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Auction: 19001 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 377

(x) An intriguing 'Capture of the Quarries' group of three to Lieutenant-General John Peel, late 34th Foot; severely wounded in the shoulder during the vital assault on 7 June 1855, he went on to become A.D.C. to Sir William Codrington, British Commander-in-Chief.

Crimea 1854-56, 1 clasp, Sebastopol (Major John Peel, 34th Regt.), officially engraved by Hunt & Roskell in large serif capitals, fitted with a Hunt & Roskell silver top riband buckle; Turkey, Ottoman Empire, Order of the Medjidie, 5th Class breast Badge, silver, gold and enamel, fitted with a silver-gilt top riband buckle; Turkish Crimea, Sardinian issue, privately manufactured by Hunt & Roskell, fitted with a silver top riband buckle, the first with light contact marks and some edge wear, very fine or better (3)

Order of the Medjidie London Gazette 2 March 1858.

John Peel was born on 11 April 1829 at Marble Hill, Twickenham, the fourth son of Lieutenant-General Jonathan Peel M.P., Surveyor-General of the Ordnance and later Secretary of State for War, and the nephew of Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel. His cousin, William Peel, commanded the Naval Brigade with great distinction during the Crimean War.

Peel was gazetted an Ensign to the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot, then based at Limerick, on 22 June 1847. He advanced to Lieutenant on 19 October 1849 and Captain on 25 November 1853. His Regiment arrived in the Crimean theatre on 9 December 1854, joining the Siege of Sebastopol.

Peel was mentioned in Lord Raglan's despatch as having 'highly distinguished himself' in the successful attack on the Quarries on 7 June 1855 (London Gazette, 28 June 1855). He bravely led picked men of the 34th over ground strewn with Russian fougasses, clearing a path to the Redan, and was severely wounded in the shoulder. Bitterly contested, the Quarries changed hands four times that night. His sister-in-law's memoirs, Recollections of Lady Georgiana Peel (1920), contain the following passage:

'John received a wound from which he never wholly recovered, his shoulder and neck being always stiff. While lying in great pain in the hospital, he received a letter from Queen Victoria, condoling with him on his wounds, and thanking him for his services. His cousin, Sir David Baird, who read it to him, was much touched at his saying, though scarcely able to speak, "Well, that seems to make it all worth while."'

Georgiana described Peel as extremely witty and engaging, 'the cheeriest person with the brightest blue eyes of anyone she ever saw.' He was breveted Major on 17 July 1855, receiving the 5th Class of the Order of the Medjidie. On New Year's Day 1856, he was appointed Aide de Camp to Sir William Codrington, Commander-in-Chief of British forces in the Crimea. For a young Brevet Major this was a remarkable coup, though family connections may have helped.

Peel then served as A.D.C. to the Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands, and as Assistant Military Secretary at Malta from 1864 to 1867. Returning to home service, he was promoted to Colonel on 16 March 1870 and on 1 May 1876 was appointed Quarter-Master General, Home District. He rose to the rank of Major-General on 11 July 1880. In 1885 he retired after 38 years' service with the rank of Lieutenant-General.

He lived between No. 9 Connaught Square, London, and Oak Cottage, Beaulieu Road, Lyndhurst, Hampshire. The 1891 census records him living alone, though with three servants, at Corfe Lodge, Wareham Road, Corfe Mullen, near Wimborne in Dorset. He died at Reculver Villa, near Herne Bay in Kent, on 17 November 1892; sold with a folder of copied research, extracts from Recollections and London Gazette entries.


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Sold for
£1,500