Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A scarce gold D.S.O. group of three awarded to Major W. R. N. Annesley, Royal West Kent Regiment, for the defence of the Ambigol Wells and battle of Ginnis
Distinguished Service Order, V.R., gold and enamels, complete with gold top suspension brooch, pin lacking to reverse; Egypt and Sudan 1882-89, undated reverse, no clasp (Lieut. W. R. N. Annesley, 1/Rl. W. Kent R.); Khedive’s Star 1884-6, the first with usual chips to green enamel wreaths, otherwise nearly extremely fine, the second a little polished but about very fine or better (3) £3500-4000

William Richard Norton Annesley was born at Colchester, Essex, on 12 June 1863, and educated at Cheltenham College and R.M.C., Sandhurst. He was commissioned as Lieutenant into the Yorkshire Regiment on 6 February 1884 and transferred to the Royal West Kent Regiment three weeks later. He joined his regiment at Wadi Halfa sometime between August and November 1885, after the withdrawal of the Nile Expedition at the end of the previous July. With the Frontier Field Force he was present at the attack on the Ambigol Wells and at the action at Ginnis.

It was at Ambigol Wells that Annesley distinguished himself even though the award to him of the D.S.O., announced in the London Gazette of 26 November 1886, is said to be for the battle of Ginnis. The sandbagged post or small fort at Ambigol Wells was about 20 miles north-east of Akasha, surrounded by low hills and protected by a watering tank and a pump. Initially it was garrisoned by 35 (some accounts say 25) men of the 1st Royal West Kent Regiment under Lieutenant Annesley, and detachments from the 8th Railway Company R.E. and the 4th Telegraph Section R.E. Annesley and his men had been dropped off at the fort on 7 November during the move of his battalion by rail to Akasha. During the night of 1st-2nd December the enemy damaged a portion of the railway line some seven miles south-west of Ambigol Wells. When patrols reached the scene of the damage it was found that the enemy had already disappeared and repairs were put in hand. On the following morning Annesley left the fort to shoot sand grouse but noticed that the birds he later killed had no seeds in their crops. Since they had not fed that morning, Annesley deduced that they may have been disturbed by the enemy at a well at Haumagh, some eight miles out in the desert. He consequently ordered his men into the fort rather than remain camped outside. On 2 December the first attack took place when an enemy force of between 600 and 800 men, mounted on camels and horses but with some foot, and with one brass gun, were driven off with some loss. However, they still managed to pull up the telegraph wire running alongside the railway and did further damage to the railway line itself.

Early in the morning of 3 December a train arrived at the fort with a half company of the Royal Berkshire Regiment under Lieutenant H. G. Fitton. Also in the train was Captain J. A. Ferrier of the 8th Railway Company who assumed overall command. Following the arrival of the train the enemy renewed his attack and cut the line to the north. The garrison at the fort had also been joined by a small party of Mounted Infantry under Sergeant A. M. Stewart, 2nd Durham Light Infantry. The following morning the fort had been invested on three sides while on the fourth there were some wagons, one of which contained 7,000 rounds of ammunition. The ammunition was brought in under heavy fire by a party under Stewart, and further sorties were made under fire to bring in telegraph instruments and other items.

On 4 December Sergeant Stewart and two men set out for Akasha for reinforcements and about nine miles from that place met a relieving force under General Butler. In the meanwhile Lieutenant H. de Lisle, of the Durham Light Infantry, had ridden out with a small patrol from Akasha to Ambigol Wells on his own responsibility, accompanied by Major Hassan Radwan of the Egyptian Artillery. He penetrated the enemy line investing the fort and learned from Ferrier that the fort’s water supply was cut off and ammunition reduced to about 30 rounds per man. Leaving Major Radwan at the fort, he then rode back with two men and managed to push his way through a gap in the enemy’s position, being pursued by a horde of mounted spearmen. He succeeded in reaching Butler in the evening just as the latter, having been informed by another patrol that the enemy had gone, was about to return to Akasha. As a result of de Lisle’s news, Butler turned about and relieved the fort early the next morning, the enemy having evacuated his position during the previous night.

The appointments of the D.S.O. to Annesley, de Lisle, Ferrier and Radwan are said to be for the battle of Ginnis, 30 December 1885, but there can be no doubt that the action at the Wells was a significant, if not the main, factor when recommendations came to be made. According to some sources de Lisle was recommended for the Victoria Cross for his ride to and from the Wells but the claim was not considered to be sufficiently strong. Lieutenant Fitton received no reward for his part in the defence of the Wells but subsequently received the D.S.O. for services during the Dongola campaign of 1896.

Annesley was subsequently Staff Officer at Assouan during the operations at Toski in 1889. He became Captain in July 1891, Major in July 1902, and retired on 15 December 1905, joining the Reserve of Officers and becoming a lecturer in Military Studies at St Andrews University. Major Annesley died in London on 29 November 1914.