Watch List notes:

Order of the Dogwood - Province of British Columbia, Canada awarded to The Rt.Hon. Sir Robert Bellinger, Lord Mayor of London 1966. 55mm diameter, 101.37 grammes of 10 carat gold, along with 18mm 10 Carat gold miniature. Obverse: The image of the Dogwood flower, Reverse: Provincial Coat of Arms. UNC, inscribed to the recipient in a presentation box, and accompanied by a 10 carat gold miniature similar in design. The predecessor to the Order of the Dogwood, called the Dogwood medallion was created by the provincial government in 1958 to mark the Centennial of the establishment of the Colony of British Columbia. In turn, the Order of the Dogwood was created by Order in Council during a provincial cabinet meeting held at Fort Langley on November 19th 1966 to mark the centennial of the union of the Colony of British Columbia with the Colony of Vancouver Island. At the conclusion of the meeting Lieutenant Governor George Pearkes (who was a future recipient of the honour) gave consent to the creation of the honour, then presented at the Douglas Day dinner that followed. The honour was then presented to the first 5 recipients:- Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, Viscount Amory (Governor of the Hudson Bay Company), Sir Robert Bellinger, Clarence Wallace, and Frank Mackenzie Ross. Mackenzie and Ross were present for the ceremony. The Order of the Dogwood was the highest provincial honour until 1989, when it was replaced by the Order of British Columbia. Other recipients of the award include Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, The Princess Royal (Princess Anne), and Princess Alexandra. The last recipient was Terry Fox (Canadian Athlete, humanitarian and cancer research activist) in 1980. Only 13 people have been awarded the Order of the Dogwood, and as the award was replaced in 1989 by the Order of British Columbia, there will be no future recipients. Sir Robert was a controversial London Mayor in 1966-1967 and was a stalwart of the Nation Savings movement. His time as Mayor from 1966-1967 coincided with the Harold Wilson Government which was eager to blame the City for the nation's economic woes. Rather than confine himself to ceremonial duties, Bellinger responded firmly on the City's behalf emphasising it's contributions through invisible earnings. He protested again when the Labour Government in October 1974 decided to abolish the 10 Pence savings stamp. Although the stamps paid no interest and was costly to administer it attracted £120 million a year from schoolchildren, housewives and factory workers. Bellinger hailed it as 'the grass roots of savings activity in this country'. He was appointed one of Her Majesty's lieutenants for the City in 1976, was also a trustee for St. Paul's cathedral and Chairman of the City of London's Freemans school. Bellinger had previously been knighted in 1964 and appointed GBE in 1967 He was Gentleman Usher of the Purple Rod (a role akin to treasurer) of the Order of the British Empire, and also held decorations from Belgium, Greece, Cameroon and Denmark. In his later years, Sir Robert became a director of Arsenal Football Club and was elected life president of the club in 1997. He died in July 2002. A rare opportunity to purchase an award only offered to 13 individuals including many Royal recipients. See also the impressive group of medals also awarded to Sir Robert Bellinger

Estimate: 2000-3000 GBP