Footnotes

The Honourable Maurice Vyner Baliol Brett, O.B.E., M.V.O. (1882-1934) was the second son of Viscount Esher. He was educated at Eton and at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, where he received the sword of honour. Commissioned into the Coldstream Guards as a Second Lieutenant in 1902, he served as Aide-de-Camp to the Inspector General of the Forces at the Service of Thanksgiving for the conclusion of the Boer War at St. Paul's Cathedral, and was appointed a Member of the Royal Victorian Order for performing that role. Promoted Lieutenant on 9 October 1904, he was appointed Aide-de-Camp to Lieutenant-General Sir John French (later Field Marshal the Lord French, Earl of Ypres), General Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Aldershot, on 7 March 1905. He stayed with French for the next seven years, until the latter's eventual appointment as Chief of the Imperial General Staff in March 1912. Promoted Captain on 8 February 1911, he subsequently transferred to the 6th (Perthshire) Battalion, Royal Highlanders, and served as Aide-de-Camp to Lieutenant-General Sir John Ewart, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Scottish Command. He served throughout the Great War on the Staff in France from 19 October 1914, and was appointed temporary Lieutenant-Colonel on 1 October 1916. He was four times Mentioned in Despatches, was awarded the 4th Class of the French Legion of Honour and was created an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. He transferred to the Territorial Army Reserve with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel on 25 February 1919, and was appointed Deputy Keeper and Librarian of the London Museum the same year. His medals were sold at Noonans London, A Collection of Medals to Members of the Nobility and The Royal Household, 8 December 2016, lots 98 and 99