Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Six: Reverend H. A. Smith-Masters, Chaplains Branch, Royal Air Force, late Royal Army Chaplains Department

British War and Victory Medals (Rev.); 1939-45 Star; Africa Star; Defence and War Medals, M.I.D. oak leaf, mounted as worn, nearly extremely fine (6) £80-120

Harold Allan Smith-Masters was the son of Reverend John Ernest Smith-Masters and Eliza Margaret Smith-Masters. Attending Keble College, Oxford and Cuddesdon College, he gained a B.A. in 1913 and M.A. in 1916. He was ordained a deacon in 1913 and priest the following year and was curate at St. Giles, Reading, 1913-21. During the period 1917-19 he held the rank of Chaplain to the Forces 4th Class, entering the France/Flanders theatre of war on 12 February 1917. In 1921 he was appointed Vicar of Hagbourne in the diocese of Oxford. With the onset of the Second World War, he was appointed Chaplain with the relative rank of Squadron Leader in the Royal Air Force on 1 December 1940. For his services during the war he was mentioned in despatches (London Gazette 8 June 1944).

Two of Rev. H. A. Smith-Masters’ brothers were killed during the Great War. Captain Bruce Swinton Smith-Masters, M.C., Essex Regiment, was killed in action on 1 July 1916. For the medals of 2nd Lieutenant George Arthur Smith-Masters, Bedfordshire Regiment, who was killed on 19 August 1915, see lot 990.