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Auction: 22133 - Orders, Decorations and Medals - e-Auction
Lot: 1028

The Great War M.C. group of four attributed to Captain J. A. Wiseman, Welsh Guards, late Scots Guards, whose 'self-award' came after a good deal of contention with the War Office regarding his actual wartime service

Military Cross, G.V.R., the reverse engraved 'Capt. J. A. Wiseman Welsh Guards, 5th October 1917', with its case of issue; British War and Victory Medals (2. Lieut. J. A. Wiseman.); Territorial Force War Medal 1914-19 (1372 Sjt. J. A. Wiseman. R. Scots), polished overall, the naming somewhat worn but legible, very fine (4)

Provenance:
D.N.W. June 1994.

There is no evidence that the recipient was awarded the Military Cross at any time.

John Alexander Wiseman was born at Newington, Edinburgh in 1895 and worked as a surveyor. He also joined the 5th (Territorial Force) Battalion, The Royal Scots on 9 October 1912. Embodied for service on 5 August 1914 he was appointed Lance-Corporal after the outbreak of war on 10 October 1914.

Promoted Orderly Room Sergeant on 11 June 1915 Wiseman's service records states that he entered the war in France on 31 August 1916; unusually his M.I.C. tells a different story stating that his entry was in December 1916. Returning home for training as an Officer Cadet he was appointed 2nd Lieutenant with the Welsh Guards on 27 June 1917. Returning to France on 12 December 1917 with the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, Wiseman was not quick to endear himself to the unit. A letter from his Battalion commander to the Officer Commanding 3rd Guards Brigade states:

'[...] he is not only a bad example but a menace to his platoon.'

A response from General Matheson, commanding the Guards Division at the time, states:

'I consider that he is unfit to be an officer as he is absolutely unreliable. I do not recommend him to be employed as an officer in any capacity.'

Wiseman was dismissed from service although that did not end his entanglement with the War Office, as is displayed in a letter he wrote to them on 20 March 1919, in which he states that he would not agree to an interview on the ground that he had been demobilised. He further added that he had served ten weeks as an instructor to the newly-arrived American troops on the Front, and that he did not see how an incompetent officer would have been granted such a positon.

The drama went no further however, as Wiseman was to resign his commission with the Special Reserve on 30 March 1920 in a telegram sent from Kejang, Selangor, Malaya signed '2nd Lieut. J. A. Wiseman'. A Home Office receipt for this correspondence can be found referring to the sender as 'Sergeant J. Wiseman, The Royal Scots'; sold together with copied service records, M.I.C. and handwritten research as well as correspondence and extracts from relevant Army Lists.

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Sold for
£600

Starting price
£100