Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

General Service 1918-62, 1 clasp, Palestine (6285786. Pte. E. T. Ellender. The Buffs.) some minor marks, otherwise extremely fine £160-£200

Lance-Corporal Ernest Thomas Ellender, 1st Battalion, The Buffs, was killed in action in the defence of Point 204, Western Desert of North Africa, on 15 December 1941, aged 24, and is commemorated by name on the Alamein Memorial.

In December 1941 the 1st Buffs captured Point 204, which Rommel considered to be a key position, and by holding on to it disrupted Rommel's plans and subsequently caused him to fall back beyond Benghazi. On 15 December Rommel’s attacking force, the Ariete and the 15th Panzer Division, with the 8th Bersaglieri Regiment and the 115th Lorried Infantry Regiment, overran The Buffs and its supporting elements during the afternoon. In the fierce and determined fighting the Buffs lost over 1,000 men killed or captured with only 71 men and a battery of field artillery escaping.