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Auction: 23112 - Orders, Decorations and Medals - e-Auction
Lot: 692

Sold by Order of a Direct Descendant

A Great War M.M. group of four awarded to Sergeant A.E. Campion, 6th Battalion The Queen's Regiment

Military Medal, G.V.R. (558 Sjt: A.E. Campion. 6/The Queen's R.); 1914-15 Star (G-558 Pte A.E. Campion. The Queen's R.); British War and Victory Medals (G-558 Sjt. A.E. Campion. The Queen's R.), one or two very minor edge knocks, otherwise about extremely fine (4)

M.M. London Gazette 2 April 1918.

Alfred Ernest Campion was born in Godalming, Surrey, in 1895 and served with the 6th (Service) Battalion The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) in France from 1 June 1915. Promoted Sergeant by war's end, he was discharged to the 'Class Z' Reserve on 8 May 1919.

By family repute, Campion earned his Military Medal for a specific act of bravery which is related by the recipient's grandson:

'Their orders, for that particular time, were to take a small hill that was occupied by enemy artillery, which were a persistent nuisance to further operations. As these artillery installations were of high value to the Germans, they were often well-protected by machine-gun posts, usually on either flank. These machine guns were holding up proceedings and also were causing many casualties; my grandfather could see what was happening and, in an act of bravery and complete disregard for self-preservation, ran round the side of the hill undetected for most of the way, until he reached the top. Here he found one of the machine-gun posts: two of the occupants ran away, and grandfather single-handedly, with whatever means at his disposal, dispatched the officer and the two operators of the gun, leaving that particular side of the hill open to make headway for the battalion to proceed no longer under fire from that sector.
I asked him how he worked out which of the enemy to take down first. He replied: "That was easy! The two that ran away were no threat to me, as they were more scared of me than I was of them. Secondly, the two operating the machine gun were unarmed so my prime objective was the officer who had a holster and was armed." I asked him how he felt after he had done this and his reply was simple: "Somebody had to do something." Campion subsequently lived to the grand old age of 93.

Sold together with the following personal archive:

(i)
An album containing a number of items of ephemera relating to the recipient's war service, including 75 postcards, 12 silk postcards, 44 black-and-white photographs (most of the recipient in uniform, identified, including two of a medal parade, likely when Campion received his decoration) and five further personal papers, including an extract from Battalion Orders noting the recipient's award of the Military Medal and a Twelfth Division 'Distinguished Conduct' card.

(ii)
The recipient's regimental cap badge and a ring bearing the regimental crest.

(iii)
A commemorative military spoon and a watch-chain bearing various 'lucky charms' and a self-propelling pencil.


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Sold for
£900

Starting price
£210