A Japanese Army Type 98 Shin Gunto Officer's Sword with a Gr...

Estimate

£1,200 - £1,800

A Japanese Army Type 98 Shin Gunto Officer's Sword with a Group of British (Family) WW1 and WW2 medals. Please read below and enjoy Cadmore's British military expert (A. Saunders) historical view of the men involved - and how the sword came into their possession. Please see photos for sword conditions. In scabbard -96cm.
A FAMILY GROUP OF MEDALS TO THE HOLMES FAMILY
A most interesting and unusual family group of medals and related items to the Holmes family, originally from South Ormsby, in Lincolnshire, consisting of the Second World War Burma campaign group of four medals to Major Oliver Wright Holmes of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, together with the First World War trio to his uncle, Arthur Wright Holmes, who served in France from 1915, initially as a Private in the Army Service Corps and, later, with the 4th Battalion of the Worcestershire Regiment. The medals are accompanied by a fascinating and highly detailed autobiographical account by Major Holmes of his wartime service in the Army, contained in a typescript, bound volume entitled “One Man’s War by Major O Wright Holmes PhD”, and a ‘War Trophy’ Japanese Army Type 98 Shin Gunto officer’s sword, acquired by Major Holmes following the surrender of the Japanese forces in Burma at the end of the war and brought back by him to England:
a. Group of four medals attributed to Major O W Holmes RAOC consisting of the 1939-1945 Star, the Burma Star, the Defence Medal and the War Medal 1939-45 with bronze oak leaf emblem for a Mention in Despatches. The medals are in very Fine (VF) condition and are mounted for wear by the recipient. (A second (‘spare’) MiD emblem is included with the medals).
b. 1914/15 Trio, consisting of the 1914/15 Star, the British War Medal and the
Victory medal all named to 119089 Pte A Holmes ASC. The medals are in Extremely Fine (EF) condition and are mounted for wear by the recipient, with the original silk ribbons (although the 1914/15 Star ribbon is age-distressed).
These medals are accompanied by a hallmarked silver ID bracelet engraved: ‘Pte A W Holmes 119089, MT, 1st Cav Div, Ch of Eng’. (Hallmarks for Birmingham 1916 and maker Henry Allday & Son). In addition to the bound copy of “One Man’s War” and the Japanese Army sword, the
medals are accompanied by numerous items of Major Holmes’s personal correspondence, certificates confirming the award of his MiD and his release from the Army, a biographical note on the Holmes family, copies of some relevant census records and Pte Arthur Holmes’s Medal Index Card (MIC) confirming his medal entitlement.

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A BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE ON THE HOLMES FAMILY
The Holmes family originates from the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire and for generations followed the traditional occupation of Agricultural Labourers. Oliver Wright Holmes’s grandfather, Wright Holmes (1843-1934), became a blacksmith and the 1881 census records him as a Master Blacksmith in the village of South Ormsby,
where he resided with his wife Ellen and his four children, two sons and two daughters. His elder son was John William Holmes (1873-1942) who later qualified
as a Pharmaceutical Chemist and was to become the father of Oliver Wright Holmes. The younger son was Arthur Wright Holmes (1880-1965), who followed in his
father’s career path by also becoming a blacksmith in South Ormsby. Oliver Wright Holmes was born on 16 October 1909 in New Malden, Surrey, where his father, John William Holmes, was in business as a chemist (‘on his own account’). After completing his schooling at the Tiffin School in Kingston-upon- Thames, where he won a silver medal as the school chess champion, he started his career in hospital administration, being employed from 1928-1932 as an administrative officer in the Mental Hospitals Department of the London County Council. He then became an administrative officer in the department of the Clerk to the Council from 1932 -1942. During this period he studied history as an ‘Evening Student’ at King’s College London (1931-1934) and was awarded a 2/1 honours
degree. On 16 October 1936 he married Renee Myrielle Vizetelly (1913-1992), a mechanical engineer by profession, in the Parish Church of New Maldon & Coombe. They went on to have one son, Martin (Martin Victor Wright Holmes,1940-2020) who qualified as a lawyer and later became one of the world of rallying & most experienced and respected journalists and authors, publishing numerous books on the subject.
Martin Holmes was a talented rally co-driver with an international reputation who competed for almost two decades, until the mid-1980s. In August 1939, as the threat of war with Germany increased, Oliver Wright Holmes was seconded by the London County Council to the London Ambulance Service, to act as a LAS Ambulance Control Officer, which appointment he held for eight months until May 1940, when he returned to his former duties with the LCC. In March 1942 he was conscripted for war service and was posted to 51st Training Regiment Royal Armoured Corps for training as a clerk, where he became 7954148 Trooper Holmes.
After a short time he applied for a commission, for which he was selected, and in August 1942 he attended OCTU for training as an officer. He was commissioned as
a Second Lieutenant into the Royal Army Ordnance Corps in November 1942 and in November 1943 he was posted to India where he joined the staff of Ordnance Branch, Central Command Headquarters at Agra, as a Staff Captain.  He served in India in staff appointments from 1943-1945 and then took part in the latter stages of the campaign for the re-conquest of Burma from July to September 1945. During this period he was promoted to the rank of Major and took command of No 52 Ordnance Field Depot at Myngaladon, Burma and later of No 62 Ordnance
Field Depot at Rangoon, from September to December 1945.  The Japanese surrender occurred whilst he was in command of No 62 OFD and, in accordance
with the policy laid down by Field Marshal Sir William Slim, Commander of the British 14th Army, all Japanese officers (and NCOs) were required to surrender their personal swords as a symbol of formal submission. In consequence, many of these swords were acquired by allied personnel as ‘war trophies’ and Major Holmes came into possession of a Type 98 Shin Gunto Japanese officer’s sword, which he brought back to England with him in 1946. The original typed authorisation for Holmes to take the sword home as a trophy is included in the personal correspondence and
documentation which accompany his medals. He later kept the sword mounted on the wall above the piano in the lounge of his home in Ashtead, Surrey. He was also
presented with a commemorative dinner-gong made by the soldiers under his command when he was repatriated to the UK in April 1946, which he kept in the hall
of his home at Ashtead. Holmes was Mentioned in Despatches for Gallant and Distinguished services in
Burma (London Gazette 19 September 1946) and in due course received the 1939- 1945 and Burma Stars, the Defence Medal and the War Medal 1939-45 for his
wartime service.  Following the end of the Second World War he returned to work with the London County Council, initially serving on the Public Control Committee and later, from 1947-1954, he served on the Parks Committee. During this period (from 1949-1952) he successfully completed a correspondence course to obtain a Batchelor of Divinity (BD) degree, followed by a postgraduate doctorate in Theology (Church History and
Doctrine) at Kings College, London, for which he was awarded the degree of PhD. From 1954 until he retired in 1970, he was employed as the Council Clerk for the
London County Council. Following his retirement he set about the task of authoring his memoirs of his military
service, with the title ”One Man’s War”. This epic (386 pages) work records in detail his experiences from August 1939 until his release from the Army in mid-1946, and
was finally completed in 1984. Although the work was not accepted for commercial publication, he had it bound in book form and distributed a number of copies to
interested agencies, including the RAOC Museum, the Imperial War Museum, the National Army Museum and the British Library. He also served as a C of E Reader
(a lay preacher) for over 50 years in total, reflecting his lifelong strong interest in, and association with, the Church of England. Oliver Wright Holmes was pre-deceased by his wife Myrielle in 1992, and died on 3rd July 1995 at the age of 85.  He was survived by his son Martin and three grand-
children.

Arthur Wright Holmes was born in South Ormsby, Lincolnshire in 1880 and was one of four children born to Wright Holmes, a Master Blacksmith, and his wife Ellen.
Following the career path of his father, he in turn became a blacksmith and later became uncle to his brother’s son, Oliver Wright Holmes. During the First World War, Arthur Holmes served in the Army Service Corps, firstly
with the 12th Corps Troops Supply Column (MT ASC), disembarking in France on 14th September 1915, and later with the 1st Cavalry Division MT. The 1st Cavalry Division
was one of the first Divisions to move to France in 1914, and it remained on the Western Front throughout the war. It participated in most of the major actions where
cavalry were used as a mounted mobile force, and was also used as dismounted troops on occasion, effectively serving as infantry. At some stage, he transferred to the 4th Battalion of the Worcestershire Regiment as an infantry soldier, with whom he remained until the end of the war. He survived the war and was discharged back
to civilian life at its conclusion. In due course he received the 1914/15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal for his wartime service.
He married Anne Rennell (1891-1920) on 12 August 1918, at Barham, Kent but Anne Holmes’s early death is recorded in 1920. Little is known about his subsequent career, but at the time of his father’s death in 1934 he is described as a farmer in the probate record. He died on 29 December 1964 at Alford, Lincolnshire, aged 84. Probate records
show that he left his entire estate (valued at £26,669, a very substantial sum at that time) to his nephew, Oliver Wright Holmes. He also left him an ivory chess set and,
presumably, his medals for his First World War service together with his silver ID bracelet.