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Auction: 26003 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 298

(x) The M.S.M. group of three awarded to Sergeant T. Cowley, 14th (Buckinghamshire) Regiment of Foot, a skilled musician who later joined the Royal Hibernian Military School as a music teacher

Crimea 1854-56, 1 clasp, Sebastopol (Drum Majr Thos Cowley. 14th Regt.), contemporarily engraved naming, the clasp sometime repaired; Turkish Crimea 1854, Sardinian issue (1335 Sergt Thomas Cowley 1st 14 Regt.); Army Meritorious Service Medal, V.R. (Sergt. T. Cowley. late 1/14th Foot.), heavy contact wear and contact marks to campaign pair therefore nearly very fine, the last extremely fine (3)

Provenance:
Hayward's Gazette, April 1975.

Thomas Cowley was born at Marylebone in 1822 and attested with the 14th Regiment of Foot on 24 October 1836 at Wexford, Ireland as a Boy Soldier. The young Cowley appears to have had a great skill with music, soon being appointed Drummer with the Regiment, a skill he was to develop throughout his career. He was to see a good deal of service throughout his career, notably nine months in Malta, six months in the Crimea and a year in North America.

Having risen to be a Drum Major in the Crimea and later Sergeant Cowley was a perfect fit for the Royal Hibernian Military School. He was discharged from regular service on 26 November 1861 and settled in Dublin, teaching at the school, it was there that he was awarded his M.S.M. around 1885 along with a £10 annuity. Unfortunately for Cowley the award of this medal necessitated the return of his L.S. & G.C. as statutes at the time declared that one could not have both. He died in 1890, an event which made the newspaper. An obituary was published for him in The Carlisle Journal 3 June 1890, it states:

'Death of a Crimean Veteran in Carlisle.

Mr Thomas Cowley, a Crimean hero, died in Carlisle on Sunday, at the age of 67. He enlisted at the age of thirteen in the 1st Fourteenth (Prince of Wales's Own) Regiment, and being a skillful musician, was eventually promoted to the rank of drum-major. He accompanied his regiment to the Crimea, endured all the privations of the two years campaign, and was present at the siege of Sebastopol. He received a medal for meritorious service during the war [SIC], a clasp for Sebastopol, and the Turkish medal; and two years after peace was concluded he retired on an annuity, having seen twenty-two years' service. He then went to the Royal Hibernian Military School at Dublin, where he remained as Drum-major, training the pupils in music, until 1882, when he settled at Hereford, with his family. He came to Carlisle about two years ago, two of his sons, Messrs Henry and John Cowley, then becoming stationed here as members of the Ordnance Survey; and since the death of his wife several months ago, he has gradually declined in health, until a somewhat sudden collapse of his constitution brought about his death on Sunday. He was highly respected amongst the men of the regiment, and those with whom he came in contact in Dublin military circles; and had made many friends in Carlisle, especially among the members of the congregation of St. John's Church'

Sold together with copied research.

Subject to 5% tax on Hammer Price in addition to 20% VAT on Buyer’s Premium.

Estimate
£400 to £500

Starting price
£320