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

A good Great War ‘Gallipoli’ D.C.M. group of five awarded to Sergeant R. W. Gill, 6th Battalion, Manchester Regiment, who at 56 years of age must have been one of the oldest soldiers to have won this decoration

Distinguished Conduct Medal, G.V.R. (370 Sjt., 6/Manch. R.-T.F.); 1914-15 Star (370 Sjt., Manch. R.); British War and Victory Medals (370 Sjt., Manch. R.); Territorial Force Efficiency Medal, G.V.R. (370 Sjt., 6/Manch. Regt.); together with a silver regimental prize medal for shooting, hallmarks for 1913, reverse inscribed ‘Major Westmacotts Medal, 1913, Sergt. R. W. Gill’; Manchester Regiment cap badge; and an original photograph including recipient, very fine or better (7) £1200-1500

D.C.M. London Gazette 21 June, 1916: ‘For conspicuous good work with machine guns on several occasions, despite his 56 years he has done great execution among the enemy.’

Sold with a copy of a contemporary newspaper report which gives the following details:

‘Staff Sergeant Gill was in charge of a machine gun section in an action in the Gallipoli Peninsula on June 4 last year, when the 6th performed a wonderful charge, sweeping the strongly entrenched Turks out of their positions. With three machine guns, the Sergeant’s section pushed forward, in spite of a heavy fire, taking up positions as they proceeded to cover the advance of the battalion. They lost two gunners killed and four others seriously wounded, but the rest of the men held on, and as the battalion went forward, took up a position in the furthest captured trench. For three days the Turks counter-attacked fiercely, and during the whole of this time the sergeant and his gunners held on to their posts, and succeeded in repelling the enemy with great loss. Subsequent to the action in which he won his medal he had the misfortune to be shot in the face in Gallipoli, and unfortunately lost the sight of one eye, and had his left jawbone fractured.’