Orders, Decorations and Medals

British War Medal 1914-20 (2420 Sjt. J. E. Snelling, Camb. R.) minor correction to surname, nearly extremely fine £20-30

John Edward Snelling was born in Cambridge and joined his local regiment at the beginning of the war. With the 1st Battalion Cambridgeshire Regiment he entered Le Havre on 14 February 1915. The 1/1st Cambridgeshire Regiment took part in the battles of St. Julien and Frereburg. On 14 October 1916, together with the 4/5th Black Watch, the 1/1st Cambridgeshire Regiment attacked the North Face of the Schwaben Redoubt. Six previous attempts on the Redoubt had already taken place since 1 July 1916 but all had failed. On 14 October the Cambridgeshire Regiment and Black Watch stormed and captured the Redoubt and crucially managed to hold the position despite four determined counter-attacks. The battle devolved into a hotly contested struggle, with bayonet and grenade. In the course of the battle a reconnaissance aircraft dropped a message at brigade headquarters saying simply, ‘Cambridgeshires going over as if on parade’. General Haig described the action as ‘One of the finest feats of arms in the history of the British Army’ - and 41 decorations for gallantry were awarded to the regiment for their gallantry on that one day.

The loss to the 1/1st Cambridgeshire Regiment was similarly large, with 13 officers and 200 other ranks killed or wounded. Among the dead was Sergeant Snelling. Having no known grave, his name is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial. With copied m.i.c. showing entitlement to the 1914-15 Star and Victory Medal.