter in 1979.

Sold with the Bestowal Document for the recipient’s M.B.E., dated 1 January 1949 ; and a comprehensive file of copied research.