Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Victory Medal 1914-19 (10) (280219 Pte. A. Kay. Lan. Fus.; 243049 Pte. J. Gates. Lan. Fus.; 2183 Pte. A. Tyldesley. Lan. Fus.; 5481 Cpl. E. Simister. Lan. Fus.; 37474 Pte. J. Mills. Lan. Fus.; 2984 Pte. J. Spencer. Lan. Fus.; 2. Lieut. P. Yates.; 63447 Pte. E. A. K. Martin. Lan. Fus.; 38812 Pte. B. H. Crittall. Lan. Fus.; 2. Lieut. J. C. Light.) very fine or better (10) £100-140

Arthur Kay, who originated from Salford, served overseas with the 1/7th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers. He was killed in action on 22 October 1918 during the Battle of the Selle, where between 12-23 October 1918 his battalion held the Selle bridgehead ‘against heavy counter-attacks and shelling’. He is buried in Belle Vue British Cemetery, France.

Joseph Gates served on the Western Front with the 2/5th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers. He died of wounds on 20 September 1917 following his battalion’s attack on the Schuler Galleries, where after taking the German position was subjected to heavy shell fire and strong counter-attacks. He is buried in Mendinghem Military Cemetery, Belgium.

Albert Tyldesley served with the 1/7th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers, landing at Gallipoli on 5 May 1915. The battalion later moved to Egypt and then the Western Front. He was discharged from the army on 21 November 1916, due to wounds. It is likely that these were sustained during the Battle of the Somme.

Ernest Simister served on the Western Front with the 3/5th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers (attached to a Trench Mortar Battery), later being posted to the 2/7th, the 2/8th and then the 1/8th Battalions.

Job Mills served on the Western Front with the 16th (Service) Battalion (2nd Salford), Lancashire Fusiliers.

James Spencer served on the Western Front with the 2/5th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers. He was killed in action on 5 August 1916, when his battalion had occupied Bernafay Wood, only three days before his battalion’s attack on Guillemont. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, France.

Percy Yates, a native of Liverpool, served on the Western Front as a 2nd Lieutenant with the 2/7th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers. He landed in France on 16 April 1917.

Edwin Arthur Kenneth Martin, a native of Hulme, Manchester, served on the Western Front with the 15th (Service) Battalion (1st Salford), Lancashire Fusiliers. He was killed in action on 2 November 1918, just prior to the Battle of the Sambre. He is buried in Landrecies British Cemetary, France.

Holroyd Berrington Crittall was born in Shropshire in 1890. He was educated at Dulwich College before moving to North America for two years. In April 1916 he enlisted into the Lancashire Fusiliers, landing in France with the 2/7th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers in May 1917. He was reported missing on 9 October 1917 during heavy fighting on Passchendaele Ridge and was posted killed in action on 11 October 1917. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial, Belgium.
Sold with two photographic images of Crittall.

James Corbett Light, a resident of Hoylake, Cheshire, served on the Western Front as an ambulance driver with the Royal Red Cross from November 1914. In March 1915 he served as a volunteer chauffeur for the Duchess of Westminster Hospital. In December 1916 he left the Red Cross and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Army Service Corps.