Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

The Boxer Rebellion and Great War campaign group of five awarded to Major A. A. S. Barnes, Wiltshire Regiment, attached Chinese Regiment, a Member of the Military Order of the Dragon and author of ‘On Active Service with the Chinese Regiment’

China 1900, 1 clasp, Relief of Pekin (Capt: A. A. S. Barnes, Wilts: Rgt.); 1914 Star, with clasp (Major A. A. S. Barnes. Wilts: R.); British War and Victory Medals (Major A. A. S. Barnes); U.S.A., Military Order of the Dragon (Captain Arthur A. S. Barnes Chinese Reg’t No. 1018) complete with pagoda top suspension brooch and fragmented original silk ribbon, the first four mounted as worn, good very fine or better (5) £2500-3000

The Wiltshire Regiment is not listed in British Battles and Medals for China 1900 or the Relief of Pekin and may, therefore, be unique to the regiment.

Arthur Alison Stuart Barnes was born 9 July 1867 in Kashmir, India, second son of Edward R. B. Barnes, and his wife, Georgiana. He first married Marguerite Antoinette Weatherston on 4 March 1905 at St. Andrew’s Church, Chee Foo, China. She died during the birth of their son, Robert Weatherston Barnes, in 1906. He remarried and his second wife was Jeannie Prentice.

He was a cadet at the Royal Military College in 1885-6 and became a Lieutenant in the 2nd Battalion of the Duke of Edinburgh's Wiltshire Regiment, on 25 August 1886. He subsequently served in India and Burma until 1895. On his arrival in India, he wrote a number of letters to his mother, who was visiting in the United States. In one letter he recommends to his mother that she try a certain sauce: "I want to call your attention to a certain sauce. It is called 'Tabasco Pepper Sauce' & seemingly emanated from a man E. McIlhenny, New Iberia, Louisiana. It is really liquid Cayenne Pepper, & a drop or two of it in soup, stew, or mixed around with mashed potatoes gives one a great appetite. The bottles are small & have a sort of stopper with a thing screwing off & on. You throw out the drops like a barber putting his villainous hair wash on your head. Two bottles should last a year. Here it costs 1/12 R (rupees) or what you would call 3s/6d & no doubt 50 cts. would cover it over there. It seems dear, but should last as long as 1/2 of the ordinary sauce at 6d (pence). Try it. I can recommend it." He received his captaincy on 15 January 1895, and was appointed Adjutant of the Battalion.

Three years later he was selected to go to Wei-Hai-Wei, China, to assist in the formation of the Chinese Regiment at that place, which had just been handed over by the Japanese to Great Britain. He took part in the Relief of Tientsin in the China War of 1900 and commanded the detachment of the 1st Chinese Regiment on the march to, and subsequent relief of, Peking in August 1900. Later, he was present at the actions of Peitsang and Yangtsun. He was also the Post-Commandant of Ho-hsi-wu in the Lines of Communication, and was mentioned in despatches (London Gazette, 14 May 1901), "the services of Captain A. A. S. Barnes call for recognition".

At Tientsin in June 1900, Barnes witnessed the Russians launch an attack on the enemy’s East Arsenal without having consulted the other allies. Observing from a tower in the British lines, he later wrote, ‘the Russians were being worsted, for part of their line was retiring at no mean speed, while the rest was halted.’ At length the Russian commander, General Stossel, requested assistance from the British. Despite being angered at their independent action, General Dorward obliged, sending in part of the Naval Brigade and three companies of the Chinese Regiment. One of the latter, No. 2, was commanded by Barnes, who later recalled how effective their khaki attire proved in hiding their advance. But for a clumsy Russian move on their right, which gave away their position, Barnes reckoned they would have had ‘a pretty fight.’ In any event the enemy arsenal fell to the allies shortly afterwards.

In early July, while in action with a mixed force under Colonel Bower, Barnes and his Chinese interpreter and bugler, ‘both lads of under eighteen’, attracted the attention of an enemy sniper about 300 yards off, who was using ‘a large bore weapon of sorts, which fired evil-sounding slugs, with smoky powder.’ He was, according to Barnes, no mean marksman, his bullets ‘bizz-bizz-bizzing’ round their ears. Half a dozen shots passed very close, one even between Barnes and the interpreter, the latter merely grinning when Barnes said ‘this does not seem to be a very good place we have selected.’ All, however, came through the day unscathed.

In fact Barnes was to experience quite a few near misses, including the occasion when a shell burst in the room next to his at the regiment’s quarters in Temperance Hall, and the time when he was on top of Gordon Hall tower, observing enemy activity with a Russian and a Frenchman, when a shell from the ‘Empress Dowager’ - as a big gun near the Yamen was affectionately known - came screeching over their heads, bursting about a hundred yards behind. It was followed by two more, each prompting, to Barnes’ apparent amusement, the successive departure of the Russian and the Frenchman, who had suddenly remembered ‘a very pressing engagement below.’ Then later that month, in the advance down the Taku road, while escorting the Hong Kong artillery, Barnes and No. 2 Company were subjected to a heavy fire: ‘bullets came pretty thick round us... one grazing the top of my helmet, while a man away behind us, with the water carts, was killed.’

Captain Barnes authored a book detailing his service in China entitled On Active Service with the Chinese Regiment, published in 1902. On 6 January 1906 he attained the rank of Major and became Commandant of the Shanghai Volunteer Corps for the next seven years. During the Great War he served with the Wiltshire Regiment in France and Flanders from 13 August to 6 October 1914, finally retiring with the rank of Major. In addition to the Mons Star trio he was awarded the Silver War Badge. Major Barnes died on the 3rd of May 1937 at Worthing, Sussex. Sold with a bound photocopy of his book, On Active Service with the Chinese Regiment.