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Auction: 22001 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 395

An early Great War D.C.M. awarded to Corporal R. Stead, Machine Gun Corps, late 1st Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment, for his selfless heroics when a rogue grenade threatened to destroy his dugout

Distinguished Conduct Medal, G.V.R. (9896 L. Cpl. R. Stead. 1/W. York: Regt); 1914 Star (9896 Pte R. Stead. 1/W. York:R.); British War and Victory Medals (9896 Cpl. R. Stead. W.York.R.), pitting, edge bruising and contact marks, nearly very fine (4)

D.C.M. London Gazette 30 June 1915, the original citation states:

'For conspicuous courage and resource displayed when one of a basket of six bombs became ignited in his dug out, in extracting it and throwing it over the parapet, when it immediately exploded in the air, the fuse being only a five-seconds one.'

Robert Stead was born in 1893 and joined the West Yorkshire Regiment on 14 February 1913 while living in Bradford, Yorkshire. He entered the conflict in France on 8 September 1914 (clasp) and served in a number of battles, notably the Battle of the Aisne, Hooge and later the First Battle of Ypres where he faced a gas attack and is noted as having been wounded. After his act of Gallantry Stead was again wounded, this time in the hand by shrapnel in December 1915. His marriage to Evelyn Blackband was reported in the Yorkshire Evening News on 22 August 1916, in which he was described as 'one of the first Leeds D.C.M. winners'. Stead continued to serve until the end of the war, seeing service during the North Russia Expedition in 1919. Transferring to the Machine Gun Corps he later joined Section 'B', Army Reserve on 18 May 1920; sold together with copied research including Yorkshire Evening News, National Roll of the Great War and London Gazette entries as well as M.I.C., medal rolls and polling data.

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Sold for
£950

Starting price
£1000