21st Nov, 2024 10:00
Military & Aviation History, Medals & Militaria, The Bill Townsend Dambusters Collection
Victoria Cross. An intriguing copy of the Indian Mutiny V..C. to sponge-man Gunner William Connolly
Sold for £3,400
An intriguing copy of the Indian Mutiny Victoria Cross awarded to sponge-man Gunner William Connolly of the Bengal Horse Artillery who, although severely wounded by several musket balls, causing him great "faintness and partial unconsciousness", refused to retire from the battle and worked on tirelessly shouting to his commanding officer 'No sir, I'll not go there whilst I can work here', Connolly remained at his post before finally collapsing from loss of blood'
Victoria Cross. A Victorian tailor's copy, bronze, the reverse suspension engraved in sloping serif capitals 'Gunner William Conolly[sic], Bengal Horse Artillery', the reverse centre dated '7th July 1857', good very fine and of very good quality, as is the standard of engraving
(Quantity: 1)
V.C. London Gazette: 3 September 1858
The following account of Connolly's bravery is extracted from Carter's Medals of the British Army, pp. 176-77: -
Lieutenant Cookes, Bengal Horse Artillery, reported that
'About daybreak on that day (7 July 1857) I advanced my troop and engaged the enemy within easy musket range. The sponge-man of one of my guns having been shot during the advance, Gunner Connolly assumed the duties of second sponge-man, and he had barely assisted in two discharges of his gun, when a musket-ball through the left thigh felled him to the ground. Nothing daunted by pain and loss of blood, he was endeavouring to resume his post, when I ordered a movement in retirement, and, though severely wounded, he was mounted on his horse in the gun-team, and rode to the next position which the guns took up, and manfully declined going to the rear when the necessity of his doing so was represented to him.
About eleven o'clock a.m., when the guns were still in action, the same gunner, whilst sponging, was again knocked down by a musket-ball striking him on the hip, thereby causing "great faintness and partial unconsciousness", for the pain appeared excessive and the blood flowed fast. On seeing this I gave directions for his removal out of action; but this brave man, hearing me, staggered to his feet, and said, 'No sir, I'll not go there whilst I can work here; and shortly afterwards he again resumed his post as sponge-man. Later in the afternoon of the same day my three guns were engaged at one hundred yards from the walls of a village with the defenders, namely the 14th Native Infantry, mutineers amidst a storm of bullets which did great execution.
Gunner Connolly, though suffering severely from his two previous wounds, was wielding his sponge with an energy and courage which attracted the admiration of his comrades, and while cheerfully encouraging a wounded man to hasten in bringing up the ammunition, a musket-ball tore through the muscles of his right leg: but with the most undaunted bravery he struggled on; and not till he had loaded six times did this man give way, when through loss of blood, he fell in my arms, and I placed him on a wagon, which shortly afterwards bore him in a state of unconsciousness from the fight.'
Gunner William Connolly V.C. (1817-1891)
William Connolly (whose name is frequently misspelt by the census records and also by the military authorities) was born in Liverpool. He joined the Indian Army in 1837 and embarked from Exmouth on a heroic and long career which earned him the Gwalior Star, Sutlej Medal, Punjab Medal and Indian Mutiny Medal. He joined as a gunner in the Bengal Horse Artillery (1st Troop, 3rd Brigade) and his regimental number was 678.
After a period of 20 years, he re-enlisted at Peshawar on 2 May 1857 and held the same rank as a gunner. A few weeks later he was involved in one of the little-known battles of the Indian Mutiny, at Jhelum, in Rawalpindi, on 7 July, when he acted fearlessly while loading the guns. In spite of being wounded on three occasions by musket balls during the day, he continued as a "sponge-man" for the guns until he finally collapsed from loss of blood. His senior officer on that day, Lieutenant Charles Henry Cookes, 1/3 Bengal Horse Artillery, personally carried him out of the action and recommended him for the Victoria Cross. 150 of Cookes' regiment were killed by mutineers during the Battle of Jhelum, such was its ferocity.
Provenance
Sotheby's, the collection of J. Steven of Epsom, 9-10 February, 1886, lot 218, sold for £10 to Spink.
Sotheby's, the collection of the late M. Hodgkinson Bobart, 13-14 November 1894, lot 87, unsold.
After the medal was unsold at the Sotheby's sale in 1894, it passed to Adolphus Grimwood-Taylor (1847-1914) the executor to Hodgkinson Bobart's will and (joint) guardian of Bobart's infant daughter, from whom it passed by descent to the current vendor. The somewhat convoluted story of the provenance of this fascinating medal is discussed at length in an article The Journal of the Victoria Cross Society, October 2005, a copy of which is sold with the lot.
Although this medal is undoubtedly a copy, as confirmed by the National Army Museum, Messrs Hancocks (in 1998) and the late John Hayward, it is nevertheless one of the most intriguing copied Victoria Crosses likely to appear for public sale. A study of the two Sotheby's catalogues in 1886 and 1894 (copies of both are included in the lot) makes it abundantly clear that the medal offered in this catalogue was undoubtedly accepted as authentic on both occasions. Whilst the price realised at the first auction of £10 may seem derisory by today's standards, it is worth noting that in Sotheby's next medal sale on 25 June 1886, the VC to John Berryman for his gallantry in the Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaklava only realised the same paltry £10.
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Auction: Military & Aviation History, Medals & Militaria, The Bill Townsend Dambusters Collection, 21st Nov, 2024
Dominic Winter (Auctioneers) Ltd
Conditions Of Sale And Business
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14. If, on collation, any named items in the catalogue prove defective, in text or illustration, the buyer may reject the lot provided he/she returns it within fourteen days stating the defect in writing. This however will not apply in the case of unnamed items, periodicals, autograph letters, manuscripts, music, maps, atlases, prints or drawings, nor in respect of damage to bindings, stains, foxing, marginal wormholes or other defects not affecting the completeness of the text, nor in respect of lack of list of plates, inserted advertisements, cancels or subsequently published volumes, supplements, appendices or plates or error in the enumerating of the plates, nor in respect of defects mentioned in the catalogue or announced at the time of sale.
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17. Artist's Resale Rights ("Droit de Suite"). Lots marked with "AR" or another appropriate symbol and referenced as such in the catalogue are subject to the Artist's Resale Right law. The buyer agrees to pay the Auctioneer an amount equal to the resale royalty and the Auctioneer will pay such amount to the artist's collecting agent. Resale royalty applies where the Hammer Price is 1,000 Euro or more and the amount cannot be more than 12,500 Euro per lot.
The amount is calculated as follows:
Royalty For the portion of the Hammer Price (in Euro)
4.00% up to 50,000
3.00% between 50,000.01 and 200,000
1.00% between 200,000.01 and 350,000
0.50% between 350,000.01 and 500,000
0.25% in excess of 500,000
Invoices will be issued in Pounds Sterling. For the purposes of calculating the resale royalty the Pounds Sterling/Euro rate of exchange will be the European Central Bank reference rate on the day of the sale. Please refer to the DACS website www.dacs.org.uk for further details.
18. These conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English Law.
Buyer's Premium :
The buyer's premium is 22%, except those lots asterisked (*) in the title for which Value Added Tax (VAT) will be added to the premium, resulting in a buyer's premium of 26.4% inclusive of VAT. Eligible items include manuscripts, prints, photographs, drawings, framed maps, paintings, pens and other objects which are subject to VAT at a rate of 20% on the buyer's premium as part of the Auctioneers Margin Scheme. VAT zero-rated items such as books, unframed maps and albums are not subject to VAT on the buyer's premium.
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An additional commission of 3% plus VAT (3.6% inclusive of VAT) on the hammer price is payable if you use the live auction bidding facility on the Dominic Winter Auctioneers website (dominicwinter.co.uk). This charge will be added to your invoice automatically.
An additional commission of 4.95% plus VAT (5.94% inclusive of VAT) on the hammer price is payable if you use the live auction bidding facility on the ATG Media website (the-saleroom.com). This charge will be added to your invoice automatically.
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Payment (UK Buyers)
Payment is preferred by direct Bank Transfer to our bank account. Our bank details will be supplied to you with your invoice.
Payment can be made in cash at the Cashier's Office, either during or after the sale. Alternatively, you can pay by cheque (Pounds Sterling only), please allow 5 working days for the cheque to clear before collection of goods.
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Payment (Overseas Buyers)
Payment must be made by direct Bank Transfer to our bank account. Our bank details will be supplied to you on your invoice. No card payments will be accepted unless by special prior arrangements with the auctioneers. All transfers must state the relevant invoice number. The amount we receive must be the total due after currency conversion and the deduction of any bank charges (normally £7).
UK Shipping
We are not specialist shippers. Some items, such as framed & glazed or fragile goods, will require specialist handling and buyers will be asked to use Mailboxes or RF Shipping Ltd. (details below).
For non-fragile items and items of reasonably small size, we offer an in-house packing and shipping facility for UK buyers. When possible, purchases will be sent by either Royal Mail Special Delivery or DPD overnight service. The charge for this service is variable (£15 minimum per parcel) and will be added to your invoice. Please note shipments to the Highlands and Islands may require shipment by courier and may be more expensive. Please contact us for a quote before bidding.
For larger packages and fragile goods, we recommend Mailboxes, Pack & Send or RF Shipping Ltd who will collect fully paid-for purchases from us twice a week and liaise with the buyer direct. For more information please contact Sarah Ball by telephone on +44 (0)1285 860006 or email sarah@dominicwinter.co.uk. These companies will require payment direct for their services.
