AFGHANISTAN MEDAL

THE VERY RARE AFGHANISTAN 1878 AWARDED TO PRIVATE OF ‘A’ COMPANY, 1ST BOMBAY GRENADIERS WHO WAS WOUNDED IN ACTION AT THE BATTLE OF MAIWAND, A BATTLE IN WHICH THE GRENADIERS WOULD SUFFER BY FAR THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF CASUALTIES SUSTAINED BY ANY REGIMENT, THIS PRIVATE BEING 1 OF JUST 55 MEN WOUNDED MEN TO SURVIVE

AFGHANISTAN 1878, NO CLASP ‘GL. NO.1194 PT. DHAN SING. 1. GRS. N. I.’

Private Dhan Sing served in ‘A’ Company, 1st Bombay Native Infantry (Grenadiers) during the Second Afghan War and was one of just 55 men of his regiment to be wounded and survive the battle.

The Battle of Maiwand was one of the largest battles of the 2nd Afghan War (1878-1880). A British-Indian force under General Burrows had been sent to intercept Ayub Khan, who had launched a bid for the Afghan throne, as he advanced from Herat towards Kandahar. On 27 July 1880 Burrows' force, consisting approximately 2,500 British and Indian men, was overwhelmed by an Afghan army ten times its size. Burrow’s sustained casualties of 969 killed and 177 wounded, or near half his force. Sing’s Regiment, the 1st Bombay Grenadiers, sustained the highest losses of any regiment present, surpassing the devastating number of casualties the 66th suffered.

Of the 649 officers, men present, the Grenadiers suffered 10 Officers and 356 men killed, 61 Officers and men wounded, or a 66% casualty rate. A further 48 followers were killed with 3 wounded. Of Private Sing’s ‘A’ Company, 41 were killed and 11 wounded.

https://www.britishempire.co.uk/forces/armycampaigns/indiancampaigns/campafghan1878maiwand.htm

The battle itself was fought in such a searing heat, it was remarkable that Burrow’s force was able to put up such a fight but the battle at Maiwand was just the start of the disaster. The trials and privations endured through the terrible retreat, in which for over thirty hours the troops were without food or water, equalled the horrors of the battle itself. Indeed, a large percentage of casualties suffered at Maiwand, actually occurred during the retreat:

“..The Afghans harried the tail of the retreating column and picked off stragglers, but did not otherwise try to cut off their progress. When a serious attack looked imminent the guns were unlimbered and brought into action. The retreat to Kandahar was one of those terrible episodes in the history of the British and Indian army dominated by the awful thirst, the suffering of the wounded men and animals, and the terror of passing near hostile villages. The journey was a nightmare, involving the crossing of a 16-mile desert and fighting against armed villagers…”

After 33 hours of relentless pursuit by hostile tribesmen, the exhausted survivors reached Kandahar.

1194 Private Dhan Sing is confirmed as a member of ‘A’ Company, 1st Bombay Grenadiers, in the casualty lists for Maiwand published in the London Gazette 19 November 1880, which lists all the casualties for each regiment at Maiwand, as well as despatches.

Condition GVF, old with copy research including LG casualty roll.

A very rare medal, this being one of just a handful of casualties to the regiment being recorded as extent, most of these to Officers.