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Badge of the Order of St Anne, 2nd Class: CM.1502-2009

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Object information

Current Location: In storage

Maker(s)

State: Russia

Entities

Categories

Description

The Order of St Anne was founded at Kiel by Duke Karl Friedrich of Holstein-Gottorp, son-in-law of the Russian Emperor Peter the Great and an exile at his court at the time. In 1796 the Order was incorporated with the Russian military orders.
During the collapse of Tsarist Russia in the Revolution of 1917, a Provisional Government was briefly formed to represent the interests of government against the Bolshevik factions of the new order, and then various regional governments were formed in their wake, but what came to be classed as White Russian (as opposed to Red) resistance was eventually (by the end of 1918) crystallised around the Siberian Regional Government led by the Vice-Admiral Aleksandr Kolchak.
Despite the death of not only Tsar Nicholas II in 1917 but Grand Duke Michael his notional successor in 1918, effectively ending the Romanov royal line in whose name they were given, Kolchak's government maintained the issue of royal decorations and orders until the final collapse of the White Russian resistance in 1921, by which time Kolchak, perhaps their most capable military leader, had been made to resign.
This Badge is not named, but we know from its provenance that it was awarded to 2nd Lieutenant John Mitchell, of the Royal Air Force contingent that served in South Russia in support of British forces embroiled in the unsuccessful defence of White Russia, with whose other medals Lester Watson acquired it. Mitchell's endeavours in this theatre won him decorations both for military gallantry and life-saving actions from each of Britain and the White Russians.
Although the catalogue of the Watson Collection considers Mitchell's awards as its Group 7, the medals of that group are not physically attached and so have been treated separately here. Nonetheless it was as a group that Lester Watson purchased them, from the London dealers Baldwin in 1928.

Notes

History note: Gift of L. Hoyt Watson; ex Lester Watson Collection, bt Baldwin 1928

Legal notes

Given by Lester Watson through Cambridge in America, 2009

Measurements and weight

Diameter: 43.3 mm
Weight: 20.89 g

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (2009) by Watson, Lester

Dating

Production date: AD 1919

Materials used in production

Gold

Techniques used in production

Struck

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: CM.1502-2009
Primary reference Number: 141599
Watson Catalogue: 353
Ordering: M-0388
Previous object number: LW.0365h
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Saturday 22 January 2022 Last processed: Tuesday 13 June 2023

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Coins and Medals

Citation for print

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The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Badge of the Order of St Anne, 2nd Class" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/141599 Accessed: 2024-11-17 15:52:38

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{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/141599 |title=Badge of the Order of St Anne, 2nd Class |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-17 15:52:38|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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