Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

The Crimea Medal awarded to Gunner and Driver William Guthrie, Royal Artillery, who was killed in action at the battle of Inkermann

Crimea 1854-56, 3 clasps, Alma, Inkermann, Sebastopol (W. Guthrie. Gr. & Dr. Rl. Arty.) officially impressed naming, small dig to Queen’s head, otherwise good very fine £500-£600

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Robin Scott-Smith Collection of Medals to Casualties.

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William Guthrie was killed in action at the battle of Inkermann. He was serving as a Gunner and Driver in No. 6 Company, 11 Battalion, Royal Artillery, who embarked for the Crimea at the end of May 1854, one of three companies forming the siege train. The Company went to Constantinople, on to Varna and finally on to Balaclava Harbour. Guthrie was one of the few men of the Company to be landed in time for the battle of Alma - the commanding officer, Captain C. D. D’Aguiler (later General Sir, K.C.B.) writes of seeing the battle from his ship in the harbour. Once all the Company had landed they proceeded to the front, encamping at the Windmill which formed the base of the right attack. Captain D’Aguiler later wrote, ‘Hard work without ceasing arming batteries, night and day almost at work ... the men 12 hours in the trenches at a time ...’

The night of 4 November was little different but D’Aguiler states, ‘Before getting back to camp Sunday morning there was an alarm, so we had no rest and at about half past eight a message came for two heavy guns.’

The Russians had launched a ferocious attack at Inkermann early in the morning of 5 November and in the confused fighting the British and French troops were under great pressure, and their position was looking increasingly precarious, with Russian batteries dominating the field.

The two 8 pounder guns which had been prepared for just such an emergency were in the Siege Park. In the absence of any draught animals, members of the 6th Company had to drag their gun forward themselves up to the front trench through the 2nd Division camp. The gun for the 7th Company was taken by two field teams. Once in position the destructive power of these two guns had an immediate effect on the Russian offensive. The devastation they wrought caused the Russian artillery to change targets from the infantry and engage these guns. The amount of Russian shot falling on their unprepared positions caused many casualties among the members of Nos. 6 and 7 Companies. D’Aguiler writes, ‘We got the 2 18prs. into position alongside one another and at once found ourselves exposed to a heavy fire from about 3 Russian Batteries (eighteen guns). It was about 9.30 when we opened our fire, in less than two hours No. 6 Co. had 3 men killed and 8 wounded and the other gun 1 man killed and 6 wounded. My gun detachment was cleared about three times ...’

William Guthrie was one of the three men killed from No. 6 battery that day.

This was the prime action in the battle, acknowledged afterwards by the Russian Commander, General Dannenberg, who stated that ‘it was the fire from these two guns that stopped the advance’; a sentiment that was shared by the British and French Commanders-in-Chief. Sold with copied research.