A Star Of India Group To Captain J. E. Pedley

A fine C.S.I., C.I.E., Great War M.C. group of eight awarded to Captain J. E. Pedley, Indian Army, late King?s Royal Rifle Corps, who was latterly a senior member of the Indian Civil Service. The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India, C.S.I., Companion?s neck badge, gold and enamel, with central onyx cameo bust of Queen Victoria and rose diamond set legend, a few stones lacking, with full neck ribbon, in case of issue, maker marked GARRARD & Co. LONDON, extremely fine condition; The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire, C.I.E., Companion?s neck badge, gold and enamels, with full neck ribbon, contact marks on reverse, extremely fine condition; Military Cross, George V; 1914-15 Star (2. LIEUT: J.E. PEDLEY, K.R. RIF: C.); British War and Victory Medals (CAPT. J. E. PEDLEY.); India General Service Medal 1908-35, 1 clasp - AFGHANISTAN N.W.F. 1919 (CAPT. J. E. PEDLEY, 57 RFLS. F.F.); Jubilee Medal 1935, Four medals are officially impressed in capitals. mounted as worn, some contact wear, very fine condition. Also included is copies from the London Gazette documenting his C.S.I. (June 13, 1946, John Edward Pedley, Esq., C.I.E., M.C., Indian Civil Service, lately Adviser to His Excellency the Governor of the United Provinces.), his C.I.E. (June 8, 1939, John Edward Pedley, Esq., M.C., Indian Civil Service, Collector, Gorakhpur, United Provinces.) and his M.C.(January 1, 1917, Temp. Lt. John Edward Pedley, K. R. Rif. C.); original warrants for the C.S.I. (dated June 13, 1946) and C.I.E. (dated June 8, 1939) (edges slightly cut and damaged); a letter from the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood, St. James's Palace, Warrant under King's Sign Manual granting the Dignity of a Companion of the Order of the Star of India (undated); two Investiture Programs, Government House, Lucknow by Governor, United Provinces, dated Wednesday, January 3, 1940 and Thursday, December 19, 1946; eleven pages of copies of his Service Records from The National Archives; a copy listing his qualification for 1914-15 Star for service in the Theatre of War: France, Belgium July 25, 1915, qualifying date July 22, 1915; War Diary of Intelligence Summary document stating "wounded, Capt. J.R. Pedley" at Bilhem (April 25, 1917); his Release from Military Service issued by India Office (November 4, 1919); Indian Army Reserve of Officers Appointment document (Februrary 21, 1919); Covenant of J.E. Pedley, Member of the Civil Service of India, at the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal (August 23, 1920); six pages of copies, Indian Army Reserve of Officers Appointment of Probationers; Indian Civil Service, Civil Service Commissioners recommendation for Selected Candidates for the I.C.S.; three officially issued lists in regards to wearing of orders and medals; three newspaper clippings (tribute from Pandit Pant; announcement of "Companionship of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire"; Selection Board's Decisions for Civil Service Appointments); congratulatory letters for the C.I.E. from the Governor of the United Provinces, June 7, 1939 and the Governor's wife, June 8, 1939. All in fine to very fine condition.Footnote: John Edward Pedley was born in Rangoon, Burma in December 4, 1891, the son of Surgeon Lieutenant-Colonel T. F. Pedley of the Rangoon Port Defence Volunteers. He was educated at Repton (O.T.C.) and Trinity College, Oxford, England. Upon finishing his education, he was commissioned into the King?s Royal Rifle Corps in December 1914, from the ranks of King Edward?s Horse which he had joined in November 1911. He first went to France on July 25, 1915, where he served in the 12th Battalion, attached to the 6th Battalion, and won his Military Cross in 1916. He was subsequently wounded in the right leg on April 25, 1917, documented in his service records as "several small fragments of shell in the right calf and below the knee joint" at Bilhem and was transferred to the Indian Army Reserve of Officers at the end of the year. Five months later, he was declared fit to return to service. He was subsequently employed in the Third Afghan War as a Captain in the 57th (Wilde?s) Rifles, I.A. In 1920 Pedley joined the Indian Civil Service and a long and distinguished career ensued, one of his final appointments being as a Member of the Board of Revenue in the United Provinces shortly after the 1939-45 War. Among other appointments in the interim, Pedley was placed in charge of the Gorakhpur district in the late 1930s, an unenvious position that resulted in the award of his C.I.E. in 1939. An accompanying newspaper cutting quotes the following citation, as read out at the time of his investiture: "You joined the service in 1920 after four years? service in the British and Indian Armies, during which you were awarded the Military Cross. From 1924 to 1928 you were Registrar of the Allahabad High Court. Thereafter you served as a District Officer and have been in charge of the large districts of Lucknow, Meerut and Bareilly. Since September 1937, you have been Collector of the very large and important district of Gorakhpur with over three million inhabitants, which was then in an unsatisfactory state owing to agrarian unrest and political agitation. You have fully justified your selection for this difficult charge. You handled the general situation, including at one stage a troublesome communal problem in Gorakhpur city, with great success; and by sound and cool-headed judgement combined with firmness and urbanity you restored confidence in the district administration among all classes of the population and effected a great improvement in the general agrarian situation. You have done most valuable work in Gorakhpur, and it is with great pleasure that I now deliver you the insignia of the Companionship of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire." In 1946, he was awarded his C.S.I. and then retired to the Isle of Man. He died in April 1972 at the age of 80 years. (BAG225)