Orders, Decorations and Medals

An important D.S.O., O.B.E. group of five awarded to Colonel E. E. 'Bullfrog' Wilford, commanding 13th (Barnsley Pals) Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment, on 1 July 1916

Distinguished Service Order, G.V.R., complete with top bar; The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, O.B.E. (Military) Officer’s 2nd type breast badge, silver-gilt, hallmarks for London 1919; 1914 Star, with copy clasp (Major E. E. Wilford, 30th Lancers); British War Medal 1914-20 (Lt. Col. E. E. Wilford); Victory Medal 1914-19, with M.I.D. oak leaf (Maj. E. E. Wilford) mounted for display, good very fine (5) £2400-2800

D.S.O. London Gazette 1 January, 1917.

O.B.E. London Gazette 3 June, 1919.

M.I.D. London Gazette 4 January 1917.



Edmund Ernest Wilford was the son of Colonel Edmund Percival Wilford, late Gloucestershire Regiment. He was educated at Clifton College. He joined the East Yorkshire Regiment as 2nd Lieutenant in 1896 and transferred to the Indian Army two years later. He served as a Major and Squadron Commander, 30th Lancers (Gordon's Horse) with the Indian Corps in France 1914. On 11 November 1915, Wilford was given command of the new raised Barnsley Pals Battalion of the York and Lancaster Regiment. The Pals had finished their training in England and Wilford was to lead them to action in France where they were to suffer enormous casualties, especially on the first day of the battle of the Somme. He was to become respected by the men for his no-nonsense approach and his willingness to see for himself how things were going at the sharp end of operations. He was known amongst the men as 'Bullfrog' and from Brigade Headquarters earned the nickname of 'The Swashbuckler.' After the disaster on the Somme Lieutenant-Colonel Wilford sent the following letter back to Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Hewitt:

‘France 11th July, 1916.’
‘ My Dear Hewitt, The 13th Y & L have covered themselves with glory, and you who raised the Battalion should indeed be pleased. They have added a page to history. The way the Regiment advanced through an intense artillery barrage and machine gun fire to the attack equals any deed done in the War. No faltering or wavering, each man pressing on to his objective as steadily as if on parade. Our casualties were very heavy, but we have the consolation they feel in the hour of victory. I would like you to let the people of Barnsley know that every lad who fought that day was a hero. The Battalion has been congratulated by many - the Corps Commander, the Divisional General, and by our Brigadier on its gallantry, and I am the proudest man in France.'

Wilford was mentioned in despatches and awarded the D.S.O. in January 1917, and was wounded by an exploding shell in May of the same year. His D.S.O. was almost certainly in recognition of his services on the Somme. He saw out the last days of the war with the Royal Defence Corps in his old rank of Major, for which service he was awarded the O.B.E. in 1919.