Orders, Decorations and Medals

General Gordon’s Star for the Siege of Khartoum, pewter, with traces of gilding, the points of the star neatly pierced but generally very fine £250-300

During the time General Gordon was besieged in Khartoum he authorized a star to be cast for distribution to his officers and troops with the idea of raising morale. To receive one of these medals it was necessary to make a donation to a fund, the proceeds of which were used to relieve the poor. The design was based on the Order of the Medjidie and the stars were crudely cast in the sand. It is thought that the medal used to make the original mould was Geneneral Gordon’s own.