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Auction: 25001 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 65

(x) Four: Lieutenant-Colonel W. H. B. Long, Irish Guards, late 2nd Battalion, Royal West Kent Regiment, a descendant of Wiltshire gentry and brother to the 1st Viscount Long; he was himself an early member of the Irish Guards, whom he joined on 24 July 1901, while serving as A.D.C. to the Governor-General of Ireland

Queen's South Africa 1899-1902, 3 clasps Cape Colony, Orange Free State and South Africa 1901, (Capt. W. H. B. Long. 2/R.W.Kent Rgt); 1914-15 Star (Capt. W. H. B. Long I. Gds.); British War and Victory Medals (Lt Col. W. H. B. Long), very fine (4)

William Hoare Bourchier Long was born on 22 March 1868 at Cannes, Alpes-Maritimes, France, the son of, Sir Richard Penruddocke Long. William's brother was Walter Hume Long, 1st Viscount Long. On his father's side he was descended from an old family of Wiltshire gentry, and on his mother's side from Anglo-Irish gentry in County Wicklow. When young, his father inherited the Rood Ashton estate in Wiltshire.

Educated at Harrow and later Oxford he was commissioned in the Royal West Kent Regiment in 1889 serving in the mounted infantry. William served with the Regiment in the Boer War but returned to Ireland on 3 April 1900 to take up an appointment as A.D.C. to Earl Cadogan, then the Governor General of Ireland.

While there he transferred to the Irish Guards very soon after their formation on 24 July. Whilst not a founding officer he was one of the first men to transfer into the Regiment, possibly due to his position on the Governor's Staff. Long married Vera Cecily Marchant Oliver on 25 November 1911 at London and had a son with her. He was living at Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset, in 1871 and later Saxlingham, Norfolk, 1911.

Entering the war in France in March 1915 where he served as a Commandant of an infantry base depot in France. William was living in Italy at the beginning of the Second World War and upon Italy entering the war wisely decided to leave embarking on a ship heading for Australia where he eventually settled.

William died at Canberra, Australia on 17 July 1943 and is buried in the Northern Suburbs Memorial Gardens and Crematorium, North Ryde, New South Wales, survived by his widow and one son, Lieutenant R. O. B. Long, who served during the Second World War in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. His widow donated a new window in the Regimental cloister in the Guards Chapel on 26 May 1968.

Subject to 5% tax on Hammer Price in addition to 20% VAT on Buyer’s Premium.

Estimate
£400 to £600

Starting price
£320