Special Collections

Sold between 19 March & 27 June 2007

3 parts

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Medals from the Collection of Brigadier Brian Parritt, C.B.E.

Brigadier (Retd) B.A.H. Parritt, C.B.E.

Lot

№ 983

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20 March 2008

Hammer Price:
£260

A British War Medal awarded to Second Lieutenant J. A. Chrystie, Royal Scots Fusiliers, who was captured and killed, 28 October 1914

British War Medal 1914-20
(2 Lieut. J. A. Chrystie) nearly extremely fine £80-100

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Medals from the Collection of Brigadier Brian Parritt, C.B.E..

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Collection

James Alexander Chrystie was born on 30 May 1888 and lived at 18 South Crescent, Ardrossan, Scotland. His parents were James Brown and Elma Eliva Chrystie. He was educated at the Ardrossan Academy and Glasgow University. He was a member of the Ardrossan School Cadet Corps, which was affiliated to the 1st Volunteer Battalion Royal Garrison Artillery. In 1907 he was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the 1st V. B. Royal Garrison Artillery and was promoted to Captain in 1908. On 19 November 1913 he was commissioned as a Special Reserve Officer in the 3rd Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers. By September 1914 he had passed the Matriculation Examination to gain entry to Glasgow University and was in his fifth year of Medical Training. He was immediately “called up” and was attached to the 2nd Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers.

The 2nd Battalion had returned from Gibraltar in 1914 and were quickly sent to Flanders in October 1914 to join the “Contemptible Little Army”. They were part of 21 Brigade, 7th Division and took a major part in the heroic defence of Gheluvelt during the First Battle of Ypres. At this battle, “The 2nd RSF were reduced to a mere handful of men commanded by a subaltern, but held their place in the Line”. During this period Lieutenant Chrystie came to notice by utilizing his medical skills to bandage wounded soldiers. His Adjutant, later wrote, ‘This skill saved many lives’.

At 6am on 28 October 1914 Lieutenant Chrystie was sent out in command of a patrol to make contact with the battalion on their right flank near Gorndvoorde, 5 miles East of Ypres. He returned from this patrol and at 9am set out again with a second patrol with the same mission. In the patrol, Privates Hill and Douglas acted as ‘Point’ followed by Lieutenant Chrystie. Following Chrystie were Corporal Richardson and three other soldiers of the 2nd Battalion including Private Harman. As they moved forward they met and joined with, a patrol of a corporal and three soldiers from the Royal Warwickshire Regiment.

Suddenly, according to Private Hardman, they ‘got into a trap’ and Lieutenant Chrystie, the two soldiers on ‘point’ and the four soldiers from the Royal Warwickshire Regiment were taken prisoner. Private Hardman hid in a ruined church but saw that Lieutenant Chrystie was unwounded but standing up with his revolver in his hand. He then saw Chrystie and the six soldiers being marched away as prisoners.

On their return to the Battalion, Corporal Richardson and Privates Elliot and Hardman reported the incident to Sergeant J. McBain and their Company Commander, Captain J. C. Whigram. Captain Whigram initially thought that James Chrystie had either ‘been hit’ or had become separated from his patrol and had stayed with the Household Cavalry who were in the area. He did however send out a patrol to look for Lieutenant Chrystie and his soldiers, but this was unsuccessful. On 30 October 1914 Chrystie was officially reported as ‘Missing 28th October 10am while on patrol taken prisoner unwounded with 6 men’.

The parents of Lieutenant Chrystie then made strenuous efforts to discover the whereabouts of their son. His Mother first met Captain Whigram in London, then his Father, Mr James Brown Chrystie, who was now Provost of Ardrossan, met Captain Whigram in Greenock. Captain Whigram consistently stated that when he interviewed the remaining soldiers of Christie's patrol, they all said that Chrystie had been unwounded when he was captured. Provost Chrystie then contacted Sergeant McBain who wrote that Private Elliot had no doubt that Chrystie was captured without being wounded and was standing untouched in any way. Provost Chrystie then interviewed Private Hardman, who had subsequently been wounded, who also confirmed that Mr Chrystie was unwounded and had been made a prisoner with the six other soldiers. The Army then officially interviewed Private Hardman and on 7 March 1915 a Captain Stanton wrote to Provost Chrystie confirming that the evidence all pointed to the conclusion that Mr Chrystie was unwounded when he had been marched away as a prisoner. On 5 August 1915 Provost Christie wrote to the Military Secretary asking for information as to whether his son was a prisoner of war or killed. The American Authorities in Berlin passed this request to the German Government who on 30 September 1915 sent a ‘Note Verbale’ which stated that at the beginning of March 1915 while deepening the bed of the road from Tenbrieler to Zandvoosde, the body of an English soldier had been found by a working party. The body had been reburied due west of the road, but apart from an identification disc - ‘Chrystie J.A. 21 Pres. RSF’ nothing further was found on the body. On 14 December 1915, Provost Chrystie was informed by the War Office that as the identity disc of his son had been forwarded by the German Government through the American Embassy ‘the death of 2/Lieut. Chrystie has now been accepted for official purposes as having occurred on or since 30th October 1914, the date he was reported missing’.

James Alexander Christie's body was not recovered and his name is on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial. His name is also on the Ardrossan Academy Roll of Honour that is sited in the Assembly Hall, and is on the Roll of Honour of Glasgow University and the Town War Memorial of Ardrossan. Sold with copied papers and other research.