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Lot Essay
Sold with a large quantity of original documentation, including M.B.E. and O.B.E. Warrants (dated 8.6.1939 and 1.1.1957), and related Statutes; Certificate of Award for King Haakon VII's Liberty Medal (dated 21.2.1947); Commission Warrant for the Rank of Sub. Lieutenant, R.N. (dated 15.9.1916), assorted Foreign Office Letters and Warrants of Appointment, including that for H.B.M. Consul, Norway (dated 1.10.1951); a fine selection of photographs, many contained in albums; and the recipient's carbon copy list of Norwegian Royalty, Ministers and other V.I.Ps who were embarked on H.M.S. Devonshire in the evacuation of Norway in June 1940. A most unusual and interesting archive.
Also sold with a quantity of related uniform and other service equipment, including Naval Officer's Regulation Sword, complete with sword knot, leather scabbard with brass mounts and leather outer cover, the latter bearing the initials, 'A.P.C.'; a three-draw Signalling Telescope by Dollond, London, with leather sleeve and lens-caps, and alternative eye-piece lens, also in its leather case; a pair of Binoculars by Ross, London, in fitted leather case; a box-wood Parallel Ruler by Coombes, Devonport, with lacquered brass rollers, inscribed by 'A.P. Cumming', in fitted hardwood case; a fine set of Drawing Instruments, also be Coombes, Devonport, each inscribed with the initials 'A.P.C.', in a velvet-lined wooden box; and an impressive collection of black silk Ship Cap Tallies (34), some of them relating to the Norwegian Navy.
O.B.E. London Gazette 1.1.1957.
D.S.C. London Gazette 11.4.1919 'For services in Destroyers employed on Convoy, Escort and Patrol Duties in the period 1 July to 11 November 1918'.
Lieutenant-Commander Alexander Putnam Cumming, O.B.E., D.S.C., was born in August 1896 and educated at the R.N. Colleges Osborne and Dartmouth between 1909-13. Appointed a Midshipman in early 1914, he was aboard H.M.S. Conqueror at the outbreak of hostilities, gained advancement to Sub. Lieutenant in H.M.S. P 25 in 1916 and to Lieutenant in H.M.S. Ossory in March 1918. Awarded the D.S.C. for Anti-Submarine work in the latter ship, he remained a Regular after the War and was advanced to Lieutenant-Commander in March 1926. Cumming was then placed on the Retired List and worked for several years in Spain prior to joining the Foreign Service as the British Vice-Consul in Northern Norway in 1933. Similarly employed at the renewal of hostilities, he was recalled to the Royal Navy on the invasion of Norway in May 1940 and appointed S.N.O. at Tromso. In this latter capacity he assisted in the arrangements for the evacuation of the Norwegian Royal Family and sailed with them and other V.I.Ps for the U.K in H.M.S. Devonshire that June. As related in a newspaper feature from the above described archive, Cumming was also involved in the transportation of much of Norway's Gold Reserve. Awarded an M.B.E., he was appointed a Liaison Officer to the Norwegian Navy and served for the remainder of the War at Devonport and in Iceland. Returning to Tromso as British Vice-Consul after the War, Cumming was advanced to H.B.M. Consul in 1951 and oversaw arrangements for the State Visit of Elizabeth II in 1955, these latter services resulting in the award of his O.B.E. shortly prior to his retirement.
Also sold with a quantity of related uniform and other service equipment, including Naval Officer's Regulation Sword, complete with sword knot, leather scabbard with brass mounts and leather outer cover, the latter bearing the initials, 'A.P.C.'; a three-draw Signalling Telescope by Dollond, London, with leather sleeve and lens-caps, and alternative eye-piece lens, also in its leather case; a pair of Binoculars by Ross, London, in fitted leather case; a box-wood Parallel Ruler by Coombes, Devonport, with lacquered brass rollers, inscribed by 'A.P. Cumming', in fitted hardwood case; a fine set of Drawing Instruments, also be Coombes, Devonport, each inscribed with the initials 'A.P.C.', in a velvet-lined wooden box; and an impressive collection of black silk Ship Cap Tallies (34), some of them relating to the Norwegian Navy.
O.B.E. London Gazette 1.1.1957.
D.S.C. London Gazette 11.4.1919 'For services in Destroyers employed on Convoy, Escort and Patrol Duties in the period 1 July to 11 November 1918'.
Lieutenant-Commander Alexander Putnam Cumming, O.B.E., D.S.C., was born in August 1896 and educated at the R.N. Colleges Osborne and Dartmouth between 1909-13. Appointed a Midshipman in early 1914, he was aboard H.M.S. Conqueror at the outbreak of hostilities, gained advancement to Sub. Lieutenant in H.M.S. P 25 in 1916 and to Lieutenant in H.M.S. Ossory in March 1918. Awarded the D.S.C. for Anti-Submarine work in the latter ship, he remained a Regular after the War and was advanced to Lieutenant-Commander in March 1926. Cumming was then placed on the Retired List and worked for several years in Spain prior to joining the Foreign Service as the British Vice-Consul in Northern Norway in 1933. Similarly employed at the renewal of hostilities, he was recalled to the Royal Navy on the invasion of Norway in May 1940 and appointed S.N.O. at Tromso. In this latter capacity he assisted in the arrangements for the evacuation of the Norwegian Royal Family and sailed with them and other V.I.Ps for the U.K in H.M.S. Devonshire that June. As related in a newspaper feature from the above described archive, Cumming was also involved in the transportation of much of Norway's Gold Reserve. Awarded an M.B.E., he was appointed a Liaison Officer to the Norwegian Navy and served for the remainder of the War at Devonport and in Iceland. Returning to Tromso as British Vice-Consul after the War, Cumming was advanced to H.B.M. Consul in 1951 and oversaw arrangements for the State Visit of Elizabeth II in 1955, these latter services resulting in the award of his O.B.E. shortly prior to his retirement.