June 2004 Medal Newsletter

Auction News
The July auction catalogue is now at the printers. The sale contains 781 lots, including 114 lots of militaria. First in order of precedence in the medals section comes the outstanding Victoria Cross Group to Subedar-Major and Honorary Captain Agansing Rai, 5 Gurkha Rifles. The details of this remarkable group, the first Gurkha V.C. to be offered at auction, are given below. Agansing Rai died in 2000 after a long battle with cancer, and the medals are to be sold for the benefit of charity, the proceeds going towards a planned Trust for Education and Healthcare in Nepal.

On the morning of 26 June during the Japanese Burma 1944 offensive, 5 Royal Gurkha Rifles (Frontier Force) was ordered to recapture two posts, known as Water Piquet and Mortar Bluff that had been taken by the Japanese with greatly superior forces.

'After a preliminary artillery concentration, the company went in to attack but on reaching a false crest about 80 yards from its objective, it was pinned down by heavy and accurate fire from a machine-gun in "Mortar Bluff" and a 37 millimetre gun in the jungle, suffering many casualties. Naik Agansing Rai, appreciating that more delay would inevitably result in heavier casualties, at once led his section under withering fire directly at the machine-gun and, firing as he went, charged the position, himself killing three of the crew of four. Inspired by this cool act of bravery the section surged forward across the bullet swept ground and routed the garrison under "Mortar Bluff".

This position was now under intense fire from the 37 millimetre gun in the jungle and from "Water Piquet". Naik Agansing Rai at once advanced towards the gun, his section without hesitation following their gallant leader. Intense fire reduced the section to three men before half the distance had been covered but they pressed onto their objective. Arriving at close range, Naik Agansing Rai killed three of the crew and his men killed the other two. The party then returned to "Mortar Bluff" where the rest of their platoon were forming up for the final assault on "Water Piquet". In the subsequent advance, heavy machine-gun fire and showers of grenades from an isolated bunker position caused further casualties. Once more, with indomitable courage, Naik Agansing Rai, covered by his Bren gunner, advanced alone with a grenade in one hand and his Thompson Sub-Machine gun in the other. Through devastating fire he reached the enemy position and with his grenade and bursts from his Thompson Sub-Machine gun killed all four occupants of the bunker.

The enemy, demoralized by this N.C.O.'s calm display of courage and complete contempt for danger, now fled before the onslaught on "Water Piquet" and this position too was captured.

Naik Agansing Rai's magnificent display of initiative, outstanding bravery and gallant leadership, so inspired the rest of the Company, that, inspite of heavy casualties, the result of this important action was never in doubt'.

After the war, Agansing Rai remained with his Regiment and transferred with it to the Indian Army after Independence in 1947. He served with the Indian contingent of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in the Congo 1962-63 before retiring in 1971 and returning to his home village. After a long battle with cancer he died in Kathmandu in May 2000. Agansing Rai's Victoria Cross group is estimated at £110,000-130,000.

Previous website newletters have given details of some of the other especially interesting lots. However there is much else in this sale catering for most collecting interests. Awards for gallantry range across all services and cover many different conflicts and theatres, for example among the Second World War items are an immediate Military Medal for Burma awarded to Sergeant R.C. Wherry, South Wales Borderers, who volunteered for a patrol to clear a Japanese MMG position and who during the charge on the enemy managed to kill three of them and rout the rest (estimate £1200-1500); a Bomber Command Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Force Cross group of seven to Flight Lieutenant J.F.W. Adams, RAFVR, who completed a very large number of sorties during which he attacked most of the enemy's heavily defended targets' (estimate £2500-3000); a Russian Convoy Distinguished Service Medal group of six to Temporary Leading Seaman G.E. Shepherd, Royal Naval Reserve (£1400-1800); and a 1942 Hong Kong Escape and Evasion Military Medal group of four to Private F.K. Jacobs, Royal Army Medical Corps (estimate £2500-3000). This latter item is one of several from the collection of Brigadier C.R. Templer DSO.

For campaign medal collectors wishing to complete gaps in their collections with good quality and interesting items, the sale closes with an excellent run of about 300 single campaign medals, opening with the classic Napoleonic era awards, by way of an India General Service Medal 1854-95 clasp Kachin Hills to Lieutenant W.H. Dent, 2 Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment, for the Victoria Cross action at Sima Post, through to awards for more recent conflicts including the Iraq War.

Our final sale of 2004 will take place on 4 November and we are currently taking in items for inclusion in this auction.

For further information, or if you are interested in consigning orders, decorations and medals to our November 2004 auction, please contact JOHN HAYWARD on 020 7563 4049 or RICHARD BISHOP on 0207 563 4053. Richard can also be contacted by email.

Catalogues
To take out an annual subscription for our auction catalogues, or to purchase catalogues individually, please contact Client Services on 020 7563 4089, or email catalogues@spink.com. A breakdown of charges is provided here.

Prices Realised
Click here to view the prices realised for the 30 May Auction

OMSA and OMRS Conventions
Representatives of Spink will again be attending the Convention of the Orders and Medals Society of America in Sacramento, August 2004 and the Convention of the Orders and Medals Research Society, London, September 2004. We look forward to meeting collectors at these two events. If you want to make a specific appointment then please contact us in advance to make the necessary arrangements.

Buying Medals on the Spink Website
We continue to offer more items for sale via our Website sales list. New items are added every few weeks. Please consult the site regularly so that you do not miss new items as the Website list is proving very popular.

Please note that items cannot be reserved and will remain on the site available for purchase until a firm sale has been completed.

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