Orders, Decorations and Medals

Victory Medal 1914-19 (15027 Sjt. J. Lyon, E. Lan. R.) nearly extremely fine £30-50

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, A Collection of medals awarded to those having the surname 'Lyon'.

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James Albert Lyon was born in Blackburn, Lancaster. An Overlooker by occupation, he attested for service with the East Lancashire Regiment, at Accrington, on 14 September 1914, aged 32 years, 1 month. Posted to the 11th (Accrington Pals) Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment, he attained the rank of Serjeant in March 1915. With the ‘Pals’ he served in Egypt, December 1915-March 1916, after which the battalion was posted to France.

As part of the great Somme Offensive, the 11th Battalion was assigned a position opposite the fortified village of Serre. In the early morning of 1 July 1916, after the British bombardment had lifted, the Accrington Pals began their advance on the village. The bombardments had left the German positions largely intact and the ‘Pals’ advanced into a murderous hail of artillery and machine-gun fire. Their heroism became the stuff of legend, as 584 out of 720 were simply mown down. Many of them actually reached the German trenches, but had to withdraw when their reinforcements were mown down in turn. The battle for Serre ended in thirty minutes with the village still in German hands.

James Lyon survived the attack unscathed but in the evening of 1/2 July was wounded in action, receiving shrapnel/gunshot(?) wound to the left buttock causing a compound fracture to his left leg. Seriously injured, he was invalided to England and was discharged with a pension, being unfit for further military service, in November 1917. He was awarded the Silver War Badge and returned to civil life as an Inspector with the Accrington Gas Works. However, still suffering from his war wounds, he died on 18 February 1919 and was laid to rest in Accrington Cemetery. He was the husband of Edith Lyon of 47 Nutter Road, Accrington. With a quantity of copied research and some copied photographs.