Auction Catalogue

25 September 2008

Starting at 10:00 AM

.

Orders, Decorations and Medals

Washington Mayfair Hotel  London  W1J 5HE

Download Images

Lot

№ 568

.

25 September 2008

Hammer Price:
£2,300

An extremely rare campaign service group of four awarded to Private G. Haywood, Rifle Brigade, one of a handful of men from his regiment who served in the Boxer Rebellion, in which conflict he won a “mention” for his work in a telegraph party: his colourful account of his Chinese sojourn, in which he reveals he “dropped” at least one Boxer with a rifle shot, was subsequently published in the Rifle Brigade Chronicle

India General Service 1895-1902
, 1 clasp, Punjab Frontier 1897-98 (1764 Pte., 3d Bn. Rifle Bde.); China 1900, 1 clasp, Relief of Pekin (1764 Pte., 3rd Rifle Brigd.); Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 2 clasps, Transvaal, South Africa 1902 (1764 Pte., Rifle Brigade); Imperial Service Medal, G.V.R., robed bust (George Haywood), one or two edge bruises, very fine or better (4) £1800-2200

Just seven China 1900 Medals were awarded to the Rifle Brigade.

George Haywood was born at Wednesbury, Staffordshire and enlisted in the Rifle Brigade in October 1891, aged 18 years. Originally posted to the 2nd Battalion, he qualified in electric telegraphy and was transferred to the 3rd Battalion in India in December 1893, where he was present in operations on the Punjab Frontier 1897-98. Undoubtedly, too, it was as a result of his signalling qualifications that he was suddenly ordered to China in late June 1900, a chapter of his career saved for posterity by his colourful account of his experiences - the whole pubished in the
Rifle Brigade Chronicle in 1901.

Arriving at Wei-Hai-Wei via Hong Kong in late July, he and his small team of signallers - and their field telegraph equipment - were embarked on a steam lighter bound for the Taku Forts, and thence, by train, in open trucks, journeyed to Tientsin - ‘The railway station was a fearful spectacle, one mass of debris caused by shot and shell ... we unloaded our stores and packed them on mules, arriving at a woollen mill an hour later - here we were quartered and attached to the Royal Welsh Fusiliers.’

A day or two later, when the Allied advance commended on Pekin, Haywood and his men journeyed by road with the telegraph line, while their baggage and spare equipment was embarked in two Chinese junks. Reaching Hsiku on 4 August, and having worked to midnight in order to establish a proper communications office, the signallers were rudely awoken by the sound of heavy rifle fire at 2.15 a.m. - ‘We were encamped within two miles of the enemy ... The fire continued in one continuous roll, rifle bullets and pom-pom shells whistling and screaming over our heads in all directions.’

As it transpired, the sound of gunfire was again the cause of interrupted sleep 48 hours later, the main force having moved out to make contact with the enemy - Haywood being left behind with a Sapper lineman, a cook and a Bhisti, and no supporting troops nearer than a mile away, a mere ‘six men of the Welsh Fusiliers in a junk yard on the river’. To all intents and purposes stranded, he took the initiative, rounded up a force of reluctant Chinese coolies to carry his telegraph equipment, and struck out for Peitsang - ‘Before starting I warned the Sapper lineman to shoot or bayonet any coolie who dropped his load or attempted to run. I also placed the cook in front with his chopper, and the Bhisti a little behind. Then the Sapper with his rifle, and myself, in the rear to keep a sharp watch on them, as we had villages and long corn to pass through.’ And before too long the party came upon evidence of some sharp fighing on the part of the advancing Allies - ‘There were scores of the Chinese dead lying about, while some had crawled into the corn and there died: they presented a horrible sight being alive with maggots and covered with huge blisters caused by the sun. Some were shattered with shell while others had limbs blown clean away, and the smell was awful. Occasionally one could see where the Allied troops had fallen, by the equipment, coats, ammunition and field dressings left behind.’

At Peitsang, Haywood crossed the river by a bridge of boats, teamed up with a Sergeant, R.E., and then pressed on to a camp which had been established at Yangtsun - and it was here that he finally caught up with his own telegraph section, the officer in charge congratulating him on his initiative in bringing along a team of much needed coolies. Moving next to Tsaitsun, where in one evening his team erected telegraph poles over a distance of five miles, Haywood had his helmet blown off his head when the local powder magazine was destroyed by the Engineers - ‘I picked up my helmet, crammed it on my head, and looked up at the explosion - it was a great spectacle, a column of smoke and dust straight up in the air for about 800 feet. For an hour after showers of dust and burnt powder fell.’

On 11 August the telegraph team left for Matas, their work being delayed by a village occupied by about 200 armed Chinese:

‘We were ordered to skirmish out in different directions through the village and clear it. I and two others took a central road while the others skirmished in parties in all directions. The first house we came to was surrounded with a wicker fence, and inside of which were trenches. We went on and came across a group of armed Chinese about 600 yards ahead. We dropped down and loaded; the two men with me fired and I saw one Chinese drop while some of them bolted. I immediately fired and dropped another. We could now hear firing from the other parties on the outskirts of the village. We then advanced until we saw several Boxers run across the road 400 yards ahead. We dropped two of them and advanced again, when a shot flew past us. We saw the smoke rising from the house. We then crept up alongside a bank and got near enough to spot a fellow on the roof. Two of us pulled off together and he rolled over. We then looked inside the house and found a gun (flint-lock), and took the one of the roof, which was a muzzle loader. Coming out we had several shots at Boxers who were bolting through the corn ... After this we returned and picked up our line again [but] we had not proceeded far when we heard shots flying after us from across the river, which seemed to be fired from their “three-men” guns (Gingals they call them) and they make as much noise as a 9-pounder. As, however, we could not see anyone, we pushed on ... and reached Matas and camped.’

Finally, on the 14 August, after reaching Tungchao, Haywood could hear the ‘the furious bombardment’ taking place at Pekin, and on the afternoon of the following day he reached the East Gate of the city - ‘Outside the gate under the walls were heaps of percussion caps, bullets, clothing and tentage left by the enemy. The walls were massive, about 50 feet high and 50 feet thick at the base. Inside the gate were piles of arms, Mausers, Winchesters, muzzle loaders and Gingals ... dead Boxers and Imperial troops laid in every direction and the stench was awful. We bivouacked for the night inside the gate, amongst a lot of Japanese coolies, who had followed the army for loot, and they had found it too - they were selling silver nuggets for four dollars (properly called silver shoes), at a rate of eight for four dollars.’

On 16 August, Haywood and his team went out and brought in their telegraph line, reaching the Legations at 4 p.m., a sight ‘never to be forgotten ... Across the roads was barricade after barricade every 20 yards or so. Every building left standing was sandbagged up to the roof. The only buildings left standing were the British and American Legations, the Hong Kong Bank and Hotel de Pekin. We opened office in the British Legation in the Secretary’s house. We had to clear the room out first as it was full of cartridge cases and ammunition boxes. I was put in charge with Private Webb of the 3rd Battalion to assist. We opened with a telephone the first day, but next we moved over to the American Legation and worked on an instrument called the “buzzer”. We did 24 hours between us at this, not only doing British but American and every Power’s work here - Japanese, Russian, French, German and Austrian, and also press messages. Inside the Legation were troops of all nationalities, wounded and sick, also missionaries ... ’

By the end of the month, Haywood was able to report that the city was ‘coming back to itself again’, although disturbing reports were received from assorted expeditions that were sent out to the surrounding country. Thus the discovery at Pao-ting-Fu of several missionaries on the brink of death, found naked in a cellar - ‘One lady missionary was treated with horrible cruelty by the Boxers before our troops arrived. She was led through the streets naked, with both breasts cut off and afterwards decapitated outside the city.’

For his own part in the operations, Haywood was mentioned in the G.O.C. China Field Force’s despatch as ‘particularly worthy of notice’ (despatch dated 5 February 1901), and went on to see further action out in South Africa in the final months of the Boer War, prior to being placed on the Army Reserve in May 1903. His subsequent award of the Imperial Service Medal is believed to have been for services as a postman in Cheltenham.