Case 1: Sir Frederick Sykes The first display in the gallery contains the awards relating to Major General Sir Frederick Sykes, the first Chief of the Air Staff, and future son-in-law of Andrew Bonnar Law, the British Prime Minister. The awards include the badges and stars of three orders which Sykes joined in connection with his services in command of the Royal Flying Corps and later the Royal Air Force, with the badge of a CMG, the badge and star of a military division KCB, and the sash badge and star of a military division GBE. Sir Frederick was appointed a Companion in the Order of St Michael and St George on 1 January 1916, while serving as a Wing Captain in the Royal Naval Air Service, for services with the Eastern Mediterranean Squadron between the time of the landing in the Gallipoli peninsula in April 1915 and the evacuation at the end of the year. At this stage the insignia of a CMG was worn on the breast rather than around the neck, but Sir Frederick’s badge was converted for neck wear following the introduction of new rules which permitted the CMGs to wear their badge in that way. Three years after being nominated a CMG, and only a few weeks after the Armistice, Sykes was appointed a KCB, without having first received the CB, which was the more usual means of entry into the ranks of the Order of the Bath. At the same time that Sir Frederick received his KCB, the Bath welcomed two more RAF officers who were destined to reach high rank and to succeed Sykes as Chief of the Air Staff: Major General John Salmond was granted a KCB, while Edward Ellington received his CB. The same distribution of honours included a CMG for Brigadier General Cyril Newall, whose awards are referred to below. A final honour for war services came on 26 August 1919, when Sir Frederick was appointed a Knight Grand Cross in the military division of the Order of the British Empire, ’~or distinguished services to aviation in general, and in particular for invaluable work as former Chief of the Air Staff". The military GBE was a particularly rare award, and Sykes was only the third man to receive that honour, follow- ing the nomination of Lieutenant General Sir Henry Sclater in January 1919, and the Maharaja of Navanagar in June of that year. No limit had been placed on the number of military GBEs who could be appointed when the honour was instituted in 1919, but when fresh statutes were issued for the Order of the British Empire on 29 December 1922, it was stipulated that no more than 10 military GBEs could exist at any time. In addition, the 1922 rules declared that only one the 10 GBEs was to be placed at the disposal of the Secretary of State for Air. The British Empire statutes were amended again on 3 November 1933, when the Air Secretary’s alloca- tion was increased to 2. There was, however, no significant increase in the number of military GBEs until 13 August 1946, when the limit was raised to 16, with 4 places for the Secretary of State for Air. New statutes, dated 14 December 1948, which were in force when King George VI died, began to reverse the position, with a reduction of the number from 16 to 14. During the period from January 1919 to February 1952, only nine RAF officers received the military GBE: 1919 Major General Sir Frederick Sykes, KCB CMG 1929 Air Vice-Marshal Sir Philip Game, KCB DSO 1941 Air Chief Marshal Sir Frederick Bowhill, KCB CMG DSO 1943 Air Chief Marshal Sir Edgar Ludlow-Hewitt, KCB CMG DSO MC 1945 Air Chief Marshal Sir Christopher Courtney, KCB CBE DSO 1946 Air Marshal Sir Douglas Evill, KCB DSC AFC 1948 Air Chief Marshal Sir Guy Garrod, KCB OBE MC DFC 1950 Air Chief Marshal Sir Ralph Cochrane, KCB KBE AFC 1952 Air Chief Marshal Sir Leslie Hollinghurst, KCB KBE DFC Sir Frederick’s medal bar is on ~how, and contains his Queen’s South Africa Medal with four bars; the 1914 Star and bar and British War and Victory Medals; the 1935 Jubilee and 1937 and 1953 Coronation Medals; the badge of the Russian Order of St Vladimir (with swords), and the American Distinguished Service Medal. After he left the RAF, Sykes was the first Controller General of Civil Aviation, until he entered the House of Commons in 1922 as a Unionist Mem- ber of Parliament. In 1928 he was chosen to go to India as Governor or Bombay, and he was appointed a Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the ~ndian Empire on 3 November 1928. The GCIE was the customary honour for Governors of the principal Indian provinces on their appointment, and Sir Frederick’s badge, based on a representation of an English rose, to- gether with the star containing a portrait of Queen Victoria, are both on display. At the end of his term in India, Sykes received the diamond-studded insignia of a Knight Grand Commander of the more senior Indian order, the Order of the Star of India, on 2 February 1934, and on the same day his wife, Bonar Law’s daughter, was awarded the Kaisar-i-Hind Medal of the First Class for Public Services in India. The Hendon collection contains the complete insig- nia of a GCSI, and not only the circular star of gold and the brilliant oval badge bearing the effigy of Queen Victoria, Sir Frederick’s pale blue mantle of the Star of India is also present, together with the collar, which contains representations of the English rose and the Indian lo- tus. Also on show are Sir Frederick’s badge and star as a Knight of Justice of the Order of St John; the neck badges of commanders of the French Legion of Honour and the Belgian Order of Leopold (with swords), and the sash badges and stars of the grand crosses of the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun and the Persian Order of the Sun and Lion. Case 2: Sir John Salmond & Sir ESwerd Ellington This display contains the awards of two Marshals of the RAF from the 1930s, Sir John Salmond and Sir Edward Ellington. Salmond’s honours include the badge and star of a GCB; the breast badge of a military division CB; the neck badges of a CMG and CVO; the badges and stars of the grand crosses of the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun and the Belgian Order of the Crown; and the commander’s neck badges of the italian Order of the Crown and the E~elgian Order of Leopold (with swords). Sir John’s medal bar contained his badge as a DSO; the Queen’s South Africa Medal with three bars; the 1914 Star and bar and the British War and Victory Med- als; the 1918 General Service Medal with Kurdistan bar; the 1935 Jubilee Medal and 1937 Coronation Medals; the badge of an officer of the French Legion of Honour; the French and Belgian Croix de Guerre with palms; and the American Distinguished Service Medal. It is not clear why the Salmond Collection should include the CB badge, since Sir John did not receive that degree in the Order of the Bath, being appointed directly to the grade of KCB in January 1919. It is possible that the insignia belonged to Sir John’s father, Major General Sir William Salmond, who was appointed a CB in 1893 and promoted to KCB in 1902. Sir William survived until November 1933, and so, for more than a decade, both father and son were KCBs, with the son progressing to the rank of GCB in 1931. Salmond’s first appointment relat- ing to the 1914-18 War came on 18 February 1915, when he received the DSO. He was ap- pointed a CMG on 4 June 1917, and was honoured with a CVO on 13 August 1918, the last award being conferred in connection with the King’s visit to the forces in the field. Sir John was the senior military GCB from the death of General Sir John Shea in May 1966, until his own death in April 1968. The diepiay for Sir Edward Ellington, who followed Salmond as Chief of the Air Staff in 1933, contains the familiar badge and star of a military GCB, together with the neck badges of a CMG and a CBE. Ellington joined the Order of St Michael and St George on 3 June 1916, and he in one of the very few CMGs who were granted the right to place a memorial in the chapel of that order, which is located within St Paul’s Cathedral in London. The year 1919 brought Ellington his CB on 1 January (with promotion to KCB only one year later), and a CBE on 3 June. Sir Edward’s mounted medals containt the 1914 Star and bar and the British War and Victory Med- als; the 1935 Jubilee and 1937 and 1953 Coronation Medals; and the badge of a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honour. Ellington’s display also includes his miniature medals, which incorporate a representation of the badge of the Russian Order of St Vladimir. Case 3: Lord Newall The Chief of the Air Staff at the outbreak of the Second World War was Sir Cyril Newall, and his collection of orders, decorations, and medals include the badge and star of a GCB; the full in- sigina of a GCMG, with the blue and red mantle and collar in addition to the badge and star; the badge and star of a Knight of the Order of St John; and the neck badge of a Member of the Order of Merit.