A rare Great War M.C. group of four awarded to Captain Ulick de Burgh Browne, the 7th Marquis of Sligo, 2nd Dragoons (the Royal Scots Greys)

Military Cross, G.V.R., the reverse privately inscribed, ‘Earl of Altamont’; British War and Victory Medals (Lieut. Earl of Altamont); Coronation 1911, privately inscribed, ‘Ulick de Burgh, Viscount Westport’, contact marks, otherwise generally very fine (4) £1800-2200

M.C. London Gazette 2 April 1919:

‘For conspicuous gallantry and initiative when on reconnaissance at Vieville and Fesnoy on 4 November 1918; near Le Sart on 5 November; and south of Cargignies on 6 and 7 November. During these four days he handled his patrols with great skill and boldness, obtaining and sending in accurate information.’

Ulick de Burgh Browne was born in London in March 1898, the only son of the 6th Marquis of Sligo, and accordingly held the titles of Earl of Altamont, Earl of Clanricarde, Viscount Westport and Baron Mount Eagle. Young Ulick was educated at Eton 1911-15, in which former year he appears to have been awarded the Coronation Medal, aged 13 - certainly the title ‘Viscount Westport’ engraved thereon fits the bill, his father still being alive, and, given the family’s position, there is no reason to suppose that the young boy did not attend the formal ceremonies.

Be that as it may, he next attended the R.M.C. Sandhurst and was commissioned into the 2nd Dragoons (the Royal Scots Greys) in August 1916 and served in France and Flanders from October 1917 until the end of the War, winning his M.C. for gallant patrol work shortly before the Armistice. Placed on the Retired List in the rank of Captain in April 1928, after having served as Adjutant 1923-26, he inherited his father’s title as the Marquis of Sligo in 1935 and settled at his family seat, Westport House, Co. Mayo in Ireland, where he took a considerable interest in local affairs.

On the renewal of hostilities, the Marquis established a First Aid Station, with three wards, at Westport House, as well as providing a fully equipped fire engine and an ambulance for use in the district. He also joined the Local Security Force in which he was a Group Leader in Section B, but his services were short lived, for he died after an illness in a Dublin Nursing Home in January 1941 (The Irish Times refers).