British Campaign and Gallantry Medals

A fine Great War Palestine operations M.C. group of three awarded to 2nd Lieutenant C. Winton, Indian Army Reserve of Officers, attached 1st Queen Victoria’s Own Corps of Guides Infantry, who led a daylight raid and ‘personally killed two of the enemy with the bayonet’ - as subsequently reported in the home press, Winton’s life was saved on the same occasion by a Gurkha, who decapitated a Turk who was attacking him

Military Cross, G.V.R., the reverse privately engraved, ‘Lieut. C. Winton, Jaffa, 13 July 1918’; British War and Victory Medals (Lieut. C. Winton), extremely fine (3) £1000-1200

M.C. London Gazette 1 February 1919:

‘For conspicuous gallantry and good leadership north of Arsup on 13 July 1918. He was in command of a daylight raid on two enemy strong points, and it was mainly due to his coolness and leadership that the whole affair was carried out so successfully. He personally killed two enemy with the bayonet.’

Charles Winton was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant on the Indian Army Reserve of Officers in August 1917, and thence joined the 1st Queen Victoria’s Corps of Guides Infantry, part of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, in Palestine. And it was in the same capacity that he won his M.C. for a daylight raid on Arsup, near Jaffa, on 13 July 1918, an action described in detail in his unit’s history:

‘On 13 July a most successful daylight raid was carried out by Lieutenant C. A. Winton and a party of 20 Gurkha volunteers, including Havldars Dhan Jit and Puran Bahadur, Naik Karma Dhoj and Lance-Naik Hasta Ram. The objectives were two strong points in front of the right of the Battalion line and 150-200 yards from it. The raid, which had been carefully planned and rehearsed, took place at 1 p.m., the time of day when the Turks were usually inactive. The raiders left our trenches and creeping down a wadi in “No Man’s Land” for about 100 yards then advanced across the open to their first objective. As the Gurkhas neared the enemy’s line they drew their kukris and leaping down upon the astonished Turks speedily cleared the trench, seven Turks being killed here, while five prisoners and a machine-gun were captured. The party advanced and cleared the other strong point, a separate redoubt, 15 Turks in all being killed and 15 prisoners (five wounded and 10 unwounded), being taken. The raiders then returned across the 150 yards of “No Man’s Land” to “North Sister”, the operation having worked exactly to plan and having taken only 12 minutes from start to finish. Only three of the party were wounded. Lieutenant Winton was awarded the Military Cross and Havildar Dhan Jit the Indian Distinguished Service Medal. The raid was thus referred to in an English newspaper:

“Decapitated by a kukri

A subaltern in charge of a party had an extraordinary experience. He had stuck his bayonet into a Turk, but was unable to disengage it owing to the narrowness of the trench. Another Turk beyond began jabbing the butt end of his rifle into the ribs of the officer, and seemed likely to inflict an injury, when the officer saw his assailant’s head leap from his shoulders, a Gurkha having dexterously decapitated him with his kukri, which is an invaluable weapon at such close quarters.”

This was the actual experience of Lieutenant Winton during the raid just described, and the Gurkha referred to was Sepoy Mardani of the Guides.

The execution of the raid was considered so instructive that details regarding it were circulated to all units in the Egyptian Expeditionary Force.’

Winton was advanced to Lieutenant in August 1918 and is believed to have been placed back on the Reserve in the following year.