Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria, to include the Brian Ritchie Collection (Part III)

Army of India 1799-1826, 1 clasp, Ava (Ensign Wm. Anderson, 2nd Light Infy. Battn.), long hyphen reverse, impressed naming, minor edge bruising, very fine £1000-1200

William Anderson, son of William Anderson of Piccadilly, London, was baptized in 1803. A Cadet in 1822, he arrived in India as an Ensign in 1823. Posted initially with the 30th N.I. , he transferred to the 59th N.I. during the following year. During the war in Burma he served with the 2nd L.I. Battalion and was awarded the medal with clasp for Ava. He was promoted Lieutenant in December 1824 and Captain in October 1838 at which time he was Commandant of Shah Shuja’s 2nd Cavalry. He served during the First Afghan War 1839-42 and was taken prisoner by Mahomed Akbar Khan during the disastrous retreat from Cabul, 1841/42. Lady Sale recalls in her journal entry of 24 December 1841, that when the subject first arose of giving married men and their families as hostages to the Afghans, Captain Anderson was quoted as saying he would rather put a pistol to his wife’s head and shoot her rather than do so. However, after the situation deteriorated on the retreat and his eldest daughter went missing in the action of 8 January 1842, his wife and other childen, together with other women and children were given up as hostages. Happily, the missing child was later restored to the Andersons by the Afghans. On 10 January 1842 Captain Anderson was ordered by General Elphinstone to leave the ‘fighting column’ and return to the comparative safety of those held captive by Mahomed Akbar Khan. He and his family remained prisoners until their release on 22 September 1842. As for the column, trying to make its way to Jellalabad and safety, it was annihilated. For his services in the war Anderson was awarded the Ghuznee-Cabul Medal 1842 and the Order of the Dooranee Empire, 3rd Class. In September 1843 he was appointed 2nd in Command of the Jodhpur Legion. From November 1845 until his death on 21 April 1858 he was Commandant and Superintendent of Sirohi in Rajputana, being promoted Major in 1853 and Lieutenant-Colonel in 1856.