Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

The Defence of Chitral medal awarded to Sepoy Sultan Shah, a ‘fine old tracker’ and servant to Captain Campbell, who was severely wounded whilst bravely extinguishing the flames after the firing of the Gun-Tower by the enemy in March 1895

India General Service 1895-1902, 1 clasp, Defence of Chitral 1895 (Sepoy Sultan Shah, Gilgit Levy) suspension slack and polished, otherwise nearly very fine and rare £1800-2200

Ex Alan Wolfe Collection December 2005.

In spite of all the alertness displayed by the sentries (4th Kashmir Rifles) the enemy, on 7 April, after diverting the attention of the garrison by what was made to look like an attack on the water point, managed, with great pluck, to place large faggots and logs of wood in a pile against the corner of the gun tower and set fire to it. The tower was soon well on fire and blazing up on each of its sides.

‘The one facing the summer-house was the larger of the two, and looked big enough to have been going for hours. As there was no aperture on this side in the lower room, they had to fight it from the apartment above where the machicoulis gallery was situated. At the other side, looking straight down on to the garden, an enormous beam projected several feet from the window and on it a small waist-high barricade had been erected. From here the other fire was being fought by an elderly tracker and servant of Campbell’s called Sultan Shah who sat out on the beam and poured water and soil on the flames faster than he could get supplied. He had almost put the fire out when he was shot through the hip and arm and flopped across the beam in agony.’

The fire was finally put out at 10:00 hours that day. Altogether nine men were wounded whilst getting the fire under control, including Sepoys Rajab and Sultan Shah of the Gilgit Levy. One man later died of his wounds. The enemy tried to restart the fire in the gun tower during the following night but the sentries (now mostly 14th Sikhs) were alert this time and a fire alarm was sounded before the red hot ambers could light the bundle of faggots that had been placed next to them.

Garrison troops present at the defence of Chitral Fort: silver medals to 14 Sikhs (88); 4 Kashmir Rifles (300); Punyal and Gilgit Levies (100); bronze medals to camp followers (40).