Orders, Decorations and Medals

The Indian Mutiny medal awarded to Private Alexander Ferris, 54th Regiment, a survivor of the 'Sarah Sands' Disaster

INDIAN MUTINY 1857-58, no clasp (Alexr. Ferris, 54th Regt.) co ntact marks therefore nearly very fine

The Sarah Sands, bound for India, with 368 officers and men of the 54th Regiment, together with women and children, a total complement of some 500 persons including the ships crew, sailed from Portsmouth on the 15th August, 1857. During the course of the voyage the crew became mutinous and many of them were locked in irons below deck. On the 7th November a squall carried away the foremost of the vessel's four masts but on the 11th a more serious disaster occurred when a fire broke out. The women and children were lowered in the boats to safety whilst the mutinous sailors deserted in the ship's long boat. The gallantry of the 54th, together with the petty officers and engineers who had remained on board, in fighting the fire and the subsequent powder explosion is a matter of record. Without loss of life, the Sarah Sands reached Port Louis, Mauritius, after being adrift for 12 days. Many soldiers had been terribly burned, their uniforms having been almost scorched from their bodies by the intense heat and flames of the fire. Of the original strength of the 54th only 151 remained fit enough to proceed to India and earn the medal for service during the Mutiny. Private Alexander Ferris, from Donaghadee, County Down, was one of this number, and continued to serve with the 54th until his discharge in May, 1876. He was also awarded the medal for long service and good conduct.