A Small Collection of Awards to the 21st Lancers 431 Three: Sergeant A. E. Brinning, Royal Army Veterinary Corps, late 21st Lancers
1914 STAR (6048 Pte. A. Brinning, 21/Lrs.); BRITISHWAR AND VICTORYMEDALS (6048 Sjt. A. E. Brinning, 21-Lrs.), together with a presentation watch fob from the ‘Riverside Cricket Club’, the reverse engraved ‘A. Brinning’, good very fine (4)
£200-250
Albert E. Brinning first entered the French theatre of war on 15 August 1914, as a Private in a small service squadron of the 21st Lancers, thereby becoming one of a little over 90 men in his regiment to qualify for the 1914 Star. In common with a number of his comrades, he transferred to the Royal Army Veterinary Corps in March 1915.
432 Three: Private C. Smith, 12th Lancers, late 21st Lancers and Royal Army Veterinary Corps
1914 STAR (6104 Pte. C. Smith, 21/Lrs.); BRITISH WAR MEDAL 1914-20, unnamed; VICTORY MEDAL 1914-19 (L-6104 Pte. C. Smith, 12-Lrs.), good very fine (3)
£140-160
Charles Smith first entered the French theatre of war on 29 August 1914, as a Private in a small service squadron of the 21st Lancers, thereby becoming one of a little over 90 men in his regiment to qualify for the 1914 Star. He subsequently transferred to the 12th Lancers and was still serving as a cavalryman in 1920; sold with brief copied research.
433 Three: Private F. Jenkins, 9th Lancers, late 21st Lancers
1914 STAR (6712 Pte. F. Jenkins, 9/Lrs.); BRITISHWAR AND VICTORYMEDALS (L-6712 Pte. F. Jenkins, 9-Lrs.), minor contact wear and a little polished, otherwise generally very fine (3)
£180-220
Frederick Jenkins, who served in the 21st Lancers out in Egypt as a marksman in ‘D’ Squadron in 1910-13, was one of a number of regimental reservists taken on the strength of the 9th Lancers on the outbreak of hostilities, in which capacity he was embarked for France on 9 September 1914, where he may have been one of the small but resolute squadron of the regiment employed in the defence of Messines at the end of October - all in all around 1000 dismounted cavalrymen and assorted infantrymen held out for four days against odds of six to one, often being engaged in house by house fighting. Jenkins was finally discharged in May 1919; sold with copied research.
434
Three: Private L. Branch, 6th Dragoon Guards, late 21st Lancers, who participated in the latter regiment’s celebrated charge at Shabkadar in September 1915
1914-15 STAR (L-2464 Pte. J. Branch, 21st Lrs.); BRITISH WAR AND VICTORY MEDALS (L-2464 Pte. J. Branch, 21 Lrs.), minor contact marks, otherwise generally very fine (3)
£180-220
John Branch was a pre-war regular who went out to Egypt with the 21st Lancers in November 1910 and, on the regiment’s return to India, was present in its opening action of the War, namely the celebrated charge at Shabkadar on 5 September 1915, when fellow 21st Lancer, Shoeing-Smith Charles Hull, was awarded the V.C. The regimental history takes up the story:
‘The Mohmand tribe, a warrior race of Afghan origin, encouraged by German and Turkish arms and money, advanced south through the Khyber Pass towards the rich Punjab. A Field Force was immediately sent to meet them and the Regimental Headquarters with ‘B’ and ‘C’ Squadrons and the Machine-Gun Section marched from Risalpur at the end of August 1915, to join it.
Early on the 5 September, after a day or two spent patrolling the area, a large number of tribesmen was found entrenched in the foothills near the village of Shabkadar. A confused battle developed after the Field Force infantry advanced and finally a charge was made by the two squadrons led by the Commanding Officer, to clear a force of the enemy which was outflanking our line.
A canal had to be crossed in order to reach the enemy and inevitably there was some confusion and loss of formation. As each man scrambled out he was engaged at close quarters and, although tribesmen outnumbered the squadrons by five to one, a large number of them were accounted for before they could escape into the thick fields of eight-foot-high maize.
Private (Shoeing-Smith) C. Hull was awarded the Victoria Cross for his valour in this battle. Seeing that Captain G. E. D. Learoyd, the Adjutant, had had his horse shot under him and was in great danger, Hull galloped up to him under a heavy fire, took him on his horse and carried him to safety.
Regimental Sergeant-Major E. Ryder, Staff-Sergeant (Saddler) W. Simpson and Lance-Corporal T. Ballard were all awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal. Mr. Ryder, who was commissioned as a Regimental Officer soon afterwards, freed a Private whose foot was caught in the stirrup iron of his fallen horse. Staff-Sergeant Simpson first rescued a Sergeant who had been dismounted, was surrounded, and in great danger, and then went on foot to protect an officer who, being mortally wounded, was unable to protect himself. Lance-Corporal Ballard first offered his horse to his Commanding Officer, Lieutenant-Colonel J. B. Scriven, whose own had been shot under him. The Colonel refused to take it, but, catching hold of a stirrup leather, went forward again with Ballard and Lance- Corporal Lucas towards the enemy. They had not gone far before Colonel Scriven was shot through the heart, his last words being: “Go on, lads, I’m done.” Ballard, however, refused to leave his body, and, with Lucas, dragged it to the edge of a maize field. They lay behind it and kept the enemy at bay firing over it until Ballard saw the 1st Lancers (Indian Army) coming up when he broke from cover and guided the Commanding Officer to the body of his Colonel.’
Branch, who went on to serve as a marksman in ‘B’ Squadron, changed his name to Christopher John Simmonds in January 1920 and transferred to the 6th Dragoon Guards in the following month, and was still serving as an Acting Corporal in August 1922; sold with a quantity of copied research.
435
Pair: Private F. Gadd, 21st Lancers BRITISH WAR AND VICTORY MEDALS (4409 Pte. F. Gadd, 21-Lrs.), mounted as worn, very fine or better (2)
£80-100
Frederick Gadd, who originally attested for the 21st Hussars (afterwards Lancers) in October 1901 but was discharged in July of the following year, was recalled as a member of No. 1 Service Squadron, 21st Lancers, which was formed at Tidworth in June 1916 and embarked for France later in the same month. By September 1917, the unit was serving in an infantry role, while in the following month it was embarked for Italy, where it served in the River Piave operations until re-embarked for France in late February 1918. Shortly thereafter, in bitter fighting at Beugny during the German Spring Offensive, most of its men were taken P.O.W.
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