GROUPS AND SINGLE DECORATIONS FOR GALLANTRY
798
A scarce Tibet campaign Victoria Cross action I.O.M. group of three awarded to Colour Havildar Ramu Gurung, 8th
Gurkha Rifles, for gallantry in the assault on Gyantse Jong when he was wounded following Lieutenant Grant into the
breach
INDIAN ORDER OF MERIT, Military Division, 1st type, 3rd Class, Reward of Valor, silver and enamel, enamel all lacking, the
reverse with central nut fitting and engraved on three lines ‘3rd/Class/Order of Merit’, complete with silver ribbon
buckle; TIBET 1903-04, 1 clasp, Gyantse (2239 N........ Gurung, 8th Gu.....) some loss of naming due to contact wear;
INDIA GENERAL SERVICE 1908-35, 1 clasp, Abor 1911-12 (2239 Col. Havr. Ramu Gurung, 1/8th Gurkha Rifles) mounted as
worn, contact wear and heavy pitting from the first, therefore fine or better (3) £4000-5000
Order of Merit 3rd Class G.G.O. 957 of 1904:
‘No. 2239 Rifleman Ramu Gurung, 8th Gurkha Rifles, for conspicuous gallantry during the assault on the Gyantse Jong on the 6th July
1904, when, following Lieutenant Grant into the breach, he helped to prevent that officer from slipping back as the ground kept giving
way, displaying great gallantry and being wounded in his endeavours to be one of the first to reach the breach.’
Lieutenant J. D. Grant, 8th Gurkha Rifles, won the Victoria Cross on the occasion of the storming of the Gyantse Jong on the 6th July
1904, when he led the storming party up the almost precipitous rock-face, with little cover and under a heavy fire from above. Three
men of the 8th Gurkha Rifles, including Rifleman Ramu Gurung, won the Indian Order of Merit for the gallantry they displayed in
support of Lieutenant Grant.
799
A rare Royal Red Cross and double R.V.M. group of six attributed to Miss Annie Fletcher, King Edward VII’s nurse for
many years
ROYAL RED CROSS, 1st Class, E.VII.R., silver-gilt and enamels; ROYAL VICTORIAN MEDAL, V.R., silver; ROYAL VICTORIAN MEDAL, E.VII.
R., silver; CORONATION 1902, BRONZE; CORONATION 1911; KING HAAKON VII OF NORWAY CORONATION MEDAL 1906, all unnamed as
issued and mounted on bow and tails, nearly extremely fine (6) £1000-1200
Ex John Tamplin Collection.
Miss Annie Fletcher began hospital training in about 1889. She nursed King Edward VII at the time of his operation for appendicitis in
1902, when the coronation had to be postponed because of his illness. She subsequently received the Coronation medal in bronze and
was awarded the Royal Victorian Medal in silver (V.R. effigy). She remained in the service of King Edward and Queen Alexandra, and
accompanied the Queen to Denmark in February 1906 for the funeral of her father, Christian IX, who had died on 29 January. On 26
February 1906, Miss Fletcher was awarded the Royal Victorian Medal in silver (E.VII.R. effigy) for her services on this occasion, a rare
double award in the period before the introduction of Bars for second awards. Later in the same year she received the King Haakon VII
Coronation Medal.
In 1909, Miss Fletcher was awarded the Royal Red Cross, this award being published in the London Gazette of 9 November 1909 as
follows: ‘The King has been graciously pleased to confer the decoration of the Royal Red Cross upon Miss Annie Fletcher, who has
been a hospital nurse for twenty years, in recognition of devoted service rendered by her to His Majesty and Her Majesty the Queen
since 1902.’
Miss Fletcher nursed King Edward in his final illness and after his death in May 1910, she was attached to Queen Alexandra’s
Household as a nurse and dresser. At the time of the award to her of the Coronation Medal in 1911, she was described on the roll as
Dresser to H.R.H. Princess Victoria, daughter of Queen Alexandra. Miss Fletcher remained with Queen Alexandra until 1925 when the
Queen died, and she probably retired at that time. Sold with comprehensive research.
800
A Great War A.R.R.C. group of four awarded to Sister K. Swinnerton, Territorial Force Nursing Service
ROYAL RED CROSS, 2nd Class (A.R.R.C.), G.V.R., silver and enamel, with bow ribbon; 1914-15 STAR (S/Nurse, T.F.N.S.);
BRITISH WAR AND VICTORY MEDALS (Sister); TERRITORIAL FORCE NURSING SERVICE CAPE BADGE, unnamed; together with a Royal British
Legion Womens’ Section Badge, gilt and enamel, pin-backed, nearly extremely fine (6) £300-350
A.R.R.C. London Gazette 31 July 1919.
www.dnw.co.uk
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