An exceptional Great War DSO and MC group of four to Captain Arthur Josiah Lord, 4th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, whose remarkably bravery in March 1918 saw him decorated twice, firstly with the Military Cross for leaping onto a parapet during an enemy advance to direct machine gun fire and throw bombs at the advancing troops thereby successfully beating off the enemy attack for which he was decorated by the King, and then only a few days later, on 28 March, for successfully leading his company through a heavy barrage, personally directing his men to the most advantageous positions, and then overseeing an orderly withdrawal of his men and being the last to leave the line when ordered to withdraw. A typescript of his detailed letters home from the Western Front, now held by the Imperial War Museum, give a sobering and graphic insight to his war.
Four: Distinguished Service Order, G.V.R.; Military Cross, G.V.R.; British War and Victory Medals with M.I.D. Oak leaf (CAPT. A. J. LORD), the decorations complete with investiture pins, the campaign awards individually fitted with pins for wearing, as worn.
Condition: Minor chips to green enamel on the first otherwise Nearly Extremely Fine.
Sold together with the recipient’s tunic ribbon bar. The BWM and Victory Medals transposed on this and the M.I.D. emblem incorrectly affixed to the BWM.
Capt. Arthur Josiah Lord, 4th Bn. Royal Fusiliers Lord was born on 1 February 1884 in Walsden, Lancashire, but his family had moved to Hereford by the time he was five years old. He was the third of Alfred Lord’s five children, though one died in childhood. Alfred was from relatively humble origins and had originally been a warehouseman. He later became a musician and was a bass singer in Chichester Cathedral Choir, York Minster, and then Hereford Cathedral. Arthur attended Hereford Cathedral School (1893-98) and later joined the Post Office as a sorting clerk and telegraphist. There he gained his executive qualifications for his civil service examination. At the outbreak of war he was living in London working for the Post Office Investigations Branch. He originally joined the East Anglian Regiment, but moved to the Royal Fusiliers after he was commissioned.
The Imperial War Museum holds A. J. Lord’s privately published typescript of highly detailed letters (140pp) written whilst serving as a Captain with the 4th Battalion Royal Fusiliers (9th Brigade, 3rd Division) on the Western Front, May 1916 – September 1918, describing in graphic detail the sight of wounded and dead soldiers, the treatment of the dead by both sides, accidental deaths in the front line, the different behaviour of men under fire, the effect of the rum ration on morale, the effect of war on the mental attitude of soldiers who plan to return to their peacetime occupations, emotions during the build up to the Battle of the Somme (1916), the effectiveness of British Artillery, the character of men who are awarded the Victoria Cross such as Captain Mellish VC, examples of the bravery of ordinary soldiers who are not officially recognised and the ceremony during which he was awarded the Military Cross by HM King George V, as well as evocative descriptions of experiencing intense shelling, going "over the top", a gas attack and wearing box respirators during the German Spring Offensive (March 1918), the sight of destroyed tanks, his wounding by shrapnel and subsequent treatment, the devastation to villages and the impact of the war on civilians close to the front lines and his eventual hospitalisation with 'war exhaustion' following his experiences during a German counter-attack in September 1918; together with a Preface written by his daughter detailing his post-war life including a description of his return to the battlefields in the 1930s and the effect the war appeared to have on his mental health.
Lord embarked for service in France on 12 May 1916 and was awarded the Military Cross for successfully holding off a German attack in March 1918 (London Gazette 18 July 1918) Lieut. (A./Capt.) Arthur Josiah Lord, R. Fus., Spec. Res. The recommendation states:
For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. On the enemy making a determined attack on a block in the support line, he led forward a platoon and a half armed with bombs to meet the attack. Leaping on to the parapet, he thence directed his machine-gun fire, and by throwing bombs himself he set such an example of coolness and determination that the attack was successfully beaten off and confidence restored amongst the men who were withdrawing from the block, which was afterwards reoccupied.. His prompt action and example undoubtedly saved a serious situation.
A few days later he was decorated again. Coinciding with the 1st Battle of Arras on the 28th March, during the Kaiserschlact, the 9th brigade including the 4th Battalion Royal Fusiliers were used to try and block the German advance. The following extract taken from the Battalion's War Diary for this date reveals:
28th About 3 a.m. the Battalion was shelled out of Billets, about 8.30 a.m. "X" Company ordered up in support to Green Line - About 9 a. m. Head Quarters was ordered up to support of Green Line and Head Quarters was established in trench near Arras - Bapaume Road. About 9.00 a. m. "Z" Company under command of Captain A. J. Lord M. C. moved forward from Green Line to support of 1st system and came under command of 1st 1. Fusiliers. At 9.40 "X" Company was ordered forward into Green Line to occupy position vacated by "Z" Company. By the time "Z" Company reached the support line of 1st system, the enemy was attacking it heavily , the Brigades on both flanks of the 9th Brigade had given way - Captain A. J. Lord M. C. formed a left defensive flank for the 9th Brigade - the remainder of 1st 1. Fusiliers, 13th Kings and our "Z" Company held this line until about 5 p. m. When the line was no longer tenable they successfully withdrew through the Green Line and reorganized. The Green Line and 1EUVILLE VITASSE SWITCH now became the front line.
Lord was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his actions that day ( London Gazette 26 July 1918). Lt. (A./C'apt.) Arthur Josiah Lord, M.C., R. 'Fus., Spec. Res. The recommendation states:
For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He led his company forward in perfect order during a heavy barrage from the reserve to the support line, personally directing his men to the most advantageous positions. Later, he was personally responsible for an orderly withdrawal, his company being the last to leave the line'. The same night he established a line in old trenches and shell holes, closing a gap left by the brigade on his flank.
He was subsequently Mentioned in Despatches (London Gazette 27 Dec 1918).
In one of his letters home he told his father that ‘the dead, no matter in what shape or form, no longer cause the slightest concern,’ although he found the groans of the wounded haunting. It is not surprising that late these experiences of life and death on the Western Front were to affect his mental health later in life.
He married Florence Margery Howard in Surrey on 2 December 1916. On 7 May 1928 he was appointed Head Postmaster at the Epson Post Office, a position he held until 1937 when he retired to Castle Pool Hotel, Hereford.