1st Middlesex

height="199">

Photographs of the 1st Middlesex Regiment, during the reign of Queen Victoria.

The Battalion Staff of the "Die Hards" (1896)

These are the four principal Officers of the Regimental Staff of the 1stMiddlesex (the "Die Hards"), which regiment has just left England for South Africa. The officer for the time being in command is Major James Grove White, a Staff College Graduate, who has already had experience of South African Warfare in Zululand, where the 57th (as the 1st Middlesex Regiment was then) served in 1879. The Adjutant is Captain Robert James Ross, Lieutenant James Alfred Walter is the Quartermaster, and Sergeant-Major W. Fulcher completes the group. Major White is seen on the right as we look at the group, the Quartermaster on the left, the Adjutant is shown with a number of official documents in his hand, and the Sergeant-Major faces us in the attitude of "attention". Owing to ill-health, Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes-Hallett, the Battalion Commanding Officer, was unable to accompany the "Die Hards" to the Cape.

1st Middlesex (Victoria and St George's) on Parade

Original page from the Army and Navy published 1897, this superb photograph measuring 10" x 8" for sale priced ?20.

Reference V4/131

Stable Duty, 1st Middlesex

Original page from the Army and Navy published 1897, this superb photograph measuring 8" x 5" sold with smaller image measuring 4" x 3" of the Signallers shown below. Price ?15

Reference V4/132

How Private Albert Edward Walker, Of The 4^th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment, Won The D.C.M. At Audencourt

On the night of August 23^rd-24^th 1914, the retreat from Mons began; but it was not until midday on the 24^th, and after some fierce fighting, that our corps, under Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien, who had been entrusted with the task of holding his ground until the British right was well on its way towards Maubeuge, began their retirement. Early in the afternoon, the whole British force was reassembled on a line running from Maubeuge to the village of Bray, a position which had been selected which had been selected with a view to fighting a general engagement, provided the whole position warranted a British stand. But, on learning that Tournal had fallen and that the enemy were practically masters of the whole country on his left, Sir John French gave orders for the retirement to continue, and from early morning to evening on the 25^th a day of intense and glaring heat-the weary troops plodded southwards along the dusty roads, until as night was falling, they halted on a line running south of the Forest of Mormal from Maroilles to Landrecies, and then by Le Cateau to Cambrai. The enemy suddenly attacked about ten o?clock that night, the 1st Division, posted in and around Landrecies, in great force, and the battle was soon raging along the whole front of the 1^st Corps. It ended in the repulse of the Germans, but left the men of our 1^st Corps too utterly exhausted to be placed in the fighting line; and it was therefore decided that during the Wednesday they should continue the movement to the southward, while Smith-Dorrien and the 2^nd Corps should follow and hold back the German pursuit.

Before dawn, however, Smith-Dorrien received the alarming intelligence that no less than four German corps, which had advanced by forced marches during the night between the west side of the Forest of Mormal and the road from Valenciennes to Cambrai, were in position along his front, and was compelled to fight one of the most fiercely contested battles in our history, to save our left wing from being enveloped and destroyed. The Germans had not only an overwhelming superiority in numbers, but a still greater preponderance in artillery; indeed, it is calculated that they had some six hundred guns, many of them of a caliber much greater than any which we possessed at that time, in action on a front of about twelve miles. The village of Audencourt, which was held by the 4^th Middlesex, one of the battalions of the 8^th Brigade, was subjected to a most terrific shelling. Houses crackled like eggshells beneath the huge missiles from the German field howitzers; tiles from their shattered roofs were whirled through the air; great craters made by ?Jack Johnson?s? yawned in the roadway. ?It was like hell, only a thousand times worse,? writes one of that gallant corps.

The 4^th Middlesex, like the rest of Smith-Dorriens force, had had little time to entrench their position, and hastily dug shelter trenches were their only protection. Their casualties, in consequence, were numerous and increasing every minute. The church in the village had been chosen as a hospital, and for a time it was fortunate enough to escape the fate of the buildings in the vicinity. But presently the German gunners got the range, and shell after shell struck it. The colonel of the battalion came up and, addressing the men in a trench close by, said: ?one of you ?Die hards? who have got your heads, move those poor fellows out of the church.? A lad of twenty, Private Albert Edward Walker immediately volunteered and hurried towards the church, which was now blazing fiercely. For two hours Walker was employed moving his wounded comrades out, and fetching them water, during which the bombardment continued as fiercely as ever, and the church was repeatedly struck. As he was assisting one of the last men from the shattered and burning building, the colonel came up again. ?Good, brave lad!? was all he said, and passed on; but he did not forget the young soldier, who had been so ready to risk his life for his comrades, and subsequently Walker learned that he had been awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal, ?for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in voluntarily attending on the wounded with great coolness under heavy shellfire.? Unhappily, he did not live long to wear his well-earned decoration, as he was killed in the summer of 1915, while performing another gallant action. The manner of his death is described by a sergeant of the 3^rd Middlesex, in the 28^th Division, to which Walker, now a lance corporal, had been transferred, in a letter to the deceased soldier?s parent, who reside at Lower Edmonton:

?Your letter concerning your brave son?s death reached me safely, and I am more than pleased to be of some little service to you. Our battalion was called out to attack the Germans. While the attack was in progress, my stretcher-bearers were bringing in our casualties. Lance-Corporal Walker, with another man, went to try and save an officer, who, if he had succeeded, would undoubtedly have earned him the V.C. His fall was mourned by all, because we knew that we had lost a true, good and brave comrade.? Extracted from 'Deeds That Thrill The Empire'

How Second Lieutenant Rupert Price Hallowes, Of The 4^th Battalion Middlesex Regiment, Won The Military Cross At Hodge (July 1915) And The Victoria Cross At Hooge (September 1915)

The summer campaign of 1915 in the West on the British section of the allied front made comparatively little difference to the contours of our line as marked upon the map. Nevertheless, if measured by the gain or loss of ground, the fighting was of slight importance, it was often a desperate character and productive of heavy casualties. This was particularly the cause in the Hooge area, lying on either side of the Menin-Ypres road, where fighting of a fierce and sanguinary character went on intermittently all through the summer months. Thus, on the last day of May we captured the outbuildings of the chateau, and, after being driven out, recaptured them again on the night of June 3^rd. On the 16^th we attacked with some success south of Hooge, and carried one thousand yards of German front trenches and part of their second line, and afterwards repulsed a strong counter attack. On the 18^th of the same month we made some progress north of the Menin-Ypres road; while on July 19^th, an enemy redoubt at the western end of the Hooge defence was successfully mined and destroyed, and a small portion of their trenches was captured. In this action an officer of the 4^th Middlesex, one of the battalions of the 3^rd Division, Lieutenant Rupert Price Hollowes, won the Military Cross by the daring bravery he displayed when the Germans delivered their counter attack. Perceiving that owing to our shortage of bombs, the enemy were approaching down the communication trench, he left his own trench, and with the most perfect indifference to the risk to which was exposing himself, went out into the open and fired at them, killing or wounding several. Later, he assisted in the repair of the communication trench and in rebuilding a parapet that had been blown in by a shell, both under very heavy fire; while throughout the night he rendered great assistance in keeping in touch with our supports and in supplying bombs.

Fierce fighting again occurred at Hooge between July 30^th and August 9^th, but after that there was relative quiet along this part of our front until the last week in September, when a strong offensive movement was undertaken by us, with the object of detaining the left wing of the Duke of Wurtemberg?s command and preventing the German from sending reinforcements southwards to the La Bassee district where the main British advance was about to begin. At four o?clock on the morning of the 25^th, our artillery preparation began, and soon after 4.30 the British infantry advanced to attack, the 14^th Division on the left against the Bellawaarde Farm, and the 3^rd Division, which included the 4^th Middlesex, against the enemy?s position north of Sanctuary Wood, on the south side of the Menin-Ypres road. The charge of our infantry carried all before it, and the whole of the German first line trenches were soon in our hands. But the enemy had concentrated a mass of artillery behind the lines, and our new front was subjected to so heavy a bombardment that the gains on our left could not be held, though south of the highway the 3^rd division still clung to some of the ground it had won, and managed to consolidate its position. Between that day and October 1^st, during which time the trenches held by the 4^th Middlesex were subjected to four heavy and prolonged bombardments and repeated counter attacks, Second-Lieutenant Hallowes again most brilliantly distinguished himself, ?displaying,? in the words of the Gazette, ?the greatest bravery and untiring energy and setting a magnificent example to his men.? On the night of September 26^th-27^th, perceiving two wounded men of the Royal Scots lying out in the open, he left his trench, and, under a fierce rifle fire, coolly superintended their removal to a place of safety. Scarcely had he returned to the trenches, than the Germans another severe bombardment, and shells of every description came raining down. The range was very accurate, and fearing that some of the men might begin to flinch, Lieutenant Hallowes, utterly regardless of his own danger, climbed on to the parapet to put fresh heart into them. ?He seemed to be everywhere giving encouragement to everyone,? wrote private of his battalion. Lieutenant Hallowes also made more than one daring reconnaissance of the German position, and when the supply of bombs was running short, he went back, under very heavy shellfire, and brought up a fresh supply.

For six days this most heroic officer braved death successfully, but such entire disregard of danger as he displayed cannot long be continued with impunity, and on the seventh (October 1^st) he met his inevitable end. He was a hero to the last, for we are told ?even after he was mortally wounded he continued to cheer those around him and to inspire them with fresh courage.? The Victoria Cross, for which he appears to have been recommended after the fighting on September 25^th, was awarded him posthumously, ?for most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty,? and no one will be inclined to dispute his right to a foremost place on our most glorious roll of honour. Rupert Price Hallowes was born at Redhill, Surrey, in 1880, the youngest son of Dr. F. B. Hallowes of that town, and was educated at Hailrybury College. He reenlisted in the Artists Rifles on August 6^th 1914, two days after the outbreak of war, and was sent to France at the end of the following December. On April 7^th 1915, he was given a commission as second lieutenant in the 4^th Middlesex. Like so many very brave men, he appears to have been a singularly modest one, and even after winning the Military Cross could not be persuaded by his relatives to tell them anything of the gallant action for which it had been awarded. Extracted from 'Deeds That Thrill The Empire'

How Lance Corporal Victor Gray, Of The 4^th Battalion Middlesex Regiment, Won the D.C.M. At Kemmel

Among the many splendid examples of our gallant fellows cheerfully risking their own lives to save those of their comrades which the war had witnessed, that given by Lance Corporal Victor Gray, of the 4^th Battalion Middlesex Regiment, on April 28^th 1915, at Kemmel, is one which ought to be remembered. Between two and three o?clock in the afternoon of that day it was found necessary to put a charge of dynamite into a German sap, which was working its way into a British sap head. About two hours after the explosion the sergeant in charge of the working party and three officers went down the mine gallery to ascertain the result, leaving Lance Corporal Gray in charge of the men at the top of the shaft. They had been gassed! Gray immediately called the working party to the mouth of the shaft, and ordering four of them to go down into the mine and get the men up, hurried off to summon medical aid, and in default of finding a surgeon, returned in about three minutes with two R. A. M. C. orderlies. When he got back, he found that one of the three officers had already been rescued, and that another was just being brought up the shaft. Having helped to raise him to the surface and seen the orderlies set to work to revive him, he himself went down, to assist in recovering the third officer and the sergeant. When however, he reached the bottom of the shaft, he found that the two men who had saved the officers were already so overcome themselves by the gas that the must be got out without delay. He therefore ordered their two comrades, who had remained at the bottom of the shaft, to send them up; while he himself went down the gallery to where the third officer lay and partly carried and partly dragged him to the bottom of the shaft, and, with the assistance of the others, sent him up also. By this time however Gray and his brave comrades were so overcome by the poisonous fumes that they recognized that it would be impossible for them to get the sergeant out. Gray therefore ascended to the surface, and sent down four men to the assistance of the sergeant, he himself, though feeling desperately ill, pluckily descending again and rendering them what little assistance he could at the bottom of the shaft. Unhappily, when the sergeant was brought up he was beyond the reach of human aid, and all efforts to revive him proved fruitless. Lance corporal Gray, who was awarded the D.C.M., ?for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty,? is thirty years of age. He comes of a family of soldiers, his late father having served for twenty-one years in the Grenadier Guards, while both of his two brothers are at the Front. The elder brother, who was in the 2^nd battalion Rifle Brigade, greatly distinguished himself at the beginning of May 1915, and after being awarded the Military Cross ?for conspicuous gallantry,? was promoted to the rank of captain; the younger is a lance corporal in the Royal Fusiliers. Mrs Gray has indeed reason to be proud of her brave sons. Since the gallant action which we have just recounted, Victor Gray has been transferred from the 2^nd Battalion Middlesex Regiment to the Royal Engineers. Extracted from 'Deeds That Thrill The Empire'

How Acting Sergeant William Fisher, Of The 4^th Middlesex, Won The D.C.M. At Wolverghem, And Subsequently A Clasp To His D.C.M.

It is not only in the heat of battle, when the troops are advancing to the assault of the enemy?s position in the face of a deadly blast of shrapnel, rifle and machine gun fire, that heroic deeds are performed; even in the course of such comparatively uneventful work as trench digging, opportunities for earning distinction, and sometimes unforgettable fame, have been known to present themselves. A striking illustration of this occurred on the night of November 17^th-18^th 1914, near Wolverghem. Acting-Sergeant William Fisher, a young man of twenty-one, of the 4^th Middlesex, which was entrenched opposite the village of Neuve Eglise, received orders to send out a digging party to finish a communication trench which ran across their right front. It was an undertaking full of danger, for less than two hundred yards separated the British from the German trenches, and the night being fine and the ground covered with snow, every dark object stood out in bold relief. Two sections (twenty men and N.C.O.?s) were detailed for the work, which proceeded for some time without interruption, when suddenly, towards midnight, a heavy and continuous rifle fire was opened upon them. Some of the working party took cover in the unfinished trench; but others, losing their heads, started to regain the fire trench. Then over the parapet of the fire trench bounded a solitary figure, rifle in hand. It was Sergeant Fisher, who believing that the enemy had surprised his men, was hastening to their relief. Right across the open he ran, an all too conspicuous mark against the white carpet of snow, and, quick rallying the fugitives, led them back to the communication trench, where he got the whole party under cover. This accomplished, he coolly proceeded to reconnoitre the ground between the communication trench and the German lines, with the object of ascertaining of the enemy were meditating a surprise attack, and then hurried back to the fire trench to stop the firing which some of our men had, without orders, opened in reply to the Germans. Finally, he went out again to the communication trench and took charge of the working party. Now, all this time this intrepid young man was running the greatest personal risk imaginable, being exposed both to the fire of the enemy, and to that of some of his own comrades; indeed, it seems little short of a miracle that he should have escaped unhurt. Yet never for a single moment do his coolness and courage appear to have failed him, and few could have more richly deserved the coveted decoration awarded him by his own Sovereign or the medal of St. George of the second class, which was subsequently conferred upon him by the Czar.

On June 16^th 1915, Sergeant Fisher was wounded near Ypres, but fortunately his injuries were not serious, and seven months after the gallant action, which gained him the Distinguished Conduct Medal, he won a clasp to his decoration. On the night of June 14^th-15^th 1915, some digging operations which were in progress near the British first line trenches were continually being interfered with by the discharge of a star shell pistol from the Germans lines. Sergeant Fisher and Corporal Keep of his regiment determined to endeavour to put a stop to this, and, each arming himself with a bomb, they scaled the parapet of their trench and crawled to within easy throwing distance of the hostile trench. There they waited for some five minutes, until the German exposed his position by discharging his pistol. The moment he did so Fisher threw his bomb, which hit the parapet of the trench exactly in front of the trail of sparks from the pistol, and from the fact that no more star shells were sent up from that section of the enemy?s trench during the rest of the night he concluded that he had either killed his man or placed him hors de combat. Immediately afterwards, Corporal Keep spotted a party of Germans just on his right, and managed to throw his bomb into the middle of them, with the result that they scattered in disorder, leaving behind them two wounded men, who lay there groaning all night. Encouraged by their success, the two non-commissioned officers returned to their own trench, and having provided themselves with more bombs, crawled out again and threw them into the German trench, with considerable effect, to judge by the shrieks and curses which followed their explosion. This exploit they subsequently repeated, making their third trip out that night. For the services they rendered on this occasion Corporal Keep was awarded the D.C.M., and Sergeant Fisher a clasp to his medal, as mentioned above. Extracted from 'Deeds That Thrill The Empire'

The Duke Of Cambridges Own (Middlesex Regiment)

In 1881 the 57^th (West Middlesex) was amalgamated with its linked battalion, the 77^th (East Middlesex), the Duke of Cambridge?s Own, under its present compound title. A regiment, raised in 1755 as the 57^th, became the 55^th, and another raised as the 59^th became the 57^th in 1757, the old 57^th becoming the 46^th; the county title was added in 1782. In its earliest days it did duty as marines, and in 1775 was despatched to North America. There it took part in the operations at Brooklyn, Redbank, York Island, Powell?s Hook, and Fort Montgomery; and its light company, serving with Lord Cornwallis at York Town, was taken prisoner. The 57^th was with the Duke of York in Holland in 1794; and, after much varied foreign service, joined Crawford?s division in the Peninsula. It was engaged at Busaco, Torres Vedras, the pursuit of Massena, Albuhera, Arroyo dos Molinos, Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajoz, Berlango, Estapas, Vittoria, the Pyrenees, Pampeluna, the Bidassoa, Nivelle, Nive, and Bordeaux.

Throughout the campaign the men displayed conspicuous gallantry, and lost severely. It was at Albuhera that the glorious nickname of the ?Die Hards? was won; for when the British were heavily pressed by overwhelming numbers of the French, Colonel Inglis of the 57^th shouted, ?Die hard, my men! Die hard!?-and this they did, fighting with such headlong bravery the colonel, 22 officers, and 400 men fell; and out of the 6,000 men that had ?fallen in? for battle on the hill, but 1,500 remained. The regiment was brought out of action by Lieutenant and Adjutant Mann, and the King?s colours had received thirty shot-wounds and the regimental twent-one. The 57^th formed part of the Army of Occupation of France in 1815; fought before Sevastopol and at Inkerman, and took part in the expedition to Kinburn and Shadoffka; shared in the Maori War of 1863, at Kaitake, Otapawa Pah, and numerous skirmishes, in which the loss was often heavy; and in 1879 it assisted at the relief of Ekowe. Victoria Crosses were won in the Crimean War by Private C. M. Corrie and Colour-Sergeant G. Gardiner, and in the Maori war by Ensign J. T. Down and Drummer D. Stagpole; but equal gallantry was also shown by Private Howard, who, with Lieutenant Torrens of the Greys, assisted in rescuing the crew of the wreck Robert Brown. One noteworthy point in the history of the regiment is the formation by Colonel Hartley in 1832 of the regimental savings bank, probably one of the earliest efforts to promote thrift among the men. A 2^nd battalion of the 57^th existed from the 1801 to 1815.

The 77^th first appears in 1778; was called the ?Royal Middlesex? in 1807, a title soon after changed to the ?East Middlesex,? and the ?Duke of Cambridge?s Own? in 1876. The other 77^th Regiment were the ?Montgomery Highlanders,? which existed from 1737 to 1763, and fought at Fort du Quense, Cuba, Martinique, and Havannah; and the ?Atholl Highlanders? from 1778 to 1783. The year after it was raised the regiment sailed to India, and in the operation against Tippoo Sultan was at the siege if Canonore and at Seringapatam; then it was despatched against the Dutch settlements in Cochin, and shortly after assisted at the siege of Colombo, joined the expedition against the Rajah of Coliote, and took part in the storm of Seringapatam and the capture of Arrakerry. Under Wellesley it saw service in the operations against the Mahrattes at Bednore, Coiongull, Subitee, Dumaul, and in the final defeat of Dhoondra, the leader of the enemy; in those against the Maris at Coliote and Wynand, and Panjalamcourchy in the Polygar War; against the Bollaaum Rajah; in 1802 it was again at Arrakerry, Coliote, and Wynand; and, returning home in 1807, new colours were presented to the regiment by the east India Company in recognition of its valuable and continuous service in India for nearly twenty years. After sharing in the Walcheren expedition and the capture of Flushing, the 77^th embarked for the Peninsula in 1811, and was present at El Bodon, Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajoz, and Bayonne, returning to Ireland in 1814. From that date it performed the necessary routine duty in various parts of the world, as in 1831 during the servile insurrection in Jamaica and in the Canadian troubles of 1848; but in 1854 it was one of the first regiments despatched to the seat of war in the east. In the Crimea it fought at the Bulganac, the Alma, the capture of the Castle of Balaklava, Inkerman, and the siege of Sevastopol from the opening of the first parallel to the end, losing during the campaign 15 officers and nearly 900 men. Since then, though it has seen much arduous foreign service, it has not been engaged in any war of importance.

During the Crimean War Sergeant J. Park and Private A. Wright won the Cross for Valour, for continued and conspicuous bravery. But conspicuous bravery was shown in the past history of the 77^th; for at El Bodon, when Montbrun, with fourteen battalions, thirty squadrons, and twelve guns, attacked a small force of allied troops, of which two battalions-the 5^th and 77^th-alone were British, they checked the advance of the cavalry by fire, charged them at the bayonet?s point, and retired afterwards in square, which resisted every effort to destroy it. The facings of both battalions were formerly yellow, now they are white. The badge of the 57^th is the laural wreath and ?Albuhera,? granted in 1816; it and the 34^th are the only regiments except the Miden group that have a wreath. To the 77^th is due the Prince of Wales Plume, granted in 1810, and the Duke of Cambridge?s coronet and cipher, added in 1876; the arms of Middlesex-three swords, or ?sceaxs,? with a Saxon crown-were bestowed on territorialisation. On the button is the plume, wreathed, and ?Albuhera?; the collar bears the same with the coronet and cipher; the helmet-plate has, in addition to the last, ?The Middlesex Regiment.? The waist-plate carries the wreath, Plume, and the county badge, with ?Albuhera,? and ?The Duke of Cambridge?s Own?; on the forage-cap is worn the wreath, Plume, coronet and cipher, and ?Albuhera?; the battle-name, worn on the forage-cap and shoulder-strap, was added in 1873 as a mark of special favour by Her Majesty the Queen. The Militia battalions are the Royal Elthorne (1853) and the East Middlesex (1778). The Volunteer battalions are the 3^rd Middlesex, Hornsey (grey and grey); 8^th Middlesex, Whitton Park, Hounslow (also grey and grey); and the 17^th Middlesex high stree, Camden Town (green and black). The first nickname of the old 57^th was the ?Steelbacks,? from the frequent floggings the men underwent for their marauding propensities. Next they gained the more honourable sobriquet of the ?Die Hards,? from their extraordinary bravery at Albuhera. The 77^th were known as ?the Pot-hooks,? from the figure of the two sevens. The depot was at Hounslow.

GEORGE GARDINER (Colour-Sergeant) 57^th West Middlesex (Duke of Cambridge?s Own) Regiment On March 22^nd 1855, Sergeant Gardiner was orderly-sergeant to the field officers on trench duty. The Russian attack was sudden, and there was a momentary retirement out of the trenches. Gardiern hastened to the threatened point, rallied the men, led them against the enemy and regained the position at the point of the bayonet. On June 18^th, his courage and devotion to duty was marvellous. He remained in front of the enemy, encouraging others to do the same, taking shelter in the holes made by the exploded shells, and making a parapet of the dead bodies of his comrades! From this gruesome entrenchment they kept yup a steady fire until their ammunition was exhausted. This was done, according to the official account, under a fire by which nearly half the officers and one-third of the rank and file of the party of the Regiment were placed hors-de-combat.

JOHN THORNTON DOWN (Ensign) 57^th (West) Middlesex Regiment (The Duke of Cambridge?s Own) At Pontoko, New Zealand on October 2^nd 1863, a soldier fell wounded within fifty yards of the bush, which was swarming with natives. Ath their colonel?s call for volunteers to bring the man into shelter, ensign down and drummer stagpoole (V.C.) promptly responded, and succeeded in carrying in the wounded man, though a heavy fire was directed upon them by the enemy. John Thornton Down died of fever in New Zealand during the war, which lasted from 1860-6. His name (together with those of his fellow-officers in the regiment who fell during those years) is recorded in St. Paul?s Cathedral on a brass tablet.

DUDLEY STAGPOOLE (Drummer) 57^th (West) Middlesex (The Duke of Cambridge?s Own) The brave act of which Drummer Stagpoole was awarded the Victoria Cross is described in the record of John Thornton Down (V.C.). For many years he has proudly carried his decoration while employed at the Arsenal, Woolwich. He was also decorated with the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his gallant behaviour at Kaipakopako, New Zealand, on September 25^th 1863, for having although wounded in the head, twice volunteered and brought in wounded men.

ALEXANDER WRIGHT (Private) 77^th Regiment East Middlesex Regiment (Amalguated into the Duke of Camebridge Own Middlesex Regiment) Decorated for special bravery during the whole Crimean War. Greatly distinguished himself on the night of March 22^nd 1855, in repelling a sortie and at the taking of the rifle pits on the night of April 19^th 1855, being specially noticed on that occasion for the fine example he gave the men while holding the position under a terrible fire. Displayed great bravery also on August 30^th 1855, when he was wounded.

CHARLES McCOORIE (Private) 57^th The West Regiment (amalgamated into the Duke of Cambridge?s Middlesex Regiment) Decorated for bravery on June 23^rd 1855, when he threw a live shell, which had fallen the trenches, over the parapet.

Signallers, 1st Middlesex

Original page from the Army and Navy published 1897, this superb photograph measuring 4" x 3" of the Signallers sold with larger image of Stable Duty shown above. Price ?15

Reference V4/132