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Auction: 12002 - Orders, Decorations, Campaign Medals & Militaria
Lot: 181

Queen´s South Africa 1899-1902, two clasps, Cape Colony, Orange Free State (6296 Sgt. F.W. Shells, 34th Coy Imp: Yeo:), nearly very fine, with photographic image of recipient Estimate £ 250-300 6296 Sergeant Frederick Walter Shells, born Torquay, Devon; enlisted 34th (Middlesex) Company 11th Battalion Imperial Yeomanry, 30.12.1899; he was killed in action at Senekal, 25.5.1900; the 34th and the 35th Companies later formed the 11th Battalion which for the greater part of its campaigning was a part of the 17th Brigade commanded by Major-General Boyes; the 34th embarked on the White Star SS Cymric and arrived in South Africa 23.3.1900; after several reconnaissances in and around Ladybrand, Abram´s Kraal, Leeuwfontein and Pardevlei, the 34th Company was given the honour of being the advance guard in General Rundle´s advance towards Senekal; at 5.30am on the day of the advance Major H.S. Dalbiac set off with his sixty men (including Sergeant Shells) at the gallop at the head of the General´s force; by 10.00am Dalbiac´s party had come within sight of Senekal, however due to the arduous pace that had been set by the expert horseman, a number of his men were lagging behind; unsure whether the town was still in enemy hands, Dalbiac spurred on alone and demanded the town´s surrender; after questioning the inhabitants, he was left with the somewhat dissapointing news that the Boers had left earlier that morning; having returned to his waiting troops, he decided to enter and secure the town for General Rundle´s advance; whilst in the process of doing this the Yeomanry were fired upon from a Kopje overlooking the town; Dalbiac´s immediate reaction was to jump onto his horse and charge the uphill position; despite his horse falling twice during the ascent, he managed to get his men in a position to order the dismount; however, whilst calling for his Sergeant Major (Roller) he received a gun shot through the jugular and was fatally silenced mid call, ´He was a victim, as so many have been in this campaign, to his own proud disregard of danger´ (´The Great Boer War´, Conan Doyle, refers); his horse, also fatally wounded, in its panic rolled on top of the Major thus preventing his men from retrieving their commanding officer´s body; fewer than 30 men charged the uphill position,´most of the horses were shot. The Major was killed; he fell dead with a bullet through his neck. The rest lay on the ground, to make a fight and the best of a bad job. They had no cover, except the short grass, which was no protection. More men were wounded, and gallant young Deane, rising on his knee to take a good aim, was shot through the head, falling dead without uttering a sound. When Shells was shot he remarked it was hard luck being taken off before striking a single blow´. Extracts published in The Story of The 34th Company, I.Y. from Private F.J.B. Lee´s diary give the following, ´On reaching the top, which as usual, was flat and devoid of cover, I found the Major already up, with some half-dozen fellows, among whom was Sergeant Shells, who had his horse short under him, and who immediately afterwards was shot in the back´; the 34th Company suffered five killed, four wounded and thirteen taken prisoner as a result of the action; the rest of the party led by Sergeant Major Roller (later recommended for the Victoria Cross by General Rundle) managing to make it back to Rundle´s advancing troops. Provenance: Glendining, June 1996

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£650