Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A fine M.S.M. group of four awarded to Sergeant J. W. Reardon, Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry, who was wounded in action during the Great War and later bore witness to the aerial engagements in the skies above Sussex during the summer of 1940

War Medal 1939-45; Jubilee 1935, unnamed as issued; Army Meritorious Service Medal, G.VI.R., 3rd issue (5429385 Sjt. J. W. Reardon. D.C.L.I.); Army L.S. & G.C., G.V.R., 3rd issue, Regular Army (5429385 Sjt. J. W. Reardon. D.C.L.I.) minor edge nicks, good very fine (4) £200-£240

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, A Collection of Medals to the 46th Foot and its Successor Units.

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James William Reardon was born in Islington on 22 March 1896. A builder’s labourer by trade, he attested at Curragh Camp for the 3rd Battalion, Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry on 25 May 1913 and served in France from 6 March 1915. Wounded in the left shoulder on 28 April 1915, Reardon transferred to the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force on 27 November 1915 and was raised Lance Corporal on 24 May 1918. Reverted to Private at his own request in May 1920, he transferred to the 2nd Battalion, D.C.L.I. at Bodmin, and served in India from 8 January 1929 to October 1935; his Army Service Record around this time notes attendance at numerous courses including trooping duties and chemical warfare school.

Confirmed as entitled to the 1935 Jubilee Medal, Reardon returned home to England and was discharged at his own request at Chisledon in January 1936. Remaining in the Army Reserve, he took employment as a postman in Fulham and served for two years with the 8th (Home Defence) Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment, during the Second World War; his first posting was to Shoreham Airport on 8 June 1940, just a month before the opening phase of the Battle of Britain. Awarded the LSGC Medal per Army Order 72 of 1935 and an annuity M.S.M., Reardon died alone in consequence of acute pneumonia. According to his death certificate, his body was found in a deserted air raid shelter off Camden High Street on 3 November 1960.

Sold with extensive copied research, including the recipient’s Army Service Record.