Afghanistan War Medal 1878-1880. No clasp (4411. Driv: C. Taylor. H/1st Bde. R.A.)

Medal(s) Verification: Driver Charles Taylor of the Royal Regiment of Artillery is confirmed entitled to the Afghan Medal with no clasp as well as an Army Long Service Good Conduct Medal per below cited medal roll & referred to extant service papers:

- Afghan War Medal 1878-80. No clasp: WO 100/54
- Army Long Service & Good Conduct Medal. Victorian issue: Army Order 103 of 1897

The recipients service papers are extant and accessible at The National Archives

Charles Taylor eldest son of John Taylor (an Agricultural Labourer) & Mary Anne Taylor (nee Everitt) was a native of Layer Marney, Colchester, Essex, England, where he was born in 1859, and where he was baptised. At the time of the compilation of the 1871 National Census for England & Wales, Charles was living with his parents and 4 x siblings (sister Kate, Taylor and younger brothers, John Taylor, James Taylor & George Taylor) at their residence located at, No 38 Cottage, Layer Marney, Essex, England. A telling reality of the era is that Charles was returned in the Census as an 'Agricultural Labourer' - he was only 12 years of age! By trade a 'Labourer', Charles was 19 years of age, when, on 19 May 1879 he enlisted at Colchester, Essex, for service with the British Army. Initially he had signed-on to complete, 12 years service 'With The Colours', this subsequently extended, so he could complete 21 years service. On attestation, 21 May 1879, Charles was posted to the Royal Regiment of Artillery. On 15 March 1880, he embarked on the 'Euphrates' for overseas service in India. In 1900 Charles Taylor was still serving with the British Army, and was discharged 'Dead' at Seaforth, Lancashire, England on, 17 August 1900, cause of death being 'Acute Pneumonia'. At the time of his death Charles Talor had completed a total of 21 years & 89 x days service, and held the Afghan Medal 1878-80 and the Long Service & Good Conduct Medal. His record of service was:

- Home: 21/05/1879 - 14/03/1880
- India (inc Afghanistan): 15/03/1880 - 28/04/1887
- Home: 29/04/1887 - 17/08/1900

The following regimental abstract of service in the Afghan War 1878-80 is taken from the standard reference for that war, viz 'The Afghan Campaigns of 1878-1880 (S. H. Shadbolt, 1882)':

Quote,

H BATTERY, Ist BRIGADE, R.A.

In the autumn of 1878, Battery H/i, R.A., under the command of Major F. A. Pritchard, was ordered up from Secunderabad to Multan, and throughout the first campaign, and during part of the second, remained stationed there as a unit of the Reserve Division of the Army employed in the Southern theatre of operations.

In the autumn of 1880 the battery, under the command of Major C. Crosthwaite, took part in the advance of General Phayre’s Division to Kandahar, where it arrived at the latter end of September.

With the remainder of General Phayre’s Division, the battery marched to Dahila, in the Argandab Valley, on the 7th Oct., and remained there until orders were received to move again into Kandahar. On the final evacuation of the city in June, 1881, the battery returned to India.

Unquote

An attractive medal fitted with an old length of stitched riband, almost certainly as worn by the recipient

Condition: GVF

Code: 25833