Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Army Meritorious Service Medal, G.V.R., 1st issue (S. Mjr. J. O’Brien, Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.) good very fine £180-£220

Joseph O’Brien enlisted in the 43rd Light Infantry as a boy recruit in Dublin in September 1869, aged 14 years. In his subsequent career of 30 years with the Colours, he served overseas for 14 years, but witnessed no action, and was finally discharged as a Sergeant-Major in Oxford in September 1899 at the age of 44, the relevant papers noting his entitlement to the L.S. & G.C. Medal. It was in the same year that he was recommended for the M.S.M., which distinction was eventually granted per Army Order 269 of 1927.

Sold with a quantity of original documentation, including the recipient’s discharge and character certificates; three letters of thanks from Lieutenant-Colonel W. Clark, 1st Battalion, Oxfordshire Light Infantry (Quetta, December 1885 and two from Parkhurst, 1888); a wedding portrait photograph and assorted legal documents regarding property, insurance, &c.