Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Pair: Captain G. L. Andrews, Royal Welsh Fusiliers, who was killed in action on the Western Front on 21 August 1918

British War and Victory Medals (Capt. G. L. Andrews.); Memorial Plaque (Glwyndwr Levi Andrews), with Buckingham Palace enclosure, in card envelope of issue, nearly extremely fine (3) £300-£400

Glyndwr Levi Andrews was born in Swansea and was educated at Gowerton School. Joining the teaching profession, in 1909 he entered the Normal College, Bangor, where he made his mark as a scholar and an athlete, and was described as having ‘an exceptionally fine physique, and had a striking personality.’ On leaving college he was employed as a teacher at Penllegaer Council School where he served until the outbreak of the Great War.

Andrews was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers and served with them during the Great War on the Western Front, rising to the rank of Captain and Company Commander. He was killed in action on 21 August 1918, with a letter to the recipient’s parents giving the following account of his death:
‘I very much regret to inform you of the death of your son, Glyn, on Monday last. He was killed, while leading his company in action, between Mametx Wood and Longueval. I was not with the Company at the time, but when visiting them in the afternoon saw his body. It appears his death was instantaneous. In less than an hour later I managed to get a blow with a piece of shell, but fortunately with no more damage than a badly cut and bruised nose and a pair of black eyes. Needless to say his loss will be greatly felt, not only by the company, but also by the battalion.’

Andrews is buried in Caterpillar Valley Cemetery, Longueval, France.

Sold with the recipient’s original army officers field message and note book (Army Book 155) with maroon cover, carbon copy sheets and original carbon copy messages and reports, principally dating from July 1916, including casualty reports and daily operations reports from Captain Andrews as Officer Commanding ‘A’ Company to the Battalion Adjutant, some 29 pages in all, and a scarce surviving example of this book; and copied research.