Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A rare and poignant Our Dumb Friends League Medal pair to Army deserter and career-criminal Mr. E. Netley, who sustained serious injuries whilst out on the prowl one evening at West Croydon railway station, when he attempted to rescue a dog which had strayed onto the tracks.

Found unconscious alongside the body of a cream coloured Alsatian which was described in contemporary accounts as a ‘blackened mass’ lying across the live rail, Netley was fortunate to escape with his life

Our Dumb Friends League Medal, heart-shaped, silver (Awarded to Mr. Edward Netley. For the courageous rescue of a Dog from a railway track. August 1929.) hallmarks for Birmingham 1927; together with a privately commissioned bronze medal by Vaughton, Birmingham, unnamed as issued, swing mounted, pawnbroker marks to edge of first, scratches to reverse of both, very fine (2) £600-£800

Edward Netley was born in Brighton around 1893. A labourer of no fixed abode, he attested for the Queen’s (Royal West Surrey) Regiment around his eighteenth birthday (10047 Pte. E. Netley) and was soon the subject of a Court Martial at Warley Camp on 22 May 1911, in consequence of desertion. Found guilty, he was released from service.

Familiar with dwellings along the London to Brighton railway line, Netley soon caught the attention of the Croydon Borough Bench when charged with stealing furniture from Mr. Arthur Winter who had known him just a few weeks. Out of compassion and seeing Netley with no home and no work, Winter had provided him with lodging and partial board, but was soon dismayed to hear that his goods had been sold in Portobello Road, the shop proprietor believing them to have originated from Netley’s ‘late mother’. The following year, Netley was back before the courts after breaking into his mother’s house at 3, Holland Road, South Norwood. Very much alive, she saw to it that he was sentenced to three month’s hard labour for theft.

The outbreak of the Great War saw little change in Netley’s behaviour. Attesting for the 6th Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment (18676 Pte. E. Netley), he served in Egypt from 16 November 1915 but was soon in trouble for desertion alongside a pal when back home in England. Wearing the stripes of a Corporal, he pretended to be an escort to his friend when challenged by a policeman. The ruse failed and Netley was transferred to the Prince of Wales’s Own (West Yorkshire) Regiment (64025 Pte. E. Netley). A while later, Netley was charged with obtaining money by false pretences. Appearing in the dock at Croydon Borough Police Court, he described himself as a ‘wounded Private’ of the 3rd Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment. Wearing the ribbon of the Military Medal, his largesse went further. The Croydon Times of 16 November 1918, adds:

‘Netley told the Bench that he had won the Military Medal and had been wounded four times. He wanted to retrieve his character and would pay back the money. He had been in the army four years. The father said he was sorry his son had not better sense, and hoped the magistrates would deal leniently with him. In reply to Ald. Fox. defendant said he won the Military Medal for capturing a machine gun and seven prisoners.’

Remarkably, Alderman Fox offered Netley ‘one more chance,’ much to the chagrin of his mother. Analysis of Netley’s Army Service Records show that he was indeed wounded, suffering a slight wound in France whilst with the 7th Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment, and another slight wound to the left hand whilst with the West Yorkshire Regiment. No trace of the award of the MM can be found.

Discharged from the Army on 12 September 1919 and issued a Silver War Badge in consequence of disability, Netley forfeited his Great War medals on 23 December 1920 following further convictions for theft and fraud. Remaining in South London for the next nine years, Netley finally caught the attention of the local press for all the right reasons on a summer evening in 1929. Crossing the bridge at West Croydon Railway Station, he ‘heard the cries of a dog’ and leapt over an 8-foot wire security fence, falling 30 feet down the embankment. He then attempted to move the animal by hand, but was electrocuted and knocked unconscious, being found soon thereafter atop the clinker and wooden sleepers.

Initially described as an ‘unknown hero’ by the contemporary press on account of Netley carrying no identification about his body, he was later identified at Croydon General Hospital and received considerable praise. Discharged, he travelled south to Brighton and was immediately caught stealing a bicycle. According to the Derby Daily Telegraph, 30 August 1929: ‘In recognition of this act of bravery the justices only sentenced Netley to three months’ hard labour. But for this act the sentence would have been much greater as he had a bad record.’

Awarded the Our Dumb Friends League Medal, it appears that the recipient’s life of poverty and cycle of petty theft continued unabated. Possibly pawned by the recipient, Netley was later admitted to the Kensington and Chelsea workhouse. In 1939, he was further charged at Brentford for having absconded from Isleworth Casual Ward, and fined 5 shillings. Having burned all his bridges with friends and family alike, it appears that his life ended in abject poverty. An article published in The Guardian newspaper describes the life of one man in a London workhouse at this time: ‘I found myself in a small room with other casuals. There were old men and young men; men who smiled and men who sneered; men who stared fixatedly before them and men who talked in low, toneless voices... But they were all men with one thing in common - hunger.’

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