Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Efficiency Decoration, G.VI.R., 1st issue, India, reverse engraved ‘Rev. C. S. J. Leigh S.I. Ry. Bn., A.F.I.’ with integral top riband bar, in Royal Mint case of issue, gilding rubbed in places, good very fine £140-180

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, A Collection of Awards to Chaplains formed by Philip Mussell.

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Charles S. J. Leigh was born in Runcorn, Cheshire, on 10 December 1880, and entered the Jesuit Order on 24 September 1898. He was ordained Priest on 5 November 1911, and commissioned Captain on 1 April 1917. He served as Honorary Roman Catholic Chaplain to the South Indian Railway Battalion, and was awarded the Efficiency Medal in 1941.

Leigh was principal of St Joseph’s College, Trichinopoly from 1921-35 and later taught English in Loyola College, Madras. He endowed the Father Leigh Medal in 1939, was subsequently awarded the degree of Doctor of Divinity, and died in Madras on 19 January 1969.

According to the January 1936 Indian Army List there were only 9 Auxiliary Force of India units that had Honorary Roman Catholic Chaplains: the Eastern Bengal Railway Battalion, the Nagapur Regiment, the Punjab Rifles, the Calcutta and Presidency Battalion, the Bareilly Contingent, the Tenasserim Battalion, the South Indian Railway Battalion, and the East Coast Battalion.