A Collection of Medals to Great War Casualties

Three: Acting Corporal J. W. Baxter, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and Machine Gun Corps, who died of wounds on the Western Front on 10 April 1918

1914-15 Star (12633 Pte. J. W. Baxter. Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.) in named card box of issue; British War and Victory Medals (12633 A.Cpl. J. W. Baxter. Oxf. & Bucks. L.I.) in named card box of issue; Memorial Plaque (John William Baxter) in card envelope, with Buckingham Palace enclosure, extremely fine (4) £140-£180

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, A Collection of Medals to Great War Casualties.

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Provenance: Acquired by the vendor directly from the recipient’s family.

John William Baxter was born in Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire in 1892, and attested there for the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry on 2 September 1914. He served with the 6th Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front from 21 September 1915, and subsequently in Salonika from 26 November 1915, where he was wounded (newspaper cutting with lot refers). Invalided home from that front with fever, he transferred to the Machine Gun Corps on 26 December 1916, and saw further service with them on the Western Front. He was mortally wounded on 8 April 1918, and died of his wounds two days later.

Lieutenant Lang wrote to the recipient’s parents thus: ‘Your son came to me as a Private in September 1917 and went through all the fighting with us at Ypres during the winter. We are awfully sorry to lose him, and you can judge what a fine soldier he was by his getting his two stripes almost at once. Why he hadn’t received promotion before I don’t know, as he was certainly the most efficient man I ever had in the section.’

Baxter is buried in Beacon Cemetery, Sailly-Laurette, France.

Sold with a framed ‘In Memoriam’ card, containing a portrait photograph of the recipient; and copied research.