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Lot

№ 184

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11 December 2019

Hammer Price:
£1,400

A good Second War 1944 ‘immediate’ Burma operations M.M. group of six awarded to Sepoy Said Khabib, 14/13th Frontier Force Rifles, who despite being severely wounded in three places and being forced to use his Tommy Gun as a crutch, managed to dispatch at least two enemy soldiers and limp several miles alone to the rendezvous point - all of which occurred during his first time in action with the enemy

Military Medal, G.VI.R. (30576 Sepoy. Said Khabib. 13 F.F.R. I.A.); 1939-45 Star; Burma Star; War Medal 1939-45; India Service Medal; Pakistan Independence Medal 1947, unnamed, light contact marks, generally very fine (6) £600-£800

M.M. London Gazette 22 June 1944:

The original Recommendation states: ‘At Khampat, Kabaw Valley, on 9 March 1944, 30576 Sepoy Said Khabib (Pathan village Kahli Tehsil, Nowshera District, Peshawar) Guerilla platoon, 14/13th F.F. Rifles, took part in the engagement with enemy forces moving northwards up the valley.
His Section was in close contact with the Japs, and in the early stages of the action, he was wounded in the left thigh by a splinter from a mortar shell. The wound was not serious and he continued firing. Later, probably shortly before the withdrawal commenced, he was hit again, in the left leg, by a bullet. Finding himself alone, and still under fire, he crawled back some distance, and then walked back along the track, using his Tommy Gun as a crutch. At the first rendezvous, he suddenly came face to face with two Japs, and was charged by the leading one. Sepoy Said Khabib parried the bayonet thrust in his left hand, but slipped and fell backwards. As the Jap was recovering himself, he shot him from the sitting position, and then shot the second Jap.
Sepoy Said Khabib rejoined his platoon at the second rendezvous about two miles in the rear, on the following morning. He was severely wounded in three places and exhausted; but his arms and equipment were complete. This young sepoy set an inspiring example of courage and devotion to duty in his first action.’