World War I King's Speech to Royal Australian Navy: 1919 (April… - Sporting & General memorabilia - Leski Auctions Pty. Ltd.

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Description:

World War I King's Speech to Royal Australian Navy: 1919 (April 15th) typed speech with handwritten amendments given by Edward Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII) on behalf of King George V to the departing Australian Fleet after World War I. The King George V's Speech: two pages on 'Buckingham Palace' letterhead: - 'On the Eve of the Departure of the Flagship of the Royal Australian Navy, I Wish to Express My Pride and Pleasure That Ships Manned By the Sons of Australia, in Company with the Forces of the Empire, Have Shared in Our Naval Triumphs of This World-Wide Struggle. During My Visits to the Grand Fleet I Have Inspected Some of These Ships, and I Have Seen Their High Standard of Efficiency. in 1914 the Presence of the Battle Cruiser 'Australia' materially checked the enemy's heaviest forces in the Pacific, at a time when the 'Melbourne' and the 'Sydney' were convoying Australian transports to the seat of war. It was the dogged pursuit and destruction of the 'Emden' that arrested the havoc wrought on our lines of communication. I heartily thank the Government and people of Australia for their generous provision of so valuable a naval Force, and I wish to express my gratitude to all ranks and ratings for faithful and devoted services during the war. to those who have sailed, or who are about to sail back to the great Commonwealth, I wish God-Speed, and a happy return to their homes and families, from whom they have been so long seperated. May they carry with them and hand down to their descendants the same spirit of kinship and unity that has animated them throughout the arduous trials from which the Empire has emerged victorious. 15th April, 1919' Prince Edward has a typed two-page introduction, with hand-written amendments in his own hand.

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Memorabilia: Commemorative - Royalty