Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

China 1857-60, 2 clasps, Taku Forts 1860, Pekin 1860 (Henry Pollett, 1st. Dragn. Gds.) officially impressed naming, edge nick, nearly extremely fine £500-£700

Henry Pollett attested for the 1st Dragoon Guards and served with them in China during the Second Opium War. He was mortally wounded in the Regiment’s famous charge on 21 September 1860, during the advance to Pekin, and subsequently died of his wounds.

Sidney Herbert, in reporting the charge to the Queen, wrote:
‘The charge of the King’s Dragoon Guards was an act of horsemanship most remarkable. The Tartars were posted on an elevated mound with a deep ditch in front, and the horse had not only to clear the ditch, but also to lead up the height at the same time. Only one man was unhorsed. The Sikh cavalry tried to do it, but upwards of 30 saddles were immediately empty. On looking at this and another obstacle with a deep drop, which the KDG passed, Grant says it is impossible to conceive how cavalry could do it.’

Sold with copied research.