Beschreibung:

(x) Sold by Order of a Direct Descendant 'You must have herd that my Regiment the 1st Devons wone a great name that any man could be proud of for the Boers made an attack on Ladysmith town and we had a fight for 17 hours without stopping and we were nearly all worne out and Sir George White sent for the Devon regiment to come and reinforce Waggon Hill … and Colonel Iron Ameralton (Ian Hamilton said nothing will shift the devels only a bayonet charge and he said you are good at charging, Devons, and I want you to charge these devels out, and if you do I will never forget you.' A letter written by Drummer Boulden of the 1st Devons, refers; spelling and grammar as per original. A rare and impressive Great War M.C., Boer War D.C.M. group of eleven awarded to Q.M. & Hon. Captain S. Downing, Devonshire Regiment He served for 36 years with the Devons and, on his death in 1925, was the regiment's last serving survivor of the famous Ladysmith action at Wagon Hill: his D.C.M. almost certainly reflected gallant conduct on that memorable occasion Appointed Quarter-Master to the 1st Battalion on the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914, he quickly saw action in France and Belgium and was wounded near Zillebeke in the Ypres salient in the following year. He remained on active service until the war's end, including service in Italy, and was awarded a well-merited M.C. Military Cross, G.V.R., unnamed as issued, with its case of issue; Distinguished Conduct Medal, V.R. (2689 Serjt. S. Downing, 1st Devon Regt.); India General Service 1854-95, 1 clasp, Burma 1889-92 (2689 Pte. S. Downing, 2d Bn. Devon Regt.); India General Service 1895-1902, 2 clasps, Punjab Frontier 1897-98, Tirah 1897-98 (2629 Lce. Sergt. S. Downing, 1st Bn. Devon Regt.), note number; Queen's South Africa 1899-1902, 3 clasps, Elandslaagte, Defence of Ladysmith, Belfast (2689 Sgt. S. Downing, Devon Regt.); King's South Africa 1901-02, 2 clasps, South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902 (2689 Serjt. S. Downing, Devon Regt.); 1914 Star (Hon. Lieut. & Q.M. S. Downing, Devon Regt.); British War and Victory Medals, M.I.D. oak leaf (Q.M. & Major S. Downing); Coronation 1911; Army L.S. & G.C., E.VII.R. (2689 C. Sjt. S. Downing, Devon Regt.), together with Queen Mary's Christmas 1914 tin, the earlier awards with contact marks and edge bruising, thus nearly very fine or better (11) M.C. London Gazette 1 January 1918. D.C.M. London Gazette 27 September 1901. Sidney Downing was born in 1870, the son of R. W. Downing, formerly schoolmaster, Royal Marines, and enlisted in the Devonshire Regiment in 1889. Embarked for India, he quickly saw active service in Burma in 1891 (Medal & clasp), and on the North-West Frontier with the Tirah Field Force (Medal & 2 clasps). The Charge of the 1st Devons at Wagon Hill It was, however, for his gallant service in the Boer War that he won his D.C.M. That distinction likely stemmed from his part in the famous bayonet charge of the 1st Devons at Wagon Hill during the defence of Ladysmith: 'January 6th was to become a famous day in the Battalion's history. On that day the Boers launched a determined attack on the two tactical vantage points at Caesar's Camp and Wagon Hill, a flat-topped hill running east and west on the south side of the township. The Boers had crept up at first light, reaching the edge of the crest. Heavy fighting ensued with losses on both sides. At 4 p.m. Lieutenant-Colonel Park, commanding the 1st Devons, received orders to take his three remaining companies to the assistance of Colonel Ian Hamilton who was struggling to hold his position on Wagon Hill. The Devons were on the move within 10 minutes and reached Wagon Hill in a thunder storm at around 5 p.m. Here they learnt that around 50 Boers were holding a small ridge about 100 yards directly in front of the British line. They were expert shots and were forcing Hamilton's men to remain under cover. Hamilton and Park agreed that the only way to dislodge them was by bayonet. "Can you do it