Caithness Archives

Sgt David MacAdie.

2nd Afghan War 1878-80.

In 1849 David MacAdie was born in Thurso, he grew up and was educated in the town. He first started work for Mr Donald Leitch at Balliemore, Westfield. David then went on to work at the "Flagworks", whether it was the Weydale, Spittal or the Janetstown flagworks is unknown. In 1868 when he was aged 19 years, the 72nd (Duke of Albany's Own Highlanders) Rgt of Foot was being posted to Ireland and started to recruit  soldiers, one of these recruiting parties arrived in Caithness and must have convinced David that the 72nd had more to offer than the "Flagworks". On making up his mind to join, he set off for Wick to enlist and start a journey that was to last nearly 24 years and swap the climate of Caithness for the harsh climates of Afghanistan and Egypt. He took the "Queens shilling" and swore the oath with two others, a Wicker and a youngster from  Halkirk. After signing on he sailed from Wick to Granton, then on to Richmond Barracks in Dublin where the 72nd were stationed. At Dublin he met a score of Caithness men, which included a Henry Bruce and Pipe-Majors J Henderson and Calder. He spent the next three years patrolling Ireland before setting sail on the "Crocodile" in Jan 1871 for Egypt, then the "Jumna" which arrived at Bombay in the following March. Here he started to see the wonderful sights of India. Being posted to what is now Pakistan at Deoleea, Umballah, Delhi, Peshawur, Nowshera, Cherat and Sealkote. The life was basically easy going with the normal patrols of the frontiers, the worst fear being cholora and malaria. The 72nd recived orders that they were to join the Kurram Valley Field Force in 1878 which was to cross into Afghanistan and take part in the 2nd Afghan War 1878-80.

Afghanistan
This formidable country has been fought over by Alexander the Great, Darius I of Persia, Scythians, Parthians, Buddhists, Kushans, Huns, Arabs, Mongols, Timurs, Portuguese, British and the Soviet Union. Of all of these famous Armies not one has ever completely conquered Afghanistan. Over the centuries the Afghans have adopted "Gorilla Warfare" tactics, for which they would come down from the hills and strike and then disappear back into the hills. With the terrain of the country, which is dominated by rugged mountains (up to 20,000 ft) and arid plains, with a climate which varies each season, making living very harsh.

The reason that everyone wanted to control Afghanistan was not because it has fertile land, or it has precious metal or stones, but because it was the gateway from the West to the Far East or what was known as the "Silk route". The Silk route had three main "roads". The most northerly was through Persia into Southern Russia and on into Norther China. The other two were through Afghanistan, the Middle route was through Kabul on to India then into China, the Southerly route was by the coast through Hyderabad on into India then China. Whoever controlled the "Silk routs" controlled the passage and trade between Europe, the Middle East and Asia, a very profitable enterprise and one fought over for centuries. By the time the British showed an interest in Afghanistan the trade routes had long since vanished, the ship and sail taking over. What Afghanistan offered was a buffer zone between Russia and Persia and the British "Jewel of the Crown" India.

Britain had already been at war with the Russians during the Crimean War 1854-56 in which they wanted to control the Dardanelles. Again in 1877 Russia attacked Turkey posing a threat to the Dardanelles, in response the British sent a Fleet to Constantinople and a prevented the Russians from advancing by threatening a war. The Russians then decided to send her troops to the Afghan border and a Russian mission was sent to Kabul. To counter this the British sought to send an Envoy to the capital but the Amir, Sher Ali, refused the British and threatened to prevent the British entry by force. The British sent an ultimatum threatening invasion unless a British mission was accepted.

With the threat of war the Russians decided to leave Kabul, but too late. On the 22nd Nov 1878 with no reply, the British invaded Afghanistan with 35,700 men and 138 guns. There were three columns, one to the North and through the Khyber Pass on to Jellalabad, the South was to advance on Kandahar and the middle, which included Pte MacAdie, was to advance on Kabul through the Peiwar Kotal, a 2,000 ft pine covered ridge covering the exit out of the Kurram Valley, under the command of General Roberts VC. Gen Roberts command consisted only 6,000 men and 18 guns, made up by the 2/8th (The King's), 72nd (Highlanders), 5th Gurkha,, 2nd & 29th Punjab and 12th Bengal Cavalry Rgts. While the 72nd were experienced soldiers the 2nd battalion 8th Rgt was a newly formed battalion and had just arrived from Britain, not even acclimatised yet.

The British were armed with the Martini-Henry's (Martin's) rifles, a breech loading rifle firing a .450 inch bullet, while the Afghans were armed mainly with the Snider rifle. Though the British had better arms and equipment, the Afghans had the advantage of the rough terrene, as when the British moved in columns they had baggage trains to protect, which meant the movement was slow and vulnerable from attack.

On reaching Peiwar Kotal, Gen Roberts found that 18,000 Afghans with 13 guns blocked the pass on both sides, he decided to trick the Afghans into believing that they were to be attack by frontal assault during the following morning. During the night Roberts took the 72nd and the 5th Gurkhas back to another pass and Pte MacAdie started the hard climb stumbling over great boulders, rocks and ice cold streams to come near the Afghans flank. During the night of 1st Dec some rifles was fired, nearly giving the game away, by some of the Pathans of the 29th Punjabs. As dawn came on the 2nd Dec, Pte M'Adie with the rest of the Highlanders and Gurkhas attacked the Afghans, and with complete surprise drove the enemy from the summit.

Once the enemy was cleared from the ridge the two Rgt started firing into the enemy across the pass, preventing them from firing on the 8th and 2nd Punjabs who were supported by the 12th Bengals and Royal Horse Artillery, which attacked the main Kotal position. The enemy soon retreated but the battle was not over, the Afghans started their Gorilla tactics that they are famous for, fighting in little bands from rocky outcrops. Gen Roberts had to clear the enemy away before continuing his advance with vicious fighting was taking place on both sides of the pass, the soldiers fought over deep ravines and through the pine forests.

This fighting continued for three days before the Afghans retired and this was only because when the main Kotal position was captured so was most of the Afghan ammunition, food and all their guns, as the little battles went on the Afghan ammunition and food began to run out and were forced to withdraw. With the battle for Peiwar Kotal over at the cost of 20 killed and 78 wounded on the British side, of which the 72nd suffered 3 killed and 35 wounded. Little did Pte MacAdie know that this was the first time Major-General Robert ever commanded a force in the field, and that in his own regiment, the Bengal Artillery, he only held the rank of Major and was only a temporary Major- General.

The 72nd spent the winter in the Afghan Hills, through the intense cold with its snow and ice and if that was not bad enough they also had the threat of the Afghans resuming the hostilities. By Jan 1879 all three columns were firmly established in the centre of Afghanistan. The Amir fled and in May a new Amir, Yakub Khan, signed a peace treaty, the Treaty of Gandamak, with the British. With this peace the Afghans ceded the famous Khyber Pass and Kurram Valley which were two valuable pass which protected India from the Afghan side, also it gave the British access to Afghanistan, and if the need ever arose again, to invade the country. Also a British Residency was set up in Kabul which supervised the Afghan Government policies, in return the British guaranteed protection for the new Amir from foreign (Russian) aggression.

24 Sep - 13 Oct 1879 Kabul
On 5th Sept 1879 the 72nd received word that all of the British Residency at Kabul, except a few soldiers who managed to escape, had been murdered by the Afghans three days before. Maj-Gen Roberts force was the only one available for a hurried response to the massacre. Roberts explained to the Highlanders that all the Residency, which included women and children, had been butchered by the Afghans.

The Highlanders camp that night was deathly silent the only sound was the noise of professional soldiers preparing for the forthcoming battle and the whispers of what was going to happen to the Afghans once they reached Kabul, all of which did not include a Christian act. The 72nd Highlanders and the rest of the Force which amounted to about 7,500 men and 22 guns set of from the Kurram Valley on 24th Sept to Kabul. On the 4th Oct at Kushi the 72nd had a short skirmish with the Afghans, with this they knew that the main force would not be far away.

By the 5th Oct they had reached a place called Charasiah, this was a formidable position on a range of hills situated a few miles
from Kabul, where the Afghans decided to block the British advance with 8,000 men. Roberts observed the Afghan positions and decided to attack the next day. Roberts must have thought that the flanking attack at Peiwar Kotal worked so well that he would try it again with the same soldiers, the 72nd and 5th Gurkhas. Once more the Highlanders and Gurkhas found an unguarded route which lead to one of the Afghans hilltop positions. They spent all night scaling the rocky ridges until before first light they were in their allotted positions. As daylight appeared the Highlanders and the Gurkhas attack the Afghan position and with surprise on their side the Afghans fled in panic, they then occupied the position and started to lay down a vicious barrage on the opposite hilltops.

The 72nd are reported to have fired more than half of the ammunition used by Roberts's force that day, so intent on avenging the women and children murdered at Kabul, that the Highlanders forgot about the vicious kick from the Martini-Henry rifle, or the severe bruising that would be present for days to come and the pain that it would cause with their backpack strap rubbing into them. With the 72nd and Gurkhas in their position the rest of Roberts force (which included 9th (Queen's) Lancers, 67th (South Hampshire), and 92nd (Gordon) Hldrs) they attacked, the battle was short and sweet and they succeeds in driving the Afghans away.

On the following day the 7th Oct at Bala Hissar, the 72nd again were dealing with little bands of Afghans trying to prevent the British from reaching Kabul. Once the battle was over the force advanced on to Kabul and occupied the city on the 12th Oct, in which over the last 6 days fighting the British had captured over 7,000 rifles and 200 guns from the rebels and to prove who was in command, Gen Roberts ordered his force march through the city the it's bands playing.

Kabul had been captured and the British occupied the city, but now they were on their own and any reinforcement would have to come through the treacherous snow covered passes to reach them. Gen Roberts realised this and decided to occupy Sherpore cantonment and other positions outside the city. Here he realised he would have to spent the winter, but he also realised that in attacking he had been successful but how was he in defence ? With a few small-scale probing attacks by the Afghan's being driven off, the moral of the soldiers were high, but also the Afghan's realising that the British were trapped, their moral was also rising.

In the meantime the Afghan's had been recruiting more men and decided to make this a "Jehad" war (Holy War), so now it was not just a war to defend their country from foreign's but to defend themselves from the "Infidel". With this "Jehad" the Afghan's raised an Army of over 100,000 men to defeat the British at Kabul.

11-23 Dec 1879 Kabul
12 - 14 Dec 1879 Asmai Heights
The battle for Kabul started in earnest on the 11th Dec 1879. The 72nd were allotted with defending the Asmai Heights out side the city and from the 12th to the 14th Dec. The Highlanders were getting a worried, as the Afghans attacks were getting fiercer with every attack and the fighting was sea-sawing back and forth over this barren rocky Heights, the fighting becoming more vicious by every hour. Gen Roberts realised that he could only hold the Afghans back for a few days. During the battle at Asmai Heights 14th Dec 1879. L/Cpl Geo Sellers. 72nd Highlanders won the Victoria Cross. On the 14th Dec he decided to bring in his outlying detachments and concentrated them in the Sherpur cantonment, which he had been preparing for defence a mile outside the city.

The 72nd had suffered 17 killed and 33 wounded fighting for Asmai Heights. At this time his forces consisted of the 9th (Queen's) Lancers, 67th (South Hampshire), 72nd Hldrs, 92nd (Gordon) Hldrs, 5thGurkhas, a few battalions of Sikhs and Punjabis and the newly arrived Guides of Infantry who had forced marched through the hostile snow-covered country from Jagalak.

14-23 Dec 1879 Sherpore
The Afghans started to attack the Sherpore on the 14th Dec and by the 16th the Sherpore was surrounded and with the snow now blocking all the passes to and from India, no more reinforcement would be arriving, the future did not look good. With memories of his fighting during the Relief of Lucknow during the Indian Mutiny, he knew that he was playing for time, time which he did not have, and if the Afghans breached his defences and got inside every single "Infidel" soldier would be butchered, either in battle or if taken prisoner tortured first then murdered.

For the next week the Afghans conducted in probing attacks looking for week points in the Sherpore defences and late on the 22nd the Afghans attacked, wave after wave of screaming Afghans threw themselves at the defences. All the Highlanders, English, Gurkhas and Indians could do was to keep firing at the hoards and hope and pray that the ammunition and the defences held out. All through the night the Afghan waves attacked and with the use of star shells fired by the cannons, the soldiers continued to fire on the flickering red and white shadows dancing of their appearances, which made the battlefield look as if the Devil had open the gates of hell and let his followers out. By the morning the Highlanders could hardly hold their rifles to their shoulders and some chose to change shoulders, but as some of the Highlanders pointed out, that they should be happy it's only the shoulder that is numb, because when the whole body is numb, your dead !.

As the sun came up the Highlanders could not believe their eyes, there were still thousands of the buggers left, they were should they had killed them all during the night. They did not have long to wait to realise that their eye were telling the truth, theAfghans again came attacking in their thousands, the daylight battle continued for about six hours of attack after attack, each one beaten off, just! Gen Roberts noticed that on one of the Afghans flanks were losing heart in the attacks and started to retreat in disorder, having had enough of the "Jehad". Roberts not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, ordered his cavalry to cut of the
fugitives from reaching the surrounding hills. The Lancers streamed out of the defences and started rounding up the rebels and the ones that resisted were cut down, given no quarter, on seeing this the majority gave up the fight.

What started as a small route became a major route, the battle of the Sherpore was over and as the evening came the Highlanders, English, Gurkhas and Indians prayed to their God for it was a miracle that they survived, 7,000 against 100,000 (14 to 1). The casualties were very few for the British, only 5 killed and 33 wounded, the Afghans had suffered over 3,000 casualties. At least the battle was over, as no one, not even the Afghans, could reach Kabul until the snows melted.

When the snow melted a force of about 7,000 started out from Kandahar for Kabul to relive Gen Roberts, on the way they defeated 15,000 Afghans at Ahmed Khel and by the 2nd May 1880 they reached Kabul and were greeted by many a smiling Highland face. With the throne vacant Abdur Rahman was offered to become the new Amir, as long as he abided by the Treaty of Gandamak and by July 1880 an agreement was reached.

The war was now over and the 72nd and the rest of the British Army were about to leave Afghanistan, when word came that a
British force west of Kandahar were wiped-out and the city was now under siege. Ayub Khan had claimed the throne and with 25,000 and 30 guns had marched on Kandahar. The British sent a force of 2,500 men to stop the Afghans at Maiwand, about 50 miles NW of Kandahar. There the two forces met, but this time the Afghans out-flanked the British, they defeated the Indian (1st & 30th Bombay Infantry) troops, who fled the battlefield, the 3rd Sind Horse & 3rd Bombay Cavalry refused to attack, but the 66th (Berkshire) Rgt stood their ground.

The Artillery fired their guns until the last moment before retreating, this left the 66th(1,000 men) alone to face the 25,000 Afghans. The outcome was obvious, the 66th battled their way back to a village and fought to the end. Only two officer and nine men escaped to tell the tale, the rest ran out of ammunition and were hacked to death. The survivors managed to return to Kandahar only to be closely followed by the enemy.

Gen Roberts decided to march 10,000 men and 11,000 animals 320 miles to Kandahar, this over now hostile country. He decided to cut his baggage train to the minimum to maximize his speed. His force consisted of the 9th Lancers, 60th (Duke of York's Rifle Corps and Light Inf), 72nd Hldrs, 92nd (Gordon's) Hldrs, 2nd, 4th & 5th Gurkhas, 2nd, 3rd & 15th Sikhs and 23rd, 24th & 25th Punjabis. The only guns to be taken were ones that could be carried by mules and all supplies were kept to the minimum, which included Officers comforts, though 8,000 camp followers went on the march.

8 - 31 Aug 1880 Kabul - Kandahar
The now famous march started on the 8th Aug 1880 heading to the mountains to the south-west. The terrain through the mountains were the hardest any Highlander had seen, the temperatures during the day varied from 84 to 92 Fahrenheit and down to freezing at night. The march would begin at 4 am and would continue until 2 pm when camp would be made, the baggage train took from 4 am till about 5 pm being slower.

They reached Kandahar on the 31st Aug, with only one days rest out of twenty four, an average of 14 miles a day. 14 miles a day does not seem a lot, but over rough, stony mountain tracks, it the sweltering heat, through enemy territory and needing to protect the columns and baggage train, arriving with not loss of baggage and hardly a man falling out, this was one achievement that will got down in history, one of human perseverence.

1 Sep 1880 Kandahar
The following morning Gen Roberts force attacked the Afghans who were entrenched along a ridge outside Kandahar. The attack was a two brigade attack with the 72nd Hldrs, 92nd Hldrs, 2nd Gurkhas & 2nd Sikhs leading the attack. Whether it was the pent up frustration due to the start-stop war, the revenge for Kabul, the revenge for the 66th Rgt or for just having to march 320 miles through country that even the devil would not want, nothing was going to stop the Highlanders and the Gurkhas.

The Afghans threw everything they had at them, maybe scensing that this was the final battle, who knows ?. The Highlanders attacked a walled enclosure, advancing through rifle-fire, then in hand-to-hand fighting, they literally stormed the enclosure and drove the Afghans back. Once the enclosure was taken the Afghans right flank was open, now it was the turn of the Afghan regular soldiers, who were protecting the far end of the ridge, to feel the wrath of the Highlanders and Gurkhas. In this attack the Afghans opened up with their heavy artillery, the British mountain guns open up and gave some covering fire while the Highlanders stormed the final entrenchment. Once this was taken the Afghans scattered and ran for the safety of the mountains. Kandahar was now relived, but more important the 2nd Afghan War was now finally over. The final battle had cost the 72nd 13 killed and 19 wounded.

During the Afghan War 1878-80 the 72nd also suffered 41 who had died from their wounds due to the lack of medical
supplies, and another 45 who had died from disease, other than those given above, at total of 288 casualties. While Gen Roberts, a hero in the eyes of the Highlanders, went back to Britain and received a heros welcome, as well as becoming a legend to the British public, the Highlanders, English, Gurkhas and Indians went back to soldiering, they would receive no heros welcome or become the legend as Roberts had, they had a job to do and that was back to the protecting the North West Frontier. But Gen Roberts never forgot who were the real hero's it was the Smith, Mac's and the Indians who had faced the shells, bullets and bayonets of the rebels and had won the war. The only thing the soldiers had was a good war story to tell their grandchildren around the peatfire years later.

The British moved out of Afghanistan in 1881 with a pro-British Abdur Rahman on the throne, the threat of the Russian gaining control of Afghanistan was averted, until a century later in 1979 when they finally invaded.

The 72nd remained at Mean Meer until 22/11/1880 and moved by rail to Lucknow, India arriving 25/11/1880. The 72nd became the 1st Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders on the 17/05/1881 with the 78th (Ross- shire Buff's) becoming the 2nd Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders.

1st Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders. The 1st Bn left Lucknow 08/02/1882. Sailed from Bombay on the "Jumma" 25/02/1882, arrived at Aden 03/03/1882. At Aden the 1st Bn was split up and stationed at Crater Position, Isthmus Position & Steamer Point Position. In June 1882 the 1st Seaforths were ordered to prepare for active service in Egypt and by early August they were reinforced with two companies from the 2nd Seaforths.

The 1st Bn was ordered to Egypt and left Aden on the "Bancoora" 02/09/1882 and arrived at Suez 08/09/1882. With the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, thus saving a long voyage around South Africa to get to the Far East, this waterway cut the voyage by half. With it came involvement in the chaotic affairs with the Egyptian Government, who with the Khedive (ruler) of Egypt, thing were going well until 1882 when the Egyptian Minister of War, Arabi Pasha, provoked the Egyptian Army to revolt and take over the country.

In Alexandria over 50 European subjects were murdered. The British responded by sending a Fleet to Alexandria and bombarded the town on the 11th July 1882, then landed sailor and marines to restore order.  Arabi Pasha ignored the British at Alexandria, he knew that the British would had a severe fight on their hands if they attack his army, as they were equipped and trained by the British and other European countries and as such knew their tactics, so the odds were on his side.

The British decided to respond by forming a Expeditionary Force formed from soldiers in Britain, the Mediterranean and India. This force consisted of a cavalry brigade, 1st & 2nd British Divisions and one division from India, a total of over 35,000 men, the command was given to Maj-Gen Sir Garnet Wolseley. Wolseley was ordered to secure the Suez Canal and keep the trade route open, also to defeat the Egyptian Army. The seizing of the Canal was not a major problem, but keeping the Canal open and defeating the Egyptian would become a problem. He anticipated that the Egyptian would defend Tel- el-Kebir, which is situated between Cairo and Ismailia and with Ismailia situated in the middle of the Canal Zone, this was the best place to situate the Egyptian Army. He decided to feint the British attack coming from Alexandria to the north of Tel-el-Kebir, while securing the Canal from both ends with new troops from Britain and India.

With the a brigade from Malta advancing south from Alexandria, the 1st & 2nd Divisions sailed down the Canal to Ismailia, while the Indian Division (which included the 1st Seaforths) secured the south end of the Suez Canal, then both converged on Ismailia.

20-22 Aug 1882 Shaluf & Serapeum
The 1st Seaforths attacked Shaluf on the 20th and after a sharp fight the Egyptians were defeated, then the following day they captured Serapeum, an important lock from the Sweetwater Canal which tied into the Suez Canal. By 22nd Aug both ends of the Canal and Ismailia were in British hands. The only Seaforth casualties at Shaluf & Serapeum were two soldier who drowned. The 1st & 2nd Divisions then pushed forward and captured the Sweetwater railway line while the Household cavalry attacked and defeated an Egyptian position at Kassassin Lock.

13 Sep 1882 Tel-el-Kebir
By 12th Sept the British divisions were in a position just 6 miles east of Tel-el-Kebir with 25,000 men and 75 guns, while the Egyptians had 38,000 men and 60 guns. Wolseley planned a dawn attack coming out from the rising sun and during the night the soldiers advanced on Tel-el-Kebir, north of Sweetwater Canal, with two brigades, the advance went of without a hitch. Just before the sun began to rise the attack began with the Highland (2nd HLI, 1st BW, 1st Gordon's and 1st Camerons) and 2nd Brigades being supported by the 4th and Guards Brigades and the Indian contingent (1st Seaforths) to the flank.

The Highland Brigade met stubborn resistance and a vicious battle ensued, with the Highlanders attacking the trenches with the point of the bayonet, while the Cavalry and Royal Horse Artillery swung around and threatened the enemies rear. The 1st Seaforths and the Indians attacked a gun battery south of the Sweetwater Canal and cleared further gun and Infantry positions. By 6 am the battle was over and the Egyptian Army were in full retreat heading to Cairo.

The Highland Brigade suffered the heaviest casualties (HLI suffered 74 casualties and the BW, Gordon's & Camerons suffered about 50 casualties each, a total of 45 killed, 182 wounded and 6 missing). The Cavalry pursued the Egyptian to Cairo and entered the capital the next day (14th Sept) and accepted the Egyptian Army surrender. The Indian contingent and 1st Seaforths also pursued the Egyptians and advanced on Zag-a-Zig, 33 miles away, which they occupied by evening, a feat in it's self with a 33 mile forced march in the intense heat and after a battle. The 1st Seaforths suffered 1 killed and 3 wounded in the battle and pursuit. The British & Indians suffered 57 killed, 382 wounded and 30 missing, while the Egyptians suffered 500 killed and 2,000 wounded. After the Egypt War of 1882 the British Army maintained a garrison in Egypt to protect the Suez
Canal until 1956.

The 1st Bn moved to Cairo 20/09/1882. They sailed from Alexandria to Britain on the "Caspian, Olympus & Ascalon" 10/10/1882. The 1st Bn were stationed at Parkhurst, Isle of Wight Oct 1882 - Feb 1884. In 1883 David MacAdie transferred to the 1st Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers. He served in with the 1st RSF in Britain until 1891 or 92 when he left the Army, with fifteen years in the 72nd Hldrs (1st Seaforths) and eight and a half years with the 1st RSF a total of twenty-three and a half years in the Army and left with the rank of Sergeant.

He had served Ireland 1868-71, India 1871-78, Afghanistan 1878-80, India 1880-1881, Cyprus 1881-82, Egypt 1882, Britain 1882-92.

He also helped the 72nd & 1st Seaforths gain 7 Battle Honours for their Colours, Peiwar Kotal (1878), Charasiah (1879), Kabul (1879), Kandahar (1880), Afghanistan 1878-1880, Tel-el-Kebir (1882), Egypt 1882.

He received five medals & five clasps. 2nd Afghan War Medal 1878-80 & four clasps (Peiwar Kotal, Charasia, Kabul, Kandahar Clasps). Egyptian Medal 1882-89 & a clasp (Tel-el-Kebir). Good Conduct and Long Service Medal. Kabul to Kandahar (Roberts) Star 1880. Khedives Egyptian Star 1882-91. And a Military Medal.

The Victoria Cross winners during the 2nd Afghan War 1878-80.
Capt E P Leach. Royal Engineers. Won the VC at Maidanak 17th Mar 1879.
Lt W R P Hamilton. Corps of Guides, Indian Army. Won the VC at Futtehabad 2nd Apr 1879.
Capt O'M Creagh. Bombay Staff Corps, Indian Army. Won the VC at Kam Daka 21st - 22nd Apr 1879.
Maj G S White. 92nd (Gordons) Hldrs. Won the VC at Charasiah 6th Oct 1879.
Capt E H Sartorius. 2/59th Foot. Won the VC at Shahjui 24th Oct 1879.
Capt R K Ridgeway. 44th Gurkha Rifles. Won the VC at the Naga Hills 22nd Nov 1879.
Rev J W Adams. Bengal Ecclesiastical Dept, Indian Army. Won the VC at Killa Kazi 11th Dec 1879.
Lt W H Cunyngham. 92nd (Gordons) Hldrs. Won the VC at Sherpur Pass 13th Dec 1879.
Capt W J Vousden. 5th Punjab Cavalry, Indian Army. Won the VC at Kabul River 14th Dec 1879.
Capt A G Hammond. Corps of Guides, Indian Army. Won the VC at Asmai Heights, Kabul 14th Dec 1879.
L/Cpl G Sellar. 72nd (Ross-shire Buffs) Hldrs. Won the VC at Asmai Heights, Kabul 14th Dec 1879.
Sgt P Mullane. Royal Horse Artillery. Won the VC at Maiwand 27th July 1880.
Gnr J Collis. Royal Horse Artillery. Won the VC at Maiwand 27th July 1880.
Lt W S Chase. 28th Native Inf, Indian Army. Won the VC at Deh Khoja, Kandahar 16th Aug 1880.
Pte T Ashford. 7th Royal Fusiliers. Won the VC at Deh Khoja, Kandahar 16th Aug 1880.

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David Bews 1998

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