Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

1914-15 Star (Capt. Hon. N. J. A. Primrose, Bucks. Yeo.) extremely fine £120-150

M.C. London Gazette 3 June 1916.

M.I.D. London Gazette 17 February 1915 and 21 June 1916.

Captain Hon. Neil James Archibald Primrose, M.C., 1st/1st Royal Buckinghamshire Hussars, was killed in action at Ramleh, Palestine, on 15 November 1917, and is buried in Ramleh War Cemetery. He was born in 1882, the second son of the 5th Earl of Rosebury, the former Prime Minister, and husband of Lady Victoria Primrose, of Swynford Paddocks, Six Mile Bottom, Newmarket. He was a Privy Councillor and Member of Parliament for Wisbech Division, Cambridgeshire, since 1910.

Primrose joined the Buckinghamshire (Royal Bucks Hussars) Imperial Yeomanry, as a 2nd Lieutenant on 10 February 1909. He embarked for France with the Indian Expeditionary Force on 25 September 1914, and was appointed to the Staff for press work H.Q. Indian Army Corps, until January 1915, when he was appointed Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, until May 1915. He returned to regimental duties in June and embarked for Egypt in August, rejoining 1/1 Bucks Yeomanry. After leave in England from April to June 1916, he was appointed Parliamentary Military Secretary to the Ministry of Munitions, September to December 1916, and in the same capacity at the Treasury until May 1917. He rejoined the Bucks Yeomanry in Palestine on 8 September 1917 and was killed in action one week later.

The regimental War Diary records, ‘November 15. Orders received that Naan is to be taken. This necessitated taking strong position Abu Shusheh. 22nd Bde attacked on left from the North dismounted, the 6th Bde on their right. Two composite Sqdns Bucks (total 215) and 1 Sqdn Berks under Lt. Col. Hon. F. H. Cripps (commanding Bucks Yeo) galloped into action and brought rifle fire to bear on position. Dorset Yeo advanced on right and left flank mounted, and the whole line going forward together, swept the Turk away in disorder. The Bucks Yeo led, horses being brought up at the gallop, the Bucks joined in the pursuit, and swinging round to the left captured the high ground commanding Abu Shusheh which the Turk was forced to evacuate. The whole action was fought most expeditiously and the position captured by combined fire and shock tactics. Capt the Hon. Neil Primrose, M.C., was mortally wounded in this action and our casualties in addition were 1 O.R. killed, 7 O.R. wounded. One Field Gun and 300 prisoners were taken by the Brigade.’

General Allenby, in his despatch dated 16 December 1917, reported: ‘Flanking the advance along the railway to Ramleh and covering the main road from Ramleh to Jerusalem, a ridge stands up prominently out of the low foot hills surrounding it. This is the site of the ancient Gezer, near which the village of Abu Shusheh now stands. A hostile rearguard had established itself on this feature. It was captured on the morning of the 15th in a brilliant attack by mounted troops, who galloped up the ridge from the south. A gun and 360 prisoners were taken in this affair.’