The B.S.A. Co. Medal to Trooper F. L. Vogel, Salisbury Horse, formerly Assistant Secretary to Dr. L. S. Jameson and a member of Major Wilson’s heroic patrol, killed in action at Shangani River, 4 December 1893 british South Africa Company Medal 1890-97, reverse Matabeleland 1893 (Troopr. F. L. Vogel, Salisbury Horse); together with a second medal, originally fraudulently named to Vogel, since erased and now marked ‘Forgery’, nearly extremely fine (2) £1400-1800 ex Upfill-Brown Collection, BDW December 1991. trooper Frank Leon Vogel was one of the gallant men forming Major Wilson's heroic party. He was the second son of the Hon. Sir Julius Vogel, K.C.M.G., and was born on October 21st, 1870, at Auckland, New Zealand. After being educated at Charterhouse he went, in 1890, into the London Office of the British South Africa Company. He left England for South Africa on April 4th, 1891, and became a trooper in the Mashonaland Mounted Police at Tuli. When this force was disbanded, in 1892, he went into the Survey Department at Salisbury, and subsequently became Acting Assistant-Secretary to Dr. L. S. Jameson. When the war broke out he volunteered, was enrolled in the 'B' Troop of the Salisbury Horse under Captain Borrow, and during the campaign served the Maxim gun attached to his troop, under Lieut. Llewellyn. He left Salisbury with the column, but returned alone two or three weeks afterwards on business. Rejoining his troop two or three days after they left Fort Charter, he marched with the column, and was in all the engagements on the way to Bulawayo, serving the Maxim gun, besides volunteering for special scouting expeditions. He was one of the small party sent out in search of Captain G. Williams, and also one of the expedition on which Captain Campbell was killed. He served the Maxim at the engagement on the Shangani River on the 25th of October, and also at Imbembesi on the 1st November, where he had a narrow escape, one bullet passing through his hat. He reached Bulawayo safe and sound on November 4th, and on the 10th wrote his last letter to his relatives, being then evidently in high spirits, and regarding the campaign as over. He left Bulawayo on the 14th, and remained with Major Forbes throughout the patrol which ended at Shiloh; thence again, as a volunteer, he accompanied the force under Major Forbes to the Shangani River, where under Captain Borrow, he joined Major Wilson, with whom he was killed. frederick Burnham, the American scout, later Chief of Scouts under Lord Roberts, was the last man to leave the beleaguered patrol before their final stand at Shangani River. In his book 'Scouting on Two Continents' he describes a discussion of the senior officers with Wilson before that fateful day on the 4th December, 1893: 'It had now stopped raining. Captains Judd, Kirton, Fitzgerald, Greenfield and Brown gathered with us round Wilson. The first three were experienced colonials, and Wilson asked each what he thought to be the best move. 'Kirton, with a bitter smile, said: "There is no best move." Fitzgerald said: "We are in a hell of a fix. There is only one thing to do, cut our way out. Judd said: "This is the end. Picking up the threads of the grim story, we are told by Majors Forbes and Sir John Willoughby that, after crossing the river and following the king's spoor, Major Wilson and his men reached a series of scherms, or temporary encampments protected by felled bush or trees. These scherms were filled with Matabele, who, however, offered no resistance, probably because they did not know the strength of the whites, or believed them to be but the advance guard of a larger body. So the Patrol rode on till they reached the royal scherm, within which the king's wagons were dimly visible in the gathering gloom. Here a halt was called, and Lobengula summoned to surrender. The reply was an ominous rattle of arms within the reed fence, while parties of Matabele, rifle in hand, came hurrying up from the rear. With so small a force nothing could be done, and the Patrol withdrew into the bush, Captain Napier and Troopers Robertson and Mayne being sent for reinforcements. These in due time appeared in the form of Captain Borrow with eighteen mounted men. A miserable night was passed under arms in the drenching rain, and when day at length dawned, Major Wilson decided to make one more dash for the king, with the tragic result, which will not soon be forgotten in South Africa. From the start the Patrol was outnumbered, and almost as soon as the attack began, Ingram, Burnham, and Gooding had to be sent to cross the river, if that were possible, to ask for further support. That support, however, never arrived, and Burnham's first breathless remark to Major Forbes, after reaching the main body, was 'I think I may say we are the sole survivors of that party.' The Shangani had risen in flood, added to which Major Forbes was himself attacked in force on the way down to the river. Either of these circumstances was enough to prevent the arrival of succour in time to save the doomed men to whom the last chance of escape was lost. To the end, however, there was no thought of surrender, no request for quarter. They resolved to show the Matabele that the white man could play a losing as well as a winning game. Taking cover behind the dead bodies of their horses, with an iron calmness they fought on for two long hours, pouring a destructive fire into their encircling foes, and coolly singling out the Indunas for their aim. One by one, however, they sank under the heavy fire from the bush, but many of the wounded continued, so the natives say, to re-load and pass their rifles to their uninjured comrades. Again and again the Matabele would issue from their cover to attempt a conclusive charge, but again and again were repulsed with a well-directed fire; upon which Wilson and his men would wake the echoes with an undismayed, defiant cheer. But at last the end came. Of the thirty-four valiant men whose hearts beat high with hope and courage as they rode behind their leader in the early dawn that morning, only one remained erect; the rest lay prone, dead or dying, upon that 'field of honour.’ The name of the one man who stood at bay against an army of Matabele will never be known; his remains could not be identified. But the natives tell that, picking up several rifles and bandoliers, this hero amongst heroes made his way to an ant-heap some twenty yards from where the rest lay stretched upon the earth. From that point of vantage he checked, single-handed, several rushes of the Matabele with a cool and deadly fire. At length, shot through the hips, he sank on his knees, but continued to load and fire until he succumbed to his wounds. Then, and not till then, the Matabele came out from the bush, but on reaching the hallowed circle where the Patrol lay side by side, were fired upon by several of the unconquerable wounded who were still alive. So great had been the terror and demoralisation inspired by the desperate bravery of the Patrol, that when the revolvers rang out the natives turned and fled precipitately into the bush; and it was not till several hours later-'when the sun was right overhead' -as the Matabele tell the tale-that they again ventured to leave their cover. But by this time death had mercifully come to the wounded, and as the native warriors gazed upon the forms of their fallen foes there was silence’. sold with copied research. £1400-£1800
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British South Africa Company Medal 1890-97, reverse Rhodesia 1896, 1 clasp, Mashonaland 1897 (..9 Actg. Corpl. W. G. Penfold, 4/Rif. Bde.) heavy contact marks and edge bruising, fine £280-320 2349 Acting Corporal W. G. Penfold, 4th Battalion Rifle Brigade, served in the Mounted Infantry Battalion in the Mashonaland expedition. A total of 31 of the 4th Battalion Rifle Brigade were awarded a B.S.A. Co. Medal. £280-£320
East and Central Africa 1897-99, 1 clasp, Uganda 1899 (Lieut. C. de V. Beauclerk, K.R.R. Cps.) small edge bruise, otherwise extremely fine and extremely rare £800-1000 Only three medals with this clasp issued to British Army recipients, viz: Lieutenant F. R. Hicks, Hampshire Regiment; Sergeant S. W. Bone, South Lancashire Regiment; and Lieutenant C. de Vere Beauclerk, K.R.R.C. this clasp was awarded to those members of the force under Major G. C. Martyr and Colonel J. T. Evat, comprising mainly of 27th Bombay N.I. and 1st Uganda Rifles, which advanced down the Nile, captured both Kabarega and Mwanga in the Ugandan Protectorate, and then continued on to Nandi. charles Edward de Vere Beauclerk was born on 10 September 1875, and commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the King’s Royal Rifle Corps on 10 October 1894. He was appointed Lieutenant in the Uganda Militia in June 1898, immediately departing London for Uganda, via Marseilles and Mombassa. He served with the Wakedi Field Force in Unyoro, in March and April 1899 (Medal with clasp). He died on Kerenge Island, Lake Victoria, on 14 January 1900, whilst on his way from Kampala to Kisumu having been invalided to the coast with blackwater fever. £800-£1000
General Service 1962 (2), 1 clasp, Borneo (RM.22252 G. Wong, Mne., R.M.; 23965049 Rfn. R. A. F. N. Harris, 3 Green Jackets) nearly extremely fine (2) £100-140 Medal to Harris in damaged card box of issue and with bronze Army Rifle Association medal inscribed, ‘L.M.G. Rfn. Harris, Best Recruit’. £100-£140
The Companion of Honour group of three awarded to Harold Arthur, Viscount Dillon, first Curator of the Tower of London Armouries, Chairman of the Trustees of the National Portrait Gallery, President of the Royal Archaeological Institute and of the Society of Antiquaries, Trustee of the British Museum and of the Wallace Collection, a leading authority on the history of arms and armour and medieval costume the Order of the Companions of Honour, G.V.R., neck badge, silver-gilt and enamel, the reverse inscribed ‘Harold Arthur Viscount Dillon 1921’, with length of neck ribbon; Jubilee 1897 (Harold Arthur Viscount Dillon PSA, PRIA); Coronation 1911, unnamed as issued, good very fine (3) £2500-3000 Ex Hayward’s Gazette, December 1975. harold Arthur Lee Dillon was born on 24 January 1844, and was educated at a private school at Eltham, Kent, and at Bonn University. He joined the Rifle Brigade in 1862, was promoted to Lieutenant in 1866, and served in India and Canada during the Fenian troubles of 1868-71. He left the regular army in 1874, but was promoted to Captain in the Oxfordshire Militia and eventually retired with the rank of Major in 1891. In the following year he succeeded his father as the 17th Viscount Dillon of Costello-Gallen. on leaving the army Dillon became interested in modern military subjects such as equipment and dress, which eventually led him to the history of arms and armour and medieval costume. Dillon traced hundreds of illuminated manuscripts and illustrated works and made a series of brass rubbings. When he would enter a gallery he would focus only on those paintings with military themes, concentrating on sword hilts, armour and horse trappings, and skillfully copied them. his first works were published shortly after he left the army. These articles related to his home, Ditchley in Oxfordshire and described flint tools excavated from the area and objects from the collections in the house. He published many articles on the subjects of arms and armour and military history which appeared in academic journals such as the Archaeological Journal and Archaeologia as well as journals of popular and military general interest such as Antiquary and Colburne's United Service Magazine. He would also write on the subjects of arms and armour in pictures, on monuments and in Shakespeare, on tournaments, military equipment, soldier's arms, equipment and life. His first major undertaking was a revised edition of F. W. Fairholt's two volume Costume in England, published in 1885. Three years later he published a paper on the sections of the great 1547 Inventory of the possessions of Henry VIII. In his writings Dillon focused on the defensive and offensive characters of armour rather than as a work of art. many of his articles appeared under his own name, but he would sometimes use the pseudonym 'Armadillo.' The animal was so closely linked with Lord Dillon that the designer of a commemorative medal produced for the National Portrait Gallery used an image of an armadillo for the reverse of a medal bearing the portrait of Lord Dillon. although Dillon was associated with the Tower of London Armouries from 1892, serving as the consultant scientific expert, he was not officially appointed curator of the Armoury until 1895. He was tasked with producing an accurate and up to date catalogue of the collection. As curator he was able to reduce historic inaccuracies that had built up over the previous years. In 1827 Samuel Meyrick had brought expert knowledge to the collection, but it had then fallen into the hands of the War Office storekeepers and unfortunately most his work was lost. Labels were misplaced, and suits wrongly mounted and erroneous traditions had been established for public amusement. his research led him through the State Papers, especially those of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, in which he discovered interesting and valuable details about the making and issue of arms and armour. Dillon dismantled nearly every piece of armour in the collection to see how it was worn and the reason for certain constructional details. Most of the pieces were those of Henry VIII. Dillon even tried them on himself to see how the rivets and the joints of the harness worked and discovered that many of the suits had been wrongly assembled This exercise enabled him to rectify countless inaccuracies. He also examined the internal mechanisms of the crossbow, pistol and gunlocks. in 1910 Dillon's Illustrated Guide to the Armouries was published, being a summary catalogue of the arms and armour as he had arranged and exhibited them, and the various manuscript inventories of the collection. Dillon carried out a complete reorganisation of the collection in preparation for the new catalogue, and made a detailed examination of all the major pieces as well as identifying a number of those with important historical associations, and corrected inaccuracies. The catalogue was more in the format of a guided tour rather than a systematic catalogue. dillon considered his task to be one of preserving and studying a closed collection rather than expanding it and spreading knowledge of it outside the Tower. His two significant acquisitions for the collection were a pistol of Prince Charles, purchased in 1898 and a part visor of King Henry VII found in St James' Palace in 1906. One of his most valuable contributions was the Armourer's Album which appeared for sale in Paris and by Dillon's efforts was purchased and preserved in the Victoria & Albert Museum. The album contained a number of watercolour drawings of suits of armour of the Elizabethan period that were made at Greenwich, many of which were in the Tower, together with the names of the owners, which proved invaluable for establishing provenance and for identifying pieces in the Tower, Windsor and other private collections. lord Dillon contemplated retiring in 1909, but finally retired from his post of Curator in 1912, and handed the Armouries over to Charles Foulkes. Dillon left the Armouries on its way to becoming a modern museum. A catalogue had been completed, a programme of inspections of loans had been established, and regular inventory checks were carried out. Armour and weapons were displayed according to the techniques of the day, with labels and a guidebook describing the displays. he received an honourary degree of Doctor of Civil Law from the University of Oxford and the Order of Companion of Honour by the King in 1921. Dillon served as a trustee to the British Museum, secretary to the Royal Commission on Westminster Abbey, President of the Royal Archaeological Institute of the Wallace Collection, Trustee and Chairman of the Board of the National Portrait Gallery, Honourary Member of the Armourers and Brasier's Company of London, Fellow of the British Academy and Antiquary of the Royal Academy. Harold Arthur Lee Dillon died on 18 December 1932. The group is sold with a ‘Souvenir Album of the Tower of London, with Historical and Descriptive Notes by The Viscount Dillon P.S.A.’ £2500-£3000
Efficiency Medal (2), G.V.R., Ceylon (L/Sgt. J. Rajaraksh, C.L.I.) edge slightly rubbed, some scratches to rev; another, G.V.R., India (Pte. D. C. O. Jansen, B.N. Ry. Bn. A.F.I.); another, G.VI.R., 1st issue, Ceylon (4036 Rfn. E. W. March, C.P.R.C.) very fine and better (3) £140-180 Medal to March announced in Ceylon Govt. Gazette 20 February 1953. Ceylon Planters’ Rifle Corps. £140-£180
New Zealand Volunteer Service Medal, E.VII.R., 1st issue (Capt. E. C. W. Powell, Blenheim Rifle Vols. (1903)) edge bruising, very fine £200-250 Colonial Auxiliary Force Officers’ Decoration New Zealand Gazette 14 December 1916. ‘Rev., C.F. 3rd Cl., N.Z. Chap. Dept.’ Colonial Auxiliary Force Long Service Medal New Zealand Gazette 17 July 1911. Approximately 100 of the first type medal were produced. the Reverend Edward Charles Woolridge Powell attained the the rank of Chaplain 3rd Class on 11 November 1917. He was attached to the New Zealand Base in France and to No.1 New Zealand Field Ambulance. He was struck off the strength on 22 March 1919. In addition to the above two Colonial Auxiliary Force awards and the New Zealand Volunteer Service Medal (awarded in 1903), he was awarded the New Zealand Long and Efficient Service Medal in 1907 and the British War and Victory Medals. Sold with some copied research. £200-£250
Crickhowell Services Rendered Medal 1914-18, obv. coat-of-arms, inscribed, ‘Capt. P. A. Hill’, rev. Britannia, with shield, holding forth a wreath, 29mm., silver, good very fine £70-90 ex Spencer Collection, D.N.W. 16 December 2003, lot 1169. philip Aubrey Hill was born in Crickhowell, Brecknockshire, on 13 December 1873. Educated at Uppingham and Caius College, Cambridge, he was employed as a Schoolmaster. Having served in the Cambridge University Rifle Volunteers, he was commissioned a Lieutenant in the Brecknock Territorial Reserve Battalion on 15 September 1914. Captain Philip Aubrey Hill, attached 2nd Battalion South Wales Borderers (Brecknockshire Battalion), entered the France/Flanders theatre of war on 22 January 1917. he was killed in action on 23 April 1917, aged 43 years. Having no known grave, his name is commemorated on the Arras Memorial. He was the son of Dr. P. E. Hill of Latham House, Crickhowell, Brecknockshire and husband of Ethel G. Hill of Crossway Cottage, Four Oaks, Warwickshire. in The History of the South Wales Borderers 1914-1918, by C. T. Atkinson, it was reported that in the action at Monchy le Preux, ‘.... Captain Hill, who though wounded in the advance had remained with his company, was now shot by a sniper and killed, and many other casualties occured. Sold with copied research including service papers, m.i.c. and war diary extracts. £70-£90
Arctic Medal 1875-76 (W. Dougall, Ice Qr. Mr., H.M.S. Discovery), with riband buckle, edge bruise, good very fine £2500-3000 William Dougall joined Discovery from the Unicorn in April 1875, shortly before her departure for the Arctic, and was one of three members of her crew to be rated an Ice Quarter-Master. In his Narrative of a Voyage to the Polar Sea, the expedition’s commanding officer, Captain George Nares, refers to Dougall participating in a sledge journey in April 1876: ‘23 April: Captain Stephenson and Mr. Mitchell, Hans the Eskimo, with William Dougall, Ice Quarter-Master, and Henry Petty, a Marine, arrived with twelve dogs from the ‘Discovery’, having left that ship on the 18th. They have experienced strong northerly winds during the journey, and, like the other travellers, a very rough road; but, with the exception of the leader who is severely attacked with snow-blindness, all are in excellent health.’ While in his Naval Reminiscences 1868-1891, Rear-Admiral Crawford Conybeare, who was then a Sub. Lieutenant in the Discovery, mentions Dougall in a more amusing light: ‘The Ice Quarter-Masters, who were great characters, were Alec Grey, Wm. Dougal and Ed. Taws, all dour Scots from whalers and hailing from Dundee and Peterhead. One day later [after a narwhal had been harpooned], when we were in Smith’s Sound and were all in the mess, Old Dougal came down from the deck and going to the 1st Lieutenant said, ‘Number One, the Captain is speering for ye.’ But to return to the narwhal. The three Ice Quarter-Masters fell on with their guming-knives, cut off the blubber in strips and cut up the carcass, which was all put in casks for the dogs.’ He also refers to the fact Dougall received a Jack-in-the-Box for Christmas, via the wife of Lieutenant Rawson - ‘some of the things [she gave] created shouts of laughter’, and to the occasion the dour Scot alerted him to a seal asleep on the ice astern ship - Conybeare, Officer of the Watch that Sunday, as all hands had gone over to the Alert for church, duly received a reprimand from Captain Stephenson for his well-aimed rifle shot ‘disturbing Divine service’. £2500-£3000
Viceroy’s Medal for Rifle Shooting, obv. Hardinge coat-of-arms, rev. Victory standing right with wreaths, holding one aloft, with inscription (rank, name and unit engraved), ‘Presented by Lord Hardinge Viceroy of India to [erasure] Lce. Sgt. H. Grace, Oxford & Bucks Lt Infty for Rifle Shooting’, 51mm., gold, 60.85g., pierced with ring suspension, in an unrelated case, edge bruising, contact marks, very fine £450-550 6830 Serjeant H. Grace, 1st Battalion Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, was awarded the D.C.M. in the Great War. d.C.M. London Gazette 22 January 1916. ‘For conspicuous gallantry at Kut-al-Amara (Mesopotamia) on 28th September 1915. He sent messages to the artillery by heliograph under heavy fire, although he had to stand in full view of the enemy’s redoubts in order to do so’. henry Grace was born in Amersham, Buckinghamshire and enlisted at High Wycombe. Serving as a Serjeant with the 1st Battalion Oxf. & Bucks. L.I., he died on 21 April 1916, aged 33 years. He was buried in the Kut War Cemetery. Sold with copied research. £450-£550
Six: Colour Serjeant S. G. White, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry 1914 Star, with copy slip-on clasp (9905 Pte., Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.), late issue; British War and Victory Medals (9905 C. Sjt., Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.), these two with contact marks and worn; India General Service 1908-35, 1 clasp, Burma 1930-32 (5373240 C. Sjt., Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.); Defence; Army L.S. & G.C., G.V.R., 3rd issue, Regular Army (5373240 Sjt., Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.); together with a mounted set of five miniature dress medals as above but lacking ‘Defence’, minor contact marks, about very fine except where stated (14) £220-260 Sold with Silver Cased Half Hunter Pocket Watch, by Coombes, Rangoon & London, rev. inscribed, ‘52nd Light Infantry Regimental Rifle Meeting 1931, Winner Regimental Championship, Sergt. S. J. White’, glass to front casing cracked (condition of internal workings unknown), with chain, with an Army Rifle Association Medal attached as a fob, this bronze, rev. inscribed, ‘18th Hussars Cup, 1924, Sergt. S. White’; with cap badge. £220-£260
Family group: three: Private J. Stallard, 2nd Battalion Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, killed in action at Nonne Bosschen Wood (Nun’s Wood), Ypres, on 11 November 1914 1914 Star, with copy clasp (7425 Pte., 2/Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.); British War and Victory Medals (7425 Pte., Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.); Memorial Plaque (James Stallard), in card envelope three: Private J. W. Stallard, 2nd Battalion Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, killed in action at Nonne Bosschen Wood (Nun’s Wood), Ypres, on 11 November 1914 1914 Star, with clasp (8303 Pte., 2/Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.); British War and Victory Medals (8303 Pte., Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.) victory Medal 1914-19 (A-3584 Pte. G. S. Stallard, K.R. Rif. C.) extremely fine (8) £750-850 James Stallard was born in Hockley, Warwickshire, and living at Stantonbury, Buckinghamshire, enlisted at Oxford. Serving with the 2nd Battalion Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry he entered the France/Flanders theatre of war on 14 August 1914. He was killed in action at Nonne Bosschen Wood, near Ypres, on 11 November 1914, aged 28 years. Having no known grave, his name is commemorated on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial and on the Stantonbury Memorial. Before the war he had been a well known boxer; known amongst his comrades in India as ‘The Mad Mullah’. john William Stallard was born in Birmingham, and living at Stantonbury, Buckinghamshire, enlisted at Oxford. Serving with the 2nd Battalion Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry he entered the France/Flanders theatre of war on 14 August 1914. He was killed in action at Nonne Bosschen Wood, near Ypres, on 11 November 1914, aged 26 years. Having no known grave, his name is commemorated on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial and on the Stantonbury Memorial. He was the husband of Mrs Stallard, of 48 Grafton Street, Northampton. Before the war he had worked at Messrs. Smith, Major & Stevens, of St. James’s, Northampton. george Sydney Stallard, entered the France/Flanders theatre of war as a Private in the King’s Royal Rifle Corps on 19 May 1915. Later in the year he was wounded, suffering deafness and injuries to his back and hips. Invalided to Lord Derby’s Hospital in Warrington, he was subsequently discharged because of his injuries. Entitled to the 1914-15 Star. james, John William and George Sydney Stallard were the sons of James and Florence Stallard of 67 St. Mary Street, New Bradwell, Buckinghamshire. sold with framed commemorative scrolls for James and John William Stallard; copy m.i.c’s. for the three brothers; and a quantity of copied research, including extracts from The Wolverton Express. An extract from The Wolverton Express dated 16 October 1914, reprinted extracts from a letter from John William to his parents, dated 24 September. ‘I beg the finish of this war, and it is war - hell cannot be worse. It is just like waiting for death, but still, we are lucky enough to escape so far, and can safely say it is a game of luck, and trust luck will be with us to the end. .... We are not against a lot of farmers but against a nation of fighting material. One of the most touching events I have seen in this war was in Belgium, in our advance and retirement on and from Mons. .... At one large house, as we advanced on Mons, the family were just leaving, and with eyes much swollen by crying, one young girl, about 22 or 23, unable to hold herself in check, ran forward at the sight of our troops and before we were aware of her intentions, had kissed several of us on both cheeks. That sort of thing tends to touch even the hardest of hearts. The people of Belgium behaved to us splendidly. Never to my dying day shall I forget their kindness. .... the Germans ... They looted everything and everywhere; hardly a house escaped their evil work .... but as we got further, instead of household things lying about, it was the Germans themselves lying in all directions. At first it appears rather a ghastly sight - but one has to get used to more than this - things I am not allowed to speak of. .... Still, it is surprising how the boys keep up their spirits. It is beautiful to see and hear them; there is plenty of life in them. We are all the same; set faces one minute, joking and laughing the next. ... Jack and I are still side by side. We are both all gay. The Winter will be awful, I bet, it is terrible at nights now ....’ £750-£850
Three: Sergeant-Major J. Obey, King’s Royal Rifle Corps afghanistan 1878-80, no clasp (1129 Cr. Sgt., 2/60th Foot); Army L.S.& G.C., V.R., 3rd issue (1129 Cr. Sergt., K.R. Rif. C.); Army Meritorious Service Medal, V.R. (Sergt. Major, 2/K.R.R.C.) slight contact marks, very fine (3) £450-550 James Obey was born in Twickenham, Middlesex. A Groom by occupation, he attested for service with the 60th Rifles on 20 July 1864, aged 18 years. He was promoted to Corporal in September 1867, Sergeant in June 1870 and Colour Sergeant in July 1874. With the 2nd Battalion he served in India and in the Afghan War. He was advanced to Sergeant-Major in November 1886. He qualified for the Long Service medal in July 1885 and received a gratuity of £5. Sergeant-Major Obey was awarded the M.S.M. with an annuity of £15 in July 1887. He died on 6 March 1912. Sold with copied attestation papers. £450-£550
Indian Mutiny 1857-59, 1 clasp, Delhi (J. Farthing, 1st Bn. 60th Rifles) contact marks, nearly very fine £400-500 James Farthing, a Labourer by occupation, attested for service with the 74th Regiment at Bristol on 21 December 1843. Transferred to the 1st Battalion 60th Rifles in July 1844, he saw active service in the suppression of the Indian Mutiny, being severely wounded on 9 September 1857 and again on 14 September 1857. He was transferred to the 3rd Battalion Rifle Brigade in March 1860 and was discharged as medically unfit on 29 June 1864. Not the best of soldiers, his discharge papers record that his name appeared 40 times in the Defaulters Book and that he had been tried seven times by Court Martial - usually for ‘Habitual Drunkenness’. Sold with copied discharge papers and other research. £400-£500
India General Service 1854-95, 1 clasp, Burma 1889-92 (4135 Pte. H. Braham, 4th Bn. K.R. Rif. Corps),official correction to surname, slight edge bruising, nearly extremely fine £100-140 Frederick William James Braham was born in Peckham, London. A Porter by occupation and serving in the 22nd Middlesex Volunteers, he attested for service in the King’s Royal Rifle Corps on 3 May 1887, aged 18 years, 2 months. With the 4th battalion he served in India, October 1889-October 1890, and Burma, October 1890-December 1892. Transferred to the Army Reserve in 1894, he was discharged on 2 May 1899. Sold with copied service papers. £100-£140
The Q.S.A. to Quartermaster Serjeant T. Hogan, King’s Royal Rifle Corps, who was awarded the D.C.M. for ‘South Africa’ Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 3 clasps, Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal (1261 Q.M. Sejt. T. Hogan, K.R.R.C.) very fine £200-250 1261 Quartermaster Serjeant T. Hogan, 9th Battalion King’s Royal Rifle Corps, was mentioned in Lord Robert’s despatch of 4 September 1901 and awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (London Gazette 27 September 1901). £200-£250
Medwell & Perrett, A .416 Rigby bolt action sporting rifle, No.M0403P, the 24" barrel with ramp foresight, rearsight with adjustable leaf, bolt with push forward safety catch, hinged floor plate, well figured stock with pistol grip, cheekpiece and rubber recoil pad, nitro proofThis rifle was built in 2000 and according to the vendor has fired no more than eighty rounds
An Alexander Davidson leather covered oak gun case for a pair of guns, the red baize lined interior with lift out tray for guns with 30inch barrels, the lid with makers trade label for ‘ALEXANDER DAVIDSON GUN & RIFLE MANUFACTURER, GUILD STREET BUILDINGS ABERDEEN’, the top of the lid with owners initials ‘ADC’. Some mothing and wear.
A percussion American plains over and under rifle by Jacob Widmer, 71cm sighted barrel signed ‘J.WIDMER’ fitted with adjustable rear sight, the upper rifled barrel in .380 cal. the lower barrel in smooth 14-bore, plain case colour hardened action fitted with a quick release pin to separate the stock and action from the barrels, the stock fitted with a sprung patchbox of buffalo horn, side mounted brass capped wood ramrod, sling swivels.
A 10-bore flintlock rifle by Jover, 72cm rebrowned sighted octagonal damascus barrel fitted with rear leaf sights and inlaid with platinum and gold at the breech and with inlaid gold escutcheon, stepped and bolted lock signed Jover and engraved with floral motifs and a stand of arms at the tail, half stocked with engraved white metal mouts and scrolling steel trigger guard, chequered wrist, brass capped wood ramrod with concealed worm. Top jaw lacking.
A Victorian Rifle Officer's sword, 81.5cm blade by Wilkinson, serial number 33352 for 1895, etched with scrolling foliage, Royal Arms, crowned VR cypher and owner's crest and motto DARE QUAM ACCIPERE, regulation plated steel hilt incorporating a crowned strung bugle horn, wire bound fishskin grip, contained in its plated steel mounted black leather scabbard, complete with black leather sword knot.
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62082 item(s)/page