A Collection of Medals to Casualties from the Battle of Imjin River, 22-25 April 1951

Six: Corporal F. E. Geary, Royal Army Medical Corps, attached 1st Battalion, Royal Ulster Rifles, who was taken Prisoner of War on the final day of the Battle of Imjin River, 25 April 1951, after he volunteered to remain behind to tend the wounded, and was Mentioned in Despatches after his release for gallant and distinguished services during the battle

1939-45 Star; France and Germany Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45; Korea 1950-53, 1st issue, with M.I.D. oak leaf (7265680 Cpl. F. E. Geary. R.A.M.C.); U.N. Korea 1950-54, unnamed as issued; together with an International Prisoners of War Medal, minor edge bruise to Defence Medal, otherwise nearly extremely fine (7) £600-£800

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, A Collection of Medals to Casualties from the Battle of Imjin River, 22-25 April 1951.

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M.I.D. London Gazette 18 June 1954:
‘In recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Korea.’

Frederick Emmanuel Geary was born on 18 June 1919 and attested for the Royal Army Medical Corps on 12 December 1940. He served during the Second World War in North West Europe before being discharged to the Reserve on 14 November 1947. Rejoining the colours on 8 August 1950, Geary was posted to 29th Infantry Brigade for service in Korea where he was attached to “C” Company, 1st Royal Ulster Rifles for service during the Battle of Imjin River, 22-25 April 1951.

In a ‘Statement as to Personnel Reported Missing’, Geary is mentioned thus:
‘On 25 April 1951 at approximately 1100 hours the “C” Company Position was shelled by our own 25 pounder guns. When this happened one N.C.O. was killed and three men wounded. When this happened Corporal F. Geary started to attend to them. At this particular time the Company received orders to move off the position. The three wounded and Corporal Geary remained behind under the command of Lieut. M. Nicolls.’

The N.C.O. killed was Lance-Corporal J. Smith, who had served during the Second World War with the South Wales Borderers. One of the three wounded soldiers that Geary volunteered to stay behind to care for was Rifleman D. Brown who had been awarded the Military Medal with the King's Regiment in Burma in 1944. Geary was the last person to see Brown alive and wrote of the wounded man's fate:
‘This man was wounded and in my charge from the morning of the 25 April 1951 until the morning of the 27 April 1951 when we both were taken prisoner. He was in fairly good health apart from his wounds. I myself was forced to leave him by the Chinese.’
Brown's fate is unknown. He is officially listed as Missing Presumed Killed on 25 April 1951 with no known grave and is commemorated on the United Nations Wall of Remembrance in Pusan, South Korea.

Officially Listed as ‘Missing in Action’ since 25 April, it was not until 21 September that Geary's wife Elizabeth received a letter from her husband confirming he was alive and well. In a letter written to Ministry of War four days later Elizabeth wrote:
‘Dear Sir, it was with immense relief I received enclosed letters from my husband Corporal F. E. Geary, R.A.M.C. 7265680. The first letter, dated 3 August reached me last Friday, the second, dated 23 August arrived this morning. Both are unmistakably written by my husband, so he is alive!
I am convinced however that the second letter is for a good deal a “dictated” one. I do not believe for one moment that my husband means a word of what he writes about that “campaign for the fight in Peace”. He gives me a certain clue that it is eyewash where he writes: “I remember how strong you were for our local Labour M.P.” He knows only too well that I am politically orientated towards a quite different side. And I am sure that he writes all this nonsense about “getting lists of names” etc. only to tell me of the propaganda the Chinese make amongst our men.
Dutch-born, I have lived 5 years under German occupation and I do not swallow any propaganda made by the enemy! My husband knows that so to please the Chinese authorities he can easily write what he is told to: we are both aware that it is only done to get a communication through.
It amuses me a little that the Chinese apparently are quite eager to make us believe that they treat their P.O.W.'s so well. Let us hope that it is really true!’

Frederick Geary was repatriated 19 August 1953 and discharged from the service on 10 December 1953. For his services in Korea he was Mentioned in Despatches. He died in Nottingham in October 2001.