Auction Catalogue

22 September 2000

Starting at 12:00 PM

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Orders, Decorations and Medals

Grand Connaught Rooms  61 - 65 Great Queen St  London  WC2B 5DA

Lot

№ 748

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22 September 2000

Hammer Price:
£4,500

A rare ‘Ginnis’ gold D.S.O. group of four awarded to Colonel William Bennett, The Yorkshire Regiment (Green Howards)

Distinguished Service Order, V.R., gold and enamels, in its Garrard & Co case of issue; India General Service 1854-95, 1 clasp, North West Frontier (Lieut., 1st Bn. H.Ms. 19th Regt.); Egypt & Sudan 1882-89, 1 clasp, The Nile 1884-85 (Lieut. Col., 1/Yorks. R.); Khedive’s Star 1884-6, some minor chips to wreaths of the D.S.O., otherwise nearly extremely fine (4) £4500-5500

See Colour Plate III

D.S.O.
London Gazette 26 November 1886: ‘William Bennett, Colonel, Yorkshire Regiment. For the action at Ginnis’. This Gazette announced the very first awards of the newly created Distinguished Service Order, all for the action at Ginnis on 30 December 1885.

William Bennet was born 15 Novemer 1835 at Athlone, Ireland, eldest son of Capt. Thomas Bennet, 14th Hussars, and of Winifred Bennet, daughter of the late N. Keating. He was educated at private schools, and joined the 1st Battn, 19th Foot in India, as Ensign, in 1858, the battalion in which he afterwards served for 32 years. Shortly afterwards, he passed in Hindustani, and was appointed Regimental Interpreter. In 1862 he obtained a first-class certificate at the school of musketry, Hythe, and held the appointment of Instructor of Musketry to the 3rd Depot Battn. at Chatham, and afterwards to his regiment. He took part in the Hazara Campaign, North West Frontier of India, including the expedition against the Black Mountain Tribes, 1868 (medal with clasp). He married in 1869, Belinda, daughter of the late William Rosher, of Woodfield, Northfleet, Kent. He was promoted Captain in in 1871, and in July, 1877 returned to Hythe as Captain Instructor at the School, and was appointed D.A.A.G. for Musketry at Aldershot 1st March, 1878, remaining in that position until, getting his Majority in 1881, he rejoined the Yorkshire Regt. at Halifax, Nova Scotia. When on the staff at Aldershot, he founded the in 1878 the Annual Aldershot Rifle Meeting. Colonel Bennet always took a keen interest in shooting being himself one of the best shots in the army, and winner of many important trophies in the matches of the Northern Indian Rifle Asscociation, as well as a successful big game shot in Kashmir. An instance of his fine marksmanship in Target-Shooting was witnessed one day on the rifle range when, as regimental musketry instructor, he was endeavouring to train a batch of third class shots to make the best of the very inferior Lee-Enfield rifles which were at that time issued to the battalions in India. One of the men after several tries, failed altogether to get a single shot on the target. “How is it, Private Atkins, that you are shooting so badly?” Inquired the instructor, “well Sir” said the man, “I think this ‘ere rifle is a bad one, I can’t make nothin’ of it.” Capt. Bennet took the rifle from the man with his right hand only, put it to his shoulder and without touching it at all with his other hand, aimed at the target, and immediately made a bullseye. “I do not think there is much fault to be found with that rifle,” he remarked to the greatly surprised Mr Atkins. After much testing those rifles were ultimately changed for a superior make, with the result that the shooting of the regiment was so good the next year (1871) as to draw forth the following favourable remarks from the Commander in Chief in India: “The shooting is excellent, and evinces a degree of care in the performance of the annual course of musketry which is very creditable to the battalion. The exertions of the officer instructors, Capt. Bennet and Lieut. Emerson, have been reported to His Excellency as being worthy of special commendation, an expression of which Lord Napier of Magdala accordingly desires may be communicated to those oficers.” As Major he seved in the Nile expedition of 1884-5 and was promoted Lieutenant - Colonel in1885; served in the Sudan 1885-6. He Commanded the 1st battn. Yorkshire Regiment, in the action of Ginniss and was created a companion of the Distinguished Service Order and Mentioned in Despatches. He retired as full colonel in 1890, after 22 years on the retired list, during which time, being very fond of travelling, Colonel Bennett visited the Holy Land and many parts of Europe and North Africa, he died of pneumonia and heart failure on 2 August 1912, at Whitby, Yorkshire, aged 76.