The superb Great War 'successful escapers' M.M. group of four awarded to Private H. Wilson, 1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards, who was taken Prisoner of War at the First Battle of Ypres in 1914 and whose remarkable escape is summarised in the archive of the Coldstream GuardsMilitary Medal, G.V.R. (8617 Pte. A.Cpl - H. Wilson. 1/C.Gds.); 1914 Star (8617 Pte H. Wilson. C.Gds:); British War and Victory Medals (8617 A - Cpl. H. Wilson. C.Gds.), mounted as worn, light pitting, very fine (4)Henry Wilson was born in 1890, a native of Hull and enlisted on 25 February 1910, his initial service proved uneventful however he did earn an Army swimming certificate in 1911. Joining the Army Reserve he returned to Hull and joined the Police Force there. Wilson was still there when he was mobilised on 6 August 1914 for service in the Great War.Entering the war in France on 13 August 1914, he was appointed Lance Corporal after the Retreat to the Marne and took part in the Battle of the Aisne. They were stationed near Langmark when the First Battle of Ypres began and saw heavy fighting before being moved to the Menin Road on 26 October. Three days later a major German attack began in that direction, they drove back the other units in the area and, by the time reinforcements came up, the 1st Battalion had effectively ceased to exist.Wilson was wounded in the left side and taken prisoner of war, being taken to the camp of Schneidemuhl. Unfortunately, the conditions at the camp were not much better than in the trenches with typhoid rampant and the chief medical officer attempting to curb it by starving the prisoners. The only food they received came from the Red Cross via the Swiss city of Bern.Fortunately, Wilson was able to survive the camp long enough to be sent to Krehendberg camp where he was ordered to join the work parties on the local farms. He escaped one of these parties on 27 July 1917 and made his way through the mountainous area to the south of the Black Forest. After a two-day trek Wilson reached the Rhine, across the river lay neutral Switzerland and the prospect of freedom, however the river bank was patrolled and the river itself was a difficult prospect.Waiting until nightfall he removed his jacket and boots and began the swim, a strong current swept him along downriver. Wilson managed to struggle out of his trousers and thus unencumbered began to make progress, when he eventually made the Swiss bank he was two miles downriver from his start point. Encountering a Swiss civilian he was taken to a Police Station where he explained who he was and made contact with the British Legation.While there awaiting repatriation Wilson wrote a letter to the Honorary Secretary of the Coldstream Guards Prisoners Fund stating:'Dear Hon SecJust a few lines thanking you for the parcels I received from you while I was in Germany & to let you know that I shall not require any more as I have escaped from Germany. I ran away from work at 4:00pm July 27th swam across the Rhine & landed in Switzerland about 12.30 am July 30th. I am now in Bern & have to remain here for a few days at least. I hope to return to England shortly.'He was repatriated and saw Home Service for the rest of the war; sold together with copied research.The papers of Corporal Henry Wilson are available as part of the Liddle collection at the Brotherton Library, University of Leeds. A typed summary of their contents was prepared by the archive of the Coldstream Guards.…
We found 11209 price guide item(s) matching your search
There are 11209 lots that match your search criteria. Subscribe now to get instant access to the full price guide service.
Click here to subscribe- List
- Grid
-
11209 item(s)/page
A collection of Horror and Science Fiction LaserDisc video discs, to include A Nightmare On Elm Street (sealed), Alien (x2), Poltergeist, Zardoz, The Sword And The Sorcerer, Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan, Jaws, Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me, Saturn 3, Quest For Fire, Buck Rogers In The 25th Century, An American Werewolf In London, An American Werewolf In Paris, House Of The Long Shadows, Gwendoline, Dune, Fantastic Voyage, Brainstorm, Captain Scarlet Vs. The Mysterons, The Thing (x2), Xtro, From Dusk Till Dawn, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, The X-Files (x4 various titles) and Escape From New York (30, storage wear to some)
Dynamic Forces, DC, Dark Horse & similar, Signed & Variant Cover, TV & Film related Comics. Consisting of James Bond 007 Serpent’s Tooth #1 signed by Doug Monech & Paul Gulacy, Star Trek Voyager False Colors #1 (One-Shot) signed by Jeff Moy & WC Carrani, G.I. Joe Front Line #1 Variant Cover, Tomb Raider Scarface’s Treasure Variant Cover & Battle of the Planets #½ Variant Cover. Includes Certificates of Authenticity. Modern Age, a bagged & boarded group. Although unchecked for completeness condition appears to be Excellent. See photo.
Skybox & Similar, a Collection of Star Trek Trading Card Boxes & Sealed Packs. Includes Deep Space Nine, The Next Generation, The Motion Picture with others. Although unchecked for completeness or correctness condition appears Excellent to Near Mint within Good Plus to Excellent Plus packaging, boxes and tins. See Photo
Trade card stickers, Panini, 4 complete albums and 3 near complete (stickers stuck in), complete albums are Buck Rogers, A Team, Gremlins, Star Trek TNG, near complete albums Super Auto, Muppets, Real Ghostbusters (stickers stuck down, fronts gen gd, some minor wear to album pages, but presentable)
Trade cards, Seven part sets, Topps 1984 Masters of the Universe He Man (64 plus 3 stickers), Topps 1984 Marvel Super Heroes (Comic Covers, 50 plus checklist), Topps 1979 Star Trek motion picture (82 plus 18 stickers), Unknown issuer Star Trek 1986/87 (35), Unknown South American issuer, Zorro (14 plus duplicates), FTCC Three Stooges (35), Monty Gum Kojak playing card inset (29) (gen gd/vg)
A collection of boxed board games, to include Denys Fisher's Revrods Stock Car Smash-up and Ghost Train, Buckaroo!, a Super Spyrograph with further Rotodraw pieces, a Star Trek 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle sealed in the original shrink-wrap etc. (2 boxes) Condition Report:Condition report not available.
Matchbox, Corgi, Preiser, Star Trek and similar, a boxed group to include Matchbox MB-38 Ford Model A, Playmates Star Trek Transporter Series "L.T Commander Data", Corgi Vauxhall Nova and others. Although not checked for completeness conditions generally appear Poor to Good in generally Poor to Good boxes. See photo.
Corgi Junior Blister Card group including Buck Rogers Starfighter (card has been cut down), 149 Star Trek The Vengance of Khan Klingon Bird of Prey, 148 Star Trek Enterprise, Twin Pack Emergency pair - Police Helicopter & Fire Chief, plus 3 others on part cards - Near Mint to Mint on Fair to Good mostly sealed sealed packaging. (7)
Matchbox Superfast Corgi Juniors & similar mixed group to include 36 car carry case containing various models including 19b Road Dragster; 68a Porsche - white; 59c Planet Scout - Metallic Emerald Green Body Corgi Juniors Star Trek & Superman, plus some boxed models - Poor to Near Mint, packaging Fair to Good where applicable. (50 plus)
Loading...-
11209 item(s)/page