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Lot Essay
M.B.E. London Gazette 14.1.1920 'For valuable services rendered with Military Operations in Siberia'.
Major Ramsey George Kendal, M.B.E., who was born in April 1887, served briefly as a Trooper in the Northumberland Hussars before sailing for South America to take up employment with the Railways in Argentina. The outbreak of hostilities prompted his return to the U.K. and, in February 1915, he was gazetted as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Field Artillery. He subsequently served in France from July 1915 until January 1916, and in Salonika from the latter date until July 1918. During this period he transferred to the Royal Engineers and served in a Railway Operating Company. Then in January 1919, Kendal was sent to Siberia, where he served as a Deputy Assistant Director of Railways with the rank of Temporary Major. Completing this appointment at the end of the year, he was released from the Service in April 1920 and granted the rank of Major.
In late 1936, in a case that appears to have had all the hallmarks of a scene from the popular film, Separate Tables - starring David Niven as "The Major" - Kendal suffered the indignity of having his rank and M.B.E. entitlement called into question, possibly by a disgruntled partner in his hotel business. But as proved to be the case in the film, it was a happy ending, and Cornwall County Constabulary quickly dropped their enquiries. That said, we have been unable to verify his 'Mention'....
Major Ramsey George Kendal, M.B.E., who was born in April 1887, served briefly as a Trooper in the Northumberland Hussars before sailing for South America to take up employment with the Railways in Argentina. The outbreak of hostilities prompted his return to the U.K. and, in February 1915, he was gazetted as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Field Artillery. He subsequently served in France from July 1915 until January 1916, and in Salonika from the latter date until July 1918. During this period he transferred to the Royal Engineers and served in a Railway Operating Company. Then in January 1919, Kendal was sent to Siberia, where he served as a Deputy Assistant Director of Railways with the rank of Temporary Major. Completing this appointment at the end of the year, he was released from the Service in April 1920 and granted the rank of Major.
In late 1936, in a case that appears to have had all the hallmarks of a scene from the popular film, Separate Tables - starring David Niven as "The Major" - Kendal suffered the indignity of having his rank and M.B.E. entitlement called into question, possibly by a disgruntled partner in his hotel business. But as proved to be the case in the film, it was a happy ending, and Cornwall County Constabulary quickly dropped their enquiries. That said, we have been unable to verify his 'Mention'....