Lot 545
545
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An Extremely Well Documented and Interesting Knight Bachelor's Group of Four to Sir George Lowe, a Chief Justice Whose Career Took Him to Fiji, Kenya, Malta, Tanganyika and Tonga: In the 1939-45 War He Served as a Squadron Leader in the Royal New Zealand Air Force, Knight Bachelor's Badge, 2nd type, silver-gilt and enamel (Hallmarks for London, 1960), in Royal Mint case of issue; War Medal 1939-45; New Zealand Service 1939-45; Coronation 1953, good very fine or better, mounted as worn where appropriate, together with three related Dress Miniatures (7)

Details
An Extremely Well Documented and Interesting Knight Bachelor's Group of Four to Sir George Lowe, a Chief Justice Whose Career Took Him to Fiji, Kenya, Malta, Tanganyika and Tonga: In the 1939-45 War He Served as a Squadron Leader in the Royal New Zealand Air Force, Knight Bachelor's Badge, 2nd type, silver-gilt and enamel (Hallmarks for London, 1960), in Royal Mint case of issue; War Medal 1939-45; New Zealand Service 1939-45; Coronation 1953, good very fine or better, mounted as worn where appropriate, together with three related Dress Miniatures (7)
Special notice
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

Sold with a superb array of original documentation and photographs, including correspondence from H.R.H. Princess Elizabeth's Secretary and Lady-in-Waiting regarding her visit to Malta in 1950 (5 items); letters and Christmas cards from Mountbatten of Burma and his wife Edwina, assorted subject matter, 1949-65 (28 items); other correspondence with Queen Salote Tupou III and the Tonga Royal Family, assorted subject matter, 1938-60 (18 items); a selection of official invitations ranging from a dinner in honour of H.R.H. Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh at Valetta, Malta in December 1950 to the Coronation in 1953 (12 items); a large assortment of photographs, covering service in the R.N.Z.A.F. to official presentation items, such as a signed image of Queen Salote III of Tonga (dated 1940); a quantity of Warrants and Certificates, among them Lowe's Commission (as Captain) in the Tonga Defence Force (dated 20.11.1939) and his hand illuminated Grant of Arms, complete with seals and cased; and a selection of newspaper cuttings reporting on notable legal cases of the recipient's long and distinguished career. In all, a fascinating archive with plenty of scope for further research.

Sir (Albert) George Lowe, Kt., was born in Auckland, New Zealand in June 1901 and completed his education at Auckland University College. Entering the legal profession, he practised as a Solicitor and Barrister in New Zealand until 1938, when he was appointed Legal Secretary in Tonga. Soon after the outbreak of hostilities, however, he enlisted in the Royal New Zealand Air Force and rose to the rank of Squadron Leader before returning to the legal profession. Between 1945-49, he served as Crown Counsel in Kenya, where he sometimes acted as Solicitor-General and Legal Draftsman, and between 1949-53, as Legal Secretary in Malta, where on occasion he acted as Lieutenant-Governor. Next posted to Tanganyika, where he was Puisne Judge until 1958, Lowe was latterly Chief Justice in Fiji and Chief Judicial Commissioner, Western Pacific. Knighted in 1961, his final appointment was as a Member of the Foreign Compensation Board until his retirement in 1966. Sir George died in December of the following year.