THE ECLECTIC COLLECTOR 6 APRIL 2025

110 181 [1921] Archive of Brigadier Henry Gilberton-Smith CB OBE MC TD(1897-1977), Section Leader, B Company in the Royal Irish Constabulary Auxilary Division. Collection of approximately 40 documents relating to Gilberton-Smith’s military career fromWorld War One in the London Regiment 2/25th Cyclist Battalion and the Machine Gun Corps, in which he was awarded a Military Cross, to WorldWar Two in The Royal Artillery and 303 Infantry Brigade. Of Irish interest are a letter on 6 September 1921 from somewhere in Cavan - ‘I think Michael Collins speech at Armagh...he alluded to the Auxilaries as “England’s best & fines fighters....worthy successors of the men who fought the O’Neills’. He also mentions his motive for joining the Auxiliaries - “the Macroom Massacre” (The Kilmichael Ambush) of Nov 1920, describes IRA activity he has witnessed during the Truce, also Auxiliary. Division RIC certificate of Smith’s promotion to Section Leader, signed E.A. Wood, Commandant of the Division, and a detailed application letter, 28 January 1922 to Colonel Wickham, Commanding the Special Constabulary Ulster, asking for a commission, in which he outlines his experience including his involvement in the “roundup and death of Con Gleeson Commandant of the IRA in Tipperary”. Rare documents of an ‘Auxie’ and interesting paper trail of a soldier over 30 years, two world wars and a rebellion. See also lot 235. Condition: Slight faults, mostly very good and all legible. For a record of Gilberton-Smith’s career see https://25thlondon.com/hgs.htm Estimate €800-€1,200 (approx £670-£1,000) Click here for more images and to bid on this lot 181