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Auction: 19003 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 22

Indian Mutiny 1857-59, 2 clasps, Delhi, Lucknow (Serjt. Robt. Walker, 1st Eurn. Bengal Fusrs.), light contact marks, very fine

Robert Walker was born at Beith, Ayrshire in 1826. A baker by trade, he joined the Honourable East India Company's 1st Bengal Fusiliers on 11 March 1846. He served during the 1852-53 Burma campaign, receiving an India General Service Medal with clasp for 'Pegu'. His regiment was heavily involved in the suppression of the Indian Mutiny, taking part in the siege and recapture of Delhi. When Delhi was stormed on 14 September, the British force was deployed in five columns, each about 1,000 men strong. Walker's regiment was assigned to the 1st Column, led by the charismatic Brigadier-General John Nicholson. Its objective was the Kashmir Bastion, which had just been breached by British artillery. The 1st Bengal Fusiliers lost 51 officers and men during the assault, and Nicholson was mortally wounded.

After the siege, the regiment joined in the Second Relief of Lucknow as part of Sir James Outram's force. Walker was discharged, in the rank of Private, in October 1865, having completed just over 21 years' service. His intended place of residence was given as Wilson Street, Beith, Ayrshire. He had served as a Sergeant before the Mutiny, but three Courts Martial in subsequent years, each with short terms of imprisonment, had divested him of his stripes and precluded him from receiving a Long Service and Good Conduct Medal. The last charge was 'drunk on parade'. Receiving an army pension, he returned to Beith and set up a bakery. The 1881 census lists him as a 55 year old widower, living with a 10 year old son; sold with copied service papers and research.


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Sold for
£550

Starting price
£250