A Collection of Medals to the South Wales Borderers 925 Five: Sergeant Drummer C. L. Davies, South Wales Borderers, late Grenadier Guards


Queen’s Sudan 1896-98 (2416. Pte: C. Davies. 1/Gren: Gds:) suspension claw slightly loose; 1914 Star, with clasp (9905 Sjt. Dmr: C. L. Davies. S. Wales Bord.); British War and Victory Medals (9905 Sjt. C. L. Davies. S. Wales Bord.); Khedive’s Sudan 1896-1908, 1 clasp, Khartoum (2416. Pte. C. L. Davies. Gren. Gds.) impressed naming, first and last medals with contact wear and edge bruising, therefore nearly very fine, otherwise good very fine (5)


£400-£500 Provenance: Dix Noonan Webb, December 2010.


Charles Lewis Davies served with the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards and took part in the Expedition to Khartoum in 1898. He later served with the South Wales Borderers during the Great War on the Western Front from 13 August 1914 and was discharged on 20 April 1915 due to sickness.


Sold with copied Medal Index Card and Silver War Badge rolls verifying medal, clasp and SWB entitlements.


926


Four: Private F. Bradshaw, South Wales Borderers, who served with the 2nd Battalion during the Boer War and was killed in action with the 1st Battalion during the Battle of the Aisne in September 1914


Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 3 clasps, Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal (6632 Pte. F. Bradshaw. S. Wales Bord.); King’s South Africa 1901-02, 2 clasps, South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902 (6632 Pte. F. Bradshaw. S. Wales Bord:); 1914 Star, with copy clasp (6632 Pte. F. Bradshaw. S. Wales Bord.); British War Medal 1914-20 (6632 Pte. F. Bradshaw. S. Wales Bord.) generally good very fine (4)


£240-£280


Frank Bradshaw was born in Manchester and served with the 2nd Battalion, South Wales Borderers during the Boer War. In the Great War he served with the 1st Battalion South Wales Borderers, disembarking in France on 31 August 1914. He was killed in action with his official date of death given as 28 September 1914. The battalion was relieved by the Camerons on the evening of 27 September 1914 after a day in which ‘all was quiet’ according to the 1st Battalion war diary. It is, therefore, most likely his fatal wounds were received in the particularly fierce fighting in the Chivy Valley along the river Aisne earlier on 26 September 1914. The regimental history describes how many of the missing were later identified as casualties: ‘An officer of the Camerons, who relieved the battalion on the evening of September 27th, has written of a line of dead Germans lying almost shoulder to shoulder about forty yards from the quarries, and has described how the German dead were piled most thickly in front of the centre of the line. In all the Camerons buried nearly 300 Germans lying quite close to the British line and further out were many more… But the S.W.B. had suffered grievously: besides the three officers already mentioned, Captains Gwynn and Pritchard and Lieutenants James and Coker were wounded, the last named lost a leg, and in all nearly 200 men were casualties. Still it was no small feather in the battalion’s cap to have successfully repulsed about the most serious effort that the Germans made during the later stages of the fighting along the Aisne. The Divisional Commander, General Lomax, paid a special visit to the battalion to congratulate it, and in addressing it compared its action to Rorke’s Drift. Sir Douglas Haig wrote, “The conduct of the South Wales Borderers in driving back the strong attack on them made by troops massed in the Chivy Valley is particularly deserving of praise. Please tell the Brigadier how proud I feel at having such splendid troops under my command”. Originally nearly 100 were returned as missing, most of whom were subsequently found dead, while others were brought in wounded. On September 29th for example, nine were brought in by inhabitants of Chivy. The final figures were 87 killed, 12 missing, 95 wounded.’ (The History of the South Wales Borderers 1914-18 by C. T. Atkinson refers)


Bradshaw is buried in Braine Communal Cemetery, France. Sold with copied Medal Index Card and medal roll extract.


927


Five: Private C. East, South Wales Borderers, who served with the 2nd Battalion in the Boer War and was killed on 26 September 1914 while serving with the 1st Battalion at the Battle of the Aisne


Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 3 clasps, Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal (6316 Pte. C. East. S. Wales Bord.); King’s South Africa 1901-1902, 2 clasps, South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902 (6316 Pte. C. East. S. Wales Bord:); 1914 Star, with copy clasp (6316 Pte. C. East. S. Wales Bord.); British War and Victory Medals (6316 Pte. C. East. S. Wales Bord.) suspension post repaired to first and with some edge bruising and contact wear, therefore nearly very fine, the Great War trio nearly extremely fine (5)


£400-£500


Charles East was born in South Shields, one of seven children of Edward and Ann East. He enlisted in the South Wales Borderers in Leeds and served with the 2nd Battalion in South Africa at the conclusion of which he transferred to the 1st Battalion in India. He subsequently served during the Great War on the Western Front from 31 August 1914.


In late September 1914 at the Battle of the Aisne, the South Wales Borderers had come to a halt at Vendresse. Here a period of heavy fighting had seen the battalion withdraw to a ridge overlooking the Chivy Valley where woods offered cover for the Germans to mass for attacks. On 26 September 1914 the Germans launched a heavy, sustained assault on the Borderers lines. The regimental diary vividly describes the attack: ‘The most ghastly day of my life and yet one of the proudest because my Regiment did its job and held on against heavy odds. At 4.15 a.m. the Germans attacked. Main attack apparently against my Regiment , which is the left of our line. D and A Companies in the trenches. B and C hustled up to support and soon the whole place alive with bullets. News comes that they are trying to work around our left… Poor D Company had to face the music more than anyone else. Presently news comes that the Germans are in a quarry in the middle of our line. i.e. that our line was pierced. C Company drove them clean out… We were able to reorganise more or less, except for D Company’s far advanced trenches, and those we searched at night and found James wounded, Sills and Welby killed. Total casualties. Killed – Welby, Simonds, Coker, Sills and 86 men; wounded – Pritchard, James and Gwynn slightly, and 95 men; and missing 12. These 12 were of D Company, and apparently surrendered. May they be spared to reach England again and be tried by Court Martial and get what they deserve. Never has the 24th surrendered yet, and in spite of casualties the rest of the Regiment stuck to it and fought as Englishmen and 24th men could fight.’ (The History of the South Wales Borderers 1914-18 by C. T. Atkinson refers).


East has no known grave and he is commemorated on La Ferte-sous-Jouarre Memorial, France. www.dnw.co.uk all lots are illustrated on our website and are subject to buyers’ premium at 20% (+VAT where applicable)


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