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Auction: 24113 - Orders, Decorations and Medals - e-Auction
Lot: 100

The Afghanistan 1878-80 Medal awarded to possible Battle of Maiwand survivor Private T. Biddlecombe, 66th Regiment of Foot

Afghanistan 1878-80, no clasp (1777. Pte. T.Biddlecombe. 66th Foot.), nearly extremely fine

Thomas Biddlecombe was born on 1 June 1854 in Marchwood, Southampton and attested with the 66th (Berkshire) Regiment of Foot at Aldershot on 16 December 1872 after working as a bricklayer. He embarked for India in January 1875 to join his Regiment at Belgaum. A few years later in 1878, he extended his length of service to complete 12 years with the Colours.

The 66th Foot arrived in Kandahar on 25 March 1880 to join the Kandahar Field Force. That July, six companies of the Regiment later marched with General Burrows to the Helmand River from Kandahar to support the Wali against Ayub Khan. On 14 July at Girishk, Burrows ordered the 66th Foot to clear the Helmand Valley in his pursuit of the Wali, who had mutinied to join Ayub Khan's army. The next day, they began the march to intercept Ayub Khan, coming to a head on 27 July at the Battle of Maiwand. The 66th faced devastating losses on the battlefield, with over three hundred regimental casualties. Biddlecombe is listed on the medal roll as having been on 'Duty in Fort' at Kandahar during the Battle of Kandahar on September 1. As such, he was either one of the survivors of Maiwand, or did not participate in the Battle and was left behind.

One month later, the 66th Foot left Afghanistan to return to India, but did not stay long and returned to England early in the new year on 19 January 1881. Biddlecombe appears on the 1881 census as a soldier at the military barracks at Parkhurst on the Isle of Wight. He was discharged the next year at Gosport on 1 August 1882, being medically unfit for further service for unknown reasons. At some stage Biddlecombe was married, and is recorded in the 1901 census as living with his wife and their three children at Colbury, Hampshire. The 1911 census reveals Biddlecombe, a married 58-year-old gardener, as living in West Cowes on the Isle of Wight; sold together with copied research.

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Sold for
£350

Starting price
£140