Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Crimea 1854-56, 1 clasp, Sebastopol (3904 Pte. I. Gleeson. 33rd. Foot.) Hunt & Roskell engraved naming, backstrap of clasp broken with evidence of earlier repair, very fine £200-£240

James Gleeson was born in Thurles, Co. Tipperary, Ireland, around 1834. A labourer, he attested at Fermoy for the 33rd Regiment of Foot on 4 January 1855 and was present at the siege of Sebastopol from 11 September 1854 to 9 September 1855. Despite being only a young man, his Army Service Record notes discharge due to infirmity in 1857: ‘Private James Gleeson suffers from malformation of feet and chest and tending to disease of heart which render him unable to perform the duties of a soldier.’