Exceptional Naval and Polar Awards from the Collection of RC Witte

‘I have been on the staff of Admirals, I have been an Admiral myself, I have been an A.D.C. to the King and, at my time of life, you ask me to be on the staff of a Brigadier-General. No sir, thank you!’

Cresswell Eyres contemptuously dismissing an offer of advancement to Colonel on the Staff

The outstanding Great War D.S.O., inter-war O.B.E. group of ten awarded to Admiral C. J. Eyres, Royal Navy, who, having first seen action as a 15-year-old Midshipman in the engagement with the Peruvian rebel turret ship Huascar in May 1877, and attained flag rank, was much vexed to discover his advanced years would preclude him from further action in the Great War - accordingly, he ‘retired to take active service abroad’, dropping rank to Captain in the Royal Naval Reserve and, later still, to Major in the Royal Garrison Artillery: he subsequently served with distinction as a Beach Master in Gallipoli and as a Battery C.O. at Vimy Ridge, where he displayed ‘an utter contempt for danger’, repeatedly yelled at his men not to duck under bombardment and won the D.S.O. - then in January 1938 he added the O.B.E. to his accolades, some 60 years after his encounter with Peruvian rebels

Distinguished Service Order, G.V.R., silver-gilt and enamel; The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, O.B.E. (Civil) Officer’s 2nd type breast badge; Egypt and Sudan 1882-89, dated reverse, no clasp (Sub. Lieut. C. J. Eyres, R.N., H.M.S. Hecla); China 1900, no clasp (Commr. C. J. Eyres, R.N., H.M.S. Undaunted); 1914-15 Star (Capt. C. J. Eyres, R.N.R.); British War and Victory Medals, M.I.D. oak leaf (Lt. Col. C. J. Eyres); Jubilee 1897, silver; France, Legion d’Honneur, Commander’s neck badge, gold and enamel; Khedive’s Star 1882, excepting the O.B.E., mounted as worn, enamel suspension wreath on the French badge chipped in places, contact marks, otherwise generally very fine (10)
£4000-5000

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Exceptional Naval and Polar Awards from the Collection of RC Witte.

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D.S.O London Gazette 1 January 1918.

As ‘Temporary Major (Acting Lieutenant-Colonel), Royal Garrison Artillery (Rear-Admiral Retired, Royal Navy)’.

O.B.E. London Gazette 1 January 1938:

‘For services as Member of the Special Grants Committee, Ministry of Pensions and as a Member of the Surrey County Council.’

Cresswell John Eyres was born in Wymondham, Norfolk, in March 1862, the son of a clergyman, and entered the Royal Navy as a Cadet in Britannia in July 1874. Having then joined H.M.S. Shah as a Midshipman in August 1876, he quickly saw action, being present in the engagement with the Peruvian rebel turret ship Huascar off the town of Ylo on 29 May 1877; so, too, in the Egypt operations of 1882, when serving as a Sub. Lieutenant in the Hecla, prior to being ordered home in November of the same year (Medal & Khedive’s Star).

Subsequently specialising as a Gunnery Officer, Eyres was advanced to Commander in December 1897 and next witnessed active service off China during the Boxer Rebellion, when he was employed as executive officer of the Undaunted (Medal). An appointment in the Naval Intelligence Department having followed, during the course of which he was advanced to Captain in June 1903, Eyres was next actively employed as an Attache to the Russian Fleet during the Russo-Japanese War in 1904.

On returning to the U.K., he was given command of the Jupiter, followed by the battleship Irresistible in May 1908, while in September 1912 he was appointed an A.D.C. to the King.

A Rear-Admiral by the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914, and anxious to see active service, he was placed on the Retired List at his own request that December, in order that he could take up appointment as a Captain, R.N.R., with ‘command of motor boats on the Belgian coast’, for, as Alexander McKee observed in his history, Vimy Ridge, the old sea dog had smelt blood and wasn’t going to miss the show - indeed ‘it was not long before he was firing at the Germans with a 4.7in. gun from barges in the Flanders canals’.

According to McKee, he next proceeded, in June 1915, to the Dardanelles, where he served as a Beach Master in Gallipoli and ‘used to walk the beach entirely regardless of the Turkish shells with which it was regularly swept’. He was twice mentioned in despatches (London Gazettes 14 March and 12 July 1916 refer), and appointed a Commander of the French Legion d’Honneur (London Gazette 23 March 1917).

Meanwhile, having returned to the U.K. in early 1916, he was disappointed to discover his advanced years precluded him from further active service - in fact he was furious when offered a choice of command on the Tyne, or a shot at railway management in Russia. So the Admiral, ‘not wanting to be deprived of active participation in the present very promising campaign’, immediately proceeded to the War Office to offer his services as a Gunnery Officer, an offer which to his delight was accepted and he was appointed a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Royal Garrison Artillery. Less happily, however, he discovered that he would have to undergo extensive training before being allowed to proceed to France with command of a Brigade - so he asked to be demoted to Major in order to get overseas as quickly as possible as a Battery C.O.

The rest, as they say, is history, and well-documented in McKee’s Vimy Ridge, the old sea dog commanding 145 (East Cheshire) Heavy Battery, R.G.A., from 1917 until the end of hostilities, a period that witnessed many adventures and close shaves. An early story to circulate the ranks of his command was the occasion Eyres was introduced to the King aboard the Battery’s transport at Southampton - he made no effort to tidy up his uniform and even forgot to put on his Sam Browne belt before meeting the great man. But to everyone’s astonishment His Majesty greeted the Admiral-turned-Gunner with “How are you, Cresswell?” - apparently they were old friends from his days at sea.

Indeed the officers and men of 145 Heavy Battery were swiftly subjected to no-nonsense Naval discipline. An order was an order and ducking under fire was a disgrace. The moment an enemy shell landed, the Admiral would be heard to bark “Don’t duck, don’t duck, what are you ducking for?”, a command his men could hardly disobey in light of their C.O’s ‘utter contempt for danger’ under fire, particularly during the Vimy Ridge operations. But striking the fear of God into his men sometimes led to ‘alarming experiences’, such as the occasion he departed the Battery on an errand, informing the duty officer to commence fire at the appointed hour, whether he had returned or not. So when indeed the Admiral had not returned, the officer in question gave the order to open fire, the Battery’s 60-pounders exploding into action - ‘a minute or two later a dishevelled figure blundered forward from the darkness. It was the Admiral who, having lost his way, found himself in front of the guns when they opened fire.’

Awarded the D.S.O., Eyres was asked by the Brigadier-General commanding Corps Heavy Artillery to join his staff in the rank of Colonel, thinking no doubt that this would be a welcome promotion. It proved the contrary, the old sea dog contemptuously responding, “I have been on the staff of Admirals, I have been an Admiral myself, I have been an A.D.C. to the King and, at my time of life, you ask me to be on the staff of a Brigadier-General. No sir, thank you!”

He did, however, gain further advancement on the R.N’s Retired List, being appointed a Vice-Admiral in September 1918 and, in June 1922, a full-blown Admiral. But he was never one to rest on his laurels, turning his attention to further good deeds and, in January 1938, was awarded the O.B.E. ‘for services as Member of the Special Grants Committee, Ministry of Pensions, and as a Member of the Surrey County Council.’

The Admiral, who married Rose Townsend in 1889, and had three daughters, retired to Putney, London, and died in October 1949; sold with copied service record.