A scarce MC group for Mahiwa in East Africa - noted as the bloodiest battle in which the Nigeria Regiment had ever been engaged - not excluding Omdurman and the Anglo Boer War.
Military Cross GVR; Distinguished Conduct Medal GVR (6898 SJT: R. STEED. R.FUS:); Queens South Africa Medal clasps Cape Colony, Tugela Heights, Orange Free State, Relief of Ladysmith, Transvaal (6898 CPL R. STEED. 2ND RL:FUS:); Kings South Africa Medal clasps South Africa 1901 & 1902 (6898 CORPL: R. STEED. RL: FUSILIERS.); 1914-15 Star (L-6898 S.MJR. R. STEED. R.FUS.); British War Medal (LIEUT R. STEED.); Victory Medal with M.I.D Oakleaf (LIEUT. R. STEED.); Army Long Service & Good Conduct Medal GVR (6898 SJT. R. STEED. R.FUS.) - together with original Investiture Invitation to Buckingham Palace dated 25 February 1920
Robert Steed was a highly decorated soldier. Born in Chilton, Suffolk in April 1879 he enlisted for service with the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) with no. 6898 and was posted to South Africa where the Anglo Boer War had commenced in October 1899. In the absence of service papers, little is known about his activities in that conflict but what is known is that the Royal Fusiliers formed part of Barton's Brigade and were very active and engaged in the battles of Colenso on 15 December 1899 and at Vaalkrantz and Pieter's Hill in February 1900 - all part of Buller's many (and costly) attempts to relieve the garrison besieged in Ladysmith.
After Ladysmith was relieved they moved on and were situated in the Eastern Transvaal and involved in much skirmishing. In May 1902 they were sent round to the West Coast of the Cape Colony in what was almost the swansong of the war where they assisted in the successful relief of O' Okiep.
In 1914 he was awarded the Army Long Service & God Conduct Medal. 1914 was also the year that the Great War erupted on the world stage. It wasn't long before Steed put his hand up for this conflict, one in which he was to emerge with great credit. Unlike most of his fellows, he wasn't destined for the Western front, being deployed instead to the West African Theatre of the war. Embarking for Cameroon on 24 August 1914 he was detached from the Royal Fusiliers to the 3rd Nigeria Regiment - part of the West African Field Force. It is with this outfit that he was to achieve distinction.
He was awarded first the Distinguished Conduct Medal for services in Cameroon and as part of the Yola Column in East Africa where the Allied forces were fighting the Germans and their Askaris under General Paul Von Lettow Vorbeck - as a Serjeant - "for conspicuous gallantry and excellent services rendered throughout the campaign." This was announced in the London Gazette of 11 March 1916. He was also Mentioned in Dispatches for Cameroon in Major General Sir C.M. Dobell's dispatch of 1 March 1916.
Steed was commissioned later that year and was awarded the Military Cross for his services with the 2nd Nigeria Regiment at Bwehoe-Chini on 22 September 1917 and the battle of Mahiwa from 15 to 18 October 1917. This award was announced in the London Gazette of 27 July 1918 and Steed was at Buckingham Palace to be awarded by King George V on 25 February 1920. The citation for the award read as follows:
"Displayed marked ability and coolness when commanding a Company at Mahiwa from 15th to 18th October 1917. He has at all times shown gallantry and devotion to duty throughout the campaign. At Bweho-Chini on 22nd September 1917 he rendered most valuable service by his skill in using a machine gun which he continued to serve long after he had been wounded himself."
The Battle of Mahiwa between German and British Imperial forces was fought during the East African Campaign when South African and Nigerian troops under Lieutenant General Jacob van Deventer engaged a column under German General Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck, at Mahiwa in German East Africa. The Germans inflicted substantial casualties upon Van Deventer's army, forcing it to withdraw. However, the Germans lost a large percentage of their forces, and were ultimately forced to withdraw from their positions and continue their guerrilla war. The battle was noted by the British Official History as the "most disastrous day for the Nigerian Army since the formation of the force" and was called "the most savage battle in the history of African conflict-not excluding Omdurman or any engagement of the Boer War."
Steed's medals were posted to him at 140 Sydenham Road, Croydon. Not having been quite able to shake off the malaria he had contracted in tropical Africa, he succumbed at St George Hanover Square on 14 February 1925 and was buried in Queens Road Cemetery, Croydon.
Medals are in good condition unless indicated otherwise. Sold with a comprehensive dossier of research.
