A rare 'Killed-in-Action' Battle of Tamaai, Egypt & Sudan Campaign Medal Pair: Private John Payne, 1st Battalion Gordon Highlanders

The pair comprises:

a). Egypt & Sudan Medal. Dated 1882 & 3 clasps 'Tel-El-Kebir', 'Suakin 1884' & 'El-Teb_Tamaai' (1555, Pte. J. Payne, 1/Gord: Highrs)

b). Egypt: Khedive's Egypt Star. Obverse dated 1882

Note: With a pawbrokers mark (?) etched on one of the reverse star points

Killed-in-Action: Private John Payne 1st Battalion Gordon Highlanders is confirmed 'Killed-in-Action', at the desert battle of 'Tamaai', on, 13 March 1884

At the Battle of Tamaai, fought on 13 March 1884, the British force lost 5 officers and 86 Other Ranks killed (including Private J. Payne) with 7 officers and 103 other ranks wounded with 19 men missing. The Gordon casualties at Tamaai included 4 x Privates killed (vis 1763 Private John Lebreth; 1555 Private John Payne, 1822 Private Charles Ryder and 958 Private James McLeod) and 9 x 'Other Ranks' wounded, of whom 1714 Corporal Kenneth McKenzie subsequently died of his wounds

The service and supreme sacrifice of Private J. Payne is commemorated in perpetuity upon a regimental granite 'Celtic Cross' memorial located at Duthie Park, Aberdeen, Scotland, that commemorates all those Gordon Highlanders who died in the campaign in Egypt and the Sudan 1882-1885

The Aberdeen Evening Express issue of, 5 June 1884 contained the below following article pertaining to the regimental memorial erected to the fallen of the Egyptian Campaign of 1882, and the Soudan Campaign of 1884:

Quote,

A TRIBUTE TO VALOUR

MONUMENT IN DUTHIE PARK

A monument of the "granite grey" has this afternoon been erected in Duthie Park to commemorate the gallant conduct of the Gordon Highlanders in the Egyptian campaign of 1882. The site selected for the memorial is in the vicinity of the entrance to the park at Ferryhill. The monument which was sculptured at the Granite Works of Messer's A. McDonald & Co, in Constitution Street, is in the form of a Scotch Cross, about 15 feet in height, and stands on a rough pedestal of granite at an elevation of about seven feet. The top part of the cross is elaborately sculptured. Below this is the representation of a medallion resting upon, a St. Andrew's Cross, and encircled by a wreath of the Scotch thistle and the words "Gordon Highlanders"; and on a scroll immediately below the medallion is the motto "Bydand". In the centre of the medallion are a sphinx and a tiger, with the words "Egypt" and " India," denoting the campaigns in which the Highlanders have specially distinguished themselves. On the back of the memorial is the following list of names of the gallant soldiers, whose memory the memorial is designed to perpetuate:- "Erected by the officers, non-commissioned officers, and men of the 1st Battalion Gordon Highlanders, to the memory of their comrades, who were killed in action, or who died of wounds or disease contracted during the Egyptian campaign, 1882." On the back of the cross are the names of the officers and men, as follows. Egypt, 1882. Lieutenant H. G. Brooks, Lance-Sergeant Patrick Fitzgerald, Lance-Corporal William Munro, Privates Thomas Smith, William Wilson, Thomas Bartlett, William Martin, Henry Hodges and Robert Dyer."

"Soudan , 1884. Corporal Kenneth M'Kenzie, Privates John Lebreth, Charles Ryder, John Payne and James M'Leod."

Unquote.

Note: Contrary to the claim of the correspondent, only the names of those killed or died of wounds were, and are, engraved on the memorial

Medal & clasps verification: 1555 Private John Payne - a unique name on the Gordon's medal roll - is confirmed entitled to both medals and all 3 x clasps per the respective campaign medal rolls for the 1st Battalion Gordon Highlanders reference WO 100/59 (this for the medal with clasp 'Tel-el-Kebir' & 'Bronze Star) & WO 100/66 (this for the 2 x post 1882 clasps, shown on roll as 1555 'F' (sic) Payne, with remark (Dead A.G. List 151 - this latter for Adjutant General List 151)

A rare Killed-in-Action Victorian campaign medal pair for the Soudan Campaign of 1884

Cut and paste bellow link into google search, for an excellent article of the Gordon Highlanders services in Egypt & Sudan 1882-1885, that was published in the regimental journal of 4/SCOTS 'The Highlander' issue of 2022:

- https://www.thehighlanderonline.co.uk/2022/The_Highlander_2022_2pp.pdf

Sold together with some hard-copied photocopied Muster Roll / Pay list extract pages and other related research including copied extract pages from the respective campaign medal rolls of the 1st Battalion Gordon Highlanders

Condition: VF

Code: 23516