Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A ‘Civil Division’ B.E.M. group of ten awarded to Corporal, later Second Lieutenant, E. J. Bradshaw, Royal Engineers, who was one of the original ‘Chemical Soldiers’ of the Army’s Chemical Warfare Unit on the Western Front, and was wounded in action whilst present at the first British gas attack of Great War, at Loos on 25 September 1915. After service in the Second War, Bradshaw joined the Royal Observer Corps with whom he served as a Leading Observer at Dundrum, County Down

British Empire Medal, (Civil) E.II.R. (L/Obs. Eric Jean Bradshaw, Royal Observer Corps.); 1914-15 Star (106554. Cpl. E. J. Bradshaw, R.E.); British War and Victory Medals (2. Lieut. E. J. Bradshaw.); 1939-45 Star; Burma Star; Jubilee 1935; Coronation 1937; Royal Observer Corps Medal, E.II.R., 2nd issue (Leading Observer E. J. Bradshaw) mounted as originally worn, generally nearly very fine or better (10) £360-£400

B.E.M. London Gazette 10 June 1961 (Post 31/F.3, No. 31 Group, Royal Observer Corps, Dundrum, Co. Down).

Eric Jean Bradshaw was educated in Brussels and the Royal School, Dungannon. He attested for one of the Special Chemical companies of the Royal Engineers, with whom he served in the French theatre of war from August 1915. Bradshaw, one of the original Chemical Soldiers’ in the Army Chemical Warfare Unit, and was wounded in action whilst present at the first British gas attack of the Great War, at Loos on 25 September 1915. A letter, which was written by him to his father, as published in the Ballymena Observer, 8 October 1915, gives the following:

‘Mr. [James Moore] Bradshaw, school inspector, Broughshane Road, Ballymena, has received a letter from his son, Corporal Eric Jean Bradshaw, who is in a base hospital at Rouen, informing him that he has been wounded in the neck by a piece of shrapnel while in the trenches and again in the knee by a piece of high explosive shell while on his way to the rear.

Corporal Bradshaw joined the Chemistry Corps of the Royal Engineers only a few weeks ago. In his letter he states he was wounded on Saturday, September 25, and it took him six hours to get out of the communication trench when he was wounded again on the way out by a whizz-bang dozens of which were bursting all over the place.

Proceeding, he writes: ‘About eight o’clock I reached a field ambulance and was brought to a clearing hospital further back. I stopped there for a day and was shifted back further to a general hospital which, after our arrival, was converted into a clearing station so we had to go back further still. We stayed in that hospital for about two days and then were transferred to trains and brought here to Rouen. It was an awful journey and lasted over six hours. The train was not an ambulance train, just an ordinary French 3rd class ‘crawler’. I am writing this in the YMCA Hall. It is a grand place with books and papers and games. There are concerts occasionally and paper is provided for writing letters.

You will have seen in the papers that our attack was a great success. I saw them bringing in the prisoners - hundreds of them. Just opposite to where I was in the trench we captured 17 machine guns on a 22 yard front. It was a regular fort with bomb-proof shelters etc. The Germans thought it was impregnable.’

Bradshaw was commissioned Temporary Second Lieutenant attached the King’s Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment) in January 1917. After the war he returned to Northern Ireland, served during the Second War, and joined the Royal Observer Corps.