Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Indian Mutiny 1857-59, no clasp (Asst. Surgn. W, R, Rice, 3rd Regt. Irreg. Cavy.) dark toned, extremely fine £500-600

The following obituary appeared in The Indian Medical Gazette, June 1903:

‘Surgeon Major-General William Roche Rice, M.D., C.S.I., who was Surgeon-General of the Indian Medical Service and Sanitary Commissioner to the Government of India from 1890 to 1895, died at Brighton on the 27th March, in his seventy-first year.

He came from county Kerry, was educated at Queen’s College, Cork, and Queen’s University, Ireland. In 1856 he graduated as M.D., took his M.R.C.S., and entered the Medical Service (Bengal) of the Hon’ble East India Company. He arrived in India a few months before the Mutiny, got the medal for military service during that year, was for many years civil surgeon of Jubbulpore, was thence promoted to Inspector-General of Civil Hospitals in the N.-W.P., and became Surgeon-General in 1890. The C.S.I. was conferred upon him in 1892, and he also got the Jubilee Medal. He was an Honorary Physician to Her late Majesty from 1896 till the time of her death, and since that he acted in the same capacity to the King.’

See Lots 1 and 8 for related family medals.