Medals from the Collection of the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum

Indian Mutiny 1857-59, no clasp (W. Cuthbert, 52nd L.I.) very fine £200-£260

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Medals from the Collection of the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum.

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William Cuthbert was accidentally shot and killed on 16 July 1857.

Mr R. G. Wilberforce refers to this incident in his book An Unrecorded Chapter of the Indian Mutiny, at p 66, ‘That evening one of our poor fellows shot himself, etc.’

In reviewing this book in 1895, the Regimental Chronicle states: ‘The man here referred to accidentally lost his life thus: On the 16th July, 1857 (not the 15th as given in the book), after returning from an engagement on an island in the Ravee, an officer gave his revolver to Private William Cuthbert (D, or Captain Crosse’s company), to take home. During the Day, Cuthbert, who was sitting down in the corner of the tent at the time, handed the revolver to Bat. [Bartholomew] Ryan to look at; while he (Ryan) was examining it, the weapon went off accidentally and shot Cuthbert dead. Those two men were regimental tailors, and strong comrades for years. Indeed, poor Ryan never did much good in the corps after the deplorable occurrence, for he seemed ever after to take the affair very much to heart.’