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Auction: 20002 - Orders, Decorations, Medals & Space Exploration
Lot: 684

The mounted group of six miniature dress medals worn by Lieutenant-Colonel G. L. Cattell, 1st Battalion, 7th Gurka Rifles

Distinguished Service Order, G.V.R., silver-gilt and enamel; Kaisar-I-Hind, G.V.R., 2nd class, silver; British War and Victory Medals, with M.I.D. oak leaves; General Service 1918-62, 1 clasp, Kurdistan; Coronation 1902, silver, mounted as worn, very fine (6)

D.S.O. London Gazette 26 May 1919:

'For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty at the Lesser Zab, 25th October 1918. In command of an advnaced guard he most skilfully reconnoitred, and then forced the Zab under heavy fire, finally seizing the enemy's position on the high ground on the high bank. His able dispositions and bold leadership enabled the objective to be taken with a minimum of losses.'

Kaisar-I-Hind London Gazette 1 January 1912.

Gilbert Lawdale Cattell was born in 1871 and was commissioned into the Middlesex Regiment in 1892 and appointed to the Indian Staff Corps for service with the 25th Madras infantry in 1895. In about 1902, the 2nd Battalion, Moplah Rifles replaced the 25th Madras Infantry and he accompanied the Indian Army Contingent to attend the Coronation of King Edward VII. The 2nd Battalion, Moplah Rifles were redesignated 78th Moplah Rifles in 1903 but as their service was deemed to be unsatisfactory and the Battalion disbanded in 1907. Cattell was transferred to the newly raised 7th Gurkha Rifles. For the next decade he was employed as a Cantonment Magistrate, during which time he was awarded the Kaisar-I-Hind 2nd Class for his services during a plague epidemic. He commanded the 1st Battalion, 7th Gurkha Rifles during the Mesopotamia Campaign 1917-18, for which he was awarded the D.S.O. and a 'mention', and subsequently in Kurdistan in 1919 for which he was wounded and again 'mentioned'. At the end of his command, he reverted to the Cantonment Magistrates Department in India and retired from the service in 1926. His full size medals are held by The Gurkha Museum.

Sold together with an archive of original documentation comprising:

(i)
The bestowal document for the Distinguished Service Order, together with a copy of its Statutes.

(ii)
Mention in desptaches certificate, dated 12 November 1919.

(iii
Casualty & Active Service Form.

(iv)
Portrait photograph.

(v)
Handwritten appraisal from General Sir George Barrow, G.O.C. Eastern Command, dated March 1926, housed in a file of copied research and extracts.

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Sold for
£320

Starting price
£110