Awards to the Indian Army from the Collection of AM Shaw

A K.P.M. group of three awarded to Sepoy Sarmast Khan, N.W. Frontier Province Police

King’s Police Medal, G.V.R., 1st issue (Sarmast Khan, Sepoy, N.W. Frontier Prov. Pol.); India General Service 1908-35, 4 clasps, Afghanistan N.W.F. 1919, Waziristan 1919-21, North West Frontier 1930-31, Mohmand 1933 (27134 Sepoy Sar Mast, Fr. Constb.) clasps connected by wire; Jubilee 1935 (Jemadar Sarmast F.C.) very fine and better (3)
£400-450

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Awards to the Indian Army from the Collection of AM Shaw.

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K.P.M. Gazette of India 2 January 1922. ‘On the 16th April 1920 a party of 20 rifles under Jemadar Muhammad Azam left Draban escorting a telegraph construction party engaged in repairing the Draban-Domanda line. They were returning in the afternoon to Draban when they were ambushed by a party of 50 Wazir raiders some five miles out of Draban. The country is broken and lends itself readily to such an attack. Two non-commissioned officers and two sepoys of the advance guard were shot down in the first volley, the remaining sepoy Sarmast, though himself slightly wounded in the head, kept up a brisk fire and managed to keep the raiders at a distance. This plucky action undoubtedly saved the rifles of the four men killed from falling into the hands of the Wazirs before the main party of the Constabulary could engage the latter. The Constabulary then engaged the raiders, finally forcing them to withdraw, leaving their leader dead on the ground. Besides the four Constabulary casualties, two labourers were also killed. Sepoy Sarmast showed courage of a very high order and by his tenacity and gallantry was largely instrumental in averting a serious disaster.’