Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Family Group:

Three: Private C. H. Bland, Royal Berkshire Regiment, who was killed in action on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, 1 July 1916
1914-15 Star (16936 Pte. C. H. Bland. R. Berks: R.); British War and Victory Medals (16936 Pte. C. H. Bland. R. Berks. R.) good very fine

Pair: Private W. A. Bland, Somerset Light Infantry
British War and Victory Medals (28856 Pte. W. A. Bland. Som. L.I.) mounted as worn, minor edge bruising, very fine

Pair: Private R. G. Bland, Lancashire Fusiliers, who was killed in action on the Western Front on 4 June 1918
British War and Victory Medals (62584 Pte. R. G. Bland. Lan. Fus.) very fine (7) £460-£550

Charles Henry Bland was born in Rugby, Warwickshire, and attested there for the Royal Berkshire Regiment. He served with the 2nd Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front from 30 June 1915, and was killed in action on the first day of the battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916, on which date the battalion was involved in the attack on Ovillers. Very early in the assault leading waves met tremendous machine gun and rifle fire, and by 9:00 a.m. over half the battalion had been lost. The Battalion withdrew that evening, having suffered 437 casualties. Bland has no known grave, and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, France.

Reginald George Bland was born in Rugby and attested there for the Lancashire Fusiliers. He served with the 16th Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front, and was killed in action on 4 June 1918. He is buried in Cabaret-Rouge British Cemetery, Souchez, France.