Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Four: Lieutenant-Colonel C. S. Warwick, Devonshire Regiment

India General Service 1854-95, 1 clasp, Waziristan 1894-5 (Lieutt. C. S. Warwick 1st Bn. Devon: Regt.); India General Service 1895-1902, 2 clasps, Punjab Frontier 1897-98, Tirah 1897-98 (Lieut. C. S. Warwick, 1st Bn. Devon: Regt.); Queen's South Africa 1899-1902, 4 clasps, Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal, Laing's Nek (Capt. C. S. Warwick. Devon. Rgt.); King's South Africa 1901-02, 2 clasps, South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902 (Capt. C. S. Warwick. Devon Rgt.) extremely fine, the first very scarce to the regiment (4) £800-1000

Provenance: Glendining’s, September 1991.

Charles Spencer Warwick was born on 14 February 1865. He enlisted into the Norfolk Regiment in 1885, where, in a little over 3 years, he rapidly rose to the rank of Sergeant. He was commissioned into the Devonshire Regiment as 2nd Lieutenant on 31 October 1888, and promoted to Lieutenant on 31 October 1890, serving in Egypt and India. Having qualified for employment in the Transport Branch of the Commissariat Department, he served with Sir William Lockhart’s Waziristan Field Force, December 1894 to March 1895, as Transport Officer to the 3rd Brigade, Bannu Column. The only other Devons present during the Waziristan operations were a Maxim Gun detachment of 8 man under Captain Peebles. He afterwards served with the regiment during the campaign on the Punjab Frontier and Tirah in 1897-98.

He was promoted to Captain in September 1898 and the following June he was seconded for service with the British Central Africa Rifles as a company commander for a little over a year before returning to regimental duty with the Devons in South Africa. January 1900 saw the 2nd Battalion engaged in the Relief of Ladysmith and Captain Warwick was wounded on 5 January near Vaal Krantz Spruit, north of the Tugela river. He also took part in the operations in Natal, Laing's Nek, Transvaal, and Cape Colony, where for some of the time he served with the 26th Mounted Infantry. He was mentioned in Lord Roberts’ Despatch of 10 September 1901, and awarded the Queen’s medal with four clasps and the King’s medal with two clasps.

Warwick was seconded for service with the Volunteers in December 1903, becoming Adjutant to the 15th Middlesex Volunteer Rifles, a position he held for three years before returning again to the Devons. He was promoted Major on 10 October 1907. During the Great War, at nearly fifty years of age, he became Temporary Lieutenant-Colonel and commandant of the 14th Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment, serving until November 1916, when he retired on account of ill-health. He died in London on 5 January 1933.