United Kingdom. An Obe Group Of Five, To Army Officer And Diplomat, Later A Cbe Recipient, Major Frederick Charles Leslie Chauncy Cbe

Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, IV Class Officer Badge (OBE), Civil Division (in silver gilt, unmarked, measuring 49.5 mm (w) x 64 mm (h)); 1939-1945 Star; Defence Medal; War Medal 1939-1945; and Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal 1953. Court-mounted, with swing bar pinback as worn by the veteran, very light contact, original ribbons, near extremely fine. Accompanied by assorted paperwork of photocopied information from various publications and websites, along with a brief biography and a colour photocopied school photograph of Chauncy and four others pictured with four trophies, dated October 1921, with him seated in the middle.

Footnote: Frederick Charles Leslie Chauncy was born on December 22, 1904 in London, England. He is acknowledged as having been in the British Army from 1924 to 1928. As a young man, he was athletically inclined, affiliated with the Polytechnic Harriers of Westminster. At the 1925 AAA Championships, Chauncy finished fourth in the 120 yard hurdles and was selected for the match against France. In 1928, he fell heavily in his heat of the AAA 440 yard hurdles but was still chosen for the British Olympic team. He competed at the 1928 Summer Olympic Games in Amsterdam, where he reached the semi-finals but, following an unfortunate draw, he was eliminated by the athletes who took the first three places in the final.

Chauncy was first commissioned with the King's Regiment on August 27, 1924 at the age of 19 and was subsequently transferred to the Indian theatre on April 9, 1926, appointed to the Indian Army on May 27, 1927. Surprisingly, although now in the British Army, with his athletic prowess, he never won an Army athletic title. From 1928 to 1930, he served with the 45th Rattray’s Sikhs. As of February 13, 1930, he is documented as being in the rank of Captain on the Supplementary List, as an officer in civil employment, serving as Secretary to the Resident for Baroda and the Gujarat States (Political Department). An announcement appeared in the London Gazette 34006 of Tuesday, December 19, 1933, page 8218, from the Foreign Office, dated November 15, 1932: "The KING has been graciously pleased to appoint Lieutenant Frederick Charles Leslie Chauncy, to be His Majesty's Vice-Consul at Mohammerah."

Chauncy is acknowledged as having been with the Indian Political Service, serving in the Persian Gulf, the North West Frontier and the Indian states from 1930 to 1947. From 1932 to 1936, he served as British Vice-Consul in Mohammerah, Persia. The Indian Political Service (IPS) was the cadre of officers which dealt with the Princely States and foreign affairs. It was recruited from the ranks of the Indian Civil Service and the Indian Army, the department directly under the control of the Viceroy. The IPS was sometimes characterized as civil servants who didn't want to work and soldiers who didn't want to fight. The Foreign and Political Department did many things: it was chiefly concerned with indirect rule, for much of British India consisted of the Princely States, presided over by their hereditary rulers, advised by a British Resident belonging to the Department ("a political").

The Department housed the officers of British India’s diplomatic service: its emissaries to Kabul, the Gulf and other areas. Finally, it hosted "the politicals" of Balochistan and the North West Frontier Province, who were officers who had chosen to make their careers in the frontier districts. Members of the Foreign and Political Department were sometimes known as "The Twice Born", a progression of the terminology sometimes used in respect of members of the Indian Civil Service, "The Heaven-Born". Chauncy continued to serve in India during the Second World War. An announcement appeared in the London Gazette 35536 of Friday, April 24, 1942, page 1810, from the Foreign Office, dated March 25, 1942: "The KING has been graciously pleased to appoint Captain Frederick Charles Leslie Chauncy, to be His Majesty's Consul at Khorramshahr."

His name appears on the Army List of 1950, as a Major, Special List (Ex Indian Army). Post-war, he was a "Political Agent" in Chhattisgarh State, a landlocked state in Central India, from 1945 to 1947. He is noted as having been an author of a document entitled "Conditions of Service of Personnel Serving in the Persian Gulf, August 5, 1947 to October 29, 1947". His diplomatic career would soon see a major upturn, as he was named Consul for the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman, a position he would hold from October 27, 1956 to September 1, 1957. This was followed by his being named Consul-General for the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman, from September 1, 1957 to October 30, 1958. "Major Frederick Charles Leslie Chauncy, Her Majesty's Consul at Muscat" was named an "Ordinary Officer of the Civil Division of the said Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE)", as part of the New Years Honours of 1953, the announcement appearing in the London Gazette 39732 of Tuesday, December 30, 1952, on Thursday, January 1, 1953, page 21, his Order appearing on this group of five.

Five years later, he would see another award: "Major Frederick Charles Leslie Chauncy, O.B.E., Her Majesty's Consul-General at Muscat" was named an "Ordinary Commander of the Civil Division of the said Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE)", as part of the New Years Honours of 1958, the announcement appearing in the London Gazette 41268 of Tuesday, December 31, 1957, on Wednesday, January 1, 1958, page 21. After his turn as Consul-General had come to a close, he served as a Personal Adviser to the Sultan of Muscat and Oman, from 1961 to 1970. Frederick Charles Leslie Chauncy died on June 4, 1986 in Ringwood, Hampshire, England, at the age of 81.