[Palestine Content] – [Luke, Harry Charles / Pirie-Gordon, Harry / Lambeth Palace / The Times / St.John – Meeting and Investiture at Buckingham (1927)] Allenby, Sir Edmund H.H.

Four Manuscript letters from Sir Harry Luke’s friend, Lieut.Colonel Harry Pirie-Gordon (Military Editor), together with a poor working-copy of Allenby’s “A Brief Record of the Advance of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force – July 1917 to October 1918” (Second Edition, 1919). Harry Pirie-Gordon wrote the Preface to this edition and T.E.Lawrence anonymously contributed two Reports to this publication [″Sherifian co-operation in September” / “Story of the Arab Movement”].

[This item is part of the Sir Harry Luke – Archive / Collection]. London / [The Times], 1926 – 1930. 22,5 cm x 15 cm. Two bifold letters in their original envelope, one addressed to London and one addressed to Sierra Leone. Both letters on stationery of “The Times” , for which Pirie-Gordon worked as “Foreign Correspondent”. Disbound. Harry Luke’s (Lukach) personal copy of the Allenby Report but with no annotations. Three letters by Pirie-Gordon were actually kept with this bookblock of the Allenby-Report, one of them is listed in the Luke-Archive under a different topic [in this third letter, Pirie-Gordon actually writes to Sir Harry Luke’s father in a delicate matter regarding a Napoleon – Letter].

The four letters from Luke’s old friend, Harry Pirie-Gordon, are listed here below:

Letter One: January 1st, 1926 – On Stationery from “The Times” regarding Luke being awarded the CMG:

″My dear, At last – & I am so glad that it is a decent & respectable CMG (which you ought to have had in 1917) with a pleasant Mediterranean flavour about it and not a CBE – besides the decoration is so much nicer –
So now your St.John Star will really be useful & you will walk abroad under the protection of the Taxiarch, the Baptist & the Patron of Chivalry.
They tell me at the Garter [?] that a grade of “Commander” is about to be introduced – thus Bali – (5 in number) will come first only they may call them ‘Bailiffs’ – then ‘Kts Knights] of Justice’ – then ‘of Grace’ – then ‘Commander’ – then ‘Esquire’ – Best Salams – H.″

Letter Two: August 9th, 1927 – On Stationery from “The Times” regarding the investiture of St.John at Buckingham Palace

″My dear, The investiture of St.John at Buckingham Palace was very interesting as everybody – the males at least – wore the new sopra vest under the mantle it is just like double….the King wore sopra vest and mantle – the Bailiffs Grand Cross have a large eight-printed Cross on the breast of the sopra vest as well as on the mantle and he invested all of them with their broad black ribbonds – he put them over the Garter of left shoulder – & afterwards he sent Lord Cromer to say that it was not to be a precedent and that they were to be worn in future over the Bath or right shoulder. This caused regret to many. There has been a special private appeal to the Order for money to meet the expense caused by the Earthquake to our Hospital in Jerusalem……..″
(this is only part of page one and two more pages are waiting to be transcribed)

Letter Three: February, 3rd, 1928 – On Stationery from “The Times” regarding Barrington Ward at the Times and Luke’s submission of articles

Letter Four: July 2nd, 1930 – On Stationery from “The Times” regarding the death of Luke’s father:

″My dear – It must have been, as you put it, a merciful release and that knowledge may help to mitigate in a way your loss. You will have seen that we were able to get the little Obit in, also the notice in the Personal Column – just one guinea.
I am sorry I shall miss you tonight but you will see my father – I was at a St.John meeting today. They are thinking of having a Pageant, either at Ranelaigh or in the garden of Lambeth Palace as part of the celebration of the centenary of the revival –
I am having a section in the new edition of Burke’s Landed Gentry for de-landed or un-landed Gentry in which I hope you and your arms will figure – I will send you the necessary forms to fill up – Best Salams – H.”

• Keywords: Arabia · British Colonial Administration · British Colonial History · British Foreign Office · British Foreign Policy · CMG · Harry Luke – Palestine I (1920 – 1924) · Middle Eastern History – Rare · Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta · Palestine · Palestine – Content / Sir Harry Luke Collection · Palestine Content (Autographed Letter Signed – ALS) · Palestine Content (Printed Chapters) · Pirie-Gordon, Harry · Sir Harry Luke · Sir Harry Luke – Personal Archive of Books and Correspondence · Sir Harry Luke Collection
• Language: English
• Inventory Number: 31795AB

EUR 128.000,--