Orders, Decorations and Medals

Five: Private W. Ralph, Royal Lancaster Regiment, who was seriously wounded on the Somme in July 1916

Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 3 clasps, Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal (5959 Pte., R. Lanc. Regt.); King’s South Africa 1901-02, 2 clasps, South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902 (5959 Pte., R. Lanc. Regt.); 1914 Star, with clasp (5959 Pte., R. Lanc. R.); British War and Victory Medals (5959 Cpl., R. Lanc. R.), mounted as worn, last clasp on the first with sewn rivets and both Boer War awards with contact marks, edge bruising and polished, nearly very fine, the Great War issues rather better (5) £250-300

William Ralph was born in Salford, Manchester and enlisted in the Royal Lancaster Regiment direct from the 3rd (Militia) Battalion in May 1899, aged 18 years. Embarked for South Africa in June 1900, after serving a sentence for desertion, he joined the 1st Battalion and qualified for the above described Medals and clasps prior to returning to the U.K. in April 1903 (copy service record refers). Shortly afterwards convicted on charges of drunkenness and disorderly behaviour, Ralph was placed on the Army Reserve, but with the advent of hostilities in August 1914, he was mobilised and embarked for France with the 1st Battalion in August 1914.

A few days later his unit was heavily engaged near Harcourt, suffering casualties of 443 men killed, wounded or missing, while in October further heavy losses were sustained in the fighting around Le Touquet, but for the moment at least Ralph appears to have emerged unscathed. Having then gained advancement to Acting Lance-Sergeant in November 1915, but been reduced to Private after another run-in with his seniors over a charge of drunkenness, he was seriously wounded in the left leg during fighting on the Somme in early July 1916 - most probably on “The First Day”, when the Battalion was ordered to attack enemy positions between Beaumont-Hamel and Serre on the 1st, many men falling in No Man’s Land as a result of heavy machine-gun and shell fire. Ralph was evacuated to the U.K. a few days later and was discharged as a Private in November 1917.