Orders, Decorations and Medals

Crimea 1854-56, 1 clasp, Alma (Capt. Jno. C. Conolly, 23rd Foot), contemporary engraved naming, good very fine £400-450

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Medals from the Collection of Brigadier Brian Parritt, C.B.E..

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John Charles Conolly was born in 1823, his mother being the sister of Major-General Sir Arthur Wellesley Torrens, K.C.B. He purchased his commission in the 41st Foot on 30 October 1840 and purchased the rank of Lieutenant on 22 July 1842. On 6 July 1849 he purchased the rank of Captain in the 23rd Foot. Serving in the Crimea with the regiment, he was killed in action at the battle of Alma, 20 September 1854. The regimental history records, ‘Captain Conolly of the Regiment sprang forward, and calling upon the men to follow him, succeeded in clambering up the bank, only to fall dead on reaching the top, having been shot by the Russians. His name appears on the Cheltenham Crimean Memorial and on a commemorative plaque in St. Mary’s Church, Cheltenham. Sold with some copied research.