Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

The important Ghuznee Medal awarded to Major-General George Mein, 13th Light Infantry, who was severely wounded in Afghanistan during the operations in the Kurd Kabul Pass, before leaving Kabul with General Elphinstone’s Force during the notorious ‘retreat from Kabul’ in January 1842 - captured by the Afghans at Tazeen on 8 January, he remained as one of the ‘Kabul Captives’ until freed in September 1842, on which occasion he tried to save the life of the wounded Lieutenant Sturt, by dragging him the last few miles from captivity into Jellalabad, being mentioned by Sir Robert Peel in the House of Commons, and being voted a pension for his gallantry

Ghuznee 1839, unnamed as issued, with contemporary ‘Officer’s variety’ silver split ring and straight bar suspension, good very fine £3,000-£4,000

George Mein was born in 1817, son of Colonel J. A. Mein, late 74th Foot. He entered the 13th Light Infantry as an Ensign in June 1835, becoming Lieutenant in April 1839, and served with them through the rigours of the Afghan War of 1839-42. He was present with the 13th at the siege and storming of Ghuznee in July 1839 - for which he received his only campaign medal. However, his military career was far more interesting than his single medal might imply. After serving in a number of engagements with the 13th, Lieutenant Mein was wounded in action in the Kurd Kabul pass on 12 October 1841, when he was struck in the middle of the forehead by a bullet. Since he could not proceed with his regiment, he was sent to hospital in Kabul where it was confidently expected that he would die from the effects of what was an appalling head wound. Instead, he survived to become caught up in the epic and disastrous 'Retreat from Kabul' in January 1842. The story of that catastrophe - one of the greatest defeats a British army has ever suffered - has been recounted many times. George Mein was one of the lucky few who were actually taken alive by the Afghans, in his case at Tezeen on 8 January, and he became one of the small and celebrated band of British prisoners who endured a long and fraught captivity before being released in September 1842. It is recorded that George Mein escorted Lady Sale back to the fortress of Jellalabad, where her husband, Sir Robert, had conducted a gallant defence, and that for the last few miles of the journey, George had dragged the severely wounded Lieutenant Sturt in a blanket. Unfortunately, Sturt died of his injuries, but George Mein was personally commended in a speech in the House of Commons by the Prime Minister, Sir Robert Peel, and was awarded a special pension for his bravery. George Mein's later career saw no further excitement on this scale; he rose steadily in rank to become a Colonel in 1870 and a Major General in 1878, but much of his later career was spent as the commander of various Depots and was for a time Deputy Judge Advocate at Manchester. George Mein died at his home in St Leonard's-on-Sea in 1896.

Sold with the following archive:
i) Three original letters, two from Kabul in 1840 written to his brother then serving in Burma, closely cross-written in the style of the time, and being extremely rare surviving artefacts from the British occupation of Kabul.
ii) A small pocket notebook kept by Mein as a captive of the Afghans, with fine drawings of the leading figures in the affair &c.
iii) A leather telescope or map case that belonged to Mein in India.
iv) An original contemporary length of Ghuznee medal riband.
v) A transcript of Mein’s diary that he kept whilst in captivity; together with a copy of the book Lady Sale by Patrick Macrory; a copy of the book On Service in India: The Mein Family Photographs 1870-1901, edited by Peter Duckers; and copied research.