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A Great War M.M. group of four awarded to Serjeant G. Griffin, Scottish Rifles, killed in action in Palestine, 23 November 1917. military Medal, G.V.R. (8918 L. Cpl., 2/Sco. Rif.); 1914 Star, with copy clasp (8918 L. Cpl., 1/Sco. Rif.); British War and Victory Medals (8918 Sjt., Sco. Rif.), mounted for display; Memorial Plaque (George Griffin), in card envelope, good very fine (5) £650-750 M.M. London Gazette 11 November 1916. george Griffin was born in Old Ford, Middlesex and enlisted at Stratford. Serving with the 1st Battalion Scottish Rifles he entered the France/Flanders theatre of war on 31 August 1914. Serving with the 2nd Battalion Scottish Rifles, he was awarded the Military Medal for Bravery. When serving with the 7th Battalion, he was killed in action in Palestine on 23 November 1917. He was buried in the Jerusalem War Cemetery. £650-£750

A Great War M.M. group of four awarded to Corporal H. A. M. Bilston, 27 Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, who was killed in action on 27 September 1918 military Medal, G.V.R. (40934 Cpl., 27/Sge. By. R.G.A.); 1914 Star, with clasp (40934 Gnr., R.G.A.); British War and Victory Medals (40934 Cpl., R.A.) single edge bruise to first, otherwise good very fine or better (4) £350-400 M.M. London Gazette 13 November 1918. henry Augustus Morris Bilston was born and lived in Bermondsey, Surrey. He was killed in action in France and Flanders on 27 September 1918. £350-£400

A Great War ‘Western Front’ M.M. group of four awarded to Serjeant L. Bennett, Royal Field Artillery military Medal, G.V.R. (59549 Cpl., 41/By. R.F.A.); 1914 Star, with copy slip-on clasp (59549 Gnr., R.F.A.); British War and Victory Medals (59549 Sjt., R.A.) nearly very fine and better (4) £300-340 M.M. London Gazette 27 October 1916. £300-£340

A Great War ‘Western Front’ M.M. group of four awarded to Private Herbert Pollington, Grenadier Guards, who accidently drowned on 31 January 1919 military Medal, G.V.R. (20454 Pte., 3/G. Gds.); 1914-15 Star (20454 Pte., G. Gds.); British War and Victory Medals (20454 Pte., G. Gds.) good very fine (4) £400-450 M.M. London Gazette 14 May 1919. herbert Pollington was born in Northallerton, Yorkshire. A Farm Labourer by occupation, he attested for service in the Grenadier Guards at Thirsk on 14 November 1914, aged 18 years, 1 month. With the Grenadier Guards he served in France/Flanders, 5 October 1915-18 September 1916; 19 January-2 December 1917, and 1 April 1918-until the end of the war, and thence with the Army of Occupation. He was wounded on 14/17 September 1916, with a gunshot wound to the buttocks. For his services with the 3rd Battalion he was awarded the Military Medal for bravery in the field. Information from the family indicates that Pollington accidently drowned on 31 January 1919, whilst trying to save some German children who had fallen through the ice on a frozen pond. He was buried with full military honours in the Cologne Southern Cemetery, Germany, on 8 February 1919. sold with copied attestation papers and other research. £400-£450

The Great War M.M. group of four awarded to Corporal F. H. Higgins, Dorsetshire Regiment, killed in action, 1 October 1918 military Medal, G.V.R. (10084 L. Cpl., 5/Dorset. R.); 1914-15 Star (10084 Pte., Dorset. R.); British War and Victory Medals (10084 Cpl., Dorset. R.); Memorial Plaque (Frederick Henry Higgins) first with slight edge bruising, nearly very fine; others good very fine (5) £600-700 M.M. London Gazette 6 January 1917. frederick Henry Higgins was born in Bristol, Gloucestershire, and living in Puddletown, Dorset, enlisted at Dorchester. Serving with the 5th Battalion Dorsetshire Regiment, he entered the Balkan theatre of war on 11 July 1915. With the same unit he was subsequently awarded the M.M. for bravery in the field, being presented with the medal at Pernois, Somme, on 15 November 1916. He was killed in action on 1 October 1918 as the 5th Battalion advanced near Epinoy. Corporal Higgins was buried in the Chapel Corner Cemetery, Sauchy-Lestree, Pas de Calais, France. Sold with original card envelope and slip for the Memorial Plaque and a folder containing copied m.i.c., diary and gazette extracts, photographs of his grave stone and the cemetery and other research. £600-£700

A good Great War Salonika operations M.M. group of five awarded to Corporal H. R. Wateridge, Royal Lancaster Regiment military Medal, G.V.R. (16430 Pte. H. R. Wateridge, 9/R. Lanc. R.); 1914-15 Star (16430 Pte., R. Lanc. R.); British War and Victory Medals (16430 Cpl., R. Lanc. R.), single initial ‘H.’ on these three; Russian Medal of St. George, 3rd class, silver, the reverse officially numbered ‘167762’, contact marks and polished, good fine and better (5) £600-800 M.M. London Gazette 12 December 1916. The following information was taken from Order No. 558, 12 Corps, dated 30 September 1916: ‘He has repeatedly shown coolness and initiative and bravery while with carrying parties. He was out again on the afternoon of 14 September and took a prominent part in helping wounded during the severest fire.’ Russian Medal of St. George London Gazette 15 February 1917. herbert Reginald Wateridge originally entered the French theatre of war in September 1915, prior to his gallant exploits in the Salonika operations. the relevant war diary reveals a good deal of activity on 14 September 1916 in the 9/Royal Lancaster’s positions in Macedonia, including a heavy bombardment and resultant casualties - ‘All ranks behaved splendidly and showed great courage and coolness’; so, too, the award of Wateridge’s Russian Medal of Zeal on 7 November; sold with an old typed copy of the announcements for his M.M. and Russian Medal of St. George, as per Corps and Regimental Orders. £600-£800

A Great War M.M. group of five awarded to Corporal D. Harris, 6th Battalion, London Regiment military Medal, G.V.R. (320185 Pte., 6/Lond. R.); 1914-15 Star (1460 Pte., 6-Lond. R.); British War and Victory Medals (1460 Cpl., 6-Lond. R.); Defence Medal 1939-45, edge inscribed ‘D. Harris’, some minor contact wear and edge bruising, therefore nearly very fine or better (5) £350-400 M.M. London Gazette 17 April 1917. £350-£400

A Great War M.M. group of five awarded to Private C. H. Crump, Royal Army Medical Corps military Medal, G.V.R. (11780 Pte., R.A.M.C.); 1914-15 Star (11780 Pte., R.A.M.C.); British War and Victory Medals (11780 Pte., R.A.M.C.); Special Constabulary Long Service, G.VI.R., 1st issue (Charles H. Crump); together with a mounted set of four miniature dress medals (M.M. detached), nearly extremely fine (9) £280-320 M.M. London Gazette 23 July 1919. charles Harold Crump was born in 1896. A Plumber by occupation from Walsall, he enlisted at Darlaston on 23 March 1915. He served as a Stretcher Bearer with 19 C.C.S., ? 1915-November 1916 and with 88th Field Ambulance, November 1916-June 1919. Serving in the 38th Field Ambulance he was awarded the M.M. for bravery in the field. He was transferred to the Reserve on 2 August 1919 and was discharged from the Reserve on 22 March 1935. sold with a good collection of original documents, including: recipient’s Discharge Certificate; Character Certificate; Certificate of Employment during the War; letter of congratulations on the award of the M.M. signed by Lieutenant-General Aylmer Hunter-Weston, Commanding VIII Corps; two photographs; and a 38th Field Ambulance Menu, Xmas 1918, signed by many of the members of the unit. £280-£320

A Great War ‘Western Front’ M.M. group of four awarded to Serjeant B. E. Pearce, Royal Army Medical Corps military Medal, G.V.R. (36420 Sjt., 43/F.A. R.A.M.C.); 1914-15 Star (36420 Sjt., R.A.M.C.); British War and Victory Medals (36420 Sjt., R.A.M.C.); together with a Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes War Commemorative Medal 1914-19 (Bro. B. Pearce M.M.), with enamelled ‘RAOB’ ribbon emblem and top bar, good very fine and better (5) £300-350 M.M. London Gazette 21 December 1916 benjamin Ernest Pearce, serving with the 43rd Field Ambulance R.A.M.C., entered the France/Flanders theatre of war on 21 May 1915. He was subsequently awarded the M.M. for bravery in the field, being notified of his award on 11 October 1916. in a newspaper cutting it was reported, ‘Sergeant Ben Pearce, R.A.M.C., son of Mr and Mrs Pearce of 54, Ashcroft Road, Cirencester, has this week returned to France after a few days’ special leave, granted in view of his having been awarded the Military Medal for conspicuous bravery in the field. For 21 consecutive days during the Somme battle he led his ambulance to and from the firing line conveying wounded to shelter over a distance of more than four miles, under continuous and heavy shell fire, his gallant work receiving recognition in the above reward. Sergeant Pearce who was formerly engaged with Messrs. Whatley and Co., of Cirencester, is the eldest of four brothers, all of whom volunteered for service early in the war, and all of whom are now serving abroad. ... He joined the R.A.M.C. from the Red Cross camp in Earl Bathurst’s Park in August, 1914, and in less than four months had been promoted to the rank of sergeant, while yet short of his 21st birthday. Sergeant Pearce was for several years of the 1st Cirencester Company Boys’ Brigade, becoming a sergeant and eventually lieutenant in that corps, holding the latter rank at the time of his enlistment, and the training received in the ranks of the Brigade has proved of the utmost value in his military career’. a second newspaper cutting reported that three of the brothers were awarded the Military Medal. A third cutting reports on the coroner’s inquiry into the death of Benjamin Pearce. He died in Cirencester Memorial Hospital in March 1924 following a motor cycle collision. A verdict of accidental death was recorded. Sold with a folder containing newspaper cuttings and copied m.i.c. and war diary extracts. for a group to one of his brothers, see Lot 1148. £300-£350

Family group to three brothers: a Great War M.M. group of four awarded to Private H. Johnstone, Royal Army Medical Corps military Medal, G.V.R. (354182 Pte., R.A.M.C.); 1914-15 Star (372 Pte., R.A.M.C. ); British War and Victory Medals, these two with erased naming three: Private J. A. Johnstone, Royal Army Medical Corps 1914-15 Star; British War Medal 1914-20, these two with erased naming; Victory Medal 1914-19 (355 Pte., R.A.M.C..) three: Private A. M. Johnstone, Royal Army Medical Corps 1914-15 Star (277 Pte., R.A.M.C. ); British War and Victory Medals (277 Pte., R.A.M.C.) very fine and better (10) £220-260 M.M. London Gazette 13 March 1919. ‘Pte., 44th Fd. Amb. (Manchester)’. harold Johnstone of 53 Clarendon Road, Whalley Range, Manchester, attested for service in the R.A.M.C. at Manchester on 1 September 1914, aged 20 years, 10 months. With the R.A.M.C. he entered the Egypt theatre of war on 26 September 1914 and served with the E.E.F. until 1 June 1915. He then served in Gallipoli, 7 June-20 October 1915 and with the B.E.F., 12 May 1917-7 July 1919. For his bravery in the field whilst serving with the 44th Field Ambulance he was awarded the Military Medal. He was discharged on 31 March 1920. Sold with copied service and m.i.c. john Arthur Johnstone of 53 Clarendon Road, Whalley Range, Manchester, attested for service in the R.A.M.C. at Manchester on 4 September 1914, aged 19 years, 1 month. With the R.A.M.C. he entered the Egypt theatre of war on 26 September 1914 and served with the E.E.F. until 5 May 1915. He then served in Gallipoli, 10 May-8 July 1915; Malta, 16 July 1915-28 March 1916; with the E.E.F., 27 March-5 April 1918, and with the B.E.F., 17 April 1918-10 April 1919. He was discharged on 31 March 1920. Sold with copied service papers and m.i.c. alexander Mortimer Johnstone of 53 Clarendon Road, Whalley Range, Manchester, attested for service in the R.A.M.C. at Manchester on 23 February 1914, aged 21 years, 10 months. With the R.A.M.C. he entered the Egypt theatre of war on 26 September 1914 and served with the E.E.F. until 5 May 1915. He then served in Gallipoli, 10 May 1915-12 January 1916, with the E.E.F., 18 January 1916-2 March 1917 and the B.E.F., 12 March 1917-9 January 1919. He was discharged on 31 March 1920. Sold with copied service papers and m.i.c. £220-£260

A Great War ‘Western Front’ M.M. group of five awarded to Serjeant T. Allcock, Royal Horse Artillery military Medal, G.V.R. (39003 S.S. Cpl., R.H.A.); 1914-15 Star (39003 S. Sth. Cpl., R.H.A.); British War and Victory Medals (39003 Cpl., R.A.); Army L.S. & G.C., G.V.R., 1st issue (1035983 Sjt., (M.M.) R.A.) some contact marks, very fine and better, scarce with citation (5) £400-500 M.M. London Gazette 17 June 1918. the citation for the M.M., taken from a listing of men of the 29th Divisional Artillery who received honours, reads: ‘Alcock (sic), T., 39003, Cpl./S.S., ‘B’ Battery, R.H.A. Flanders, 1918 - During the operations from September 28th to October 22nd between Ypres and Courtrai, this N.C.O. showed great gallantry and skill in handling men and horses under fire. He has frequently taken teams and ammunition over heavily shelled roads, and on one occasion when horses were stampeded by shell fire did splendid work in restoring order, caring for the wounded and inspiring the men with confidence. On another occasion near Kruiseecke he displayed great courage and powers of command when the wagon lines of which he was in charge came under heavy machine gun fire’. £400-£500

A Great War M.M. group of four awarded to Gunner B. A. Robinson, Royal Garrison Artillery, killed in action, 11 May 1917 military Medal, G.V.R. (48649 Gnr., 32/Sge. By. R.G.A.); 1914-15 Star (48649 Gnr., R.G.A.); British War and Victory Medals (48649 Gnr., R.A.); Memorial Plaque (Bertram Albert Robinson), in card envelope, nearly extremely fine (5) £500-600 M.M. London Gazette 18 July 1917. bertram Albert Robinson was born in and enlisted at Birmingham. As a Gunner in the R.G.A. he entered the France/Flanders theatre of war on 2 October 1915. Whilst serving with the 32nd Siege Battery, R.G.A. he was awarded the M.M. for bravery. He was killed in action on 11 May 1917 and was buried in the Feuchy British Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France. sold with copied m.i.c., war diary extract and other research. £500-£600

A Great War M.M. group of five awarded to Warrant Officer Class 2 C. Lott, Royal Garrison Artillery military Medal, G.V.R. (37963 Sjt., 26/Sge. By. R.G.A.); 1914-15 Star (37963 Cpl., R.G.A.); British War and Victory Medals (37963 A.W.O. Cl.2, R.A.); Army L.S. & G.C., G.V.R., 2nd issue, fixed suspension (1408090 W.O. Cl. II, M.M., R.A.) some contact marks, about very fine and better (5) £300-340 M.M. London Gazette 26 March 1917. corporal Charles Lott, R.G.A., entered the France/Flanders theatre of war on 3 August 1915. Sold with copied m.i.c. and gazette extract. £300-£340

A Great War M.M. group of four awarded to Gunner C. Taylor, Royal Field Artillery military Medal, G.V.R. (L-5630 Gnr., A.153/A.F.A. Bde. R.F.A.); 1914-15 Star (L-5830 Gnr., R.F.A.); British War and Victory Medals (L-5630 Gnr., R.A.) good very fine and better (4) £280-320 M.M. London Gazette 18 June 1917. £280-£320

A Great War ‘Western Front’ M.M. group of four awarded to Battery Quartermaster Serjeant J. T. Russell, Royal Field Artillery military Medal, G.V.R. (42609 Sjt., C.124/Bde. R.F.A.); 1914-15 Star (42609 Bmbr. (A. Cpl.), R.F.A.); British War and Victory Medals (42609 B.Q.M. Sjt., R.A.) good very fine (4) £280-320 M.M. London Gazette 12 December 1917. The recipient came from Winchester. £280-£320

A Great War M.M. group of three awarded to Sergeant W. H. Holmes, 282 London Brigade Ammunition Column, Royal Field Artillery military Medal, G.V.R. (47620 Sjt., 282/Lond. Bde. A.C. R.F.A.-T.F.); 1914-15 Star (47620 Sjt., R.F.A.); British War Medal 1914-20 (47620 Sjt., R.A.) good very fine (3) £180-220 M.M. London Gazette 21 August 1917. £180-£220

A scarce Great War ‘Italy’ M.M. group of three awarded to Private V. C. T. White, 1/4th Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment, who was killed in action on 20 October 1918 military Medal, G.V.R. (200986 Pte., 1/4 R. Berks. R.); British War and Victory Medals (200986 Pte., R. Berks. R.); together with a bronze religous medal, nearly extremely fine (4) £400-450 M.M. London Gazette 21 October 1918. victor Charles Thomas White was born at Uffington, Berkshire and enlisted at Reading. He was killed in action in Italy on 20 October 1918, just one day before the award of his Military Medal was announced in the London Gazette. £400-£450

A Great War M.M. group of three awarded to Private H. Hall, Royal West Kent Regiment and Royal Fusiliers military Medal, G.V.R. (G-21048 Pte., 10/R. W. Kent R.); British War and Victory Medals (4691 Pte., R. Fus.); together with Royal West Kent Regiment cap badge; Royal Fusiliers shoulder badge; two General Service buttons; B.R.C.S. ‘East Lancs’ brass and enamel medal; and a spent bullet, nearly extremely fine (3) £350-400 M.M. London Gazette 9 December 1916. sold with a photograph of recipient in later life and a contemporary newspaper cutting entitled ‘For Bravery in The Field’, which includes a photograph of recipient in uniform and which states: ‘Private Henry Hall, Royal Fusiliers (attached Royal West Kent Regiment), has been awarded the Military Medal for conspicuous bravery in conveying messages under heavy shell fire. Private Hall is a member of the Manchester Branch, and prior to enlistment was employed as a compositor at the office of Percy Gill, Tib-lane, Manchester.’ £350-£400

A Great War M.M. group of four awarded to Lieutenant L. G. Hills, East Surrey Regiment, late London Regiment, Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force military Medal, G.V.R. (1343 L. Cpl. L. G. Hills, 21/Lond. R.-T.F.); British War and Victory Medals (2 Lieut., R.A.F.); War Medal 1939-45, this last in its original card forwarding box, with related Army Council condolence slip, together with 21/London Regiment and R.A.F. badges, generally good very fine (6) £500-700 M.M. London Gazette 10 August 1916. leslie Goldston Hills, a native of Streatham, London, who was born in March 1893, originally enlisted in the 21/London Regiment in September 1912. First entering the French theatre of war in March 1915 - and thereby gaining entitlement to a 1914-15 Star - the award of his M.M. most likely stemmed from the Battalion’s part in heavy fighting on Vimy Ridge in May 1916, although accompanying extracts from the Battalion’s war diary also reveal much activity in the vicinity of Loos earlier in the year, including patrol work and heavy enemy bombardments. Absolutely certain is the fact the 21st was decimated in an attack on High Wood on the Somme in mid-September, just two officers and 60 men remaining out of the 570 that had started out. commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Fusiliers in May 1917, Hills was accepted as an Observer on probation in the Royal Flying Corps in March 1918, and was attached to No. 7 Squadron out in France from June until the end of hostilities. He was placed on the Unemployed List as a Lieutenant in May 1919. Recalled to the Colours on the renewal of hostilities, Hills was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the East Surreys, and died in the U.K. on 11 February 1941, aged 47 years. He is commemorated on a panel in West Norwood Cemetery. £500-£700

A Great War ‘Western Front’ M.M. group of five awarded to Acting Corporal A. J. Barnes, Royal Engineers, late Middlesex Regiment military Medal, G.V.R. (107400 L. Cpl., 8/D.S. Co. R.E.); British War and Victory Medals (13837 Pte., Midd’x. R.); General Service 1918-62, 1 clasp, Iraq (1858977 A. Cpl., R.E.); together with a 1914 Star, with copy clasp, this with erased naming, good very fine (6) £250-300 M.M. London Gazette 6 January 1917. arthur Joseph Barnes, a Wire Rope maker by occupation, entered the Middlesex Regiment in November 1911. He was transferred to the Royal Engineers in August 1915. During the Great War he served in France/Flanders, 5 November 1914-24 December 1916; Salonica, 5 December 1918-4 January 1919, and Trans-Caucasia, from 4 January 1919. For his service in the 8th Divisional Signal Company, Royal Engineers, attached 23rd Infantry Brigade, he was awarded the Military Medal. He was transferred to ‘Class Z’ Reserve on 20 July 1919. Sold with Middlesex Regiment cap badge; a number of copied service papers, m.i.c., etc. Several times listed for misdemenours on his Regimental Conduct Sheet. £250-£300

A Great War ‘Western Front’ M.M. group of three awarded to Private A. Gray, Royal Army Service Corps military Medal, G.V.R. (M-281244 Pte., R.A.S.C.); British War and Victory Medals (M-281244 Pte., A.S.C.), mounted as worn, good very fine (3) £200-240 M.M. London Gazette 20 August 1919 - attached to the 51st Field Ambulance, R.A.M.C. the recipient came from Dundalk. £200-£240

A Great War ‘Western Front’ M.M. group of three awarded to 2nd Corporal A. Jones, South African Railways Overseas Dominion Section military Medal, G.V.R. (5832 Cpl., S.A.R.S.); British War and Bilingual Victory Medals (2/Cpl., S.A.R.O.D.S.) edge bruising and contact marks, nearly very fine and better (3) £350-400 M.M. London Gazette 17 June 1919. ‘93rd Broad Gauge Operating Company, 2nd South African Railway Service’. albert Jones was born in Maritzburg, Natal. An Engine Driver by occupation, he had previously served in the suppression of the Natal Rebellion of 1906. He attested for service in the S.A. Expeditionary Force at Roberts Heights on 22 November 1916, giving his place of residence as Durban. Serving with the S.A.R.O.D.S. he was posted to France. For his services there he was subsequently awarded the Military Medal. He was discharged on 29 May 1919. Sold with copied service papers which show that he was accidently wounded in the face by a bayonet in January 1919. £350-£400

A Great War ‘Western Front’ M.M. group of three awarded to Gunner A. E. Miller, Royal Garrison Artillery military Medal, G.V.R. (60992 Gnr., 156/Sge. By. R.G.A.); British War and Victory Medals (60992 Gnr., R.A.) nearly extremely fine (3) £300-350 M.M. London Gazette 16 July 1918. arthur Edward Miller was born at 53 Rainbow Street, Camberwell on 21 April 1888. During the Great War he enlisted into the Royal Garrison Artillery and served in France, was wounded and was awarded the Military Medal. During the Second Word War he served in the Home Guard and Police. Latterly he was employed as Security Officer at the Piccadilly Hotel, London. sold with recipient’s Birth Certificate; three photographs; copied m.i.c. and gazette extract; two notebooks, handwritten by the recipient, containing poems; one inscribed, ‘Written on the Battlefields of France in 1916, A. Miller, M.M.’, and ‘Property of A. Miller, M.M., 3 Grange House, 229 Church Street, Stoke Newington’. Also with a third notebook, written during the Second World War, containing his handwritten reminiscences of his time in the Army during the Great War - this with a typed version (plus floppy disk) entitled, ‘A Soldier’s Story’ (by) ‘A. E. Miller, M.M.’ In it, Miller relates his adventures in the Army, his brushes with authority and wartime action. ‘.... Then came the great retreat of March 1918, when we were machine gunned from our position, and lost five guns out of 6. At that time our artillery fire had played much havoc with the bosche that it was common knowledge that no allied prisoners were taken. When it looked as though we should be captured, I cut all my gun buttons off my tunic and great coat, and put a couple of red cross armlets in my pocket, so if I was captured I could say I was a stretcher bearer. We retreated 80 miles in five days, and each night we stopped and fired our 8in. howitzer, that fired a shell of 220lbs. I was given the job of plotting out the gun position (ie the line of fire) each night. ...’ £300-£350

A Great War M.M. group of three awarded to Sergeant C. C. Henderson, Royal Garrison Artillery military Medal, G.V.R. (95263 Sjt., R.G.A.); British War and Victory Medals (95263 Cpl., R.A.) good very fine or better (3) £180-220 M.M. London Gazette 20 August 1919. £180-£220

A Great War ‘Western Front’ M.M. group of three awarded to Gunner E. S. Wright, Royal Field Artillery military Medal, G.V.R. (209004 Gnr., 311 W. Rid. A. Bde. R.F.A.-T.F.); British War and Victory Medals (209004 Gnr., R.A.), mounted as worn, minor edge bruising, good very fine (3) £200-240 M.M. London Gazette 23 February 1918. sold with copied m.i.c. and gazette extract. £200-£240

A Great War M.M. pair awarded to Sergeant R. Allison, 15th Battery, Royal Field Artillery military Medal, G.V.R. (104252 Bmbr., 15/By. R.F.A.); British War Medal 1914-20 (104252 Sjt., R.A.) good very fine or better (2) £160-180 £160-£180

A Great War M.M. awarded to Acting Leading Seaman E. Hislop, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve military Medal, G.V.R. (T.Z. 1702 A.B. A.L.S., R.N.V.R.) edge bruising, contact marks, fine £250-300 M.M. London Gazette 14 May 1919. leading Seaman Ernest Hislop, R.N.D., came from South Shields. Before the war he worked at the Harton Colliery. Sold with some copied research. £250-£300

A Great War ‘Western Front’ M.M. awarded to Lance-Corporal J. Pickerill, Lancashire Fusiliers military Medal, G.V.R. (281963 Pte.-L. Cpl., 7/Lan. Fus.) nearly extremely fine £200-250 M.M. London Gazette 24 January 1919. The recipient came from Newcastle. £200-£250

A Great War ‘Western Front’ M.M. awarded to Corporal W. Senior, Royal Welsh Fusiliers military Medal, G.V.R. (54469 Cpl. W. Senior, 17/R.W. Fus.) nearly extremely fine £200-250 M.M. London Gazette 17 June 1919. The recipient came from Bolton. £200-£250

A Great War ‘Western Front’ M.M. awarded to Private S. Bateman, Royal Warwickshire Regiment military Medal, G.V.R. (12490 Pte., 10/R. War. R.) edge bruising, some contact marks, nearly very fine £200-250 M.M. London Gazette 23 August 1916. samuel Bateman enlisted on 7 November 1914. Serving as a Private in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment he entered the Balkan theatre of war on 25 September 1915. Later serving in France/Flanders, he won the M.M. when serving with the 10th Battalion. He was discharged on 20 February 1918 due to wounds. Entitled to the 1914-15 Star, British War and Victory Medals and Silver War Badge. Sold with copied research and with his book of Church Hymns and book of Common Prayer, these in a slip case. £200-£250

A Great War ‘Western Front’ replacement M.M. awarded to Lance-Corporal G. J. Hague, Machine Gun Corps military Medal, G.V.R. (88025 L/Cpl. M.G.C. (Duplicate)), a late duplicate issue, in Royal Mint case and card box of issue, extremely fine £100-140 M.M. London Gazette 19 November 1917. lance-Corporal G. J. Hague, M.G.C., came from Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. £100-£140

A Great War M.M. awarded to Lance-Corporal W. J. Kilminster, Tank Corps, who was killed in action, 8 August 1918 military Medal, G.V.R. (200406 L. Cpl., 2/Tank Corps); Memorial Plaque (William John Kilminster), plaque contained in damaged wooden frame, very fine and better (2) £500-600 M.M. London Gazette 16 July 1918. citation reads, ‘On March 22, in action near Morchies, the tank of which Pte. Kilminster was first driver had taken on board the crew of another tank which had been disabled by shell fire. When proceeding to the rallying point Pte. Kilminster’s tank became disabled and had to be evacuated. One of the wounded was unable to walk, and was carried safely by him to another tank through a heavy barrage of machine-gun and artillery fire a distance of about 150 yards. In this and in previous actions Pte. Kilminster has shown remarkable coolness under all circumstances’. william John Kilminster was born in Camden Town, Middlesex and enlisted at London, serving initially as Private 38058 in the Machine Gun Corps. Later as a Lance-Corporal with the 2nd Battalion Tank Corps he won the Military Medal as related above. He was killed in action on 8 August 1918. Having no known grave, his name is commemorated on the Vis-en-Artois Memorial. sold with a framed Tank Corps Certificate, part hand-written, part printed, named to Private Kilminster, which reads, ‘I have read with great pleasure the Report of your Commanding Officer on your self sacrifice & pluck in action at Morchier on 22nd March 1918. This reflects credit on yourself and on the whole Tank Corps [Signature]’. £500-£600

A Great War ‘Western Front’ M.M. awarded to Private D. Nicholls, Royal Army Medical Corps military Medal, G.V.R. (495415 Pte., 2/2 H.C.F.A. R.A.M.C.-T.F.) nearly extremely fine £160-200 M.M. London Gazette 12 December 1917. The recipient came from Bromley Common. £160-£200

A Great War M.M. awarded to Lance Corporal A. Pearce, General Headquarters Signal Company, Royal Engineers military Medal, G.V.R. (76630 L. Cpl., ‘D’ G.H.Q. Sig. Coy., R.E.) good very fine £180-220 £180-£220

A Great War M.M. awarded to Lance Corporal A. C. Wordsworth, 49th West Riding Division Signal Company, Royal Engineers military Medal, G.V.R. (482222 L. Cpl., 49/W.R.D.S. Coy. R.E.-T.F.) some edge bruising and laquered, otherwise very fine £150-180 M.M. London Gazette 19 November 1917. £150-£180

A Second World War North Africa immediate M.M. group of five awarded to Private E. Rossiter, Royal Sussex Regiment military Medal, G.VI.R. (6408187 Pte. E. Rossiter, R. Suss. R.); 1939-45 Star; Africa Star, clasp, 8th Army; Defence and War Medals, good very fine or better (5) £1000-1200 M.M. London Gazette 8 July 1943. The original recommendation for an immediate award - approved by Montgomery - states: ‘On the night of 5-6 April 1943, during 1st Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment’s attack on the Dj El Meida Hill, north-west of Wadi Akarit, Private Rossiter showed courage, dash and initiative of the highest order. His company was under very heavy and accurate mortar fire in a narrow wadi. He showed great coolness and complete disregard of his own safety and was of great help to his Platoon Commander and Platoon Sergeant in rallying and re-organising the Platoon during a difficult change of direction which had to be made in the darkness. In the subsequent advance and attack on the objective, he showed great dash and determination to close with and kill the enemy. Throughout the next day, he showed great coolness under heavy fire during consolidation. His fearless conduct was a very fine example to the rest of his platoon and is worrthy of the highest praise.’ £1000-£1200

A fine Second World War Burma operations M.M. group of five awarded to Company Quarter-Master Sergeant Thomas Hutchinson, King’s African Rifles, who won an immediate award for his part in the desperate action fought on ‘Pagoda Hill’ in March 1944 - ‘such was his determination that even during the brief period his wound was being dressed he broke off to seize the opportunity of killing two more Japanese who came into view’ Military Medal, G.VI.R. (10330 C.Q.M. Sjt. T. Hutchinson, K.A. Rif.); 1939-45 Star; Burma Star; Defence and War Medals, generally good very fine and rare £1600-1800 M.M. London Gazette 22 June 1944. The original recommendation states: ‘At ‘Pagoda Hill’, Kaladan, on 3 March 1944, Company Quarter-Master Sergeant Hutchinson was acting Platoon Commander of ‘B’ Company. After an enemy charge had dispersed his command, he withdrew to a commanding feature on the forward slopes. Although wounded twice, he held his ground and by determined action with grenades and T.S.M.G. assisted to beat off the Japanese attack for two hours. Such was his determination that even during the brief period his wound was being dressed, he broke off to seize the opportunity of killing two more Japanese who came into view.’ Thomas Hutchinson, an N.C.O. in 2/6 King’s African Rifles, was attached to the 11th (East African) Division Scouts at the time of the above related action, a component of the 81st (West African) Division, commanded by Major T. C. C. Lewin - ‘Apart from being Swahili-speakers its soldiers were not regular King’s African Rifles personnel, but an assortment collected by the Scouts’ officers, most of whom were big game hunters and safari guides’ (The Unforgettable Army, by Colonel Michael Hicks, refers). Having disembarked at Chittagong in January 1944, the Scouts moved up to meet the Japanese advance on the east bank of the Kaladan River, and first went into action in the following month, when, on the 20th, the O.C. of Hutchinson’s ‘B’ Company and several askaris were killed in an engagement on the Pi Chaung, a tributary of the Kaladan. Indeed patrol actions and skirmishes were common place right up until the commencement of the main enemy assault in March: ‘At dawn on the 3 March the Japanese attacked ‘Pagoda Hill’ in force. Two assaults were repulsed, but the West Africans were obliged to retire and the enemy began to surround the position. Having exhausted all the grenades, Lewin and the remnants of the Scouts then abandoned the hill and eventually withdrew across the Kaladan into the Divisional Box. Apart from known killed and wounded, three officers, one B.N.C.O. and 130 Africans were missing. The unit was now reduced to less than two Europeans per company’ (The King’s African Rifles, by Lieutenant-Colonel H. Moyse-Bartlett, refers). £1600-£1800

A rare Fall of France 1940 D.F.M. group of four awarded to Flight Lieutenant L. S. Pilkington, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, who was credited with 5 ‘kills’ as a Hurricane pilot in No. 73 Squadron prior to transferring to Spitfires of No. 111 Squadron and being killed in action on a Channel offensive sweep in September 1941: he was to have been married just six days later distinguished Flying Medal, G.VI.R. (741935 Sgt. L. S. Pilkington, R.A.F.); 1939-45 Star; Air Crew Europe Star; War Medal 1939-45, together with related dress miniature for the first, generally extremely fine (5) £5000-6000 d.F.M. London Gazette 16 July 1940: ‘For exceptional gallantry and devotion to duty in the air from January 1940, and especially from the 10-15 May 1940, during which period this airman pilot displayed unflagging zeal and courage in the face of superior forces of the enemy. He has shot down five enemy aircraft.’ Lionel Sanderson Pilkington, a native of Hull, entered the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in 1938, qualified as a Sergeant Pilot and was posted to No. 73 Squadron, a Hurricane unit, and a component of 67 Wing, Advanced Air Striking Force, in early 1940 - records reveal him embroiled in a combat in Flight Lieutenant E. J. ‘Cobber’ Kain’s red section as early as 25 January. another followed on 26 March, when he fired all of his ammunition in a protracted dogfight with Me. 110s and Dorniers, one of the former hitting his propeller with return fire and causing him to drop 10,000 feet with a ‘spluttering engine’; so, too, on 21 April, when he got in a brace of attacks on 109s, one of them rolling over on its back. but it was after the ‘Phoney War’, on the advent of the German invasion of the Low Countries in May 1940, that No. 73 embarked upon a period of constant action, Pilkington noting in his diary as early as the 11th how he had to dive for cover at Reims-Champagne airfield, two bombs having landed yards from his quarters. Indeed his diary is extensively quoted in Twelve Days in May, by Brian Cull and Bruce Lander, with Heinrich Weiss (Grub Street, London, 1995): ‘[May 11] I get a Messerschmitt 110 but one also gets me! A cannon shot in the tailplane passes through the fuselage and out the other side! Bullets in the engine, shot away throttle control; cannot close throttle and bullet hits in cockpit, beside rudder bar. Land on [Rouvres] ‘drome by cutting switches, rudder control wire practically sheared.’ This action took place over Mourmelon, Pilkington flying Hurricane P2569/D - his victim was an aircraft from II/KG53, while ‘Cobber’ Kain also claimed a Bf. 110 on the same occasion. at first light on the 13 May, with the war correspondent Charles Gardner on hand to record events, Pilkington added a shared Do. 17 to his tally, in company with fellow pilots P./Os R. F. ‘Dickie’ Martin and D. S. ‘Don’ Scott, but the enemy aircraft’s rear-gunner was a good shot - ‘We all came back very riddled’. Again in combat that evening, this time against a brace of Heinkels near Vouziers, Pilkington saw one of them downed by Squadron Leader J. W. C. More - the crew managed to bale out but were lined up and shot by French troops on landing, or certainly according to Gardner. the very next day, in an early morning patrol over the Sedan battlefront, Pilkington and Flying Officer ‘Fanny’ Orton both seriously damaged Do. 17’s of 3/KG76, the former noting that large pieces came away from his Dornier’s starboard engine before his windscreen was covered in oil - ‘Also damage port engine and get the gunner ... Shots in my plane and I fly home as I cannot use my gunsight owing to the oil.’ The Dornier made it back to base, but with three of its crew wounded. later on the 14th, as one of six 73-pilots on a similar patrol, he engaged seven Stukas of I/StG76 over Malmy, his particular target diving into the ground and exploding, but then 73’s Hurricanes were jumped by 109s of III/JG53 and Pilkington’s fellow Sergeant Pilots, Basil Pyne and George Dibden, were both shot down and killed: ‘This is a hell of a blow to me. Hell!’ Notwithstanding such losses, 73’s punishing agenda continued apace, Pilkington sharing a claim for a Do. 17 with his C.O. on the following day: ‘Panic take-off. First off, chase some Heinkels but do not catch them. Come back to base and chase five Dorniers. Get starboard engine then jettison bombs. Crossfire gets me in oil and patrol tanks, also glycol. Get back to drome, glycol tank melted and run into engine. Face slightly burnt and eyes sore from glycol. C.O. says a good show.’ And in the air battles over Lille on the 19 May, again witnessed by the war correspondent Charles Gardner, he added another ‘probable’ to his tally - but as a result of damage caused by return fire was compelled to make a force-landing: ‘Think I got a He. 111 but one of the rear-gunners gets my oil tank and I fly back. See three He. 111s doing dive-bombing 200 yards away; also run into 15 Me. 110s. Fly back in cloud and land at French bomber drome. Given a fine lunch. Ken calls in a Maggie for me in the afternoon.’ His He. 111 was in fact most likely a Ju. 88 of KG51. at the end of the month, the first of 73 Squadron’s pilots were recalled to the U.K., but in common with No. 1 Squadron, their gallant part in the defence of France had been recorded for posterity by Noel Monks, another war correspondent who had followed their story from late 1939, and who subsequently published Squadrons Up! with such valuable combat experience under his belt, Pilkington was posted to No. 7 Operational Training Unit (O.T.U.) at Hawarden, Cheshire that July - and survived a prang with a student pilot in a Miles Master on the 17th. Far more unusually, he is credited with bringing down a Ju. 88, even though still based with No. 7 O.T.U., that September - an accompanying Tangmere Military Aviation Museum letter refers. sometime thereafter joining No. 111 Squadron, most probably in early 1941, when it commenced cross-Channel offensive patrols and escorts, he was shot down and killed by Me. 109s in a sortie to Hazebrouck in Spitfire AB-962 on 20 September 1941 - as Flight Lieutenant Keller concluded in his combat report for that date, ‘The Me. 109s on this occasion seemed to me to be making a far more concerted effort than usual and were present in greater numbers than hitherto’. Pilkington, by then a 22-year old Flight Lieutenant, was due to have been married on the 26th. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. sold with a quantity of original documentation, including Buckingham Palace condolence message; four wartime photographs, one a framed portrait, and another of a page in his Flying Log Book, carrying an endorsement from his 73 C.O., ‘Has proved himself a gallant and successful Fighter Pilot’, in addition to details of a claim for an He. 111 above; an R.A.F. permanent pass, for St. Athan, No. 11 Group, in the name of ‘741935 Sgt. L. S. Pilkington’, dated 21 November 1939; together with the remnants of his embroidered cap badge, his uniform ‘Wings’ and, most poignantly, his fiancee’s R.A.F. sweetheart’s brooch, gold and enamel. £5000-£6000

A good Second World War pathfinder’s D.F.M. group of four awarded to Flight Lieutenant P. E. Turner, Royal Air Force, who participated in all three ‘Thousand Bomber Raids’ in May-June 1943 distinguished Flying Medal, G.VI.R. (569898 Act. F./Sgt. P. E. Turner, R.A.F.); 1939-45 Star; Air Crew Europe Star; War Medal 1939-45, mounted as worn, good very fine (4) £1800-2200 D.F.M. London Gazette 18 May 1943. The original recommendation states: ‘A most trustworthy member of aircrew, Flight Sergeant Turner has now carried out the duties of Flight Engineer on 26 operational flights. His dependability and high standard of efficiency have been of the greatest assistance to his captain. His keenness and enthusiasm to engage the enemy are outstanding.’ Peter Eric Turner was born in Cheltenham in 1920 and enlisted in the Royal Air Force in 1936. Trained as a Flight Engineer, he commenced his operational career in No. 7 Squadron, a Stirling unit operating out of Oakington, Cambridgeshire in May 1942, completing a sortie to Cologne on the night of the 30th - the first of the ‘Thousand Bomber Raids’. Having then participated in a similar strike against Essen 48 hours later, he joined Pilot Officer C. W. Gwillian’s crew in early June, a month that witnessed him carrying out his third ‘Thousand Force’ sortie - against Bremen - and three attacks on Emden. then in July he returned to Bremen, in addition to raids on Duisburg (twice), Lubeck and Saarbrucken, while in August, following a trip to Flensburg and a strike against Frankfurt, his captain had to abandon an attack on Kassel after their aircraft was damaged by a Ju. 88 nightfighter. A brace of further attacks on Bremen and a trip to Saarbrucken followed in the first half of September, after which No. 7 Squadron commenced training proper for its new role in the Path Finder Force. that training completed by January 1943, Turner joined the crew of Flight Lieutenant J. F. Barron, D.F.M., R.N.Z.A.F., who, over the next few weeks, would be gazetted for a D.F.C. and D.S.O. - and add a Bar to the latter decoration, also in No. 7 Squadron, in the following year - and flew a sortie to Lorient on the 15th. Attacks on Cologne (twice), Hamburg and Wilhelmshaven (twice) followed in February, while in April, with Flight Lieutenant J. S. Watt, D.F.C., as captain of aircraft, he flew sorties against Frankfurt, Mannheim, Stettin and Stuttgart, prior to completing his operational tour with a strike against Bochum on 13 May 1943. He was awarded the D.F.M. commissioned as a Pilot Officer in June 1943, Turner was advanced to Flight Lieutenant in June 1945 and was placed on the Reserve of Officers in April 1947. £1800-£2200

A particularly fine Second World War Mosquito navigator's D.F.M. group of four awarded to Pilot Officer L. J. Etheridge, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, who completed 50 sorties over France, Holland and Germany in 1944-45, an action packed tour that included a brace of crash-landings back in England after damage sustained in action - once on one-engine with a hung-up 500lb. bomb: so, too, the spectacular daylight raids on the S.S.-occupied Chateau de Fou in August 1944 and S.S. barracks at Arnhem in the following month distinguished Flying Medal, G.VI.R. (1603309 F./Sgt. L. J. Etheridge, R.A.F.); 1939-45 Star; France and Germany star; War Medal 1939-45, extremely fine (4) £3000-3500 D.F.M. London Gazette 8 May 1945. The original recommendation states: ‘Flight Sergeant Etheridge has completed 50 sorties with his pilot, Flight Lieutenant Gasson, including three daylight operations. this N.C.O. has proved himself to be an excellent operational Navigator. He has never failed to bring his pilot to the target area, often despite poor weather conditions and without navigational aids. some of the sorties in which he was engaged involved very deep penetrations into enemy territory, where accurate navigation, without Gee facilities, was vital to the success of the missions. the results obtained by this Navigator and his pilot have been outstandingly good as the following examples will show. on the night of 6-7 August 1944, a moving light was attacked in France and due to the fact that the attack was pressed home to a low level the port engine was hit by a ricochet and caught fire at 1500 feet. The port propeller was feathered and the graviner switch operated. The return flight was made on one engine and Flight Sergeant Etheridge's accurate navigation brought them safely to England. It was found that height could not be maintained with the result that the English coast was crossed at 400 feet and a crash landing made at Ford. on the night of 4-5 October 1944, when carrying out a patrol over Holland and Germany, two trains were found in a railway station at Millingen, which were attacked with bombs and cannon. A large explosion followed the attack and later a fire started. During the same patrol a tug and six barges were found and successfully strafed. flight Sergeant Etheridge also took part in the successful daylight operations against the chateau south of Chatellerault on 2nd August, trains at Chalons on 25 August 1944 and on the barracks at Arnhem on 17 September 1944. flight Sergeant Etheridge possesses great determination and coolness in times of crisis. His fine offensive spirit, which is equal to that of his pilot, has gone to make an ideal Mosquito crew. In view of his fine operational record, I strongly recommend him for the award of the Distinguished Flying Medal.’ Laurence James Etheridge commenced his operational career with No. 107 Squadron, a Mosquito unit of 2nd Tactical Air Force's 138 Wing, operating out of Lasham, in July 1944, when, with his New Zealander pilot, Flight Lieutenant L. Gasson, he completed an offensive patrol over Vire-Falaise-Trouville sector on the night of the 24th-25th. Indeed it was to prove the first of a spate of such patrols in support of the Allied landings, 107s Mosquito VIs targeting enemy troops, transport and communications, often with great success, according to the Squadron's Operational Record Book (O.R.B.), by means of bombing and cannon fire delivered from altitudes as low as 500-1000 feet. Success was also dependent on a bright moon, a case in point being Etheridge's third sortie - against targets in the upper reaches of the Seine, from Rouen on the night of 30-31 July - when 107's Mosquitoes strafed and bombed a variety of trains, bridges, roads and in fact, any moving lights, but not without interference from the usual flak concentrations which had a habit of 'creeping up on the unwary'. etheridge's next sortie was of the daylight variety, one of a series of famous strikes against the S.S. and Gestapo, in this case an attack on troops of the notorious 158th ‘Security’ Regiment - who had recently murdered members of the S.A.S. - in the Chateau de Fou, south of Chatellerault on 2 August, a spectacular raid captured on camera, and one in which his aircraft, Mosquito A-NT. 136, formed part of the third wave - never the best place to be with aroused defences: ‘In the woods to the immediate south of the Chateau, one large explosion was seen after a cannon attack, possibly from motor transport. Bombs landed all round the Chateau but no direct hit was claimed. Strikes were obtained on the roof in a cannon attack and a small fire was seen to start inside. Aircraft ‘D’ sustained the loss of one engine over the target and crash landed at Thorney Island - crew unhurt. The trip back was uneventful except for a little flak soon after leaving the target, which was successfully avoided by all except F./O. Staple in Aircraft ‘J’ ... It is doubtful if the Chateau was entirely destroyed but troops possibly hiding in the woods would have been eliminated’ (107’s Squadron Operational Record Book refers). two days later Etheridge was part of a Squadron effort to lend support to the Army in the Caen sector, when 'much activity was seen in the battle zone and flak was very considerable', while on the night of 6-7 August, as cited above, he and Gasson were compelled to return from France on one engine, the other having been set alight by a ricochet from their own low-level cannon-fire - not mentioned, however, is the fact they were carrying a hung-up 500lb. bomb as they made their crash landing at Ford in Sussex and that said bomb exploded just two minutes after they had scrambled clear of the wreckage. Notwithstanding such a close-call, both were back in action over France, chasing trains out of Paris, the very next night. So, too, on the 8th-9th, evidence indeed of 107's constant operational agenda, another three nights of successive operations taking place between the 12th-15th, in one of which further trains were shot up in the Falaise sector. and as if this "three-nighter" agenda were not punishing enough, Etheridge and Gasson were called upon to carry out two sorties on the night of 16th-17th, both of them strikes against barges on the Seine - such was the ferocity of the flak that neither could see the results of their attacks. Bad weather then having intervened, their next sortie was flown on the night of 23-24 August, on a line between Cap D'Antifer and Lens, another on the 24th-25th, and a daylight operation against railway targets at Chalons in the afternoon of the latter date - a spectacular mission in which a number of oil-trains were hit, exploding 'with a terrific mushroom of flame and black smoke', but a mission, too, in which most of the participating aircraft were also damaged by return fire: a vivid portrayal of 107’s Mosquito VIs on a low-level railway strike over France, by David Pentalnd, is available as a limited edition print from Cranston Fine Arts. the Squadron now having moved to Epinoy, France, September started with a deep penetration sortie into Holland and Germany on the night of the 5th-6th, severe jamming preventing the use of GEE and making Etheridge's navigation role all the more difficult, while on the 9th-10th eight of 107s aircraft destroyed a brace of ammunition trains between Metz and Morhange, taking it in turns to carry out devastating cannon and machine-gun attacks. A successful sortie to Holland followed on the night of the 11th-12th, a less successful one on the 13th-14th, while on the 17th Etheridge and Gasson, piloting Mosquito B-NT. 207 in 107's sky black formation, paved the way for the biggest airborne landings ever made with a daylight attack on the S.S. barracks at Arnhem. At 0700 hours that morning, a total of 32 crews from 107 and 603 Squadrons were assembled for a special briefing, during which models of

A particularly fine ‘London Blitz’ George Medal awarded to Stretcher Bearer Sidney Kelsey, Air Raid Precautions Casualty Service, West Ham: having tunnelled to a casualty with his bare hands, he remained on the scene for at least 10 hours - ‘throughout the whole time he had to lie over three dead bodies in a hole largely excavated by himself and under overhanging debris in danger of collapse’ George Medal, G.VI.R., 1st issue (Sidney Kelsey), nearly extremely fine £1200-1500 G.M. London Gazette 6 June 1941: ‘A high explosive bomb damaged a house. After working through the night the Rescue Parties ascertained the position of a trapped woman. Kelsey, lying on his back, worked with bare hands to excavate a tunnel to reach the casualty and he undertook her treatment and support while efforts to rescue her were continued. For ten hours he had to lie in a hole among fallen debris, under heavy overhanging wreckage which was in danger of collapse and at a point near an escape of gas. Kelsey showed great gallantry and endurance in effecting this rescue.’ Further details of Sidney Kelsey’s extraordinary courage in the early morning hours of 20 March 1941, at Hudson Road, West Ham, appeared in the Stratford Express following the announcement of the award of his George Medal: ‘Mr. Sidney Kelsey, before joining the A.R.P. Casualty Service in October last year, was a hairdresser. He is 35 and lives at 1 Milton Street, Plaistow. He is attached to the Prince Regent Lane Depot. he displayed great courage and took a great risk while a party was securing the rescue from under a wrecked house of a woman, who unfortunately died afterwards. it was in March that a bomb shattered several houses, killing some people. A Mrs. Reid, seriously injured, was trapped under one of the houses and, after her position had been ascertained, Mr. Kelsey undertook to give her first aid and food while efforts to rescue her were continued. For about 12 hours, except for short intervals when he was pulled out from under the debris for circulation to be restored to his limbs, he lay in an upside down position, comforting the injured woman and supplying her with milk through a piece of tubing which he had cut from his first aid equipment. Throughout the whole time he had to lie over three dead bodies in a hole largely excavated by himself and under heavy overhanging debris in danger of collapse. An escape of gas from a damaged pipe added to the risk. In his efforts to reach the woman, he tunnelled a way with his bare hands, and after reaching her kept up his long vigil, treating, feeding and comfortiing her until she was brought out.’ On the night in question, which became known as ‘The Wednesday’ by the inhabitants of East London, the Luftwaffe mounted a massive raid with around 480 aircraft, and of the resultant 630 fatalities, some 150 were from the West Ham area; see The Blitz Then and Now, Volume II, pp. 488-491, for further details and photographs. £1200-£1500

A fine Second World War B.E.M. group of four awarded to Able Seaman (Gunner) C. J. Jacques, Merchant Navy, who manned an unprotected Lewis gun under a hail of bullets when his ship was attacked by three enemy aircraft off Scarborough in February 1940 - the ship’s Master was killed and three crew members wounded british Empire Medal, (Civil) G.VI.R., 1st issue (Charles J. Jacques); 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; War Medal 1939-45, good very fine and better (4) £350-400

A Second World War B.E.M. awarded to Sergeant P. D. Norwood, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve british Empire Medal, (Military) G.VI.R., 1st issue (1626425 Sgt. Peter D. Norwood, R.A.F.V.R.), mounted as worn; Defence and War Medals, unnamed, extremely fine (3) £140-180 recommendation states: ‘Sergeant Norwood is a technician attached for duty to the Middle East Forces Broadcasting Service. He has been so employed since May 1944. On taking up this appointment the special Services’ Broadcasting consisted of a few hours a day on three locally owned transmitters. Within eighteen months the service expanded to seven of its own stations, broadcasting a total of 800 programme hours per week as well as broadcasting on four locally-owned transmitters. Sergeant Norwood must be given a large share of the credit for the fulfilment of the scheme with an almost complete absence of proper equipment and trained staff. His diligence and aptitude for the work and above all his initiative and dogged perseverence in all climates, at all hours and in the most trying conditions, materially contributed to the success of a seemingly impossible task. His insistence upon obtaining the best possible results was an example to all who worked with him. He has displayed outstanding devotion to duty’. defence and War Medals in card forwarding box addressed to ‘P. D. Norwood, 404 St. Albans Road, Watford, Hertfordshire’. Sold with copied recommendation. £140-£180

A Civil B.E.M. to John E. Ballard british Empire Medal, (Civil) G.VI.R., 1st issue (John E. Ballard) extremely fine £100-120

A post-war B.E.M. group of seven awarded to Warrant Officer Class 2 J. F. Wren, Royal Army Service Corps british Empire Medal, (Military) E.II.R. (T./91617 A./W./O. 2 John F. Wren, R.A.S.C.); 1939-45 Star; Burma Star; Defence and War Medals; General Service 1918-62, 1 clasp, Arabian Peninsula (T./91617 W.O. Cl. 2, B.E.M., R.A.S.C.); Army L.S. & G.C., E.II.R., Regular Army (T./91617 Sgt., B.E.M., R.A.S.C.), mounted as worn, generally good very fine (7) £250-300

A military B.E.M. group of three awarded to Major E. A. Morris, Royal Artillery, late Royal Army Service Corps, awarded the B.E.M. for his service in Jordan during 1958 british Empire Medal, (Military) E.II.R. (S/22816052 Sgt. Evan A. Morris, R.A.S.C.); General Service 1918-62, 1 clasp, Cyprus (S/22816052 Sgt., B.E.M., R.A.S.C.); General Service 1962, 1 clasp, Borneo (Capt., B.E.M., RA), mounted as worn, nearly extremely fine (3) £280-320

Military General Service 1793-1814, 1 clasp, Maida (Saml. Smith, 35th Foot) refixed suspension claw, edge bruising and heavily polished, thus fine £700-900 ex Glendining’s, May 1903; only 16 Military General Service 1793-1814 Medals are known to have survived to members of the 35th Foot. samuel Smith, a frame work knitter, was born in Arnold, Nottinghamshire and enlisted in the 35th Foot in July 1799, aged 19 years. just over two months later, ‘he received a gunshot wound in the head in action in Holland on 2 October 1799’ (his discharge papers refer), so whether he was fit enough for duty at the capture of Malta in the following year remains unknown. But he was certainly back on the strength of the 1/35th at the time of the Sicily operations and Calabria Expedition in 1806, for, as further verified by his discharge papers, he received another gunshot wound ‘at Maida in the right hip on 4 July 1806’. in 1807 the Regiment was sent to Egypt, from there proceeding to Italy and taking part in the capture of the Ionian islands in 1809, before returning to England and then to Ireland in 1817. smith was finally discharged in Brighton in November 1818 (WO 97 & WO 116/28 refer), and in the 1851 census he is shown as living at 162 Knight’s Square, Arnold, Nottingham ,with his wife Susannah. Described as a ‘F.W.K [Frame Work Knitter], Chelsea Pensioner’, he was then 71 years of age; just 46 survivors of the 1/35th lived to claim the Medal and ‘Maida’ clasp, the Regiment’s only such entitlement. £700-£900

Military General Service 1793-1814, 1 clasp, Sahagun & Benevente (James Chatterton, 7th Light Dragoons) edge bruising, nearly very fine £1000-1200 james Chatterton was born in the parish of Bennington, near Boston, Lincolnshire, where he enlisted in the 7th Hussars in August 1804, aged 18 years. the Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel R. Hussey Vivian, arrived in Corunna in November 1808 and, having fought at Sahagun and Benevente - in which battles Chatterton was present as a member of Captain Loveless’s Troop - returned to England via Corunna in January 1809, Chatterton being embarked in the transport Sykes. The regiment did not return to the Peninsula until September 1813, when, still under Vivian, it was engaged at Orthes in February 1814, where it made a number of charges, but, as revealed by the medal roll (WO 100 refers), Chatterton’s claim to the ‘Orthes’ clasp was disallowed, for he had been taken P.O.W. in a skirmish on 28 December 1813. He rejoined the depot ‘From a French prison’ on 8 May 1814, and returned to duty in the Regiment on 25 July 1814, in good time for the forthcoming Waterloo campaign. at Waterloo, the 7th Hussars formed part of the 5th British Cavalry Brigade, with the 2nd Hussars K.G.L. and the 15th Hussars. The Brigade was heavily involved in the retreat from Quatre Bras and the great battle itself, making several charges during the day. The 7th formed the rear-guard during the retirement from Quatre Bras, where, oddly enough, the enemy advance-guard was the 7th (French) Hussars. The two regiments manoeuvred against each other the whole way from there to the final position at Mont St Jean.The 7th, 380 strong, lost 56 killed and 99 wounded during the Waterloo campaign; returning to England from Paris in July 1816. chatterton was discharged in Manchester in February 1819 on reduction of the Regiment, with 14 years 230 days service, plus 2 years for his presence at Waterloo, with a ‘good’ conduct record (WO 97/28 refers), and he died, aged 68 years, in Butterwick in Bennington, in April 1854. £1000-£1200

Military General Service 1793-1814, 1 clasp, Sahagun & Benevente (J. Rippen, 18th L. Dgns.) one or two minor edge bruises, otherwise extremely fine £1000-1200 Ex Spink, 1897; just 26 Military General Service 1793-1814 Medals are known to the 18th Light Dragoons with this clasp, 10 of them as single clasps. james Rippen, a clockmaker from Nottingham, enlisted into the 18th Light Dragoons in February 1808. that September, eight Troops of the Regiment were sent to Portugal to assist in Sir John Moore’s Corunna campaign, and were quickly in action at Valladolid, and again at Benevente on 29 December, prior to being re-embarked in January 1809, a day or two before Sir John’s last stand and the final evacuation. And while the Regiment did not take an active part in the battle of Sahagun, which was largely an affair conducted by the 15th Hussars, it did, like the rest of the Brigade, receive the clasp. at Benevente, the 18th closely engaged General Lefebvre-Desnouettes advance guard of cavalry, which had crossed the Esla hot on the heels of the retreating British. Indeed Rippen and his comrades, about 130 strong, charged the numerically superior French force the moment it was observed. Having then broken off the action in good order, and tied-up with a Troop of the 3rd Dragoons, K.G.L., the augmented British force, still outnumbered, charged forward once more, but was forced back to the village of Benevente, where, unbeknown to the French, the 10th Hussars lay waiting out of sight. The combined British force, in the very capable hands of Lord Paget, this time was superior, and sprang upon the unsuspecting French, who were put to flight, being chased all the way back to the Esla for some two miles. The French lost 55 killed and wounded and 72 prisoners, including Lefebvre-Desnouettes himself. British casualties were about 50, mostly in the 18th Hussars. the 18th Hussars went back to the Peninsula in January 1813, but Rippen was not among their ranks, having deserted from Captain Underwood’s Troop back in July 1811 (WO 25/1463 refers). There is no further trace of him on the regimental rolls, and details of his desertion clearly evaded those charged with processing his subsequent claim for the Military General Service 1793-1814 Medal. £1000-£1200

Military General Service 1793-1814, 3 clasps, Busaco, Albuhera, Toulouse (F. Johnston, Arty. Driver) edge nicks, otherwise nearly extremely fine £700-900 francis Johnston(e), a labourer from Killasent, Leitrim, enlisted in the Royal Artillery as a Driver in 1807, aged 17 years. Placed on the strength of Lane’s Rocket Troop, part of Elliott’s 1st Rocket Troop, R.H.A., he was present at Busaco, Albuhera and Toulouse (see Vigors and Macfarlane), so, too, at Waterloo, as a member of ‘H’ Troop Artillery Drivers (his Waterloo Medal was sold at Glendining’s in 1988). Discharged in consequence of ‘visceral obstruction’ in January 1819, aged 28 years, his pension was fixed at 9d. a day, but his subsequent application for an increase in 1876, while resident in Ballymena, Antrim, was turned down. the Corps of Artillery Drivers was formed in 1794 as a separate organisation from the Royal Artillery. From an administrative point of view this seems to have been an unsatisfactory arrangement, as the men were posted piecemeal to anywhere in the latter regiment. No doubt because of this the corps had a very poor reputation for ill-discipline and criminality. It was disbanded in 1822 and from then on drivers became an integral part of the Foot Artillery. ‘The drivers ... had no weapons at all, in order that their attention might not be distracted from their horses. This seems to have been a very doubtful expedient, leaving them absolutely helpless if attacked by hostile cavalry. It may have originated from the fact the driver, far into the eighteenth century, had not been a soldier at all, but a ‘waggoner’, a civilian without uniform or arms’ (Sir Charles Oman, Wellington’s Army, refers). £700-£900

Military General Service 1793-1814, 5 clasps, Talavera, Albuhera, Salamanca, Vittoria, Toulouse (James Raynor, 4th Light Dragoons) extremely fine £1000-1200 Ex Baldwin, January 1953; just 35 Military General Service 1793-1814 Medals are known to have survived to men of the 4th Light Dragoons, 24 of them with the ‘Albuhera’ clasp. james Raynor was born in Nottingham in 1791 and enlisted in the 4th Dragoons in October 1807, aged 16 years. the Regiment, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Edward Somerset, arrived at Lisbon in April 1809, with Raynor on the strength of Captain Wright’s Troop, and first went into action at Talavera, where it charged alongside the 23rd Light Dragoons - but fortunately managed to avoid the hidden nullah that proved so fatal to the 23rd. in April 1811, Raynor and his comrades were sent to assist in the operations around Badajoz and so became involved in the battle of Albuhera in the following month, when, under the cover of a thunderstorm, the French cavalry virtually annihilated Colborne’s Brigade. In response, the 4th Dragoons, part of Lumley’s Brigade, were launched against the enemy Hussars and Lancers, even though heavily outnumbered, and, to begin with at least, managed to check the latter’s excesses; later still, they acted in support of Cole’s critical and strikingly successful infantry assault on the deadlocked protagonists. shortly after, on 25 May, Lumley’s Brigade, 980 sabres strong with the addition of the 3rd Dragoon Guards and 13th Light Dragoons, together with another 1000 Portuguese and 300 Spanish, was screening Beresford’s movements and had taken up a position behind the bridge and village of Usagre, a defile through which the French must pass. The two leading regiments of French Dragoons were allowed to come over the bridge and, while the third regiment was coming across and other horsemen were strung out through the village, Lumley charged suddenly upon the first brigade - the French were thrown into complete confusion, being quite unable to manoeuvre, losing 250 killed and wounded and 80 prisoners. This model action, known as the ‘Combat of Usagre’, is warmly spoken of by cavalry authorities. in February 1812, the 4th Dragoons became part of Le Marchant’s Heavy Brigade and at Salamanca that July took part in the famous charge against a mass of broken French infantry, when three divisions were destroyed in some 30 minutes. This was the most decisive, perhaps the only decisive, stroke by cavalry in any of the Duke’s Peninsula battles. Unfortunately Le Marchant, that rare bird, a British cavalry commander of real ability, was killed in the action, shot through the spine. after further service at Vittoria and Toulouse, Raynor was embarked for India, from where he was invalided back to England in December 1823, a victim of chronic dysentery. Placed on the strength of the 3rd Royal Veterans’ Battalion in July of the following year, he was finally discharged at Chatham in June 1826, aged about 35 years. in July 1860 he was admitted as an in-pensioner of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, where he died in March 1865; interestingly, a William Raynor, also from Nottingham, served with James throughout his career in the 4th Dragoons, and may well have been his brother - his Peninsular Medal is also known to have survived. £1000-£1200

Army of India 1799-1826, 1 clasp, Nepaul (Lieut. J. Jeffries, 17th Foot) short hyphen reverse, officially impressed naming, good very fine £1800-2200 Only 6 officers and 46 men of the 17th Foot received the medal for Nepaul. james Jeffries afterwards transferred to the 82nd Foot and became a Captain. £1800-£2200

Army of India 1799-1826, 1 clasp, Capture of Deig (E. Skinner, 22nd Foot) short hyphen reverse, officially impressed naming, edge bruise and contact marks, otherwise nearly very fine and very rare £3000-3500 Only one corporal and seven privates of the 22nd Foot lived to claim the medal, all with the single clasp for the capture of Deig. Two other examples have been on the market, one of which resides in the Patiala Collection in India. Approximately 103 clasps for Capture of Deig were issued to European recipients. edward Skinner was admitted to Chelsea Hospital as an out-pensioner on 22 March 1820, due to ‘long service, ill health and unfit’. Born at Lambeth, Middlesex, he served 3 years as a Sergeant, 1 year 10 months as a Corporal, and 17 years 10 months as a Private, of which 16 years he served in the East Indies. £3000-£3500

Army of India 1799-1826, 1 clasp, Ava (Nathl. Sydenham, 41st Foot) short hyphen reverse, officially impressed naming, very fine £800-1000 Ex Hamilton-Smith Collection 1927, Dalrymple-White Collection 1946, and Elson Collection 1963. nathaniel Sydenham was born at Honiton, Devon, and was a tailor prior to his joining the 41st Foot at Chelmsford on 13 June 1811, aged 19. According to his discharge papers he served ‘In America for two years, received four bayonet wounds when one of a forlorn hope at ‘Fort Eyrie’ and was the only survivor out of 10 men sent out on this occasion. In France for five months and 8 days. In the East Indies for fifteen years one hundred and forty six days and was present during the whole of the Burmese War.’ He was twice promoted to Corporal, October 1823 to September 1824, and May 1830 to September 1832, but was discharged in the rank of Private on 25 July 1838, ‘worn out by Service, frequent attacks of fever with abstinate neuralgic affections of the muscles of the loins and lower extremities’. he did not claim a medal for Fort Detroit to which he was surely entitled. Sold with copy discharge papers. £800-£1000

Army of India 1799-1826, 2 clasps, Nepaul, Ava (S. Clough, 53rd Foot) short hyphen reverse, officially impressed naming, good very fine and rare £1800-2200 Ex Gaskell Collection 1911, Needes Collection 1940, Dalrymple-White Collection 1946, and Elson Collection 1963. only 7 officers and 10 men of the 53rd received this medal for Nepaul. Clough’s medal is unique to the 53rd with an additional clasp for Ava gained with the 13th Foot. Assistant Surgeon Miller was attached to the 53rd Foot in Nepaul and to the 47th Foot at Ava but is shown on the roll of the latter regiment. samuel Clough was a weaver from Oldham, Lancashire, prior to enlisting into the 53rd Foot. He was admitted to Chelsea Hospital as an out-pensioner from the 13th Foot on 11 October 1826, aged 39, in consequence of ‘wounded right leg and long service’. He is stated to have served in the 53rd for 17 years 8 months, and then in the 13th Foot for 4 years 1 month, of which he spent 19 years 11 months on India service. Sold with copy Chelsea Hospital admission details. £1800-£2200

The Peninsula War Medal to Captain Edward Wolfe, 28th Foot, who was severely wounded at the battles of Vittoria and the Nive military General Service 1793-1814, 3 clasps, Vittoria, Nivelle, Nive (E. Wolfe, Capt. 28th Foot) medal originally named ‘Wolffe’, consequently letter ‘E’ erased and second ‘F’ altered to an ‘E’, otherwise nearly extremely fine £1800-2200 Edward Wolfe was commissioned as Lieutenant in the 28th Foot on 9 January 1806, and became Captain on 9 September 1813. He was severely wounded at Vittoria, 21 June 1813, and again severely wounded at the battle of the Nive, 13 December 1813. sold with an old printed statement of financial accounts, The Report of the Committee of the Forenaghts Cavalry, appointed to examine the accounts of the Corps, Dublin 1803, with mentions of Colonel John Wolfe, Captain Theobold Wolfe, and Captain John Wolfe, jun. As a result of the Irish Rebellion of 1798, members of the Forenaghts Cavalry were left with debts of some £33 10s each. £1800-£2200

The Egyptian Campaign pair to Lieutenant George Wolfe, Royal Irish Fusiliers egypt and Sudan 1882-89, 1 clasp, Tel-El-Kebir (Lieut. G. Wolfe, 1/R.I. Fus.); Khedive’s Star 1882, unnamed as issued, together with companion miniature medals, both sets mounted as worn, pitting from star, therefore good fine (4) £250-300 George Wolfe was commissioned as Lieutenant in the Royal Irish Fusiliers on 10 May 1882. He served with the 1st Battalion in the Egyptian War of 1882 and was present at the battle of Tel-el-Kebir (Medal with Clasp, and Khedive’s Star). Lieutenant Wolfe resigned his commission in 1885. £250-£300

New Zealand 1845-66, reverse dated 1845 to 1846 (R. Shearer, Sailmkrs. Mate, H.M.S. Castor) officially impressed naming, light traces of brooch marks to reverse, suspension re-fixed, otherwise nearly very fine £500-600 Robert Shearer's medal was sent on 12 June 1871. 160 medals were awarded for 1845-46 of which 68 were issued to H.M.S. Castor. In total, 69 medals (4 to R.N. officers, 56 to R.N. ratings, 2 to R.M. officers, and 7 to R.M. N.C.Os. and men) were awarded to H.M.S. Castor of which 35 are known, including one with the reverse undated, and the rest with reverses dated 1845-1846. £500-£600

New Zealand 1845-66, reverse dated 1845 to 1846 (W. Traveller, Painter, H.M.S. Osprey) officially impressed naming, nearly extremely fine £700-800 Ex Douglas-Morris Collection, DNW October 1996. william Traveller's medal was sent on 25 October 1870. Only 11 medals (7 to R.N. ratings and 4 to R.M. N.C.Os. and men) were awarded to H.M.S. Osprey, of which 7 are known, all with reverses dated 1845-1846 (3 to R.N. ratings and 4 to R.M. N.C.Os and men). william Traveller was born on 27 May 1820, at Brighton, Sussex. He joined the service as an Ordinary Seaman in March 1840 and continued to serve almost continuously until May 1879, when he was awarded the LS & GC Medal after serving for 37 reckonable years. ‘The beautiful man-of-war, the Osprey brig, 12 guns, was lost 12 miles north of Hokianga on Wednesday 11th at 3 p.m. The previous day she had stood in to Hokianga and fired two guns to announce to the pilot that she had arrived, and stood off for the night in bad weather and visibility. The next day she stood in again, and entered the breakers of 'False Hokianga'. Thinking she was crossing the bar, she stood on under sail and finally struck. Guns were thrown overboard to lighten ship, but at low tide she was high and dry, and the ship's company was able to disembark. The heads at False Hokianga are very similar to the entrance to Hokianga proper.’ (Ref. J. O'C. Ross The White Ensign in New Zealand). £700-£800

New Zealand 1845-66, reverse dated 1845 to 1846 (J. Crew, Commr. Cook, H.M.S. Racehorse) officially impressed naming, good very fine £700-800 Ex Douglas-Morris Collection, DNW October 1996. joseph Crew's medal was issued on 17 May 1872. 36 medals (3 to R.N. officers, 24 to R.N. ratings, and 9 to R.M. N.C.Os. and men) were awarded to H.M.S. Racehorse, of which 23 are known including one with an undated reverse, one with the reverse dated 1845-1846, and the rest with reverses dated 1845-1847. This medal is therefore unique to H.M.S. Racehorse with these dates. his first entry into the service occurred when he joined Racehorse during her visit to Sydney on 23 October 1845. He was taken on her books 'in lieu of a Royal Marine..' to act as the Commander's Cook, aged 23 years, born at St. Mary's, Cheshire. At his own request he was discharged from Racehorse and out of the R.N. only a short time later, on 18 May 1846, when his vessel was moored in Auckland Harbour. His New Zealand medal was issued somewhat belatedly, in May 1872, with the incorrect embossed dates of '1845 to 1846' on its Reverse. £700-£800