Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Indian Mutiny 1857-59, no clasp (J, Bennett, A,B, In. Nl. Bde. H.M.P.V. Calcutta) good very fine, rare to vessel £700-£900

Captain K. J. Douglas-Morris Collection, Dix Noonan Webb, October 1996.

John Bennett served with No. 4 Brigade, which reached Dacca in August 1857 and was comprised of men from the Indian Navy ships Punjaub and Clive. They witnessed hard fighting and the defeat of rebellious sepoys on 22 November 1857, where Midshipman Arthur Mayo of the Indian Navy charged down two six-pounders which were keeping up a heavy fire; Mayo was subsequently awarded the Victoria Cross.

Note: Her Majesty’s Pendant Vessel Calcutta was a small cutter used by the Naval Brigades for administrative purposes, with men such as Bennett borne on the books of this vessel. Of the 14 Indian Naval Brigades that were eventually formed, only 3, 4 and 7 Brigades qualified for the Indian Mutiny Medal.