Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A scarce Crimea D.C.M. and French Legion of Honour group of five awarded to Sergeant J. Grant, 18th Foot, for his gallantry during the first attack on the Grand Redan, 18 June 1855- severely wounded, he was subsequently tried by Court Martial for drunkenness and reduced to Private, but was allowed to retain his D.C.M. and accompanying annuity on the intervention of H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge

Distinguished Conduct Medal, V.R. (Serjeant John Grant, 18th. Rl. Irish Regt.); China 1842 (John Grant, 18th. Royal Irish Regt.) suspension bar re-soldered; Crimea 1854-56, 1 clasp, Sebastopol, unnamed as issued; Turkish Crimea 1855, Sardinian issue (1448. J. Grant. 18th. R.I. Regt.) with clip and ring suspension; France, Second Empire, Legion of Honour, Knight’s breast badge, 61mm including crown suspension x 40mm, silver, gold centre, and enamel, with poincon mark to tassel at base of wreath, enamel damage to points of star on last, contact marks and edge bruising throughout, nearly very fine (5) £2400-2800

Provenance: Glendining’s, June 1993.

John Grant was born in Cork, Ireland, in 1821 and attested for the 18th (Royal Irish) Regiment of Foot at Cork on 10 June 1840. He served with the Regiment in China for 6 and a half years, during which period the Regiment was involved in numerous small actions at Chusan, Hong Kong, Canton, Amoy, Chinhai, Ningpo, and Chapoo, and although the Regiment’s losses in action were relatively small, the climate claimed considerably more. Twice promoted to the rank of Sergeant, he was also twice reduced to Private by Court Martial. Stationed in India on the outbreak of the Crimean War, they returned to England, before embarking for the Crimea, arriving at Balaklava Harbour on 30 December 1854. Restored to the rank of Sergeant on 1 April 1855, and took part in the first assault on the Grand Redan at Sebastopol on 18 June 1855, where, as the Regimental History relates: ‘Sergeant John Grant belonged to one of the companies in the houses nearest to the Russian battery, and brought a message from his captain to the Regiment’s Commander, Colonel C. A. Edwards. When Colonel Edwards saw that Sergeant Grant was bleeding from two severe wounds he desired him to fall back out of harm’s way, but Grant so earnestly begged to be allowed to return to his officer that Colonel Edwards permitted him once more to risk his life in crossing the fireswept belt of ground between the supports and his own company.’

For his gallantry at Sebastopol Grant was awarded one of the 15 Distinguished Conduct Medals awarded to the Regiment for the Crimean War, together with an annuity of £20. He was also, along with Colonel Edwards, Majors Armstrong and Hayman, and Sergeant-Major Watt, awarded the French Legion of Honour, one of only 27 D.C.M. recipients from the entire War to also receive the Legion of Honour. He returned to England with his Regiment in July 1856, but the following year was ‘tried and reduced for Drunkenness’ by Court Martial on 7 September 1857. The trial had some unanticipated collateral developments of significant importance. At the time it appeared that any soldier who was the the recipient of a medal with an annuity could forfeit those awards by reason of a Court Martial. There was considerable debate over whether or not Grant should be stripped of his D.C.M. and accompanying annuity, and on the 21 October 1857 the Adjutant-General wrote a memorandum to the Military Secretary seeking to define the limits of such a forfeiture taking place: ‘... that H.R.H. [the Duke of Cambridge, General Commanding-in-Chief] dissents from the opinion expressed in the letter referred to that a sergeant who may have been granted a medal and annuity for meritorious conduct forfeits the same by simple fact of conviction by Court Martial. Clause 28 of the Mutiny Act expressly provides that “any General Court Martial may, in addition to any other punishment whatsoever which it may be competent to award, sentence any offender to jail or to forfeiture of the annuity and medal which may have been granted for former meritorious service.’ The poser of Courts Martial in this respect being so precisely stated it seems to follow that unless that power is exercised by distinct sentence of forfeiture being recorded, no such forfeiture can take place. If Lord Panmure [Secretary of State for War] on a reconsideration of the subject concurs with the opinion of H.R.H., I am to express the desire of the latter that instructions may be issued to the Paymaster General to continue the payment of the annuity to Private, late Sergeant John Grant, 18th Foot.’

The Adjutant-General’s opinion was accepted and Grant continued to hold his D.C.M. and received the annuity for the next thirty years. Promoted to Corporal, he was discharged on 2 July 1861 after 21 years and 6 days’ service, the medical examiner’s report stating: ‘invalided for chronic rheumatism from which he has suffered at intervals since 1855 and which is directly attributable to the effects of gunshot wounds through the right shoulder incurred in action with the Russians on the 18th of June 1855.’