WW1 1914-15 Star, Lt H.G. Alaway MC & Bar, Army Ordnance Department

A WW1 1914-15 Star named to Lieutenant H.G. Alaway, Army Ordnance Department. Horace George Alaway served from the first weeks of the First World War to the Armistice, and won the Military Cross twice for gallantry in 1918.

Both awards have published citations for acts of bravery under fire. Two gallantry Military Crosses to an Ordnance officer in the same year are extremely rare, and possibly unique in the Army Ordnance Department.

Condition: good, unpolished, with original ribbon.

Please note: his Military Cross and Bar are not included. This listing is for the 1914-15 Star only.

His story

Horace Alaway landed in France on 23 September 1914 as a Volunteer Driver with the British Red Cross Society and Order of St John. The war was only weeks old.

Volunteer drivers carried the wounded from the front to the hospitals and ports during the opening battles. His Red Cross service is recorded as running to May 1915.

In 1915 he was commissioned as a Temporary Lieutenant in the Army Ordnance Department, the officers' branch of the Ordnance services. The Ordnance supplied the army with everything it fought with, above all ammunition.

First Military Cross, 1918

As a Temporary Lieutenant (Acting Captain), he was in charge of an ammunition depot when enemy shelling set several of its dumps on fire. For five hours he fought to stop the fire spreading and to get the ammunition clear.

He then stayed at his post under heavy shell fire for three more days, issuing ammunition and evacuating it by the truckload. He did not leave until the enemy infantry were approaching. The citation praises the inspiring example he set to his men.

The citation gives no date or place. The timing of the award and the advancing enemy infantry point strongly to the German Spring Offensive of 1918.

Bar to the Military Cross, 30 October 1918

By the final advance he was serving with No. 81 Ordnance Ammunition Section, Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC). On the night of 30 October 1918, at Bisseghem near Kortrijk in Belgium, enemy aircraft bombed his ammunition depot.

Two railway trucks loaded with 4.5-inch shells caught fire. Alaway organised a party, had the burning trucks uncoupled and got each one moved to safety, saving the ammunition. This was just 12 days before the Armistice.

Why this is so rare

About 37,000 Military Crosses were awarded in the Great War. Fewer than 3,000 men won a second, and almost all of them were front-line officers in the infantry, artillery and similar units.

The Army Ordnance Department was a supply service. Its officers were normally far less exposed to direct enemy action than the fighting arms. Most Military Crosses to Ordnance officers were given in the New Year and Birthday Honours lists for good service, with no citation at all.

Alaway's two awards are different. Both are for specific acts of courage, both have published citations, and both were won in 1918, only months apart. Each time he faced the most dangerous situation an ammunition officer could meet: a burning ammunition depot under enemy attack.

We have found no published figure for how many Ordnance officers won the MC and Bar for gallantry, and we have not come across another example. We believe this is extremely rare, and possibly unique in the Army Ordnance Department.

Service record

• 23 September 1914: lands in France, Volunteer Driver, British Red Cross Society and Order of St John
• 3 April 1915: enters France as an officer, Temporary Lieutenant, Army Ordnance Department
• 26 July 1918: Military Cross for gallantry, London Gazette
• 30 October 1918: action at Bisseghem, Belgium, with No. 81 Ordnance Ammunition Section, RAOC
• 4 October 1919: Bar to the Military Cross, London Gazette
• 15 April 1920: 1914-15 Star issued (roll Off 180, page 11)
• March 1921: British War Medal and Victory Medal issued as Captain, RAOC
• After the war: Captain, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, living in Muswell Hill, London

The medal

• 1914-15 Star
• Named on the reverse: LIEUT: H. G. ALAWAY. A.O.D.
• Original ribbon

Research

Researched from his medal index card, the Red Cross 1914 Star roll, the British War Medal and Victory Medal rolls, his pension index card, and both London Gazette citations.