A scarce Second War 1942 ‘Channel Air/Sea Rescue’ C.G.M. group of five awarded to Chief Motor Mechanic L. C. T. Adams, Royal Naval Reserve, who took part in a noble, but ultimately doomed, joint Naval and R.A.F. Air/Sea Rescue operation to save the fighter ace Wing Commander ‘Paddy’ Finucane who had been shot down and ditched into the sea south west of Boulogne, 15 July 1942. Four launches, M.L.s 139, 141 and R.A.F. H.S.L.s 138 and 140, set out for the stricken aircraft only to come under concentrated attack from at least 10 F.W. 190 fighter aircraft. Adams’ launch, M.L. 139, was attacked on five separate occasions, suffering casualties to the crew and hits which set the fuel tanks on fire. Adams and one other advanced into this inferno, surrounded by deadly gas, and managed to control the fires enough for the ship to withdraw - ‘That was the last attack, and three damaged boats came safely to harbour with their load of wounded. The courage of their crews under this fierce onslaught showed most eloquently how the human spirit can rise above such grim horror and misfortune and the ugliness of war’ Conspicuous Gallantry Medal, G.VI.R. (L. C. T. Adams. A/Ch. Mtr. Mech. R.N.) officially impressed naming, minor official correction to ‘RN’; 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45, nearly extremely fine (5) £10,000-£14,000 --- C.G.M. London Gazette 29 September 1942: ‘For gallantry, resolution and seamanship when H.M. Air/Sea Rescue Craft were heavily attacked by enemy aircraft in the Straits of Dover.’ The original recommendation (jointly listed with D/JX. 133162 Able Seaman G. Sandford) for an immediate C.G.M. states: ‘On 15th July 1942, H.M. M.L.139 with three other craft was engaged in rescuing airmen from the sea in the Dover Strait when she was attacked by 12 or more F.W.190s. M.L.139 was hit and a fire was started in the petrol compartment. Adams together with another rating [Sandford] entered the almost inaccessible compartment without breathing apparatus and put out the fire. Their action, knowing that the compartment contained over a thousand gallons of high octane spirit, that a tank was holed and vapour was present with the ship under fire from the enemy showed the greatest courage and devotion. These two men undoubtedly saved the ship by their bravery, resource and initiative.’ Leslie Charles Adams resided in Court Hill, Sanderstead, Surrey. He served with the Royal Naval Reserve during the Second World War, and distinguished himself whilst serving with Motor Launch 139 in an Air/Sea Rescue capacity, 15 July 1942. The incident is related in detail in The Battle of the Narrow Seas, A History of the Light Coastal Forces in the Channel and North Sea, 1939-1945, by Lieutenant Commander P. Scott, M.B.E., D.S.C. & Bar, R.N.V.R.: ‘Air/Sea Rescue is a duty shared between the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy. The R.A.F. uses H.S.L.s (High Speed Launches) and the Navy uses specially constructed R.M.L.s (Rescue Motor Launches), which are larger and slower. Besides these vessels specially designed for the work many other ships have been required to go to the assistance of airmen in distress, amongst them all kinds of Coastal Force craft. Air/Sea Rescue is an all-weather job, for the airmen are just as likely to crash into the sea when it is rough as when it is smooth; the boats must put forth in foul weather as well as fair, for broken hull frames are of no consequence when there are lives to be saved. The R.M.L.s based on the east coast, for example, have done their unspectacular work magnificently, far out in the North Sea, searching in all weathers for the crews of our own and American aircraft damaged in the air battles over the Continent. With the steady increase in air activity, A.S.R. work increased proportionately... With our ever-increasing control of the skies, the danger of being attacked by enemy aircraft while engaged on A.S.R. work grew steadily less. But in the summer of 1942 it was still a serious menace. For example, on the 15th July in the course of a fighter sweep, Wing Commander “Paddy” Finucane, D.S.O., D.F.C., was shot down into the sea 7 miles south-west of Boulogne. Two H.S.L.s and two M.L.s were directed to attempt the rescue, although it was later discovered that he had not survived the crash. The boats reached the Bullock Bank in mid-Channel at about 1.20 in the afternoon when the first of a series of devastating attacks was carried out on them by ten Focke Wulf 190 fighters. First H.S.L. 140 was hit, suffering casualties of one killed and one wounded. One of the aircraft, however, was seen to be damaged. The remainder made H.S.L. 138 (commanded by F/O. W. E. Walters, R.A.F.) the object of their concentrated attention. Walters was wounded in the first attack on his boat and fell forward into the fo’c’sle; the forward gunner was also wounded, but in spite of that the H.S.L. kept firing until all its ammunition was expended. By that time it was burning from stem to stern. The nursing orderly, Aircraftman W. Morgan, who had been badly wounded in the arm, continued to carry out his duties and attended to the casualties below. Every member of the ship’s company had by now been wounded and the fo’c’sle was full of smoke. The attacks continued and a moment later Morgan was killed. Flying Officer Walters and Aircraftman M. Pring, themselves both wounded in the legs but realising the imminent necessity for abandoning ship, struggled to carry the gunner to the upper deck. When finally they succeeded they collapsed on the deck. Aircraftman Pring was the first to come to, and he pushed the other two over the side and joined them in the water. Having set the H.S.L. on fire the German fighters switched their attack to M.L. 139. Her Commanding Officer - Lt. A. R. S. Hodgson, R.N.V.R., records that they made five runs, in the first of which the fuel tanks were set on fire. The second caused another fire aft and a number of casualties, but in each of these runs one aircraft was damaged and the second time pieces were seen to fall off the target. Each successive attack increased the damage and the casualties. The fires were the most serious menace, however. The methyl-bromide extinguishers had been released in the petrol compartment, but the fire was only partially extinguished and the compartment was filled with the deadly gas. In spite of this, Acting Chief Motor Mechanic L. Adams and Able Seaman G. Sandford, armed with hoses and Pyrenes, entered this most inaccessible compartment without breathing apparatus and put out the fire. They both worked in this confined space well knowing that the tank, with over a thousand gallons of high-octane spirit, had been pierced and that petrol vapour was present which might explode at any time; and in addition the ship was still under fire. In the opinion of the Commanding Officer the ship was saved by the bravery and resource of these two men, who were later awarded the C.G.M. When the Germans flew off and the fires had been brought under control, M.L. 139, with two officers and two ratings wounded, went at once to the assistance of the burning H.S.L., where three survivors were taken from the water. M.L. 141 which had so far escaped attack, although she had been engaging the Germans as they attacked the others, rescued seven more survivors of the H.S.L. from their raft and proceeded to destroy the blazing wreck by depth charges. Twenty minutes later six more F.W. 190s appeared, and although our Spitfires were protecting the other M.L., the enemy managed to carry out one run on 141 from ahead, in the course of which one officer was killed and three ratings we...
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A Great War submariner’s D.S.M. group of three awarded to Leading Seaman H. C. Wright, H.M. Submarine D7, for the sinking of the U-45 in September 1917 Distinguished Service Medal, G.V.R. (191473 H. C. Wright, Lg. Sean. H.M.S. “D7” Atlantic Ocean 12th Sept. 1917); Queen's South Africa 1899-1902, 1 clasp, Natal (H. C. Wright, A.B., H.M.S. Doris) impressed naming; 1914-15 Star (191473 H. C. Wright, L.S. R.N.) light pitting, otherwise very fine (3) £1,200-£1,600 --- D.S.M. London Gazette 17 November 1917: ‘For services in action with enemy submarines.’ The recommendation states: ‘Sinking of German submarine U45 12 September 1917. Since joining the flotilla on 14 April Submarine D7 has done 99 days on patrol and 54 days in harbour, which I believe to be a record for any overseas patrol, and which has only been possible through the sustained and united hard work of the whole of the crew, and especially the engine room staff.’ ‘It was not until September 1917 that a patrol submarine north of Ireland achieved a sinking. U-45 (Sittenfield) had sailed with U-88 and U-54 on the 5th; a week later she was on the surface west of the Shetlands when D-7 sighted her and dived to attack. Twenty minutes later a stern torpedo, fired at 800 yards, struck the U-boat just before the conning tower. One of the two survivors picked up by the British submarine was the radio operator, who had been about to send a message to Wilhelmshaven. He did not have time to do so, and the German command had no idea as to where U-45 was sunk.’ The commanding officer of D7, Lieutenant O. E. Hallifax, was awarded the D.S.O. for this action, as well as one D.S.C. and two further D.S.M.s to other members of the crew. Herbert Charles Wright was born on 10 July 1881, and joined the Navy in July 1899. He joined the submarine branch in November 1912 and served aboard H.M. Submarine D7 from that date until February 1919. He served aboard E33 towards the end of that year and was Shore Pensioned in July 1921.
A Second War D.S.M. awarded to Acting Chief Motor Mechanic C. Lonsdale, Royal Navy, for his gallantry during M.L. 238’s daring entry into the enemy held harbour at Krk, in the northern Dalmatians, on the night of 6 December 1944 Distinguished Service Medal, G.VI.R. (A/C.M.M. C. Lonsdale. P/MX.99499.) extremely fine £1,600-£2,000 --- D.S.M. London Gazette 21 August 1945: ‘For courage, initiative, and great devotion to duty in damage control after the M.L. 28 [sic - M.L. 238] had made a daring entry into the enemy-held harbour of Krk, on the night of 6 December 1945 [sic - 1944]’. M.L. 238’s Daring entry into Krk Harbour ‘A further spirited engagement was the outcome of a daring entry by M.L. 238, under the command of Lieutenant-Commander W. Gibson, R.N.R., into the harbour of the enemy-occupied island of Krk, in the northern Dalmatians south of Fiume. Three Motor Launches were involved: Gibson’s vessel; M.L. 468 (Lieutenant F. A. Scott, R.N.V.R.); and M.L. 460 (Lieutenant K. D. Dewar, R.N.V.R.). Gibson had been ordered to hunt out and to attack two enemy craft reported to be patrolling off Krk. They arrived on their ground soon after 9 p.m. on 6 December 1944. There was a full moon, with a south-easterly breeze and slight swell, with occasional heavy rain squalls blotting down the visibility to almost nothing. The patrol was carried out within 100 to 200 yards of the shore, Gibson purposely keeping close in, as the moonlight was very bright between squalls and he wanted to keep under the shadow of the land. However, they sighted no enemy craft, and at about 11.30 p.m. moved off towards Krk town with the intention of ‘having a look in the harbour, with the possibility of sinking something inside’. At ten minutes past midnight, Gibson detached Motor Launches 468 and 460 half a mile from the harbour entrance with orders to cover him with their gunfire ‘if things got too warm and I am unable to get out’. He took his own ship into the little port, which has an entrance about 200 yards wide and is partly protected by a breakwater, the end of which he passed within 50 yards. About 300 yards away he soon saw what he took to be five craft tucked into a corner of the harbour deep under the shadow of the land. They looked like schooners and lighters; but, wishing to make certain, he switched on his small searchlight. The moment he did so he was fired upon by a battery of six 20-mm guns. As he wrote: ‘I opened fire with Bofors at the surface craft ahead... They [the 20-mm. guns] were replied to by our midship and after Oerlikons. Numerous light machine guns were observed firing from both the mole to port and a low quay to starboard... These were silenced in about one minute by very effective fire from both port and starboard twin Vickers. Hits were observed in the direction of the surface craft, and a dull red glow was seen, followed by a small explosion.’ Then the Bofors shifted its fire to the shore battery on the starboard bow. The noise of the gunfire was terrific. ‘We were receiving some hits from these guns, and the white tracer from their guns, and the red tracer, together with shell-bursts of Oerlikon and Bofors, were illuminating the town and ship at so close a range - roughly 100 yards. At about 20 minutes past midnight Gibson put his engine to slow astern, with the idea of backing out of harbour. But the stern of his ship fell off to starboard, which left her across the harbour entrance. It was then found that both engines were out of action, petrol pipes having been cut by a 20-mm shell bursting in the engine-room. However, except for one gun, all the shore batteries had ceased firing, and a few rounds from the Bofors silenced this one. ‘I ordered cease fire, although still in the harbour entrance, about 50 yards from the south mole. My intention was to make another investigation and see if the boat could be got clear without calling in the others to assist.’ They succeeded in this. The fuel tanks were changed over, and although the engines had an airlock in the fuel system, the boat was got under way by constant hand pumping and joined her consorts outside. M.L. 238 was hit at least eleven times by 20-mm shell, and many more times by splinters and bullets. As may be imagined, she was fairly badly knocked about, but by some miracle had no casualties at all. In his report of the engagement, Gibson mentioned Acting Chief Motor Mechanic Cecil Lonsdale and Stoker John Nugent, whose action in the engine-room undoubtedly saved the ship from destruction. This was endorsed by a senior officer, who added that the shooting of M.L. 238’s guns seemed to have been very accurate against the shore positions, ‘which is very much to the credit of the discipline and morale of the crew under close and heavy fire’. Sold with original Naval Gratuity Certificate, awarding the recipient a gratuity of £20 in respect of his D.S.M.; and somewhat damaged Admiralty enclosure announcing the award of the D.S.M.
Pair: Sergeant H. J. Smith, East Kent Regiment India General Service 1895-1902, 2 clasps, Relief of Chitral 1895, Punjab Frontier 1897-98 (4039 Pte. H. J. Smith 1st Bn. East Kent Regt.) small official correction to last two letters of surname; Army L.S. & G.C., E.VII.R. (4039 Sjt: H. J. Smith. E. Kent Regt.) light contact marks, otherwise good very fine (2) £200-£240
Three: Private W. Hopkins, East Kent Regiment, who was severely wounded at Brakenlaagte in October 1901 India General Service 1895-1902, 1 clasp, Relief of Chitral 1895 (3242 Pte. W. Hopkins 1st Bn. East Kent Regt.); Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 4 clasps, Relief of Kimberley, Paardeberg, Driefontein, Transvaal (3242 Pte. W. Hopkins, E. Kent Regt.); King’s South Africa 1901-02, 2 clasps, South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902 (3242 Pte. W. Hopkins. E. Kent Regt.) light contact marks, otherwise very fine and better (3) £240-£280 --- W. Hopkins served with the 2nd Battalion in South Africa and was severely wounded at Brakenlaagte on 30 October 1901.
Three: Private S. Scott, East Kent Regiment India General Service 1895-1902, 1 clasp, Relief of Chitral 1895 (3322 Pte. S. Scott 1st Bn. East Kent Regt.); Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 5 clasps, Relief of Kimberley, Paardeberg, Johannesburg, Diamond Hill, Wittebergen (3322 Pte. S. Scott, E. Kent Regt.); King’s South Africa 1901-02, 2 clasps, South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902 (3322 Pte. S. Scott. E. Kent Regt.) initial officially corrected, light contact marks, otherwise very fine and better (3) £280-£340 --- S. Scott served with the 2nd Battalion in the 5th Company Mounted Infantry in South Africa.
Military Cross, G.V.R., unnamed as issued, in case of issue, attributed to Second Lieutenant R. S. C. Brough, 1st Lovat’s Scouts, attached 15th Battalion, Highland Light Infantry, extremely fine £400-£500 --- M.C. London Gazette 8 March 1919; citation published 3 October 1919 Second Lieutenant Robert Sibbald Calderwood Brough, 1st Lovat’s Scouts, attached 15th Highland Light Infantry: ‘On 3 October 1918, during the attack on Sequehart, in command of a reserve company, when he saw the attacking troops forced back and the support company advancing, immediately led his company forward and attacked on the left of the support company, clearing the village and beating off the enemy counter-attack. He himself fired a Lewis gun with great effect on the advancing enemy. He showed marked gallantry and initiative.’ Mounted for display with two small photographs, and the citation cutting from the London Gazette.
Pair: Troop Sergeant-Major John Inskip, 13th Light Dragoons Military General Service 1793-1814, 6 clasps, Albuhera, Vittoria, Nivelle, Nive, Orthes, Toulouse (J. Inskip, Troop Serjeant Major, 13th Light Drago) last part of unit obscured by suspension claw; Waterloo 1815 (Serj. John Inskip, 13th Reg. Light Dragoons.) fitted with original steel clip and replacement German silver straight bar suspension together with a fine engraved ribbon slide scroll inscribed ‘PENINSULA’, light contact marks, otherwise very fine or better (2) £4,000-£5,000 --- Provenance: Sotheby, December 1934. John Inskip was born in the Parish of St Clements, near Hastings, Sussex, and enlisted for the 13th Light Dragoons at London on 19 March 1799, aged 18, for unlimited service. He served as a Private 9 years 11 months, Corporal, 2 years 2 months, Sergeant, 8 years 11 months; and Troop Sergeant-Major, 6 years 7 months. He received 2 years additional service for Waterloo, and afterwards served in the East Indies for 6 years 10 months, being discharged at Bangalore on 24 August 1825, in consequence of ‘lameness from a fall from his horse and being worn out by length of service. He received his final discharge at Hastings on 29 June 1826, receiving a pension of 2s tuppence-halfpenny. Sold with copied discharge papers.
Pair: Corporal Samuel Leap, 40th Foot Military General Service 1793-1814, 10 clasps, Roleia, Vimiera, Talavera, Busaco, Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajoz, Salamanca, Vittoria, Orthes, Toulouse (S. Leap, Corpl. 40th Foot.); Waterloo 1815 (Samuel Le.., 1st Batt. 40th Reg. Foot.) fitted with contemporary replacement silver clip and silver bar suspension inscribed ‘Peninsula’ as often found to this regiment, the second with edge bruising and contact marks with consequential loss of two letters of surname, fine, the first with light edge bruising and contact marks, otherwise very fine (2) £4,000-£5,000 --- Provenance: Sotheby, July 1896. Samuel Leap was born in the Parish of Yarcomb, Devon, and attested for the 40th Foot at Taunton, Somerset, on 19 March 1805, aged 15. He served ‘under age’ until 19 March 1808, and then as a Private until 24 November 1827, when he was promoted to Corporal for the final 3 years 6 days of his service. He served ‘in the Peninsula during the Campaigns of 1808, 1809, 1810, 1811, 1812, 1813, & 1814. At Waterloo. Was wounded in the right knee in the Pyrenees, 1st August 1813. In America three months. In New South Wales, five years and three quarters. East Indies, three hundred and sixty days.’ He was discharged in the East Indies on 30 November 1830, landed at Gravesend on 18 June 1831, and received his final discharge on 9 August 1831. The Board were of the opinion that ‘for the many years he has served in this regiment, he has invariably conducted himself as a steady, honest & brave soldier.’ Sold with copied discharge papers.
Pair: Private Richard Smith, 51st Light Infantry Military General Service 1793-1814, 3 clasps, Vittoria, Pyrenees, Nivelle (Richd. Smith, 51st Foot); Waterloo 1815 (Richard Smith, 51st Reg. Light Infantry.) fitted with original steel clip and ring suspension, the second good very fine, the first extremely fine (2) £2,800-£3,400 --- Provenance: Glendining’s, March 1929 and December 1931. Richard Smith was born in the Parish of Putney, Surrey, and was enlisted for the 51st King’s Own Light Infantry at Brighton on 17 July 1809, aged 18, for life. He served a total of 17 years 67 days, including 2 years for Waterloo, and was discharged at Corfu on 21 September 1824, in consequence of ‘his having been wounded in the wrist and through the chest at Pampeluna on the 30 June 1813.’ Sold with copied discharge papers.
Pair: Lieutenant the Hon. Robert V. Grosvenor, Imperial Yeomanry, later 3rd Baron Ebury Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 3 clasps, Cape Colony, Orange Free State, South Africa 1901, unofficial rivets between state and date clasps (Lt. The Hon. R. Grosvenor. 21 Co. 2/Impl. Yeo.) engraved naming; Jubilee 1897, silver, unnamed as issued, mounted as worn with the Jubilee Medal first, light contact marks, very fine (2) £600-£800 --- Robert Victor Grosvenor, 3rd Baron Ebury, was born in Beachampton, Buckinghamshire, on 28 June 1868, the son of Robert Wellesley Grosvenor, 2nd Baron Ebury, and served initially as a lieutenant with the 13th Middlesex Volunteer Rifle Corps, being awarded the Diamond Jubilee Medal in that capacity. He served with the 21st (Cheshire) Company, 2nd Battalion Imperial Yeomanry in South Africa during the Boer War, the company being commanded by his cousin, Major Lord Arthur Grosvenor, before returning to England on 21 June 1901. He succeeded his father as 3rd Baron Ebury on 13 November 1918, and died without issue at Amersham, Buckinghamshire, on 5 November 1921, being succeeded to the barony by his brother. Sold with extensive copied research, including various photographic images of the recipient.
Five: Sergeant F. Tuck, Hampshire Regiment Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 4 clasps, Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal, South Africa 1901, top lugs removed (No. 6 Drummer F. Tuck, 2nd. Batt. Hampshire Regt.); British War and Victory Medals (280014 A. C. Sjt. F. Tuck. Hamps. R.); Territorial Force War Medal 1914-19 (122 Sjt. F. Tuck. Hamps. R.); Territorial Force Efficiency Medal, G.V.R., with two Additional Award Bars (No. 122. Cpl. F. Tuck. 6th. Batt. Hampshire Regt. T.F.) light contact marks, generally good very fine (5) £400-£500 --- Frederick Tuck was born in Portsmouth in 1881 and attested for the Hampshire Regiment at Fort Gomer on 15 January 1900, having previously served in the Regiment’s 3rd Volunteer Battalion. He served with the 2nd Battalion in South Africa during the Boer War from 11 February 1900 to 17 May 1901, and was discharged on 24 May 1901, after 1 year and 130 days’ service. Subsequently joining the Territorial Forces, Tuck was awarded his Territorial Force Efficiency Medal per Army Order 7 of January 1909 (although given the fact that the medal in the lot is a George V issue presumably he was not actually issued his medal until some years later), and was awarded a first Additional Award Bar per Army Order 192 of May 1922, and a second Additional Award Bar per Army Order 155 of August 1931. He served with the 1st/6th Battalion, Hampshire Regiment during the Great War from 11 September 1917, with the rank of Acting Colour Sergeant. Sold with copied record of service and medal roll extracts.
Three: Captain A. Cockerham, British South Africa Police Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 2 clasps, Cape Colony, Transvaal (1440 Tpr. A. Cockerham. B.S.A. Police.) recipient’s initial neatly re-engraved; British War Medal 1914-20 (Capt. A. Cockerham.); Coronation 1911, unnamed as issued, light contact marks, generally good very fine (3) £120-£160 --- Arthur Cockerham served as a Sergeant as part of the British South Africa Police contingent at the Coronation of H.M. King George V in 1911. The B.S.A. Police contingent comprised one Officer (Captain A. J. Tomlinson); five N.C.O.s (R.S.M. J. Blatherwick, C.S.M. F. G. Shettle; Sergeant Cockerham; and two Corporals); and nine Troopers.
Three: Leading Telegraphist W. J. Thorne, Royal Navy, who died in service on 14 July 1945 1914-15 Star (J.18602. W. J. Thorne. O. Tel., R.N.); British War and Victory Medals (J.18602 W. J. Thorne. L. Tel. R.N.) light contact marks, good very fine Three: Gunner F. Bateman, Royal Marine Artillery, who served in H.M.S. Collingwood at the Battle of Jutland 1914015 Star (R.M.A. 13379. Gr. F. Bateman.); British War and Victory Medals (R.M.A. 13379 Gr. F. Bateman.) very fine (6) £80-£100 --- William John Thorne was born in Catford, London, on 24 October 1896 and joined the Royal Navy as a Boy Second Class on 26 June 1912. He served in a variety of ships and shore-based establishments during the Great War, and was advanced Leading Telegraphist on 9 July 1917. He died in service on 14 July 1945, and is commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial. Frank Bateman was born in Yorkshire on 6 March 1896 and enlisted in the Royal Marine Artillery on 11 March 1913. He served during the Great War in H.M.S. Collingwood, and was present in her as part of the 1st Battle Squadron at the Battle of Jutland, 31 May 1916, where she fired a total of 84 twelve-inch shells and 35 four-inch shells during the battle. Sub-Lieutenant H.R.H. The Prince Albert (later H.M. King George VI) commanded her forward turret during the Battle. Bateman was shore invalided at R.N. Hospital Haslar on 5 November 1919. Sold with copied records of service.
Four: Bugler M. P. Lyndon, Royal Marine Light Infantry, who served in H.M.S. Jupiter during the icebreaking mission to Archangel 1914-15 Star (Ply.16080, Bugr. M. P. Lyndon. R.M.L.I.); British War and Victory Medals (Ply.16080 Bugr. M. P. Lyndon. R.M.L.I.); Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., G.V.R., 2nd issue, coinage head (Ply.16080 M. P. Lyndon. Mne. R.M.) mounted as worn, heavy contact marks, generally good fine or better (4) £100-£140 --- Marwood Philip Lyndon was born in Bodmin, Cornwall, on 12 September 1898 and joined the Royal Marine Light Infantry as a Bugler with the Plymouth Division on 26 February 1913. He served during the Great War in the Tyne Guard Ship H.M.S. Jupiter from the outbreak of War to 16 March 1915- in January 1915 the Admiralty received a request for assistance from the Russian Government, as the icebreaker used to keep open the passage to Archangel in the White Sea had broken down. In response H.M.S. Jupiter was despatched, departing for Archangel in February 1915, freeing en route a number of vessels stuck in the ice, occasionally by using explosive charges. Throughout these operations it was not unusual for the temperature to fall as low as minus 20 degrees, a hard test indeed on the morale and well being of Jupiter’s crew. Her mission completed, the Tsar expressed his gratitude by the presentation of a variety of Russian medals to her crew. For the remainder of the War Lyndon served in H.M.S. Roxburgh, and was awarded his Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, together with a gratuity of £20, on 1 November 1931. He was discharged on 11 September 1937.
Three: Lance-Corporal J. Charlett, 1st Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, who was taken Prisoner of War at Kut-al-Amara and died on the march at Angora on 28 March 1917 1914-15 Star (6162 Pte. J. Charlette. Oxf: & Bucks: L.I.); British War and Victory Medals (6162 Pte. J. Charlett. Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.); Memorial Plaque (John Charlett); together with a ‘Church War Cross’, extremely fine (5) £300-£400 --- John Charlett was born at Beckley, Oxfordshire, and enlisted into the 1st Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, in 1899. Discharged to Army Reserve in 1907, he was re-called for service in 1914 and served in the Asiatic theatre of war from 5 December 1914. Taken prisoner of War at Kut-al-Amara in April 1916, he died at Angora on 28 March 1917. He is buried in Baghdad (North Gate) War Cemetery, Iraq.
Six: Warrant Officer Class II A. E. Piper, Hampshire Royal Garrison Artillery Volunteers British War and Victory Medals (352001 W.O. Cl. 2 A. E. Piper. R.A.); Territorial Force War Medal 1914-19 (352001 W.O. Cl. 2. A. E. Piper. R.A.); Coronation 1902, bronze, unnamed as issued; Volunteer Force Long Service Medal, E.VII.R. (1170 C.S. Mjr. A. Piper. 1/Hants: R.G.A.V.); Territorial Force Efficiency Medal, G.V.R. (352001 W.O. Cl.II. A. E. Piper. R.G.A.) light contact marks, the C02 somewhat polished and worn, therefore fine, the rest good very fine and better (6) £400-£500 --- Arthur E. Piper was awarded the 1902 Coronation Medal by virtue of being the senior N.C.O. of the 1st Hampshire Volunteer Artillery, and was awarded the Volunteer Long Service Medal per Army Order 100 of May 1907; and the Territorial Force Efficiency Medal per army Order 507 of November 1920. Sold with a photographic image of the recipient c.1905; and copied medal roll extracts.
Pair: Sergeant Cook A. Naish, East Kent Regiment Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 4 clasps, Relief of Kimberley, Paardeberg, Driefontein, Transvaal (101 Sgt. A. Naish, E. Kent Regt.); King’s South Africa 1901-02, 2 clasps, South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902 (101 Serjt: A. Naish. E. Kent Regt.); Army L.S. & G.C., V.R., 3rd issue, small letter reverse (101 Sgt. Cook A. Naish, E. Kent Regt.) very light contact marks, otherwise nearly extremely fine (3) £280-£340 --- A. Naish served with the 2nd Battalion in South Africa.
Four: Observer R. A. Foster, Royal Observer Corps, late 1st Battalion, London Regiment British War and Victory Medals (228693 Pte .R. A. Foster. 1-Lond. R.) rank on BWM officially corrected; Defence Medal; Royal Observer Corps Medal, E.II.R., 1st issue (Observer R. A. Foster.) light contact marks good very fine and better (4) £140-£180
Pair: Corporal T. Buss, East Kent Regiment Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 2 clasps, Cape Colony, South Africa 1901 (7360 Pte. T. Buss, E. Kent Regt.); Territorial Force Efficiency Medal, E.VII.R. (168 Cpl. T. Buss. 5/E. Kent Regt.) light contact marks, otherwise very fine or better (2) £200-£240 --- T. Buss served with the 1st Volunteer Company, 2nd Battalion, in South Africa.
Five: Private W. J. White, East Kent Regiment Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 3 clasps, Cape Colony, Paardeberg, Transvaal (6103 Pte. W. White, East Kent Regt.); King’s South Africa 1901-02, 2 clasps, South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902 (6103 Pte. W. White. East Kent Regt.); 1914 Star, with clasp (L-6103 Pte. W. J. White. 1/E. Kent R.); British War and Victory Medals (L-6103 Pte. W. J. White. E. Kent R.) the first two with light contact marks, very fine, otherwise nearly extremely fine (5) £240-£280 --- Served with 2nd Battalion Mounted Infantry in South Africa.
Eight: Sergeant H. W. M. Smith, Royal Hampshire Regiment India General Service 1936-39, 1 clasp, North West Frontier 1936-37 (5497570 Pte. W. [sic] Smith. Hamps. R.); General Service 1918-62, 1 clasp, Palestine (5497570 Pte. H. W. Smith. Hamps. R.); 1939-45 Star; Africa Star, 1 clasp, 1st Army; Italy Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45; Army L.S. & G.C., E.II.R., 1st issue, Regular Army (5497570 Sgt. H. W. M. Smith. R. Hamps.) mounted court-stye, light contact marks, good very fine and better (8) £260-£300 --- H. W. M. Smith was awarded his Long Service and Good Conduct Medal on 30 August 1952. Sold with copied medal roll extracts.
Pair: Warrant Officer Class II J. O. Campbell, Royal Army Medical Corps General Service 1918-62, 1 clasp, Arabian Peninsula (7264667 W.O. Cl.2. J. O. Campbell. R.A.M.C.); Army L.S. & G.C., E.II.R., 1st issue, Regular Army (7264667 S/Sgt. J. O. Campbell. R.A.M.C.) mounted as worn, light contact marks, very fine and an unusual combination to this unit (2) £100-£140 --- James Otho Campbell was born in Aldershot on 5 July 1920, the son of James Wright Campbell who had served in the Great War with the Military Mounted Police and the Army Veterinary Corps. He qualified for his Long Service and Good Conduct Medal on 18 September 1956 which suggests some Second World War service. He died in Aldershot on 26 January 1986.
The Military General Service Medal for Fort Detroit awarded to Private Richard Killings, Niagara Light Dragoons, Militia of Upper Canada Military General Service 1793-1814, 1 clasp, Fort Detroit (R. Killings, Canadn. Militia.) nearly extremely fine £4,000-£5,000 --- Only 4 medals for Fort Detroit to members of the Niagara Light Dragoons. The 1st Troop, Niagara Light Dragoons was raised in June 1812, by enrolment of volunteers from the militia. It was engaged on the expedition to Detroit, and in the cutting out of the Caledonia and Detroit, for which it was thanked in General Orders. After serving 8 months it was disbanded on 25 February 1813.
Military General Service 1793-1814, 1 clasp, Salamanca (A. F. Paxton, Lieut. 11th Dgns.) edge bruising and light traces to rim at 6 o’clock of the medal previously having been held in a mount, otherwise good very fine £1,400-£1,800 --- Provenance: Dix & Webb, March 1996. Archibald Frederick Paxton was born in 1793, the son of Sir William Paxton, of Middleton Hall, co. Carmarthen, and was educated at Harrow. He was commissioned cornet in the 11th Dragoons on 26 June 1811, and was promoted to lieutenant on 19 December 1811. He served with his regiment in the Peninsula and was present at the Battle of Salamanca on 22 July 1812; he is also recorded as being present at the skirmish at Morisco on 20-22 June 1812 and the affair at Castrejon on 18 July 1812. He retired on reserved half-pay on 23 July 1817, and was later a magistrate for Wiltshire, residing at Cholderton, near Salisbury. He died in London on 11 April 1875. Sold with copied research.
Army of India 1799-1826, 1 clasp, Ava (J. Bryant, 41st Foot.) short hyphen reverse, officially impressed naming, light traces of mount at 3 and 9 o’clock, edge bruising and contact marks, otherwise nearly very fine £600-£800 --- Provenance: Sotheby, July 1898, in pair with Candahar Ghuznee Cabul 1842; Sotheby, June 1904, single medal; Glendining’s, December 1904 and March 1905; Needes Collection 1939. Jacob Bryant was born in the Parish of Broughton, Wiltshire, and was attested for the 41st Foot on 19 April 1819, aged nineteen. He served abroad in the East Indies, Burmah, Scinde, and Afghanistan, 19 years and seven months. ‘He has served through the Burmese War. He is entitled to a Medal for his services in Afghanistan - was present in action with the enemy on 28th April, 30th August, 5th & 29th September 1842, besides several minor affairs between the Bolan & Kyber Passes. He is entitled to wear one distinguishing mark for good conduct.’ Jacob Bryant was discharged at Canterbury on 26 September 1843. Sold with copied discharge papers.
Army of India 1799-1826, 5 clasps, Allighur, Battle of Delhi, Laswarree, Battle of Deig, Capture of Deig (Cornet Patk. Dunbar, 3rd Lt. Cavy.) short hyphen reverse, officially impressed naming, some light contact marks, edge bruises and nicks, otherwise good very fine and extremely rare £12,000-£16,000 --- Provenance: Dr A. A. Payne Collection 1911, Glendining’s 1918; M. J. Kennard Collection, Sotheby, June 1924; G. Hamilton Smith Collection, Glendinings, July 1927; Elson Collection, Glendining’s, February 1963. Only 9 Army of India medals issued with 5 clasps, 8 of which with this combination, including 3 officers all in the 3rd Bengal Light Cavalry. The 5-clasp medal to William Eleanor, 76th Foot, sold in these rooms in September 2004 (£13,000). Patrick Dunbar was born at Auldearn, Nairn, on 6 September 1777, 5th and youngest son of Captain Alexander Dunbar, of Boath, co. Nairn, and Jean his wife, 4th daughter of George Burnett, of Kemnay. In 1798, Dunbar was appointed a Cavalry Cadet on the Bengal establishment, and in 1799 commenced his military career, by joining a battalion of the 15th Native Infantry, with which corps he continued until June 1800, when the 5th and 6th regiments of cavalry were ordered to be raised at Ghazeepoor, and he was directed to join and do duty with the latter corps. He continued with it until the adjustment of rank of the cadets of 1798, when he was permanently posted to the 3rd Light Cavalry, as Cornet, and joined, in August 1801, at Cawnpoor. At this station the corps remained until the beginning of 1802, when it was ordered to form part of the escort selected to attend the Marquess Wellesley, on his visit to the late Newaub of Oude. The regiment proceeded to Lucknow, and afterwards escorted his Lordship down the country, as far as the zillah of Juanpore, where the services of the corps were dispensed with, and it was ordered to Rohilcund. It was stationed at Barreilly until the disturbances with Bauguan Sing, and other chiefs in the Dooaub, in the end of 1802, occasioned a force to be assembled for their subjection and the reduction of their forts. The 3rd cavalry was one of the corps employed on the service and Dunbar was present at the sieges of Sasnee, Catchoura, &c. In 1803, the war broke out with the Mahrattas: “the grand army under the Commander-in-Chief, the Lord Lake, took the field, and the 3rd Light Cavalry was one of the first corps that joined it. Cornet Dunbar was present at General Perron’s defeat near Coel, 29 August 1803; at the capture of Allyghur, 4 September; at the battle near Delhi, 11 September; at the siege and fall of Agra, 18 October; and at the hard-fought battle of Laswarree, 1 November. He was also at the capture of Tonk Rampoora; at the battle and siege of Deig; at two of the storms of Bhurtpoor; and with General Smith's division, in pursuit of Ameer Khan, when that chieftain invaded Rohilcund. At the termination of the latter campaign, the 3rd Light Cavalry was cantoned at Muttra, and after having remained for some time at that station, this officer was detached with his troop to Bundlecund, and employed under various commanders in that troublesome province, and particularly with Colonel Arnold above the Ghauts. On leaving Bundlecund, he was sent into the province of Oude, where he was employed at the reduction of many of the mud forts. He was with the army under General Marshall, at the bombardment and capture of the fort of Hattrass, in the Dodaub; with the grand army assembled under the personal command of the Marquess of Hastings, and subsequently detached from his Lordship's camp, and proceeded with Major-General Sir Thomas Brown’s light division, towards the south, and was present at the attacks made on the fortified towns of Rampoora and Jawud; he was afterwards sent to join the Neemuch field force, under Lieutenant-Colonel Ludlow, C.B. Major Dunbar had the honour of commanding his regiment for a short time, when Lieutenant; he held the command of it a second time, when captain; and got the command a third time, when major. He joined in 1801, and continued with the corps till September 1821, when he returned to his native country. On 11 March 1805, he obtained the rank of lieutenant; he was promoted to brevet-captain, 5 January 1816, and regimentally, 1 September 1818; and to Major, 8 May 1821; late hon. lieutenant-colonel. He retired on 26 April 1824 and returned to England. Lieutenant-Colonel Dunbar died at Westbourne Terrace, Hyde Park, London, on 18 July 1864, aged 86.
The Waterloo Medal to General Sir Colin Halkett, G.C.B., G.C.H., K.T.S., who raised the 2nd Light Battalion, K.G.L., commanded the 5th British Infantry Brigade at Waterloo, where he received four severe wounds, and was later Lieutenant-Governnor of Jersey and Commander-in-Chief at Bombay Waterloo 1815 (Major-General Sir Colin Halkett, K.C.B.) fitted with original steel clip and ring suspension, some light edge bruises and contact marks, otherwise good very fine and an important medal to a senior commander at Waterloo £6,000-£8,000 --- Provenance: Glendining’s, June 1981 (Waterloo medal only, and a related family group elsewhere in the same sale); An Important Collection of Medals to The King's German Legion, Dix Noonan Webb, April 2003. Halkett’s Gold Cross and Small Gold medal with 2 clasps, together with various of his orders, were in the famous Whitaker Collection, later sold by Spink in the 1950s. This group is accompanied by a second Waterloo medal named to this officer. Colin Halkett was born at Venlo on 7 September 1774, son of Major-General Frederick Godar Halkett, then a Major in the regiment of Gordon of the Scots Brigade. The Halketts were a Scottish family of very ancient descent with a long history of service in both Scots regiments and in those of the Dutch service. In March 1792, having previously served seven months as a regimental cadet, Colin Halkett was nominated Ensign with the rank of Lieutenant in Lieutenant-General Van Aerssens van Royeren van Vorhol’s company of the 2nd Battalion Dutch Foot Guards. He became effective Ensign in Lieutenant-Colonel Pagniet’s company on 14 July 1792, and subsequently Lieutenant with the rank of Captain in General-Major Schmid’s company 1st Battalion of Dutch Foot Guards. By a resolution of the committee of land affairs of the confederacy, he was permitted to retire at his own request in April 1795. In January 1799, Halkett was appointed Ensign in the 3rd Buffs, which he never joined, resigning his commission in February 1800, when the Dutch levies, which had been serving on the continent under the Prince of Orange, were taken into British pay. He became Captain in the 2nd Dutch Light Infantry, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel T. Sprecher van Bernegg, and quartered in Guernsey. These troops never appeared in the Army List. They were stationed in the Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands until the Peace of Amiens, when they were sent to certain towns in Holland to be disbanded, Halkett and the other officers receiving special gratuities on discharge. In August 1803, on the dissolution of the Hannoverian army after the convention of Lauenburg, when many discharged soldiers were looking to England for employment, Halkett, described as a Major in the Dutch service, was authorised by the English Government to raise a battalion of Light Infantry in Hannover, to consist of 489 men. Halkett was to have rank as Major-Commandant, with the promise of a Lieutenant-Colonelcy when the numbers reached 800 men. German recruits offering in England in great numbers, the formation of a German Legion, under command of the Duke of Cambridge, was decided on soon after. Recruiting for the independent levies of Baron von der Decken and Major Halkett in Germany then ceased, and these two corps became respectively the 1st and 2nd Light Battalions of the new King’s German Legion. They were dressed as riflemen and stationed at first in the New Forest, and afterwards at Bexhill, Sussex. Halkett was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel on 17 November 1803. At the head of the 2nd Light Battalion K.G.L., Halkett served under Lord Cathcart in the north of Germany in 1806-6, and in Ireland in 1806. He was shipwrecked with part of the battalion in the Northumberland transport on Rundle Stone rock off the Land’s End in May 1807, all persons being successfully transferred to an adjacent transport before the ship went down, taking with her the baggage and arms of Halkett’s detachment. He was afterwards at the Isle of Rugen and in the Copenhagen expedition of the same year. He was in Sweden and Portugal in 1808; in Moore’s retreat through Spain, when the German light battalions were among the troops that retired on Vigo; and in the Walcheren expedition, where these battalions repeatedly distinguished themselves. In command of his battalion in the German light brigade of Charles Alten, Halkett joined Beresford’s army before Badajoz, in April 1811, a few days before the fall of Olivença, and commanded the brigade at the battle of Albuhera. He became brevet Colonel on 1 January 1812, was with his battalion at Salamanca and in the operations against Burgos; and commanded the German light brigade with the 7th Division in the Burgos retreat, where he won the special approbation of Lord Wellington; in the affair at Venta del Pozo, where the 2nd Light Battalion was commanded by his younger brother, Hugh Halkett; and at the bridge of Simancas. He commanded the German light brigade during the succeeding campaigns, including the battle of Vittoria, occupation of Tolosa, passage of the Bidassoa, and the battles on the Nive and at Toulouse. He was promoted to Major-General on 4 June 1814. In the Waterloo campaign, Halkett had command of a British brigade composed of the 30th, 33rd, 69th and 73rd regiments, in the 3rd Infantry Division, which was very hotly engaged at Quatre Bras and Waterloo, where Halkett himself received four severe wounds. The Duke of Wellington referred to him in a despatch as ‘a very gallant and deserving officer’. On the occasion of receiving his fourth wound during the battle, Halkett’s brigade was in an advanced position, particularly since he had pushed forward his two right regiments in support of the charge by Maitland’s brigade of guards; ‘and so great was the pressure upon it, in this exposed situation, that it fell into some confusion. The Duke observing this, said to some of his staff, “See what’s wrong there.” Major Dawson Kelly, of the Quarter-Master-General’s department, immediately rode up to the brigade, and while addressing himself to Sir Colin Halkett, the latter, at the instant, received a wound in the face, a ball passing through his mouth, and he was consequently obliged to retire to the rear.’ Halkett remained in the British service and was later appointed Lieutenant Governor of Jersey, and commander-in-chief at Bombay from July 1831 to January 1832. He became General in 1841, and was appointed Colonel in succession of the 71st Highland Light Infantry, 31st and 45th regiments. He was a G.C.B. and G.C.H., Knight Commander of the Tower and Sword of Portugal, Knight Commander of the Bavarian Order of Maximilian Joseph, Commander of the Military Order of Wilhelm of the Netherlands, and held the Gold Cross for Albuhera, Salamanca, Vittoria and Nive, in addition to the Waterloo Medal. General Sir Colin Halkett, G.C.B., G.C.H., K.T.S., died on 24 September 1856, in his position as Governor-General of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, where he is buried.
Waterloo 1815 (Robert Smallie 2nd or R.N. Brit. Reg. Drag.) fitted with original steel clip and ring suspension, small edge bruise and very light contact marks, otherwise good very fine and scarce thus £3,600-£4,400 --- Provenance: Buckland, Dix & Wood, May 1993. Robert Smallie (also variously spelt Smellie and Smillie) was born in the Parish of Old Monkland, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, in 1787. He enlisted into the Scots Greys on 20 June 1806, aged 19, a weaver by trade, and served 12 years 116 days, including 2 years for Waterloo, at which battle he served in Captain James Poole’s No. 4 Troop. He was discharged at Canterbury on 13 October 1816, in consequence of ‘first finger of his right hand being anchylosed from the kick of a horse’ and was noted to be ‘a steady good soldier’. He was admitted to an out-pension of 6d per diem on 30 October 1816. Sold with copied discharge papers.
The Waterloo medal awarded to Lieutenant Frederick Wood, 11th Light Dragoons, who was severely wounded on 18 June 1815, and whose earlier misfortune was by tradition the cause behind the regimental nickname ‘The Cherry Pickers’, after he was captured by the French with his 10-man patrol in a cherry orchard at San Martin de Trevejo, a most remote village in Spain, in August 1811; he was a prisoner at Verdun for the remainder of the war Waterloo 1815 (Lieut. Fred. Wood, 11th Reg. Light Dragoons.) fitted with original steel clip and ring suspension, minor marks, otherwise good very fine £6,000-£8,000 --- Frederick Wood was born on 25 May 1784, and was first commissioned as Cornet in the 11th Light Dragoons on 28 April 1804, and promoted to Lieutenant on 14 June 1805. He served with the 11th Light Dragoons in the Peninsula from June 1811, but, when in command of a patrol of ten men on 15 August 1811, he was surprised and captured by the French in a cherry orchard at San Martin de Trevejo, a most remote village in Spain near the border with Portugal. Tradition has it that this incident brought about the regiment’s nickname ‘The Cherry Pickers’. Lieutenant Wood was imprisoned at Verdun until the end of the war in April 1814. He served with the regiment in the Waterloo campaign and was severely wounded on 18 June 1815. Lieutenant Wood was court-martialled in September 1816 for ‘using reproachful and provoking language to Lieutenant-Colonel Sleigh [his commanding officer] tending to upbraid him with having refused a challenge, and to excite him to fight a duel with him.’ Found guilty and sentenced by the Court to be cashiered, an intervention by H.R.H. the Prince Regent, on account of his previous good service, caused his sentence to be mitigated by his being placed on Half-pay, which duly took place on 25 March 1817. Frederick Wood died on 4 July 1861.
The important Waterloo medal awarded to Captain and Lieutenant-Colonel The Hon. Robert Moore, who commanded the Light Company of the 2nd Battalion, Coldstream Guards at Hougoumont, and was severely wounded during Macdonell's first counter-attack on the French, 18 June 1815 Waterloo 1815 (Capt. Hon. R. Moore 2nd Batt. Coldstream Gds.) fitted with original steel clip and bar suspension, some light edge bruises and contact marks, otherwise very fine £6,000-£8,000 --- Provenance: Dix Noonan Webb, March 2002. The Honourable Robert Moore was born on 11 July 1793, second son of Stephen, 2nd Earl of Mountcashel, by Margaret, eldest daughter of the 2nd Earl of Kingston. He was appointed Ensign in the 2nd Battalion of the Coldstream Guards on 21 March 1811, and was promoted to Lieutenant and Captain on 2 June 1814. He served in the Peninsula and was present at the battle of Vittoria, crossing of the Bidassoa, battles of Nivelle and Nive, crossing of the Adour and the investment of Bayonne. He does not, however, appear to have either claimed or received the M.G.S. medal. At Waterloo he commanded the Light Company of the 2nd Coldstream Guards which was so highly distinguished in the defence of the chateau of Hougoumont. Still only a young lad of 18 years, Moore was severely wounded during the battle on 18th June. The Light Company had only one other officer, Ensign Henry Gooch; the senior captain, William Lovelace Walton, being elsewhere engaged as Acting Adjutant of the Battalion. At the battle they served in Major-General Sir John Byng’s 2nd British Brigade, as part of Cooke’s 1st British Infantry (Guards) Division. Waterloo 1815 by John Franklin offers further detail on Moore's service during the battle: ‘The two Light Companies of the 2nd Guards Brigade commanded by Sir John Byng were sent down to Hougoumont on the evening of the 17th, and remained vigilant throughout the night. On the morning of the 18th, following an inspection by the Duke of Wellington, they were deployed in the kitchen garden to the west of the chateau and farm complex. The officers and men of the 3rd Foot Guards stood at the northern end of the small path, close to the entrance which faced the Allied line. The two companies were led by Lieutenant-Colonel James Macdonell of the Coldstream Guards, as they had been at Quatre Bras. At the outset of the campaign the two Light Companies had numbered over 270 officers and men. They had incurred only seven wounded (all from the 3rd Foot Guards) during the fighting at the crossroads and demonstrated the élan associated with Household troops. Consequently, they were prepared for the initial assault upon Hougoumont, which was undertaken by the three battalions of 1er Régiment Léger... The battalions totalled almost 1,500 officers and men. The French advanced behind a cloud of tiraillers and the 2nd and 3rd Battalions drove the Brunswick and Nassau-Usingen skirmishers from the wood. They moved rapidly towards the buildings, but the fire from behind the wall surrounding the formal garden and the windows of the property halted their progress. Macdonell instantly ordered the left sub-division of the Coldstream Guards and the right sub-division of the 3rd Foot Guards, to drive their opponents back into the wood. The resolute sortie was crowned with success. Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Dashwood and Captains George Evelyn and John Elrington of the 3rd Foot Guards advanced at the head of their men. They were supported by the Coldstream Guards under Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Wyndham and Captain the Hon. Robert Moore. However, upon reaching the edge of the wood they were subjected to close-range fire from the enemy. Dashwood and Moore were wounded as the fighting intensified, yet the gallant band maintained their ground in the face of the French onslaught until being taken in the flank. At this moment they were compelled to retire in a state of confusion. The Guards fell back amidst a hail of musketry towards their reserves, and the open gates at the end of the lane.’ Moore was promoted to Captain and Lieutenant-Colonel on 1 April 1824, and on the same date went on Half-pay. He died unmarried on 2 November 1856.
Waterloo 1815 (Philip Fowler, Driver, Royal Horse Artillery.) fitted with original steel clip and ring suspension, light marks, otherwise good very fine £1,000-£1,400 --- Provenance: Glendining’s, July 1965. Philip Fowler served at Waterloo in Captain Edward C. Whinyates’s Rocket Troop, Royal Horse Artillery.
Waterloo 1815 (Charles Giles, 28th Regiment Foot.) fitted with original steel clip and ring suspension, light marks, otherwise good very fine £2,400-£2,800 --- Provenance: Sotheby, February 1879 and March 1888; Henry Gaskell Collecion 1905; Glendining’s, December 1909; T. K. Mackenzie Collection 1910, acquired by E. E. Needes. Charles Giles was born in the Parish of Broadclyst, near Exeter, Devon, and joined the Royal Army of Reserve on 6 August 1803. He enlisted into the 28th Foot at Fermoy, County Cork, on 26 March 1805, aged 23, for life, a mason by trade. He served 23 years 77 days, including 2 years for Waterloo, and was discharged at Corfu on 2 November 1823, in consequence of ’being worn out’. His conduct was stated to have been ‘good and that he was wounded slightly in the left hip at Bayonne on the 18 December 1818.’ His discharge was confirmed on 23 October 1824. Sold with copied discharge papers.
The intriguing South Africa Medal awarded to Corporal James Graham, 90th Light Infantry, the only soldier of his Regiment who was present during the defence of Rorke’s Drift South Africa 1877-79, 1 clasp, 1877-8-9 (1123 Corpl. J. Graham. 90th Foot) mostly renamed in an attractive contemporary style not seen on issued South Africa 1877-79 medals, suggesting it was renamed for the recipient, nearly very fine £2,000-£2,400 --- Provenance: Dix Noonan Webb, March 2010. The intriguing case of Daniel Sheehan, 6th Foot, alias James Graham, 90th Light Infantry, and his presence at Rorke’s Drift has been the subject of two articles in the OMRS Journal (Autumn 1988 and Spring 1989). Daniel Sheehan was born near Cork in July 1851, and enlisted for the 6th Foot in December 1870. By early 1876 he had been promoted to Sergeant but, later that same year, he went absent for a week and was sentenced to be reduced in the ranks to Private. In December 1876 he passed into the Reserve for a further six years service in the Liverpool District but, for reasons unknown, he went to Ireland and re-enlisted at Birr into the 90th Foot, changing his name to James Graham. Army Records caught up with him inside the month and, after two months in confinement, he was convicted of fraudulent enlistment and put in Military Prison until June 1877. Sheehan’s later service is picked up in the ‘The Regimental Journal of the Cameronians’: ‘On release, Private 1123 James Graham returned to the 90th and with the regiment proceeded to South Africa where in January of 1878 the regiment saw service against the Gaikas and Galekas in the Eastern Cape Frontier. Graham, despite his previous transgressions, had been promoted to Lance-Corporal on 7 January 1878. He was not with the 90th when the regiment marched to Helpmekaara year later in January of 1879 on its way to Dundee and Bemba’s Kop as part of No. 4 Column commanded by Sir Evelyn Wood V.C. Lance Corporal Graham was transferred to the “Payment of the General Depot” on 1 November 1878, his years of rapid promotion in both the 6th and 90th Regiments were indicative of a soldier working in orderly rooms where promotion was always accelerated. His transfer also meant he became part of the Central or No. 3 Column. The column commanded by Lord Chelmsford. The logistics of transporting a British army in Africa, complete with its Artillery train, provisions for men and beasts, tents, ammunition etc. must have been a monumental task in 1879. The selection of well qualified clerks from all available units would have been made to facilitate the paperwork required to keep supplies rolling to units in the field. At the commencement of the campaign against the Zulu nation, Lord Chelmsford and his staff decided a three-prong thrust into Zulu-land would be the best initial tactic to find and destroy the bulk of the enemy. The Central or No. 3 Column crossed the Buffalo river at Rorke’s Drift. The site was chosen as a supply depot and hospital as the existing buildings were ideal for the purpose, the location was near a ford which the Royal Engineers would bridge over to further the speed of supplies to the army. L/Cpl. Graham was stationed at Rorke’s Drift with Sergeant Milne of the 3rd (Buffs) also transferred to the “Payment of the General Depot” here with Staff Sergeant Mabin of the General Staff and members of the Army Service Corps, all under the command of Commissaries Lieutenant Dunne and Lieutenant Dalton. The service of Graham as a clerk in the supply depot is important, as most published histories wrongly show him on the sick list. His service documents do not reveal any medical problems at this time. During the battle of Rorke’s Drift Lance-Corporal Graham would have given a good account of himself. He was a qualified Musketry Instructor from his service with the 6th Regiment. Using the Martini-Henry rifle he was more than capable of knocking down the enemy at any distance the rifle could reach. After the battle Graham and Sergeant Milne were kept at their duties with the supply depot until 1 September 1879. This meant he was not with the 90th during the battles of Holbane, Khambula and Ulundi. Returning to the 90th, Graham found the Regiment was being sent to India in October of 1879. While serving in India Graham was promoted to Lance-Sergeant in December of 1879 and further promoted to Sergeant in May 1880. In 1881 the 90th L.I. had, with the Cardwell reforms become the 2nd Battalion Scottish Rifles. Graham would have been fully involved in the evolution of the regiment into a Rifle Battalion. Shortly after this Graham was given a restoration of 6 years and 29 days Good Conduct towards pension. Further promotion to Colour-Sergeant followed on 19 March 1887. In February 1885 he married Mary Ann Daly at Bareilly in India. He had also reverted to his original name prior to his marriage. He was posted to the permanent staff of the 1st Lanark Rifle Volunteers on December 1888, and sailed for home on 25 January 1889. He was finally discharged in Scotland on 15 December 1891.’ Graham’s presence at Rorke’s Drift is confirmed by Lieutenant Chard and by Colour-Sergeant Bourne on his amended roll. Furthermore, his service papers state ‘Present at the defence of Rorke’s Drift 22.1.79’. Sold with a quantity of additional research including service papers and both aforementioned OMRS articles.
South Africa 1877-79, 1 clasp, 1877-8-9 (1678. Pte. J. Mullis. 90th. Foot.) minor official correction to surname, minor edge bruise, very fine £400-£500 --- J. Mullis attested for the 90th Light Infantry in 1877 and served with the Regiment in South Africa, where he was engaged against the Gaikas, Galikas, and other Kaffir tribes in 1877-78; and against the Zulus in 1879. Sold with copied research.
India General Service 1895-1902, 2 clasps, Punjab Frontier 1897-98, Tirah 1897-98 (2587 Pte. G. Phillips. 1st. Bn. Hants: Regt.) light scratch to obverse field, good very fine and extremely rare to unit £300-£400 --- George Phillips was born in Winchester in 1869 and attested there for the Hampshire Regiment on 3 June 1888. He served on secondment to the Medical Department on the Punjab Frontier 1987-98, at No. 12 British Field Hospital, and was discharged on 30 November 1901, after 13 years and 182 days’ service. Sold with copied record of service and medal roll extract.
Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 4 clasps, Cape Colony, Transvaal, Wittebergen, South Africa 1901, unofficial rivets between third and fourth clasps (4589 Tpr: E. C. Charrington. 41st. Coy. 12th Imp: Yeo:) light contact marks, therefore nearly very fine, the reverse better £120-£160 --- Ernest Charles Charrington was born in Kingston Vale, Surrey, in 1877 and attested for the Imperial Yeomanry at Winchester on 9 January 1900, whilst currently serving with the Hampshire Carabiniers. He served with the 41st (Hampshire) Company, 12th Battalion in South Africa during the Boer War from 31 January 1900 to 24 May 1901, and was discharged on 23 June 1901, after 1 year and 166 days’ service. A man of this name served as a Lieutenant with the Army Service Corps during the Great War. Sold with copied service papers and medal roll extracts.
China 1900, no clasp (Lieutt. W. A. Bayley. 27th Baluch. Lt. Infy.) official correction to rank, very fine £240-£280 --- William Arthur Bayley was born in 1878, the son of Colonel H. E. D. Bayley. He joined the Indian Army from the Royal Military College as second lieutenant on 22 January 1898, and was promoted to lieutenant on 22 April 1900. He saw service in China 1900 with the 27th Baluchistan Light Infantry (Medal). Lieutenant Bayley died at Chaman on 23 September 1903, aged 25, and is buried in Quetta New Cemetery. For the India General Service Medal awarded to the recipient’s father, see Lot 339.
1914-15 Star (3) (9099 Pte. H. T. Day. Oxf: & Bucks: L.I.; 121 Pte. J. Lacey. Manch. R.; No. 1467 Sepoy Zain Khan, 76/Punjabis.); Victory Medal 1914-19 (2371 Sepoy Ajaib Singh, 1-66. Pjbis.); Memorial Plaque (Arthur Ernest Cooper) the VM polished and worn, therefore poor; the Stars and Plaque better (5) £120-£160 --- Harry Thomas Day was born in Newtown, Berkshire, and attested for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry at Reading. He served with the 1st Battalion during the Great War in Mesopotamia, and was taken Prisoner of War at Kut. He died in captivity on 3 May 1916 and is buried in Kut War Cemetery, Iraq. John Henry Lacey, an employee of the East Indian Railway at Allahabad, attested for the Manchester Regiment and served with the 1st Battalion during the Great War in Mesopotamia. Posted on attachment to the 1st Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, he was taken Prisoner of War at Kut. He died in captivity on 16 September 1916 and is buried in Baghdad (North Gate) War Cemetery, Iraq. Zain Khan attested for the 76th Punjabis and served with them during the Great War in Mesopotamia. Taken Prisoner of War at Kut, he died in captivity in March 1918 and is commemorated on the Basra Memorial, Iraq. Ajaib Singh (also recorded as 2371 Sepoy Ajaib Khan) attested for the 66th Punjabis and served with them during the Great War in Mesopotamia. He died at Kut on 20 December 1915 and is commemorated on the Basra Memorial, Iraq. There are at least two men with the name Arthur Ernest Cooper recorded on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Roll of Honour.
General Service 1918-62, 1 clasp, Arabian Peninsula (23510479 Fus. F. L. Stevenson R.H.F.) mounted on card with H.L.I. metal insignia, partially officially corrected, edge bruising, nearly very fine £70-£90 --- Provenance: Dix Noonan Webb, July 2016. The Royal Highland Fusiliers was formed in January 1957 through the amalgamation of he Royal Scots Fusiliers and the Highland Light Infantry.
General Service 1918-62, 2 clasps, Cyprus, Arabian Peninsula, unofficial retaining rod between clasps (22966292 Gnr. D. G. Vine. R.A.) minor official correction to surname, nearly extremely fine £70-£90 --- Dennis George Vine was born in Steyning, Sussex, on 2 March 1929 and enlisted into the Royal Artillery from the General Service Corps with service number 19158857 on 10 April 1947. He served with 30th Light Anti-Aircraft from 22 May 1947, 30th Heavy Anti-Aircraft from 1 September 1948, and 34th Light Anti-Aircraft (Territorial) from 23 September 1948. He transferred to the Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers on 1 October 1951 and then back to the Royal Artillery where he was given an 8-digit service number and served in both the Cyprus and Arabian Peninsula campaigns. He died on April 2018
General Service 1962-2007, 1 clasp, Northern Ireland (24005922 Pte. J. Wilson LI.) in named card box of issue, extremely fine £50-£70 --- J. Wilson attested, probably for the King’s Shropshire Light Infantry, in 1964, and served with the 3rd Battalion, the Light Infantry (as the K.S.L.I. had become) in Northern Ireland.
Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., E.VII.R. (340462 E. F. Barrett, Armourer, H.M.S. Hampshire.) light scratches to obverse field, good very fine £50-£70 --- Ernest Frederick Barrett was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, on 14 June 1874 and joined the Royal Navy as Armourer’s Crew on 30 November 1894. Advanced Armourer on 28 February 1904, he served in H.M.S. Hampshire from 10 August 1909 to 3 April 1911, and was awarded his Long Service and Good Conduct Medal on 6 December 1909. He served during the Great War in a variety of ships and shore based establishments, and was finally shore demobilised on 19 March 1919. Sold with copied record of service.
An exceptional Posthumous Bronze Star group of four awarded to Captain H. McL. “Diamond Jim” Stacey, 141st (The Buffs) Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps, 31st Armoured Brigade, who was killed in action in March 1945 1939-45 Star; France and Germany Star; War Medal 1939-45; United States of America, Bronze Star, together with card box of issue for the first three addressed to his mother, and named condolence slip, extremely fine (4) £400-£500 --- Provenance: The Robert F. Brett Collection of Medals to the Buffs, Dix Noonan Webb, September 1999. Bronze Star London Gazette 17 October 1946: ‘Capt. Hugh McLaren Stacey, 324582, The Buffs (since died).’ The following recommendation for the Posthumous Award of the Bronze Star is taken from official records: ‘Lieut. Hugh McLaren Stacey has distinguished himself by heroic achievement not involving participation in aerial flight. At Geilenkirchen on 20th November, 1944, when “A” Squadron 141 R.A.C. (The Buffs) was in support of 333 Infantry Regiment (84 United States Infantry Division) Lieut. H. M. Stacey was acting as Liaison Officer between the flame throwing tanks and the Infantry. During the course of the action in the direction of Suggerath, Lieut. H. M. Stacey was constantly up with the Infantry who were under very heavy mortar and shell fire. One platoon, having lost its commander and N.C.Os, was personally reorganised by Lieut. H. M. Stacey, and later did excellent work in the clearing of some pillboxes. At one point during the battle, a party of 12 to 15 United States infantrymen all became casualties. Lieut. H. M. Stacey, who was on the spot, realising that these men were out of contact with their own troops, dashed back and organised a stretcher party. He personally led this party to the wounded men, regardless of the heavy mortar and machine gun fire which was ranged on this area. Throughout the evacuation of these casualties, Lieut. H. M. Stacey was a fine source of inspiration and encouragement to all around him. Two days later, Lieut. H. M. Stacey led a party of United States Engineers well forward of our forward troops, for the purpose of setting explosive charges upon secret equipment which had been disabled by the enemy the previous day. Again Lieut. H. M. Stacey distinguished himself by heroic achievement in that he performed his task in full view of the enemy and under heavy fire. All of these actions were highly commended by the local commanders.’ The 141st (The Buffs) Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps in North West Europe The Buffs was one of several infantry regiments which had one or more battalions converted to tanks in 1941. 7th Battalion, The Buffs became known as 141st (The Buffs) Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps. As a Churchill Tank Regiment in 31st Army Tank Brigade in February 1944 they were selected as the first to convert to operate Crocodile flame-throwers. They continued to wear the Buffs Dragon cap-badge and two Troops landed on the Normandy Beaches on ‘D’ Day, 6 June 1944, the remainder following shortly after. During the landing and the breakout from Normandy 141st Regiment suffered 117 casualties from an overall strength of 600. The Crocodile was a flame-throwing variant of the British Churchill Tank developed under Major General Sir Percy Hobart and was produced from October 1943. The Crocodile had a flame projector which replaced the front mounted Besa machine gun which was connected to an armoured trailer via an armoured pipe mounted along the underside of the tank. The armoured trailer weighed 6 ½ tons and carried 1,800 litres of fuel as well as a compressed propellant which was enough for 80 one seconds blasts. The conversion kit was designed so that R.E.M.E. workshops in the field could convert any available Church Mk VII into a flame throwing Crocodile tank. The design of the conversion kit allowed the tank to retain its main turret mounted 75mm gun. Furthermore, the armoured trailers could be jettisoned if it was hit, or once empty to give the tank greater freedom of movement; the trailers were additionally fitted with towbars so they could be collected after the action by unit transport. ‘The the first three Crocodiles of No. 15 Troop, ‘C’ Squadron, landed in France at Le Hammel shortly after ‘H’ Hour on ‘D’ Day. Shall we rather say they "parted company" with the L.C.T's. For with a delicious little gurgle of delight one subsided into the sea, one sat stolidly and comfortably down in a crater on the beach and the third creature, carried on by some unknown stamina right across the beach straightaway collapsed with broken tracks. Meanwhile some miles away, Lieutenant Shearman, of No. 13 Troop, also of ‘C’ Squadron, managed in a rough sea to pressure up two Crocodiles and clear the tanks for action supporting the 7th Battalion Green Howards in the cold grey light of 5:00 a.m. By 8:30 a.m. the two surviving Crocodiles represented the only armour up with the forward companies and as such their popularity with the Green Howards was absolutely sky-high. For them these two great hulking Crocodiles clattered amiably along, bearing sometimes up to as many as forty Infantry, and pausing here and there to pepper with Besa or high explosives the fleeting Hun backsides fast disappearing over the skyline. A picturesque cavalcade paralleled only by Hannibal's passage of the Alps. On through Crepon they went and still on. Nothing now separated Shearman from Rommel, but a few German Infantry and Panzer Divisions. Not until Tierceville crossroads did he yield pride of place to the speedier Sherman Tanks, by which time some several hundred prisoners-of-war had already given themselves up. The next port of call was Villiers-le-Sec where everybody came under long distance shelling from tanks on the high around south west of Creully. The Shermans were out of it in a flash but 13 Troop, with its cumbersome trailers, had time whilst, negotiating the corners, to indulge a little hopefully, in an armoured gun duel with no loss to either side - Thence to Creully where for four hours the Crocodiles manned the western approaches in “Hull Downs” against a threatened Panzer attack. The day's peregrinations, however, were not over yet. Later the Troop was to go to Cowlombs where the Infantry Commanding Officer released the Crocodiles, which again returned to Creully. Here Lieutenant Shearman met a Squadron Commander of the Westminster Dragoons and it was decided to go into close laager together just south of Crepon. Dawn at Crepon on 7 June 1944 was a rude awakening in the shape of a salvo from about 100 yards in rear of the laager. The two Crocodiles covered the withdrawal of the thin-skinned Flails and succeeded in keeping the enemy guns quiet by an area shoot of 75 mm. But as he followed out in the wake of the Flails Shearman caught sight of a whole array of artillery and transport in the growing light, breakfasting in gay abandon and all unwitting of the target they presented to the Boche guns behind. Whereupon artillery and Royal Corps of Signals personnel were organised to act as infantry with grenades to follow in the wake of the Crocodiles assault. This was to be a great moment in Crocodile history-their first use of flame against a real live German. Supported by the fire of two flails the Crocodiles assaulted. Some eight shots of flame and the position was white with flags- 50 prisoners-of-war walked out and a party went in to deal with the killed and wounded. This then was the baptism of Crocodile flame and a very successful one too. After a few days rest in Erecy, on 11 June the two Crocodiles moved on southwest to support the Hampshires of 231 Brigade through the woods from ...
19th Light Dragoons Reward of Merit, engraved silver circular medal with raised rim and integral suspension ring, 62 mm, obv. an elephant with howdah standing on plinth inscribed ‘XIX’, all within ribbon scroll inscribed ‘Assaye’ ‘Light Dragoons’ ‘Niagara’; rev. inscribed ‘The Reward of Merit & Soldierly Conduct. The Gift of the Officers. Awarded to J. Murry 1818’, good very fine and rare £400-£500 --- Provenance: Dix Noonan Webb, March 2007. Not recorded in Balmer.
An original Crimea War letter from Lieutenant Clement Heneage, 8th Hussars, who survived the Charge of the Light Brigade and went on to be awarded the Victoria Cross during the Indian Mutiny The letter in ink, four sides on a single folded sheet of blue paper, dated ‘Balaclava, Aug. 13th’, and reading: My dearest Mimsy I was very much surprised to hear of Clutterbuck's approaching marriage, which was about the least probable event in his life, according to what we knew of him - no one in the regiment has heard from him lately, so he is most likely shy about announcing the event. I don’t think he will stay in the corps one day after the ceremony has been performed - The detachments of the Lt. Brigade which have been out at Baidar for the last 3 weeks, all came in this morning, as they are not much use in that direction, the Russians being almost totally invisible - in fact all the soldiers they have in the Crimea, are close to Sebastopol & the Belbek. This morning a general action was confidently expected, & the whole Cavalry Division was out in the plain before 3 o'clock, but nothing came off, so I suppose the Russians will try some other day. The English cavalry are now an immense force - this morning we were between three & four thousand strong, a most imposing mass of men & horses - & if we had had a go at the Russians, I think they would have been sorry for it. Michael is very well & flourishing, he was here two days ago, & we meet constantly in some part of the camps. There seems to be a great row about the merits of G. Paget, & his good service pension - he certainly does not deserve it near so much as heaps of other Colonels do, particularly as he is such a noted bad soldier - If he writes any answer to those letters in the Times, which he most likely has done by this time, it will be great sport - as that facetious paper will probably favour him with an article written in their best & most severe style - Love to all at Compton. Believe me dearest Mimsy Yr. most affecte. Clement’ With related envelope addressed to his ‘Mrs. Heneage, Compton Basset, Calne, Wiltshire’, this with notation ‘England via Marseilles’ and three official stamps to reverse, including British Army Post Office ‘AU 18 1855’, good overall condition £240-£280 --- Provenance: Dix Noonan Webb, September 2014. Clement Walker Heneage was born at Compton Basset, Wiltshire, in March 1831, the son of George Walker Heneage, the M.P. for Devizes. Appointed a Cornet in the 8th Hussars in August 1851, he was advanced to Lieutenant in September 1854, and rode in the Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaklava, in addition to being present at Alma, Inkermann and the operations before Sebastopol (Medal and 4 clasps; Turkish Medal). Having then returned to England, the 8th Hussars were embarked for India in October 1857, and it was June of the following year that Heneage, now a Captain, won the V.C. for his part in an action at Gwalior, three other members of the regiment sharing the same distinction on the same occasion: ‘Selected for the Victoria Cross by their companions. In the gallant charge made by a squadron of the regiment at Gwalior on 17 June 1858, when, supported by a division of the Bombay Horse Artillery, and H.M’s 95th Regiment, they routed the enemy, who were advancing against Brigadier Smith’s position, charged through the rebel camp into two batteries, capturing and brining into their camp two of the enemy’s guns, under a heavy and converging fire from the fort of the town’ (London Gazette 26 January 1859). Also given the Brevet of Major, and awarded the Indian Mutiny Medal with ‘Central India’ clasp, Heneage attained the substantive rank of Major in November 1860, and retired in 1868. A High Sheriff for Wiltshire, he died at Compton House, Compton Basset, in December 1901.
Four: Private P. M. W. Wakerell, The Buffs, late King’s Shropshire Light Infantry and later Royal West Kent Regiment Korea 1950-53, 1st issue (22442094 Pte. P. Wakerell. K.S.L.I.); U.N. Korea 1950-54; Africa General Service 1902-56, 1 clasp, Kenya (22442094 Pte. P. M. W. Wakerell, Buffs.); General Service 1918-62, 1 clasp, Near East (2442094 Pte. P. M. W. Wakerell. R.W.K.) good very fine (4) £400-£500
The Peninsula War Medal awarded to Lieutenant R. Blake, 3rd Foot, who was severely wounded and lost a leg at St Pierre in December 1813 when in command of the Light Company of the 57th; he later assumed the additional name of Humfrey and left a hand-written journal ‘A brief Chronological History of my Life’, R. Blake-Humfrey, 1872 Military General Service 1793-1814, 2 clasps, Nivelle, Nive (R. Blake Humfrey, Lieut. 3rd Foot) toned, extremely fine £3,000-£4,000 --- Provenance: Charles Lusted (List No. 78) June/July 1970. Robert Blake (afterwards Blake-Humfrey) was born on 23 November 1795, at Horstead, Norfolk, second son of Thomas Blake, Barrister at Law, J.P., and Theodora Colombine. He was gazetted Ensign, by purchase, into the 3rd Foot (Buffs) on 30 April 1812, with the influence of General Leigh, the Colonel. Promoted to Lieutenant on 23 September 1813, he served in the Peninsula from September 1813 to March 1814, being present at Nivelle and Nive, being severely wounded at St Pierre on 13 December 1813, where his left leg was amputated. He was placed on Half-pay in December 1816, having been ‘Rendered incapable of Duty by my wounds, and removed to the 9th Royal Veterans Battalion in January 1820, ‘Incapable of service by the loss of my leg and other severe wounds.’ He was awarded £100 pension per annum for the loss of his leg, commencing from 14 December 1813. Robert Blake married Charlotte, daughter of Colonel Harvey, of Thorpe, at Thorpe St Andrew, Norfolk, on 4 August 1838, with whom he had seven children. He assumed the name Blake-Humfrey by Royal Licence on 10 August 1847. He later became Deputy Lieutenant of Norfolk and Justice of the Peace, and lived at Wroxham Hall, Norfolk, where he died, aged 90, on 15 October 1886. There is a memorial tablet to him in the church of St Mary the Virgin at Wroxham, Norfolk. The following narrative, including extracts from Blake’s hand-written journal “A brief Chronological History of my Life” (R. Blake-Humfrey, 1872), was published in Charles Lusted’s List No. 78 in June/July 1970; Lusted clearly had access to the original journal which was then in possession of the family but made it very clear that the journal was not for sale. The present whereabouts of the journal are not known. ‘Departed for the Peninsula, July 1813 to join the lst Bn in Spain. During some very rough weather between Portsmouth & Plymouth, a mutiny among a large part of both soldiers and sailors broke out aboard ship (on account of some regulations relative to the issue, and drinking, of the grog served out to the men), the men refused to serve the ship, and some soldiers set their officers at defiance, and a party of American seamen, engaged at Liverpool, proposed "to take the ship into Boston!". Lieutenant Blake Humfrey was sent, with a small party, to the escort Frigate of the convoy, through a heavy sea, and an armed crew from the Frigate arrested the chief sailor mutineers. Landed in Spain Aug 28th, 1813, near St. Sebastian (which was then under siege), and the detachment was ordered to march to join the Regiment. They were attacked en route, and several of the men were wounded. “Lord Wellington and his Staff passed by and stopped to enquire who we were? I saw him thus, for the first time, by flashes of lighting, in heavy rain - enveloped in his large cloak, and cocked hat covered with oil-silk - as represented in the pictures.” Aug 30th 1813 - Joined the Ist Bn The Buffs encamped in the mountains near the Pass of St. Jean Pier de Porte, under command Colonel Bunbury (Sir John Byng’s Bde), 2nd Division (Lord Hill). Appointed Lieutenant (London Gazette 28th Sept, 1813), and attached to Light Company (Capt. Cameron). At that time the Light Co’s of every Regt in the Bde were formed into one Company of which Capt. Cameron has sole command. Nov 10th - took part in the attack and capture of the heavily fortified French positions on the Heights of Ainhoue (beyond the River Nivelle); November - crossed the River Nive, and “the Buffs, wading up to their chests, the stream running strong, succeeded in crossing the river, with the loss of a few men by enemy fire, and a young officer and a private or two, carried away by the current, which they were too feeble to stem.” December, 13th - “Cameron directed me to take command of a company of the 57th, attached to the Light Companies, all the officers of which had been wounded. About four o’clock in the afternoon, while doing duty with this Company, and exposed to a severe fire of artillery, I fell to the ground, badly wounded in both legs above the knee, either by grape-shot, or part of a shell.” “Lord Wellington having, early in the morning, received intelligence, from Sir Rowland Hill, of the strong attack made on his, the right wing of the Army, came from St. Jean de Luz some 20 miles, to learn the result. He galloped up close by my party, and seeing me severely wounded, supposed I was an officer of high rank, for he sent his A.D.C. to enquire who I was. Upon being informed, he remarked that my wounds seemed to require immediate attention, and ordered his A.D.C. to send a surgeon to the farm house close by. I had the satisfaction of meeting the Assistant Surgeon of my own Regt coming out to meet me, by Lord W’s orders!” His left leg was amputated (at the age of 18 years). “Sir Rowland Hill and Sir John Byng called upon me, and sent English roast beef, in tin cases, then a novelty.” Lieutenant Blake was then returned to England, and in due course was discharged on medical grounds: “my wounds entitled me to a year’s pay for each leg, and a pension for the loss of my left leg - which was made £100 - that of a Captain, in consideration of my being in command of a company when wounded.” May 1815 - “I went to Bradford in. Yorkshire to have an artificial leg made by Mr. Mann, then of great fame as a mechanician in that way.” July 1815 - “On returning to Bradford, I found a Russian officer, Colonel Christzoffs, who had lost his leg at Leipzig, and hearing of the fame of Mr. Mann, had come from Paris to have a leg made.” August 1815 - “Though so soon after the loss of his leg at Waterloo, the Marquis of Anglesea also arrived, for a like purpose. He invited Colonel Christzoffs, myself, and several other officers, to dinner at his hotel - all at table being one-legged-men, except his son Lord Uxbridge!” The last entry in the Journal reads: “Dec 1882, returned home - by train.”
A Highland Light Infantry Tam O’Shanter. A scarce named other ranks Great War period Tam O’Shanter, complete with cap badge, double stitched lining, manufacturers lapel ‘Andersons & Sons, Edinburgh and Glasgow’, with ’N. P. Davidson HLI’ inscribed under the lapel, silk bow to the rear, contained in a leather collar box with the recipient’s initials on the top, good condition £200-£240
India General Service 1895-1902, 2 clasps, Relief of Chitral 1895, Punjab Frontier 1897-98 (314 Sergt. G. Eaton. 1st Bn. East Kent Regt.) light contact marks, otherwise very fine £180-£220 --- George Eaton was a noted entertainer and athlete in the regiment. He served 14 years in India and was awarded the L.S. & G.C. medal in October 1900. Sold with details of approximately 30 entries from The Dragon, 1898-1902.
Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 3 clasps, Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal (6020 Pte. W. Brown, E. Kent Regt.) light contact marks, otherwise better than very fine £180-£220 --- W. Brown served with the 2nd Battalion in South Africa and was slightly wounded at Balmoral on 11 March 1901 (With the Buffs in South Africa by Lt. Col. Backhouse refers).
Army L.S. & G.C., V.R., 3rd issue, small letter reverse (1479. Pte. N. Farr. E. Kent R.) suspension re-affixed, light edge bruising and traces of brooch marks to reverse, otherwise very fine £60-£80 --- Noah Farr was born at Manningford, Wiltshire, in 1845, and enlisted into the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Foot at Uxbridge on 11 October 1866, aged 21, an agricultural worker by trade. He transferred to the 1st Battalion in April 1867 and proceeded to India in February 1868. He took part in the Perak expedition in Malaya from November 1875 to March 1876 (Medal with Clasp). He re-engaged at Cawnpore to complete 21 years service, August 1876, and returned Home in December 1879. He received his L.S. & G.C. medal on 1 January 1885, and was discharged, time expired, on 11 October 1887 at Canterbury. Sold with copied discharge papers.
Evans (Edward). South With Scott, London: Collins, circa 1942, 27 monochrome illustrations, folding map to the rear endpapers, period inscription to the front endpaper, some light toning, original cloth, 8vo, together with:Barber (Noel), The White Desert, 1st edition, London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1958, monochrome illustrations, period inscription to the front endpaper, some light marginal toning, original cloth in price-clipped dust jacket, covers rubbed with some teas & loss, 8vo, plusMundell (Frank), Stories of North Pole Adventure, London: The Sunday School Union, circa 1896, etched illustrations, bookplate to the front pastedown, pp.81-96 partially detached, some wear & toning, original illustrated cloth, boards & spine slightly marked & rubbed, 8vo, and other modern Polar exploration reference & related, all original cloth, some in dust jackets, 8voQTY: (33)
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