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Auction: 19001 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 376

(x) A notable 'Capture of the Quarries' group of five to Lieutenant-Colonel James Villiers, 47th Foot, severely wounded while leading a select group of his Regiment in the successful assault on 7 June 1855.

Crimea 1854-56, 3 clasps, Alma, Inkermann, Sebastopol (Capt. James Villiers, 47th Regt.), contemporarily engraved in ornate serif capitals; France, Legion of Honour, 5th Class breast Badge, silver, gold centre and enamel; Turkey, Order of the Medjidie, 5th Class breast Badge, silver, gold and enamel, suspension refitted; Italy, Sardinia, Al Valore Militare (Bt. Lt. Coll. James Villiers. 47th Regt.), officially engraved; Turkish Crimea, Sardinian issue, the second with minor enamel loss, generally very fine (5)

Legion of Honour London Gazette 4 August 1856.

Order of the Medjidie London Gazette 2 March 1858.

Citation for the Al Valore Medal reads:

'Lieutenant-Colonel James Villiers served the Eastern Campaign of 1854-5, including the Alma, Inkermann, sortie on the 26th of October 1854, the whole of the siege of Sebastopol, and was engaged in the attack and capture of the Quarries on the 7th of June 1855.'

James Villiers was born in 1820. An Ensigncy in the 47th (Lancashire) Regiment of Foot was purchased for him on 31 December 1839, and he served in the West Indies between February 1841 and December 1843. He advanced to Lieutenant and Captain, also by purchase, on 24 September 1841 and 24 December 1847. From 1850 the Regiment was stationed at Corfu, then still under British protection. Embarking for Malta in the summer of 1853, the 47th joined the force being assembled for the Crimea and were assigned to Adams's Brigade of De Lacy Evans's 2nd Division. At the Battle of the Alma he took part in the advance on Telegraph Hill.

At the Battle of Inkermann on 5 November, the 47th Foot, commanded by Major Fordyce, held the extreme left of the British position on Home Ridge, overlooking the Mikriakoff Glen. This feature jutted into the British flank, providing covered access for an attacking force. When General Soimonoff's Division attacked the British left at 7 a.m., the 1st Battalion, Katherinberg Regiment charged wildly towards the 47th. Major Fordyce calmly ordered his men to open fire at less than fifty yards' range (Mercer 1998, 88). Each Minie round tore into the dense Russian column, which shuddered and broke under well-directed British volleys. Unlike some other Regiments, the 47th showed admirable discipline and did not pursue their fleeing enemy.

Promoted to Major on 4 May 1855, Villiers commanded a select group of the 47th which formed part of the 400-strong storming party that attacked the Quarries - an outerwork guarding the approach to the Redan - on 7 June. Avoiding the deadly fougasses to their front, the stormers attacked the flanks of the Quarries and took the Russians by surprise, forcing them back to the Redan and inflicting over 100 casualties. Singled out for praise in Lord Raglan's despatch, Villiers led from the front and was severely wounded during the assault (London Gazette, 21 June 1855). Though the 47th sustained losses of 3 officers and 57 men wounded, the success of the operation came after six bleak months of stalemate and lifted the morale of the British army (Pemberton 1962, 190). With the Redan now unprotected, Captain Hibbert of the 7th Fusiliers wrote excitedly to his sister:

'Johnny Russ is done for.'

Villiers was breveted Lieutenant-Colonel on 17 July 1855. He was awarded the 5th Class of the Legion of Honour and of the Medjidie, in addition to the Sardinian Medal for Valour. He remained at Malta until 15 June 1858, when placed on Half Pay. On returning to England he married Lucy Elizabeth Drummond Davies, the third and youngest daughter of Lady Lucy Clementina, sister of George Drummond, 14th Earl of Perth and 6th Duke of Melfort. They had one daughter, Clementina Georgina Lucy Drummond Villiers Dyer-Edwardes.

Returning to active duty, Villiers was appointed to command the 74th Highlanders on 14 November 1859, during the aftermath of the Indian Mutiny. He died at Belasse, India on 10 May 1860. His wife remarried on 10 August 1865 and became a prominent children's writer, authoring the verses for Kate Greenaway's popular Birthday Book for Children (1880); sold with copied research and London Gazette entries.

Reference works:

Mercer, P., Give Them a Volley and Charge! The Battle of Inkermann, 1854 (Staplehurst, 1998).
Pemberton, W. B., Battles of the Crimean War (London, 1962).






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