Orders, Decorations and Medals

Indian Mutiny 1857-59, 1 clasp, Central India (2nd Class S. Surgn. E. Touch, M.D., 83rd Regt.) minor contact marks, very fine £650-750

Edward Touch was born in Edinburgh on 9 July 1827. An Alumnus of King’s College Aberdeen, 1842-45, he qualified as a M.D. at Edinburgh in 1848. He was appointed Acting Assistant Surgeon in September 1849 and Assistant Surgeon on the Staff in November the same year. Appointed to the 83rd Foot in October 1851, he was advanced to Surgeon Staff 2nd Class in October 1857. Transferred to the 46th Foot in November 1859; the Staff in April 1864; 3rd Foot in July 1866; the Staff in October 1866; 25th Foot in March 1867, and Staff in June 1868. Touch retired on Half Pay in September 1868 and died at Inverary on 22 March 1883. Touch served at Aboo in Rajpootana in 1857 as Assistant Surgeon of the 83rd Regiment when a large detachment of the Joudpore Legion mutinied and attacked the barracks and station. He was officially thanked by the occicer commanding the Deesa Field Brigade in a letter which was read to the regiment for having in the absence of the officer commanding the detachment of the 83rd Regiment who was sick, ‘at the commencement of the attack so ably directed the convalescents upon the points most exposed to the attack of the mutineers’ By the conduct of the detachment of the 83rd Regiment, the lives of 136 European women and children were saved. Touch went on to serve at the seige, assault and capture of Kotah, the action at Sanganeer, the battle of Bunass, and the night attack on the enemy’s camp at Seekur. Sold with copied research.