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Auction: 19002 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 802

The rare Defence of the British Legion at Addis Ababa 1936 Medal awarded to Sepoy R. Singh, 5-14th Punjab Regiment

Defence of the British Legation 1936, Addis Ababa, large silver medal, obverse struck with the inscription ‘PRESENTED TO THE BRITISH LEGATION GUARD BY THE BRITISH COMMUNITIES AT ADDIS ABABA TO COMMEMORATE SERVICES RENDERED 2ND TO 6TH MAY 1936’; the reverse struck with an Arabic inscription and additionally engraved with recipient’s details ‘4270 SEP RAM SINGH.’, 53mm, silver, with ring for suspension, good very fine, rare

Approximately 156 of these medals were awarded to members of the British Legation Guard.

In January 1936, Italian forces advanced rapidly towards Addis Ababa, as part of Mussolini's bid to forge a new Roman Empire. The Emperor Haile Selassie fled the capital, giving orders that the contents of his palace should be distributed among the people. A free-for-all ensued as law and order broke down, and large armed gangs roamed the streets of the Ethiopian capital. They included policemen and soldiers whose officers had fled with the Emperor.

Major Charter commanded the British Legation Guard, and had spent weeks preparing for this scenario. Trenches were dug around the Legation buildings, and fields of fire cleared of vegetation. Arms and ammunition were distributed to the almost defenceless American, Japanese and German Legations, just as during the Boxer Rebellion. On 2 May, frightened European, Indian and Somali civilians came flooding into the British compound as the Italians drew near. The British troops established a refugee camp for 3,000 people, with cooking facilities, water supplies and latrines. They bravely repelled an attack by the leaderless Abyssinian Imperial Guard, and held the compound until the arrival of Italian forces on 6 May. The majority of the military personnel, including Lance-Daffadar Bakhshish Singh, belonged to the 5-14th Punjab Regiment, but there were, in addition, one Duffadar and 8 Sowars of the 8th Light Cavalry, and four members of the Indian Medical Service; sold with copied research.

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Sold for
£1,500