Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria, to include the Brian Ritchie Collection (Part I)

The Indian Mutiny and Second China War pair to Lieutenant F. A. Lawford, Hodson's Horse and 1st Sikh Cavalry

(a) Indian Mutiny 1857-59, 1 clasp, Lucknow (Lieut. F. A. Lawford, 2nd Regt. Hodson’s Horse)

(b) China 1857-60, 2 clasps, Taku Forts 1860, Pekin 1860 (Lieut. T. A. Lawford, 1st Regt. Sikh Cavy.) note error to first initial, generally good very fine and rare
£1400-1800

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Brian Ritchie Collection of H.E.I.C. and British India Medals.

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Frederick Alexander Lawford, the son of Major-General Edward Lawford, Madras Engineers, and his wife Diana, daughter of the Rev. Richard Smyth of Arcot, was born at Bangalore on 26 March 1832, and was educated at King’s College, London. He was admitted to the Service in July 1850 and was directed to do duty with the 33rd Bengal N.I. at Benares, before joining the 50th N.I. at Delhi. Following the mutiny of his regiment at Nagode on 27 August 1857, he was ordered to proceed to Cawnpore and report himself to the Assistant Adjutant General for general employment.

On 6 April 1858, he was ordered to do duty with Hodson’s Horse, and on the 11th he was detached with a squadron of the regiment and directed to join a force under Sir Hope Grant (qv), comprising 7th Hussars and 2nd Bn., Rifle Brigade, with the intention of attacking a body of rebels under the Maulvi of Faizabad at the village of Bari. Unfortunately the Maulvi caught wind of Hope Grant’s advance and retreated through Muhammadabad, Ramnagar and Bitauli. Finding all these places evacuated, Hope Grant led his force back to the Lucknow-Cawnpore road, where he encountered small pockets of resistance. For his services in these operations, Lawford was favourably mentioned in Hope Grant’s despatch of the 24th. In June Lawford was present at Hope Grant’s victory over a force of some 15,000 rebels at Nawabgunge, and on the 11th of that month he was appointed Assistant Baggage Master to the 2nd Cavalry Brigade.

Lawford subsequently took part in the relief of Semdulah, and was thus mentioned in Brigadier George Barker’s despatch of 9 October 1858: ‘Lieutenant Lawford, Hodson’s Horse, with a small detachment of his own regiment and a few Police Cavalry, accompanied the centre column, and did good service, cutting up some 150 of the enemy’ (London Gazette 31 January 1859).

In 1859 Lawford transferred to the 1st Sikh Cavalry (otherwise known as Wales’ Horse but soon renamed Probyn’s Horse), and served with it in 1860 under Sir Dighton Probyn, V.C. (qv) in the Second China War. Lieutenant Lawford died at sea aboard the Mauritius on 17 February 1861.

Ref: Hodson Index (NAM); IOL L/MIL/10/50; IOL L/MIL/10/65; IOL L/MIL/0/67; Hodson’s Horse (Cardew).