*British, c.1915–1945, Royal Navy Officer’s Full Dress & Service Group to Lieutenant-Commander Percy Ashe RN (1901–1983), Named 1827 Pattern Naval Sword & Scabbard, Bicorn, Epaulettes, Medals, Trunk and Personal Effects
A remarkable and unusually complete Royal Navy officer’s career group attributable with a high degree of confidence to Lieutenant-Commander Percy Ashe, Royal Navy (1901–1983), comprising his named 1827 Pattern naval officer’s sword & scabbard, full dress bicorn hat and epaulettes, medal group, travelling trunk, and personal effects, spanning service from the First World War through the inter-war period and into the Second World War.
The group centres on a fine 1827 Pattern Royal Navy Officer’s Sword, the folding guard engraved “P. ASHE, R.N.”, with King’s Crown and fouled anchor cartouche, wire-bound fishskin grip, and lion’s head pommel, complete with its original officer’s sword knot. The etched blade bears the crowned GR V royal cypher together with naval trophies, fouled anchor, and Royal Arms, confirming manufacture during the reign of George V (1910–1936). The blade retains the circular proof disc marked “PROVED / H”, a recognised private trade proof seen on high-quality private-purchase British officer’s swords of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The sword is complete with its brass-mounted leather scabbard and original leather field service cover marked “P.A.”, further confirming ownership.
Also present is the officer’s full dress bicorn hat, complete with bullion side loops and King’s Crown button, the interior bearing the printed trade label of "Gieves Ltd., 21 Old Bond Street, London, and 120 Princes Street, Edinburgh, with branches at Portsmouth, Plymouth, Chatham, Weymouth, Malta, Liverpool, Southsea and Southampton, By Special Appointment to His Majesty the King", size 7⅜. The hat is contained in its fitted japanned carrying case of regulation form.
In addition is a separate fitted naval officer’s dress uniform case, originally intended for the storage of epaulettes and waist belt, the interior retaining the shaped metal fittings for securing these items. The belt itself is no longer present, but the case still contains a pair of Royal Navy officer’s epaulettes, bearing King’s Crown buttons and fouled anchor devices with a single star denoting the rank of Lieutenant-Commander. The epaulettes are marked "J. Gieve & Sons, High Street, Portsmouth", an earlier form of the well-known naval outfitter’s mark, consistent with private purchase by a serving officer. One star is detached but present.
Both cases are of the correct regulation type for Royal Navy officers of the inter-war and Second World War period, and support the attribution of the group to Percy Ashe, who held the rank of Lieutenant-Commander from 1931 until wartime advancement.
The medal group consists of the 1939–45 Star, Africa Star, and War Medal 1939–45, together with loose ribbon lengths including examples for the Africa Star and the First World War British War Medal, consistent with his recorded service in both wars.
The set is accompanied by the officer’s named travelling trunk, painted “P. ASHE / R.N.”, and retaining a Southern Railway label reading “Waterloo – Ryde Esplanade via Portsmouth”, consistent with travel between London, Portsmouth, and the Isle of Wight, all closely associated with Royal Navy establishments.
Also included is a petrol lighter engraved “P.A.” to the base, marked "Parker Reg’d Trade Mark – The Roller Beacon – Made in England – Patent No. 466087 / 816156 – Reg’d Design", a British-made Parker Beacon roller-wheel petrol lighter of late 1940s–1950s manufacture, consistent with personal use by Percy Ashe during his later naval or post-war civil service career.
Together these items form a coherent and long-kept officer’s career set, retaining the dress uniform components, personal equipment, and campaign medals of a Royal Navy officer whose service extended across both World Wars.
Approx. Measurements – Sword: Blade length: 79.6 cm. Overall length: 94 cm. Trunk approx. 105 cm × 36 cm × 26 cm.
History Note:
This group is attributable with strong confidence to Lieutenant-Commander Percy Ashe, Royal Navy (1901–1983), whose career extended from the closing stages of the First World War through inter-war fleet and overseas service, including the China Station, and into active operational duty during the Second World War, the surviving sword, full dress uniform, medals, travelling trunk, and personal effects forming a rare and coherent officer’s career set covering nearly three decades of Royal Navy service.
Percy Ashe was born at Lewisham, London, on 27 January 1901 and entered the Royal Navy as a Midshipman on 15 August 1917, as confirmed in contemporary Navy Lists and officer service summaries. Published service records place him serving from September 1917 to January 1919 in the battlecruiser HMS Lion, while First World War medal rolls (ADM 89/033) record his entitlement to the British War Medal and Victory Medal with the ship noted as “Revenger”, almost certainly referring to the battleship HMS Revenge, both ships being units of the Grand Fleet during the closing stages of the war, when the fleet maintained the North Sea blockade of the German High Seas Fleet.
Post-war Navy Lists confirm his promotion to Sub-Lieutenant in 1921, Lieutenant in 1923, and Lieutenant-Commander on 15 January 1931, the latter rank corresponding exactly with the epaulettes preserved in this group. During the inter-war period he served in a number of ships and stations, including the cruiser HMS Canterbury, the aircraft carrier HMS Furious, and river gunboats on the China Station, later commanding HMS Sandpiper, before attending tactical courses at Portsmouth establishments including HMS Dryad and HMS Victory, postings recorded in officer service summaries and consistent with the railway labels retained on the trunk in this collection.
At the outbreak of the Second World War Navy Lists place him at Chatham and subsequently in the light cruiser HMS Caledon, in which he served from 1939 to 1941. During this period the ship operated in the Mediterranean and Red Sea theatres, service consistent with the award of the Africa Star present in the medal group. Later wartime appointments include service as Executive Officer of the escort carrier HMS Striker between 1942 and 1944, a vessel engaged in Atlantic convoy and escort operations, which may correspond with loose ribbon lengths found among the effects. Service records note that he was promoted Acting Commander during the war.
He retired from the Royal Navy on 27 January 1946 and was advanced to Commander on the Retired List, as recorded in post-war Navy Lists. In civilian life he later served as Senior Whale Fishery Inspector with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (Civil Division) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours of 1962.
The close agreement between Admiralty medal rolls, Navy Lists, officer service summaries, and the name, rank, medals and uniform items preserved here strongly support the attribution of this group to Lieutenant-Commander Percy Ashe RN, and the survival together of his named sword, dress uniform, medals, travelling trunk, and personal equipment forms an unusually complete Royal Navy officer’s career grouping.
The sword is a regulation 1827 Pattern Royal Navy officer’s sword, the longest-serving sword pattern in British military service, officers being required to purchase their own swords from approved outfitters. The proof disc marked “PROVED / H” is a recognised private trade proof associated with blades supplied by the Thurkle workshop and later by firms connected with J. R. Gaunt & Son, illustrated in specialist research including the study of British proof discs by James Elstob. Examples bearing this form of proof disc are known from the late Victorian period into the early twentieth century, including the inter-war years during which Percy Ashe was serving as a naval officer.
*Condition*
Sword in good honest service condition. Blade generally bright with scattered age spotting and light surface pitting, more noticeable toward the point, with some staining consistent with long storage. Etching is excllent and clear. Edge unsharpened. Leather field service cover worn with surface cracking and loss to finish, but complete. Brass mounts with age patina, rubbing and small areas of verdigris, showing typical service wear. Scabbard leather with handling wear and minor surface marks but structurally sound. Bicorn hat very good, case intact with expected age wear. Epaulettes good with slight bullion wear, one star detached but present. Medals loose with light wear. Trunk worn but solid, paint and labels present. Lighter with age wear, not tested. Please see photographs as part of the condition report.
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