New Zealand 1845-1866, undated (3422 J. Mclean, 65th Regt.) good very fine £400-500

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, A Selection of Medals from the Collection of the Late Noel Morris.

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James McLean was born at Banbridge in Co. Down and enlisted in the 65th Regiment locally in December 1854, aged 19. Of his subsequent career of nine years with the Colours, seven of them were spent out in New Zealand, where he was severely wounded in the engagement at Cameron Town on 7 September 1863.

In that action, a detachment of around 50 men from the 65th were sent to the relief of some friendly Maoris encamped on the Waikato River, the whole under Captain Swift and Lieutenant Butler. In the bayonet charge that followed, Swift was killed and Butler wounded, and overall command fell to Colour-Sergeant Edward McKenna, who was subsequently awarded the V.C. So, too, Corporal Ryan, while four other men won D.C.Ms. British casualties, in addition to the two Officers, amounted to two men killed, another missing and two wounded, one of the latter being Private Mclean:

‘He was wounded in the action with the enemy on 7 September by a musket ball through the right hand, which passed obliquely from the back of the hand to the palm, injuring the bones and causing much inflamation. He has lost all power with the hand and he will be unfit for the duty of a soldier ultimately.’

So concludes the report of a Surgeon who examined McLean at Auckland in November of the same year, an opinion shared by the Principal Medical Officer at Netley in March 1864. Mclean was consequently discharged, although as evidenced by his service papers, a long battle lay ahead with assorted reviews for a suitable pension. Interestingly, too, the same papers note that his New Zealand Medal was not issued until August 1905, a delay that no doubt accounts for the award being an undated issue.