Five: Private F. W. Searle, Royal Sussex Regiment

1914-15 Star (4-1257 Pte., R. Suss. R.); British War and Victory Medals (1257 Pte., R. Suss. R.); Territorial Force Efficiency Medal (200067 Pte., 4/R. Suss. R.); Khedive’s Sudan 1910-21, 2nd issue, 1 clasp (loose), Darfur 1916 (1257 Pte., 1/4 R. Suss. R.), officially impressed naming, nearly extremely fine, last rare to unit (5) £600-800

Frederick W. Searle enlisted into the Royal Sussex Regiment in 1911, aged 17 years. He entered the Balkan theatre of war on 8 August 1915. He later served in the operations in Darfur, Sudan, against Sultan Ali Dinar; being one of the three officers and 45 men trained on the Maxim Gun, seconded from the 52nd, 53rd and 54th Divisions, to support the Western Frontier Force in its operations. A total of four ‘other ranks’ were drawn from the machine-gun section of the 1/4th Royal Sussex Regiment. See ‘The British Maxim Detachment in Darfur, 1916’ by M. D. Cassel, O.M.R.S. Journal, Autumn 1987, p.166-171. Sold with copy of jounal, copy m.i.c. and group photograph including Searle.