'...he showed great skill in organising the work under

very difficult conditions.'

 Military Cross medal groups for sale awarded to Captain Boulnois, [later Colonel]. The full size medals mounted as two seperate groups, one group of seven medals, a second group of five medals, plus Boulnois' miniature medal group with original silk ribbons. The medals comprise the following, and are for sale as a whole:

Medal Group one:

1. O.B.E.
2. Military Cross
   
3. 1914-15 Star/Aug 5-Nov 22 1914 Bar (Lieut. P.K.Boulnois R.E.)
4. War Medal (Major P.K. Boulnois)
5. Victory Medal (Major P.K. Boulnois)
6. George V Jubilee Medal
7. George VI Corontation Medal
   

Medal Group Two:

1. 1939-45 Star
2. Africa Star
3. Italy Star
4. Defence Medal
5. 1939-45 Medal
   

Medal Group Three:

Twelve miniature medals. The miniature medal group corresponding to the medals in the full size groups. Particularly high quality.

 

Condition report: All the medals for sale in excellent condition. The ribbons clean. Slight fraying to the 1939-45 Medal [medal group two].

Notes: With reference to the the Military Cross Decoration; the Edinburgh Gazette [October 26 1918] confirms:

'During the bridging operations of 26th October 1918, at Salettuol he rendered extremely valuable services under difficult and dangerous circumstances. Under hostile shelling and bombing he showed a fine disregard of danger, and set a splendid example to his men. It was largely owing to personal example that the operation was a success, and he showed great skill in organising the work under very difficult conditions.'

Background to Boulnois' military career: Boulnois served with the Royal Engineers in the opening campaign from Mons through to the first battel of Ypes [WW1]. Wounded in 1915. Returned home and served as an instructor.  Boulnois returned to the front line and took command of the 54th Field Company in Italy [June 1917].

After WWI Boulnois worked as Survey Specialist on the German-Polish & Danzig boundary Commission. Later assigned to Africa for the delimination of the frontier between French Equatorial Africa and the Anglo-Egyption Sudan. Boulnois was awarded the O.B.E for his valuable work with the Commssion.

Returning from Africa, Boulnois joined the Geographical Section General Staff at the War Office, and was also Liaison Officer with the Air Ministry [See Notes on MI14].

In 1935 he took command of the GSGS, and was responsible for mapping in the event of  war.

He retired with the rank of Colonel in 1944, and died in 1952.

Provenance: Ex-Dix Noonan Webb 1999. The medal sale includes a significant  quantity of photocopied documents relating to Boulnois.

Note: British Military Intelligence, Section 14 was a department of the British Directorate of Military Intelligence. It was an intelligence agency of the War Office which specialised in intelligence about Germany.

Originally part of MI13, during WW2 the German sub-department's expertise and analysis became so important to the war-effort  it was spun-off into its own Military Intelligence section.

One of MI14's most valuable sources, codenamed COLUMBA, consisted of reports returned by pigeons dropped over Nazi-occupied countries in packs containing a miniature spying kit.

Now defunct, the foreign intelligence remit is handled by the Secret Intelligence Service [MI6]

Source Wikipedia 2016