Royal Sussex Regiment medals for sale

Royal Sussex Regiment medals for sale

paulcanixon@yahoo.co.uk

John Thomas Hughes

Private John Thomas Hughes, 11th (1st South Downs) Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment

British War and Victory Medals (SD-3943 Pte. J. T. Hughes. R. Suss. R.), above, together with three Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes Jewels, below; the first a Somerton Lodge Jewel, silver-gilt and enamel, the reverse engraved ‘Presented to Bro. J. T. Hughes by the Somerton Lodge No. 2566 Raised to 2nd Degree Sept 2nd 1925’, with top ‘Primo’ riband bar; the second a Grove House Orphange, Harrogate, Donor’s Badge, gilt and enamel, the reverse inscribed ‘Presented to Bro. J. Hughes C.P., Donor’, with top ‘Donor’ riband bar; and the third a First Degree Jewel, silver-gilt and enamel, unnamed, with top riband bar, generally very fine

John Thomas Hughes' regimental number dates to early 1915. His name appears twice in casualty rolls, the first in a extensive list of Sussex Regiment casualties published in The Times on the 20th July 1916. This suggests that he was a casualty during the Boer's Head assault on the 30 June 1916. The second appearance dates to the 14th September 1917 and suggests that he was a casualty in August 1917. This gives his place of residence as Newport. The battalion took part in the 3rd Battle of Ypres which commenced on the 31st July 1917, sustaining 150 OR casualties on the 31st. No significant action or casualties noted after the 1st August and so almost certainly a 3rd Ypres casualty. Pair and RAOB jewels sold with copied research which will be emailed. Photos above. SOLD.

Albert Lilywhite

1914-15 Star (G-1809 Pte. A. Lilywhite. R. Suss: R.); British War and Victory Medals (G-1809 Pte. A. Lilywhite. R. Suss. R.) SOLD

Albert E Lilywhite was born in Holloway, London on the 10th August 1896, one of nine children born to William and Eleanor Lilywhite (nee Sealey) who had married in Poplar in 1891.  His birth was registered in the name of Albert Edward LILLYWHITE at Poplar in the September quarter of 1896 (Vol 01B, page 245). He is probably the same man who would later appear as a married caretaker on the 1939 Register, living at 6 Baranscraig Avenue, Brighton .

Albert  attested for the Royal Sussex Regiment at Horsham, Sussex, on 4 September 1914 and served with the 8th (Pioneer) Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front from 24 July 1915, qualifying  as a machine gunner on the 29th January 1916. He was wounded in action during the Battle of the Somme on 13 July 1916, at Trones Wood, suffering shrapnel wounds to his right arm, left wrist, and right leg, which necessitated his right arm being amputated four inches below the elbow. Owing to infection, he subsequently underwent a further amputation on the afflicted limb. His name appears in a list of wounded Royal Sussex Regiment men that was published on the 14th August 1916. Albert was discharged permanently unfit on 27 July 1917 and later claimed a silver war badge. Albert died in Sussex in 1993 aged 97. Sold with extensive copied research.

Bertie A Whiter

Private B. A. Whiter, 8th (Pioneer) Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment

1914-15 Star (G-2023 Pte. B. A. Whiter. R. Suss: R.); British War and Victory Medals (G-2023 Pte. B. A. Whiter. R. Suss. R.) very fine. SOLD

Bertie Alfred Whiter was born at Stepney (1891 Census) or Old Ford (1901 and 1911 Census) on the 19th January 1888 (1939 Register).  He married Mary A Richardson (born 4th September 1887) in Poplar in the fourth quarter of 1912 and had at least two children: a son, Bertie A J Whiter, born on the 13th Nov 1914, and a daughter, Mary R Whiter (later BASTICK), born on the 15th December 1926.

Bertie attested for the Royal Sussex Regiment  in the first week of September 1914 and served with the 8th (Pioneer) Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front from 24 July 1915. He was wounded in late 1916, appearing in a casualty list published on the 11th Jan 1917 and, as evidenced by a contemporary newspaper report, he was certainly in the UK in February 1918 when he was assaulted by two policemen whilst queuing for food for his family. Following the cessation of hostilities he was discharged to Class ‘Z’ of the Army Reserve on the 25th February 1919.  By September 1939 he was a paper machinist living in Poplar. He died in Poplar in 1951 aged about 60. Sold with extensive research.

Arthur Turner

Victory Medal 1914-19 (G-21022 Pte. A. Turner. R. Suss. R.) extremely fine. £40

Arthur Turner was born in Little Horsted, Sussex. He enlisted in the Royal Sussex Regiment at Lewes, Sussex and was given the number G/21022. He served with the 8th (Pioneer) Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front, and died of wounds at No 4 Casualty Clearing Station on the 27th November 1917. He is buried in Dozinghem Military Cemetery, Belgium. 

Chailey Parish Magazine first mentions him in June 1917, recording him as Turner, Pte A, 3rd Royal Sussex. 

These details then appear every month up to and including September 1917.  In December 1917 he appears in the magazine’s Roll of Honour as: Pte A Turner, 8^th Royal Sussex Pioneers, killed in action, Nov 26^th 1917 in France. SOLD

Arthur Henry Brown

Private A. H. Brown, 11th (1st South Downs) Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment

British War and Victory Medals (37381 Pte. A. H. Brown. R. Suss. R.) very fine £80.

Arthur Henry Brown attested with the Royal Sussex Regiment and served with the 11th (1st South Downs) Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front.  He later transferred to the West Riding Regiment (number 49605), and was ultimately discharged to Class ‘Z’ Reserve on 24 February 1919. SOLD

Harold James Chandler

SD-578 Sergeant H. J. Chandler, 11th (1st South Downs) Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment

British War and Victory Medals (SD-578 Sjt. H. J. Chandler. R. Suss. R.) nearly extremely fine. SOLD

Harold James Chandler was born in Rotherfield, Sussex, the son of Charles and Elizabeth Chandler of Eastbourne, and the husband of Maud Elizabeth Mary Chandler of 107 Langney Road, Eastbourne. A chemist's assistant in Eastbourne, he was one of the first men to attest for the newly forming South Down battalions of the Royal Sussex Regiment, enlisting  at Hurstmonceux, Sussex and he served with the 11th (1st South Downs) Battalion (the poet, Edmund Blunden's battalion). He was killed in action on 18 September 1917 when a shell exploded on the exit of one of the trenches as the battalion was in the process of being relieved by the 17th Battalion, King’s Royal Rifle Corps, killing seven men. He is buried in La Clytte Military Cemetery, Belgium, the words THERE IS A HEART THAT NEVER FAILS inscribed on his headstone. He was 25 years old.  Harold Chandler is commemorated on the war memorial in Eastbourne town hall and on one of the panels at Chichester Cathedral. 

Maud Chandler was subsequently awarded a pension of 21 shillings and 3d a week in respect of their daughter (born on the 3rd April 1916) and herself. Sold with research.

Charles Lee

Private C. Lee, 11th (1st South Downs) Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment

British War and Victory Medals (G-6565 Pte. C. Lee. R. Suss. R.) very fine. SOLD

Chailey Parish magazine first mentions 6565 Private Charles Lee in its November 1916 issue, reporting him as Lee, Private C, 3rd Royal Sussex, England.  In the following month’s issue he is reported simply as Lee, Private C, 3rd Royal Sussex.

Soldiers Died In The Great War records that Charles Lee enlisted at Kenley in Surrey.  The 3rd Royal Sussex was the special reserve battalion which remained in England throughout the war.  Charles first served overseas with the 12th battalion, Royal Sussex regiment, subsequently posted to the 11th Battalion (116th Brigade, 39th Division) because he was killed whilst serving with this battalion on Sunday 3rd June 1917.  It was not until December 1917 however, that Charles's name was recorded in the Chailey Parish magazine roll of honour.  The information was recorded, incorrectly, as Private C Lee, 3rd Royal Sussex, killed in action, June 2nd 1917, in France.  His death was reported in a casualty list published on the 9th July 1917.

The 11th Royal Sussex was also known as the 1st South Downs Battalion and had been formed on 7th September 1914 by Lieutenant Colonel Claude Lowther MP.  All original enlistments (and there were 1,100 of them in under three days), were given an SD (South Downs) prefix to their regimental number.  The National Archives in London and Soldiers Died In The Great War record Charles' number as G/6565 although The Commonwealth War Graves’ Commission’s Debt of Honour Register omits this prefix.

At the time of his death, Charles Lee was married to Florence Lee and was living in Chailey.  He was 31 years old.  He was buried in Vlamertinghe Military Cemetery in Ypres (VII F 4).  On his tombstone are written the words: “UNTIL THE DAY BREAK / AND THE SHADOWS FLEE AWAY”. Charles Lee is commemorated on the war memorials at Chailey and Chichester Cathedral. SOLD

Frederick James Panting

Private F. J. Panting, 11th (1st South Downs) Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment, and Machine Gun Corps

Wounded in action on 3 September 1916 (340 Pte. F. J. Panting. R. Suss. R.) nearly extremely fine. SOLD

Frederick James Panting was born in Brighton in 1891, and attested for the Royal Sussex Regiment at Eastbourne on the 7th September 1914. He served with the 11th (1st South Downs) Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front, and was wounded in action on 3 September 1916, on which date the Battalion was involved in an attack on the enemy’s position at Hamel, and suffered 299 casualties. He transferred to 116th Company, Machine Gun Corps (regimental number 75134) on 30th January 1917, and was discharged to Class ‘Z’ Reserve on the 22nd February 1919. Sold with copied research including extensive papers (x38) in WO 363. 

Francis Joseph William Preston 

British War Medal 1914-20 SD-220 Sjt. F. J. W. Preston. R. Suss. R. Very fine, SOLD.

Francis Joseph William Preston was born in 1890 in Deptford, London, the son of Henry John and Martha Sarah Preston. He was baptised at St Paul's Church, Deptford on the 29th October 1890. By the time the 1911 Census was taken he was living at 18 Sandowne Road, Charlton and working as a butcher.  The census reveals that, aged 20, he was still living at home with his mother and step-father (Henry James Sinclair aged 41, also a butcher), three step-brothers and a step-sister.  He attested with the 11th Royal Sussex Regiment at Eastbourne in September 1914, an early member of the 1st South Down battalion. No service record survives for this man but he was certainly back in the UK in 1917 as he married Hilda Florence Dean at St Mary (The Minster) in Reading, Berkshire on the 30th April 1917. His occupation is recorded as soldier. Francis Preston died in 1962. 

Albert Reid

Victory Medal 1914-19 G-36978 Pte. A. Reid. R. Suss. R.  Very fine.  SOLD

Albert Reid served overseas with the 11th Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment; entitled to pair.

Leslie James Morgan

Captain L. J. Morgan, Royal Sussex Regiment

British War and Victory Medals (Capt. L. J. Morgan.) extremely fine. SOLD

Leslie James Morgan was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the Royal Sussex Regiment on 8 June 1915. His narrative appeared in 500 of the best Cockney war stories.

A Mission Fulfilled

On August 28, 1916, we were told to take over a series of food dumps which had been formed in the front and support lines at Hamel, on the Ancre, before a general attack came off.

On the following night Corporal W——, a true and gallant Cockney who was in charge of a party going back to fetch rations, came to my dug-out to know if there were anything special I wished him to bring.

I asked him to bring me a tin of cigarettes. On the return journey, as the party was crossing a road which cut through one of the communicating trenches, a shell struck the road, killing two privates and fatally wounding Corporal W——.

Without a word the corporal put his hand into his pocket and, producing a tin, held it out to an uninjured member of the party.

I got my smokes.—L. J. Morgan (late Capt., The Royal Sussex Regiment), 1 Nevern Square, S.W.5.

Alfred Edward Betts

Warrant Officer Class II A. E. Betts, Royal Sussex Regiment and Machine Gun Corps. 

British War and Victory Medals (11066 W.O. Cl.2 A. E. Betts. M.G.C.); Army L.S. & G.C., G.V.R., 2nd issue, fixed suspension (..7451 C. Sjt. A. E. Betts R. Suss. R.) heavy contact marks, polished, fair to fine. SOLD

H E Hughes

G-16921 Private H. E. Hughes, Royal Sussex Regiment

British War and Victory Medals (G-16921 Pte. H. E. Hughes. R. Suss. R.) mounted as worn, contact marks, nearly very fine. SOLD

Charles Turner

9089 Private Charles Turner, Royal Sussex Regiment

British War and Victory Medals (9089 Pte. C. Turner. R. Suss. R.) cleaned, good very fine. SOLD. Served Royal Sussex Regiment and Labour Corps (411683).

9089 Royal Sussex Regt; possibly 7th Battalion. The number does not belong to the regular series as this was issued to Leonard Brown in 1908, and not the 3rd Battalion as this was issued to William Piercy in August 1903. By default then the number is almost certainly G/9089 which would date to about the 29th February 1916 and suggests that Charles was probably a Derby Scheme volunteer mobilised (at Chichester) on this date.

411683 for the Labour Corps dates to 27th Oct 1917 and research indicates that Charles probably initially served with 891 Area Employment Coy.  Sold with research.

Lewis George Playle

British War Medal 1914-20: 16835 Pte. L. G. Playle. R. Suss. R. SOLD   

          

16835 Pte Lewis George Playle was born in 1898 and enlisted on the 25th May 1916. Served overseas with the Royal Sussex Regt (unknown battalion) and later Labour Corps (reg number 554686). He was entitled to a pair and SWB. Appeared in an official casualty list as a wounded soldier on the 25th September 1917; list notes place of residence as Ridgewell.  Discharged sick on the 18th July 1919. Married Ellen L Whatley in 1921 and died in 1923 (Sept qtr) at Halstead, Essex aged 25.  Sold with various research.

Frank Turner

Victory Medal 1914-19 G-22254 Pte. F. Turner. R. Suss. R. SOLD

Frank Turner was born in Holloway, Middlesex, and attested for the Royal Sussex Regiment at Mill Hill, Middlesex. He served with the 16th (Sussex Yeomanry) Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front, and was killed in action on 2 September 1918. He is buried in Peronne Communal Cemetery Extension, France and commemorated on one of the panels in Chichester Cathedral.

Payments to mother, Emily Turner of 54 Maldon Road, Edmonton who died on 20th May 1921. 

Sydney James Slade

315067 Pte. S. J. Slade. R. Suss. R.

Victory Medal: Sydney James Slade, 16th Royal Sussex Regt. Entitled to pair. SOLD

Believed to be the same Sydney James Slade who was born 24th August 1885 (1939 Register) in Stanwell Moor, Middlesex; a boot repairer when the 1911 Census of England and Wales was taken, and a part time gardener by 1939. Died in 1942. Sold with various research.

66533 Pte. C. N. Harman. M.G.C.

65533 Private Cecil Norris Harman, Machine Gun Corps.

British War and Victory Medals (66533 Pte. C. N. Harman. M.G.C.) mounted as worn, very fine SOLD

Cecil Harman attested with the Royal Sussex Regt at Crowborough on the 9th December 1915 (Derby Scheme) aged 25 years and 310 days (born circa Feb 1890). He was mobilised at Chichester on the 30th August 1916 and given the number G/13983.  His next of kin was his wife, Kate Harman (maiden name, Cramp), whom he had married at Crowborough on the 1st January 1910. Two daughters, Evelyn May Harman (born 14th May 1910) and Elsie Katherine Harman (born 2nd April 1916); home address: Stone House Cottage, White Hill Road, Crowborough, Sussex. Transferred to MGC on the 19th October 1916. Served overseas from 17th March 1917. Served with various units of the MGC:  286 Coy, 8th Reserve Bn and latterly 200th Bn, MGC. Demobilised 23rd November 1919.