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Auction: 13003 - Orders, Decorations, Campaign Medals and Militaria
Lot: 11

An Outstanding 'Fighting' Tibet I.O.M. Group of Four to Naik Tilok Singh, 23rd Sikh Pioneers, Attached Mounted Infantry, Who Despite Being Wounded in Both Legs During an Ambush Just Outside Gyantse, Held Out For Over An Hour With 7 Other Sikhs Against 1,000 Tibetans
a) Indian Order of Merit, Military Division, 1st type, 3rd Class, Reward of Valor, silver and enamel, the reverse engraved in three lines '3rd Class Order of Merit', enamel damage, lacking top riband buckle
b) India General Service 1895-1902, V.R., two clasps, Waziristan 1901-2, Relief of Chitral 1895 (3752 Sepoy Talok Singh 23rd.. Infy)
c) Tibet 1903-04, one clasp, Gyantse (3752 Lce. Nk. Tilok Singh 23d Sikh Pioneers)
d) India General Service 1908-35, E.VII.R., one clasp, North West Frontier 1908 (3752 Naik Tilok Singh. 23rd Sikh Pioneers.), contact marks, generally nearly very or better (4)

I.O.M. No. 3752 Sepoy Tilok Singh, 23rd Sikh Pioneers
'For conspicuous gallantry on 19th May 1904 when on Dak patrol with 7 other men and attacked by several hundred Tibetans about one and a half miles from Gyantse. Although severely wounded he continued fighting for over an hour against large odds until relieved by a party of Mounted Infantry.'

On 19.5.1904 Tilok Singh was tasked, along with six other men under the command of Lance Naik Jhanda Singh, with Mail Escort, 'the bag was usually guarded by four mounted men only, and it had a long road to cover, by villages, from any of which the messengers might with impunity have been shot down; through defiles in which any ravine might well conceal a dozen determined men; or across the open plain, where its distant progress could be watched by a sharp-sighted man six miles away.' (Lhasa, Perceval Landon, refers)

On the above date the Mail Escort was set upon by hundreds not dozens of determined men, 'the Mounted Infantry mail escort on their way back to Gyantse were passing between one of these villages and the thicket on the left bank of the river, when the Tibetans, having cleverly ambuscaded them, opened fire from all sides. One man and five ponies were killed on the spot, the Lance Naik in command [Jhanda Singh] was hit through both arms, rendering him useless, another man [Tilok Singh] was wounded in both legs and could not stand up, and two out of the remaining three ponies were so severely wounded that they had to be destroyed afterwards. The Tibetans got so close that they used their swords on the ponies. The Lance-Naik got his men together in the thicket, whence they retaliated on the Tibetans, and shot them down so quickly that they drew off a bit, though still keeping up a steady fire on them. The Lance-Naik behaved most gallantly, and although unable to use his rifle, opened the packets of cartridges with his teeth and passed them round to his men to fire. The wounded man [Tilok Singh] crawled behind a tree, whence he kept up a vigorous fire on the enemy; and thus, true to their duty, they defended the mail-bags on their killed and wounded ponies so successfully that out of the seven mail bags in their charge only one fell into the hands of the enemy, as well as two saddles and bridles and one rifle.' (With Mounted Infantry in Tibet, Major W.J. Ottley, refers)

Ottley led the force of Mounted Infantry sent out to rescue the escort and the mail, 'Quite 1,000 Tibetans were on the move in the thicket and villages when we arrived near the scene. Subadar Sangat Singh, with fifteen men, went up the right bank of the river, and the rest of us, with about twenty men, went along the left bank. The Tibetans, seeing the tables were turned, on feeling our heavy fire began to make themselves scarce. They were driven out of two villages and the thicket on the left bank, only to be caught by the Subadar and his men coming up the right bank. There was no rest for them now, and they began to scatter and hide themselves where they could. About twenty or thirty of them, being hard pressed, took up a position in a large house with a parapeted roof made up of sods and brushwood and started firing, as they intended to give battle. The challenge was accepted at once, and the attack commenced. We got up under the walls without anyone being hit, thanks to the large interval between men. There was only one door to the house, and we could not get in that way as they were shooting out of it really well. Lieutenant Hodgson and four or five other men looked after the door, and with their bayonets made a hole in the wall and fired into the house, while the rest set fire to the brushwood on the roof and went round the house to try to break an entrance. A small hole was found in the wall, and as a Sepoy went up to it a Tibetan made a vigorous sword-thrust at him through the hole, and just missed him. The Sepoy put his rifle barrel into the hole and commenced magazine fire, which must have been very unpleasant for those inside… The men were being collected on the roof to jump down into the open space inside the house, when orders were received from Colonel Brander to retire as it was growing late and darkness was falling. Just at that moment about 500 more Tibetans were seen collecting in the hills some distance off. Much to the regret of all we had to leave our job unfinished and return to the post.

Relying on our ponies to get away sharp, we stayed as long as possible, and to our surprise, when we did want to go, we found that the dismounted mail escort had followed us up on foot, including the two wounded men, who had walked and crawled along for about two miles. The affair now became a rear-guard action, the body of Tibetans in the hills having come on. Lieutenant Ellias put one of the wounded men on his own horse, and took him back to the post himself. The other was put on a pony, and being held there by two men, was taken in, covered by the remainder of the men, who had to deliver a hot fire to keep the Tibetans off. We arrived at the post as it got dark without further casualties.'

Both Tilok Singh and Jhanda Singh were awarded the I.O.M. for this action. 26 I.O.M.'s were awarded for the Tibet Campaign.

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