Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

India General Service 1895-1902, 1 clasp, Defence of Chitral 1895 (Sepoy Sultan Shah, Gilgit Levy) suspension slack and polished, otherwise nearly very fine and rare £1000-1200

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Collection of Medals formed by the late Alan Wolfe.

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Sepoy Sultan Shah was very severely wounded by a gunshot at Chitral Fort on 7 April 1895.

In spite of all the alertness displayed by the sentries (4th Kashmir Rifles) the enemy, on 7 April, after diverting the attention of the garrison by what was made to look like an attack on the water point, managed, with great pluck, to place large faggots and logs of wood in a pile against the corner of the gun tower and set fire to it. The tower was soon well on fire and blazing up. All men not on duty turned out to fight the fire with mud and water. Their work was greatly hindered by the strong wind that was fanning the fire, and the shower of bullets from the enemy positions outside the fort. The fire was finally put out at 1000 hours that day. Altogether nine men were wounded whilst getting the fire under control, including Sepoys Rajab and Sultan Shah of the Gilgit Levy. One man later died of his wounds. The enemy tried to restart the fire in the gun tower during the following night but the sentries (now mostly 14th Sikhs) were alert this time and a fire alarm was sounded before the red hot ambers could light the bundle of faggots that had been placed next to them.