The Collection of Medals Formed by The Late John Hillard
482
The New Zealand Medal awarded to Private P. Flynn, 12th Foot, who
is confirmed on the regimental musters as having been detached for
service at Ballarat at the time of the contentious attack on the Eureka
Stockade in December 1854
NEW ZEALAND 1845-66, reverse undated (3101 Pte. P. Flynn, 12 Foot),
officially impressed in small capitals, nearly extremely fine
£1200-1500
The 1st Battalion, 12th Foot was embarked for Australia in July 1854, where it
saw wide and varied service, not least in furnishing convict guards, one batch of
“lifers” placed under its care including ‘a Marquess, two Baronets and three who
had been in Holy Orders’.
Bizarre though such encounters must have been, it was actually the Battalion’s early employment in the gold fields of Ballarat that led
to the most memorable chapter of its sojourn in Australia, namely the assault on the Eureka Stockade in December 1854, where, at the
end of the previous month, some 12,000 rebellious “diggers” had assembled in protest against mining licence fees and raised their own
flag, “The Southern Cross”. Moreover, under the leadership of an Irishman, Peter Lalor, hundreds of the “diggers” burned their existing
licences and swore an oath for the “Victorian Republic”, actions that led to inevitable military intervention.
Thus it was, in the early morning hours of 3 December 1854, that a force comprising 276 military personnel from the 12th and 40th
regiments, and some police and civilians, closed the rebels’ stockade from a north-westerly direction at dawn. Which side actually fired
the opening shots remains a matter of conjecture, but the outcome of the action was certain, the rebels having no chance against such
well-armed adversaries, and within a quick space of time Lalor and his comrades were overwhelmed, taking casualties of 22 killed or
died of wounds and 12 further wounded - reports later surfaced of some of these dead being dreadfully mutilated by shot and sword.
The Imperial force, under the command of Captain J. W. Thomas, sustained casualties of four killed and 12 wounded, several of the
latter from the 12th Foot.
In the event, when Lalor and fellow rebel ringleaders stood trial before an Irish judge in April 1855, all were acquitted, and the
contentious mining licence fees were abolished. Meanwhile, their “Southern Cross” flag, bloodied and trampled, had been saved for
posterity, and may be found on display in the Ballerat Fine Art Gallery to this day.
Flynn subsequently served in New Zealand between 1863-1864, but as is the case with other such awards, he received an undated
Medal.
483
CANADA GENERAL SERVICE 1866-70, 2 clasps, Fenian Raid 1866, Fenian Raid
1870 (Gr. C. Teasdale, Montreal G.A.), nearly extremely fine £250-300
Charles Teasdale is confirmed on the published roll as being entitled to the above
described Medal & clasps, the same source stating that he was present in the
action at Trout River in 1870.
484
CANADA GENERAL SERVICE 1866-70, 3 clasps, Fenian Raid 1866, Fenian Raid 1870, Red River 1870, an unnamed specimen,
extremely fine £200-250
485
ABYSSINIA 1867 (Qr. Masr. J. G.(sic) Stokes, 1st Battn. 4th the K.O.R. Regt.), neatly refixed suspension, edge bruise, good
very fine £200-250
John Edward Stokes was appointed Quarter-Master in the 4th King’s Own Regiment in October 1866, shortly before his participation in
the Abyssinia operations. He was placed on Half-Pay in December 1870, direct from his appointment as Q.M. to the 3rd Depot
Battalion at Parkhurst on the Isle of Wight.
486
SOUTH AFRICA 1877-79, 1 clasp, 1879 (43 Tpr. F. Lane, Frontr. L. Horse), very fine £300-350
The above Medal & clasp are verified on the relevant roll under the entry, ‘43 Tpr. E. Warne (Lane)’, the recipient clearly having
adopted an alias (WO 100/48 refers). He enlisted in the Fontier Light Horse in August 1878 and was discharged in February 1879, and
was accordingly engaged against the Zulus and the Sekukini.
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