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Auction: 20002 - Orders, Decorations, Medals & Space Exploration
Lot: 597

The General Service Medal awarded to Private A. W. Bissett, Devon and Dorset Regiment, who was severely wounded in South Armagh on 18 November 1981, aged 18

General Service 1962-2007, 1 clasp, Northern Ireland (24538888 Pte A W Bissett D and D), good very fine

Andrew W. Bissett, a native of Churchill Road, Bideford, was born in 1963 and was wounded in action on 18 November 1981. The archivist at The Keep provided the following account of the action:

'Gunman firing from a van opened fire on a patrol, soldiers of B Company 1 Devon and Dorset, call sign 21B, six shots fired, one hitting an ammunition pouch of the Patrol Leader exploding the bullets in a magazine in the pouch, one shot hitting the rear man of the patrol, Pte A. Bissett, he was hit in the left thigh however the bullet travelled up to his abdomen and lodged there causing severe abdominal trauma. Andrew Bissett survived the attack and carried on his service with 1 D&D.'

That ambush at Crossmaglen also wounded a local farmer. Bissett was later given a 6-month suspended custodial sentence and £30 fine for his part in a pub brawl in Bideford in 1985. He died in April 2011; sold together with cap Badge, two photographs, newspaper cuttings and research.

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Sold for
£520

Starting price
£400