Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Four: Lieutenant-Colonel H. A. Carroll, Royal Munster Fusiliers, who died October 1918 of illness contracted on active service

Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 3 clasps, Belmont, Orange Free State, Transvaal (Lieut. H. A. Carroll. Muns: Fus:); King’s South Africa 1901-02, 2 clasps, South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902 (Lt. H. A. Carroll, Rl: Muns: Fus:); British War and Victory Medals (Major H. A. Carroll.) together with Bronze Memorial Plaque (Henry Arthur Carroll) the first two with light contact marks, otherwise good very fine or better (5) £380-420

Henry Arthur Carroll was born in Tipperary on 14 November 1873, and educated at the Abbey, Tipperary, and Trinity College, Dublin. He was gazetted 2nd Lieutenant, from the Militia, to the Royal Munster Fusiliers, on 24 March 1897; Lieutenant, 9 November 1898; Captain, 13 March 1905; Major, 28 November 1914; temporary Lieutenant-Colonel, 12 October 1916.

Served in South African War 1899-1902, including advance on Kimberley and action at Belmont; operations in Cape Colony, south of the Orange River, 1899-1900; operations in Transvaal, April-July 1901; operations in Cape Colony, July 1901 to March 1902. He was Adjutant of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Munster Fusiliers from 18 May 1909 to 17 November 1912, and was appointed Adjutant of the 5th Battalion, Devonshire Regiment (T.F.) on 18 November 1912, with whom he proceeded to India in October 1914. He served with the Indian Expeditionary Force in Mesopotamia from 1 January 1916, where he organised and commanded a Composite Service Battalion of the Norfolks and Dorsets, performing good service with it in the attempted relief of Kut. He subsequently contracted rheumatic fever and was invalided home and died in the British Red Cross Hospital at Netley on 31 October 1918, of illness contracted while on active service.

His former Colonel wrote: “He is sincerely mourned by all his old comrades, who held him in high esteem on account of his noble character, his efficiency and his kindness of heart. He was three times mentioned in despatches for valuable service at home.”