Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

The ‘Samana 1897’ India General Service Medal awarded to Sepoy Thaman Singh, 36th Sikhs, for gallantry at Fort Cavagnari on 13 September 1897 when he drove the enemy from their sangars at the point of the bayonet and captured three of their standards, and was dangerously wounded by gunshot- for his gallantry he was awarded the Indian Order of Merit

India General Service 1895-1902, 2 clasps, Punjab Frontier 1897-98, Samana 1897, second clasp loose on riband as issued (1741 Sepoy Thaman Singh 36 Sikhs) officially impressed naming; together with an Indian Order of Merit, Military Division, 1st type (1837-1912), 3rd Class, Reward of Valor, silver and enamel, reverse officially engraved on three lines ‘3rd. Class Order of Merit’, lacking integral silver riband buckle; suspension very loose and tightened on first, with heavy pitting, therefore fair, the IOM better (2) £1800-2200

I.O.M. Government Order No. 133, 4 February 1898 (in a joint citation with Lance-Naik Harnam Singh, and 12 other Sepoys, all of the 36th Sikhs):
‘For conspicuous gallantry at Fort Cavagnari on the 13 September 1897, on which occasion they took part in a daring sortie. The party, with the assistance of a reinforcement under Havildar Sundar Singh, drove the enemy from their sangars at the point of the bayonet, and captured three of their standards.’

Thaman Singh served with the 36th Sikhs in the Dongola Expedition of 1896, and in the subsequent operations on the North West Frontier, and was awarded the Indian Order of Merit 3rd Class for gallantry at the defence of Fort Cavagnari in September 1897:
‘At the time of the Afridi incursion into the Khyber and Saman ranges, Fort Cavagnari at Gulistan, four miles from Fort Lockhart, was occupied by 165 men of the 36th Sikhs. After the enemy had captured the small post at Saraghari, and annihilated the gallant Sikh garrison of 21 men, they proceeded to attack Fort Cavagnari, which was closely besieged for three days. The defence was conducted with great gallantry, the Sikhs responding nobly to the call. On one occasion a sortie was made from the walls and three of the enemy’s standards were captured. The little garrison was cut off from water and its ammunition had to be closely husbanded. The commander of the garrison had his anxieties intensified by the presence of his wife and family in the fort, but in the words of a brother officer, he was “the life and soul of the defence, guarding against every danger and showing an example of cheerfulness and steadfastness to all.” In the fighting 44 men were killed or wounded and the garrison was under attack continuously for 52 hours. Relief was eventually brought by General Yeatman-Bigg’s column, and the General congratulated the garrison of the 36th Sikhs on their splendid defence. As further confirmed by Yeatman-Bigg’s despatch, dated at Fort Lockhart on 21 September 1897, they had been up against a formidable enemy force: “I pressed on with all possible speed, as I did not know whether the Fort at Gulistan was holding out or not. On reaching the high ground overlooking Fort [Cavagnari at] Gulistan, I found that the fort was invested by about 6,000 Orakzias.”’

Thaman Singh was himself dangerously wounded by gunshot to the pelvis and hip joint during the defence of Fort Cavagnari, 12-14 September 1897. For their gallantry in the defence of Fort Cavagnari, the 36th Sikhs were conferred with the unique battle honour ‘Samana’.

Note: A named I.O.M. is known to this recipient, and the one in this lot has been added for display purposes.