THE MVO GROUP OF 11 AWARDED TO COLONEL ATKINSON, 17TH INDIAN...

Hammer

£700

THE MVO GROUP OF 11 AWARDED TO COLONEL ATKINSON, 17TH INDIAN CAVALRY & 15 HUSSARS. AN ENGLISH INTERNATIONAL POLO PLAYER. The Royal Victorian Order M.V.O. 4th Class. Engraved to the reverse 1319 Lt Col E G Atkinson 1934.

1914 Star (copy bar) impressed Lt E.G. Atkinson 17/Cavy ( a very thin Indian issue star)

British Medal and Victory Medal (MID emblem a copy) impressed to Capt E G Atkinson.

Indian General Service Medal, clasps Afghanistan N.W.F 1919 & Afghanistan 1919-21 (MID emblem a copy). Impressed Captain E G Atkinson 17/ Cavy

France and Germany Star
Defence Medal
War Medal 1911 Coronation Medal, privately engraved Lieut E G Atkinson 17th Cavalry IA



1935 Coronation Medal

1937 Coronation Medal



Court mounted for display.



Condition VF+ and better.



Eric Garnett Atkinson was born on the 9th of April 1887 in Bareilly, India. The son of Brigadier General Francis Garnett Atkinson C.B. ( his medal group is also in this auction) and Eliza Augusta Snow Atkinson.



Atkinson was educated at Reading School and obtained direct entry into the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant into the Indian Army on the unattached list on the 19th of January 1907, aged 19.



On the 16th of March 1907, he was attached to the 1st Bn West Yorkshire Regiment in India. A year later, Atkinson was transferred to the 17th Indian Cavalry. His promotion to Lieutenant was announced in the London Gazette on the 19th of April 1909.



Atkinson was present at the Coronation of George V and was personally presented with his 1911 Coronation medal by the King.



During the Great War, Atkinson, a member of the 17th Indian Cavalry, served with the 15th Hussars and Royal Irish Lancers. He landed in France on the 23rd of August 1914. He was promoted to Captain on the 19th of January 1916 and was Mentioned in Despatches on the 28th of December 1917.



George married Olive Marion Cole in the English Consulate in Paris in February 1916, and their son Denis Cary ( whose medals are also in this auction) was born in November 1916.



Atkinson remained in the Indian Army in the immediate post-war years; he saw service in Afghanistan in 1919 on the North West Frontier and again from 1919 to 21. He received another Mention in Despatches for his service there. Promoted to Major in 1922 and transferred to the 15th Indian Lancers. In 1933 he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and was commanding the 15th by 1934.



Lieutenant Colonel Atkinson was made a Member of the Victorian Order 4th Class in the Kings Birthday Honours in 1934. He was awarded the 1935 Jubilee Medal and the 1937 Coronation Medal; he retired on the 9th of October, 1937.



Recalled during WW2 with the rank of Major on the 1st of July 1940, he spent the war with the 1st Commando Brigade and later the Home Guard. He had risen to the rank of Acting Colonel and was granted the honorary rank of Colonel upon his final retirement in 1945.



A keen Polo player before the Great War, he represented England in 1924 and 1927 against America for the Westchester Cup. Once he retired, he became a Polo Umpire. He passed away in 1955, a few months after the death of his wife.