Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Five: Instructor Captain Oswald Tuck, Royal Navy

China 1900, no clasp (Nl. Instr. O. T. Tuck, R.N., H.M.S. Goliath); British War Medal 1914-20 (Inst. Commr. D. T. Tuck. R.N.) with named lid of card box of issue also with incorrect first initial; Defence and War Medals 1939-45; Japan, Empire, Order of the Sacred Treasure, 3rd Class neck badge with silk cravat, silver-gilt and enamels, this lacking one red ‘jewel’, otherwise good very fine or better (5) £400-£500

Oswald Thomas Tuck was born on 1 September 1876, son of Henry Tuck, a retired wine merchant. He graduated from the University of London with First Class Honours in Science and joined the Royal Navy as a Naval Instructor on 19 June 1899. He joined the new battleship Goliath in March 1900 which arrived in China just in time for the outbreak of the Boxer rebellion. Goliath refitted in Hong Kong from September 1901 to April 1902 and returned Home in October 1903. Tuck was selected for training as an interpreter in Japanese and joined the cruiser King Alfred at Matla in December 1903 for passage to the Far East. There, he proceeded to Japan to study the language during 1904-05 and coinciding with the Russo-Japanese War. In September 1905 he qualified as an Interpreter in Japanese (Higher Standard) and was then retained on station as a Naval Instructor employed as far as possible as Interpreter in holding classes in Japanese. His application in January 1906 to be attached to a Japanese Warship was emphatically refused and he was then sent for duty with the Naval attaché at Tokyo for 6 months from March 1907. At the end of this period Admiral Moore reported on him as ‘Zealous and able. Takes great pains with the instruction of midshipmen. A very able Japanese interpreter and most useful.’

With this endorsement he was appointed, 12 October 1907, as Assistant to the Naval attaché at Tokyo, where he remained until recalled in March 1909. He spent the following years instructing at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich. From July 1912 to March 1913, he was engaged in translating a history of the Russo-Japanese War from Japanese into English, and in June 1913 he was promoted to Instructor Commander. From August 1914 to November 1920 he served on the Admiralty War Staff, borne on the books of H.M.S. President. From November 1920 he was head of the Admiralty’s Historical Section.

In May 1921 the Crown Prince of Japan, Hirohito, paid a visit to the United Kindgom. He travelled in the battleship Katori, and was escorted by her sister-ship Kashima. Tuck was lent for duty as an interpreter for the duration of this visit, under the orders of the Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth, where Hirohito disembarked on 9 May and was welcomed by the Prince of Wales. Hirohito indicated his appreciation of Tuck’s services by the award of the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 3rd Class.

He retired in March 1924 with the rank of Instructor Captain, and was appointed Technical Assistant, Historical Section, Committee of Imperial Defence. In January 1942, following Japan’s entry into the War, he was recalled for duty with the Naval Intelligence Division, and remained on the Navy List until October 1946, by which time he was 70 years old.

Sold with additional research including several copied photographs.