BRITISH WWI GROUPING OF MEDALS,INSIGNIA, PAINTINGS ETC.,

An important and well documented group of three WWI medals and accompanying Royal Naval Air Service Uniform tunic, insignia, paintings, silks , badges , diaries and sketches to a Chief Petty Officer W.W.Collins, Royal Naval Air Service. Collins, who served as an observer with No.1. Kite Balloon Section aboard the first Kite Balloon ship HMS Manica during the Dardanelles campaign of 1915 helping to direct the fire of the supporting warships, despite being subject to attack by shore battery and enemy aircraft. Collins, who was a famous artist, produced an outstanding both first hand written and a artistic account of events as they happened. The grouping comprises of 1914/15 Star named to Collins, British War and Victory Medals also named to Collins, mounted in a period rectangular frame. The very rare Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Anti Aircraft Corps tunic and waistcoat in blue cloth, the lapels with ‘R.N.V.R.’ with ‘A.A.C.’ below as a one piece section of insignia on each collar with gilt naval buttons with pin back riband bar upon the tunic. No moth damage, good nap to cloth. This is an exceptionally rare piece of WWI uniform. A separate glazed set of insignia, which includes the ‘R.N.A.S.’ insignia, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve cap insignia for both officers and men with Royal Naval Air Service red albatross at base. Medal ribbons for the First World War trio all in a period frame. Together separately framed Comrades of the Great War enamel badge, for King & Country Service badgeand a National Reserve Badge for the County of Dorset plus a loose Royal Engineers lapel badge. An extremely thorough pocket diary, 13cm x 8cm written in pencil with daily entries detailing his departure from Roehampton March 15 and continuing until the 7th June 15, inscribed ‘Private W.W.Collins RNAS No.1 Kite Balloon Section Dardanelles 1915’ to the inside cover. Approximately 56 pages in excess of 7,500 words, a fascinating first hand account of the Dardanelles campaign and life aboard HMS Manica. A pocket diary detailing his experiences from the 8th August 1915 to 17th September 1915 inclusive of the jotting of sketches and scrap annotations. An artist jotting pad 19cm x 10cm commencing with pencil architectural drawstrings of London, approximately 16 sketches, followed by some outstanding pencil drawings of ships in the Dardanelles, many with the ships named, approximately 18 sketches in total. The final scenes display the landings and the positioning of the warships. The two pages of writing describe the scene. An artist drawing pad 25 x 19cm including pencil drawings by Collins aboard the balloon at the time, shells from the naval barrage were bursting upon the Gallipoli peninsular. Many of these drawings are labeled and display a keen eye for three-dimensional detail, some are similar to what one would find upon a modern day ordnance survey map with contours of significant features, approximately 18 in total. A memorandum book containing accounts and notes pertaining to fishing exploits and the drills, scores and experiences etc., of the 20th Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps. A detailed account of Collins’ experiences in the early 1880’s inscribed ‘W.W.Collins, Charterhouse London’ to the interior cover. A thorough collection of contemporary newspaper cuttings relating to art exhibitions and reviews by critics inclusive of reports regarding sales and customers. A four page account War Artists at Gallipoli by Peter Wright who in the appendix thanks the grandson of W.W.Collins for help with compiling the document. Two original water colour paintings by W.W.Collins both signed by the artist and entitled ‘Suvla Bay 1915’, both 26cm x 17.5cm, framed and glazed showing the men going ashore likely from the advantage point of the balloon aboard HMS Manica. A very nice high quality silk and mixed thread victory for the allies display piece bearing the flags of the Victorious powers and a central photograph of W.W.Collins in RNVR uniform framed and glazed 57 x 55cm. A very personal and charming small pocket notebook titled ‘Fish caught by myself from June 1883 to September 1941’. This little notebook contains a very thorough account of all the roach, eels, perch, trout, gudgeon and other species of fish caught by W.W.Collins in various rivers and coastal locations across the U.K. commencing 16th June 1883 with an afternoon spent on the banks of the River Thames at Staines, and later in October 1939 towards the end of the account he notes ‘1 Minnow also caught on a fly’. William W. Collins was born August 1862, Kensington, London, studied at Lambeth School of Art, followed by art education in Paris, on graduation he exhibited at many of the most influential London galleries including the Royal Academy developing a reputation for water colours and pen and ink drawings, he was elected to membership at the Royal Institute of Painters in Water colour 1898 and the Royal Society of British Artists in 1906. Following the outbreak of the Great War Collins signed up with his friend and fellow artist Herbert William Hillier enlisting together in the London Division of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. In March 1915 both men were posted to the armoured cruiser HMS Bacchante, which was stationed in the Mediterranean, they were subsequently informed of the transfer to the former cargo steamship HMS Manica, it is most likely that the pair were hand picked for their artistic skills and experience of technical drawings, especially architecture. A keen eye for detail placed him much in demand at a time when accurate maps of the Gallipoli peninsular were is short supply. 25th April 1915 Collins was at Z Beach and Anzac Cove, many diary entries of all the events over the subsequent days and weeks with details of casualties and prisoners. A fantastic group of a well known artist of the period with all of his experiences at Gallipoli minutely detailed, both in word and artwork.

Code: 78509