Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A rare group awarded to one of Commander C. R. Samson’s ‘Dunkirk Circus’ or the ‘Motorised Bandits’ as they were also known - Chief Petty Officer Mechanic (Armourer) Rowland Harper, Royal Naval Air Service, a qualified pilot who was severely wounded whilst manning a machine-gun in an ‘armed car’ which was ambushed by the Germans on 27 September 1914, during the Douai operations in support of the French; being too badly wounded to be evacuated he was taken prisoner when the Germans took Douai a few days later and was eventually interned in Switzerland for the duration of the war, later transferring to the Royal Air Force as a Master Mechanic

1914 Star, with clasp (344641 R. Harper, C.P.O. Mech. R.N.A.S.); British War and Victory Medals, with small M.I.D. oak leaves (314227 M. Mech. R. Harper. R.A.F.); Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., G.V.R., 2nd issue, fixed suspension (344641. Rowland Harper, C.P.O. 2Cl. H.M.S. President II) mounted as worn, good very fine (4) £400-£600

M.I.D. London Gazette 27 October 1919: ‘C.P.O. Mechanic Rowland Harper, R.N.A.S. For valuable service in the prosecution of the war.’

Rowland Harper was born at Chorley, Lancashire, on 21 March 1880, and joined the Royal Navy as Armourer’s Crew on 9 October 1901. He advanced to Armourer’s Mate in June 1910, to Armourer in October 1913, and to Chief Petty Officer Mechanic 3rd Class in July 1914. His early R.N.A.S. career is best given in his own words from Switzerland in November 1918, to the Accountant Officer at H.M.S. President V, when he was trying to get transferred to the Royal Air Force:

‘I respectfully beg to acknowledge your letter of Oct. 22nd, in which you say the Admiralty now inform you that I did not belong to the Royal Naval Air Service, but to the Armoured Cars Division, and so shall not be transferred to the Royal Air Force. Do you think this will make any difference to my future prospects, as it is a mistake on someone’s part, of that I am sure. As far as I know up to the date of my being wounded, Sept. 27th 1914, there was no Armoured Car Division. Certainly I was wounded in an armoured car, but belonged to the Royal Naval Flying Corps.

I wish to state how I joined the R.N.F. Corps. In March 1912 whilst serving on H.M.S. Seagull at Portsmouth ‘as an armourer’ a general signal was made asking for 3 Shipwrights and an Armourer Rating with Petrol Motor knowledge to volunteer for service with the Naval Flying Corps. I volunteered and was accepted, joining the R.N.F. Corps at Eastchurch, Sheerness in April 1912. In Aug. 1913 I was awarded the Royal Aero Club Flying Certificate No 611, taken on No. 2 Short Biplane, being then paid for this certificate & classed as a 2nd class pilot of the Naval F. Corps.

On the outbreak of hostilities August 1914 I was sent to the north of England and did quite a lot of flying as passenger on coast patrol duties, returning to Eastchurch after about 14 days, then proceeding to France. There I took part in several small engagements in a car commanded by Commander Samson.

On Sept. 27th, I and Air Mechanic L. W. Walsh were badly [wounded] in a car outside Douai. Officer i.c. of Car Captain Williams, Royal Marines. Whilst in hospital Douai I was visited by several Naval Flying Corps officers. On Wednesday Sep. 30th ‘14 I was visited by C.P.O. Bradford R.N.F. Corps who brought me parcels, letters, & Money due to me. At noon on Oct. 1st we were told the enemy was about to take Douai & we were placed in a motor-car & sent towards Lille. After proceeding about 4 miles in this direction we were compelled to return as the enemy had possession of all the roads & we were then placed in the Military Hospital Douai; two hours afterwards the enemy entered the town & we became prisoners.’

A certified true copy of his Certificate for Wounds and Hurts states: ‘Roland (sic) Harper, Armourer, belonging to His Majesty’s Ship PEMBROKE, Naval Air Service, being then actually upon His Majesty’s Service in serving a machine gun in an armed Car, in Action was wounded on September 27th 1914 by rifle bullets. The injuries being, bullet wound of Chest, serious, wound of neck, compound fracture left arm, wound of left leg. Owing to this rating falling into the enemy’s hands, no minute description of wounds available. Signed by Commander C. R. Samson, December 30th, 1914’.

C.P.O. Harper is mentioned in John Oliver’s book, Samson and the Dunkirk Circus, 3 Squadron Royal Naval Air Service, 1914-15:
‘Samson was now under the command of General Paris but at 0700hrs on 27th September he received orders from the French General Plantey to carry out a reconnaissance in the direction of Lewarde to the south of Erchin. Samson had left Captain M. Williams, R.M.A., and his section of three brand new Rolls-Royce armoured cars at Douai to support the French as they were coming under increasing pressure from the Germans. The massing of French troops and the RNAS in the Douai area was supposed to be for an attack into the German rear and communications area, which would have caused great confusion and taken the pressure off the BEF and the French army, but the Germans were in far greater strength than anticipated and slowly built the pressure up around Douai. It turned into a siege and the British and French attack was stopped before it could start.

The new Rolls-Royce armoured cars were the same basic design as the Wolseley and like them gave the crew no protection. Captain Williams and his men were just off the boat from England and had no experience of fighting the Germans using the armoured car. The French asked Williams to carry out a patrol. He set off and they drove into a German trap. Three men were wounded. CPO Roland (sic) Harper and AB Leonard W Welsh both took a burst from a machine-gun and were severely injured, while Williams himself was slightly wounded in the hand. All three were taken to hospital in Douai then Williams was recalled to Morbecque to recover from his wound. This was the worst day so far for Samson’s command.

The French doctors at the hospital in Douai decided it was time to move all the wounded men back to a safe place. However, CPO Harper and AB Welsh were too badly wounded to move and when the Germans captured Douai these two men became POWs. Both survived the war.’

Harper was transferred from Germany to Switzerland on 27 November 1917, where he was interned at Chateau d’Oex and his life greatly improved. In July 1918 his fiancée, Mabel Hancock, obtained permission to visit him in Switzerland where they married.

Sold with a good and comprehensive quantity of original letters, documents, photographs,. postcards, buttons and badges relating to Rowland Harper, and others relating to his marriage and his son, also Rowland, together with the B.W.M. issued to his brother William, R.A.S.C., who died in France on 31 October 1918, and related documents and letters; also an Omega travelling clock in damaged case, the reverse engraved ‘Presented to M.M-& Mrs R. Harper From Sgts Chateau-d’Oex 20th August 1918’, and another small cased pocket watch by H. Samuel. All contained in an old leather brief case together together with additional research and a copy of John Oliver’s book.