An interesting Second World War group relating to Captain Ke...

Hammer

£250

An interesting Second World War group relating to Captain Keith Livesey (1920-1988), Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers [86060], who was successfully evacuated from Dunkirk before going to the Middle East and later taking part in the Italian Campaign. The lot comprises: • Second World War Medal group of five comprising Africa Star with 8th Army clasp, Italy Star, 1939-45 Star, British War Medal and Defence Medal, with original packets, ribbons and sold together with O.H.M.S box of issue with certificate and ribbon bar • Second World War Service Dress cap with REME badge, retailed by Lingard’s of Preston • George VI British Army Officer’s dress sword in field service scabbard, in good condition with original leather sword knot, blade marked ‘Made in England’ but no visible maker War Office Map of Lille-Ghent, dated 1938, as used by Capt. Livesey to plan his retreat to the beaches of Dunkirk with annotations and route markings in black ink, further inscribed in pencil to the top stating withdrawal began on Sunday 26th before arriving to the beach on the 30th, spending an entire day there and finally embarking at around 7am on Friday 31st, the map marked ‘NOT TO BE PUBLISHED’, 1 inch to 3.945 miles, together with other military wartime maps of Greece, Italy and the Balkans, Korinthos, Rimini and two cut-down sheets of Europe pasted together, with some pencil annotationsBadges, rank and other cloth insignia comprising from his various regiments: two RAOC cap badges and one service dress collar badge, 46th Infantry Division Formation sign, a pair of Lancastrian Brigade cloth formation badges, a pair of 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division Formation signs, East Lancashire cap badge and Officer’s Service Dress collar badge, enamel RAOC badge, Territorial Army badge numbered 129899, Warwickshire Yeomanry OR’s cap badge, REME Officer’s cap badge, assorted rank pips and some loose buttons, pair of Wrekin OTC shoulder titles• Two shoulder epaulettes with rank pips, two dog tags, button stick and maroon lanyard, a school shield and two other badges, one enamel, both with a helmet (possibly College or Military Training related) Useful paperwork including full service records including locations, black and photographs including portraits and regimental group shots, soldier particulars, blank East Lancs Reg’t headed notepaper, notification of commission to ‘B’ Company, East Lancs (March 1939) with instructions and re-distribution orders and post-war Reservists and T.A. literature, various letters to Capt. Livesey, including several from close friend Third Radio Operator Brian Rostron Marsden, including his final letter written mere weeks before he died on 1st May 1943 in an attack on his convoy ship, the S.S. Erinpura (killing over 800 people)Booklets comprising 1944 Report on the Italian Campaign, First Campaign in Libya 1940-1941, Conquest of North Africa, East Lancs WW1 Commemoration Service programme, 8th Army Service of Thanksgiving programme (January 1945), BEF Identity Card, post-war Ration Book, REME magazine from Jan-March 1944 and Officer’s Release Book etc Captain Livesey’s service history includes: Pre-war training - 1933-1936 – Wrekin College Wellington Cadet General Training OTC March – September 1939 – 4/5Th Battalion East Lancashire Regiment Second World War - September 1939 – June 1941 - 2nd Lt and Lt with the 4th Battalion East Lancashire Regiment (with the British Expeditionary Force from 25th April 1940 to 30th May 1940) October 1941 – December 1942 – Attached to Warwickshire Yeomanry as Captain (henceforth with Middle East Expeditionary Force) February 1943 – November 1943 – Attached to HQ 35 Corps working with the Deputy Director of Mechanical Engineering’s office November 1943 – June 1944 – Attached to 3 Corps, again in the D.D.M.E’s office June 1944 – June 1945 – HQ RME 46 Division working as Adjutant (henceforth Central Mediterranean Expedition Force) June 1945 – July 1945 – 5 C Tps Workshop as Regimental Officer July 1945 – October 1945 – HQ 36. B.L.U working R.E.M.E Branch Liaison Duty Foreign service includes: 25th April 1940 – 30th May 1940 – France and Belgium February 1942-43 – Egypt and Palestine February 1943- November 1944 – Cyprus June 1944 – February 1945 – Italy February 1945 – April 1945 – Greece May 1945 – July 1945 - Austria Provenance: Family descent.