Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Pair: Colour Sergeant L. Gooding, 46th Regiment of Foot, late Royal Regiment of Artillery, who was awarded the Medaille Militaire for ‘valour and noble daring’ in the peninsula trenches

Crimea 1854-56, 1 clasp, Sebastopol, this loose on riband (Color-Sergt. Leond. Gooding. 46th. Ft.) contemporarily engraved naming; France, Second Empire, Medaille Militaire, silver, silver-gilt and enamel, very fine, the latter rate to unit (2) £1,000-£1,400

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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Leonard Gooding was born in the village of Magdalen in Norfolk in 1816. A labourer, he attested for the 46th Regiment of Foot at Richmond Barracks, Dublin, on 27 November 1836 and later surrendered himself as a deserter from the Royal Artillery. Placed in confinement from 6 November 1839 to 5 January 1840, he was released back to the 46th Regiment of Foot, the recipient’s papers making plain that Horse Guards did not wish to claim him. Promoted Corporal 16 September 1842, his return to favour was marred by a three-week period of imprisonment in July 1845 in consequence of drunkenness, but he nonetheless saw further advancement to Sergeant in September 1848 and Colour Sergeant on 21 June 1855.

Accompanying his Regiment to the Crimea, Gooding landed on the peninsula on 8 November 1854 and was soon in the thick of the action, notably at the Siege of Sebastopol. His devotion to duty later caught the attention of the contemporary press back home in England, with the Morning Post of 14 April 1857, noting:
‘[he] never missed a duty in the trenches up to the 24th of August, 1855, and was remarked for his conduct in the trenches.’

The Norfolk Chronicle of 6 June 1857, adds:
‘French Crimea Medal - One of the war medals presented by the Emperor Napoleon to the English Army of the Crimea, was on Saturday last handed to Sergeant Leonard Gooding, late 46th Regiment, a native of this district. The presentation was made by Captain McNair, local staff officer, in presence of the district company of pensioners.’

Conferred ‘for valour and noble daring in the field, distinguishable even from among the valiant, for patient endurance under great hardships, and for invariable humble respect and strict obedience to superiors’, the medal ceremony at Lynn in Norfolk was rounded off with great applause and congratulations throughout; a fitting tribute to a gallant soldier.

Sold with extensive copied research including the recipient’s Army Service Record, roll entries and newspaper articles.