A Great War ‘Siege of Kut’ I.O.M. group of five awarded to Sapper Abdul Aziz, 22nd Company, 3rd Sappers and Miners, for conspicuous gallantry in destroying the bridge at Kut on 9 December 1915

Indian Order of Merit, Military Division, 2nd type (1912-39), 2nd Class, Reward of Valor, silver and enamel, the reverse officially engraved '2nd Class Order of Merit', fitted with silver riband buckle; 1914-15 Star (No. 4587 Spr. Abdul Aziz, 3/S. & M.); British War and Victory Medals, with M.I.D. oak leaf (4587 L-Nk. Abdul Aziz, 3 S&M.) regimental number corrected on the pair; India General Service 1908-35, 2 clasps, Afghanistan N.W.F. 1919, Waziristan 1919-21 (4587 L-Nk. Abdul Aziz, 3 S. & M.) blue enamel chipped on the first, some light contact marks and polishing, otherwise nearly very fine (5) £2,000-£2,600

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Medals from the Collection of Peter Duckers.

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I.O.M. Gazette of India 18 August 1917 (Notification 1356 of 17 August 1917): ‘For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty on the 7th December 1915 when he assisted in the demolition of an enemy bridge.’

The date of this incident was actually December 9th, 1915, when a party of six Sappers and Miners and six 2/7th Gurkhas, all volunteers, under Lieutenants Sweet and Matthews, R.E., destroyed a bridge across the Tigris at Kut. The two officers were recommended by General Townshend for the V.C. but received the D.S.O.; all twelve volunteers received the I.O.M. A much fuller citation, with the correct date, was given in the Notification for the awards to the six Ghurkha volunteers:

‘For conspicuous gallantry on the night of the 9th December 1915 in connection with the destruction of a bridge of boats, the bridge head of which on the right bank of the river had fallen into the hands of the enemy. From their position the enemy commanded the left bank of the river and rendered the dismantling of the bridge impossible. During the darkness, the numerous ropes and stays by which it was anchored in the river were severed whilst two British officers laid charges of gun cotton. The enterprise succeeded and part of the bridge was destroyed. The undertaking was most perilous for there was every reason to suspect that any noise or movement on the bridge would at once attract a terrific fire at close quarters from the enemy as was evidenced half an hour later when an attempt was made to cross in a launch to recover some of the wounded men who had fallen during the day.’

Abdul Aziz came from Jhelum in the Punjab and presumably, like his officer and all the others, became a prisoner of war with the rest of the garrison when Kut fell in April 1916. He was mentioned in the despatch of Sir Percy Lake (London Gazette 19 October 1916) recommending names put forward by General Townshend ‘for distinguished service during the siege of Kut’. He must have rejoined the regiment soon after the end of the war and served with the 22nd Company in the North West Frontier operations between 1919 and 1921. He is still shown in the Indian Army List of I.O.M. winners as late as 1938 and still on the Active List, but does not appear at all in the 1940 List. Sold with further research including a more detailed report of the incident taken from the Short History of the 22nd Co., Sappers and Miners.