War Medals

24042 PRIVATE ALEXANDER McNEILL 1ST.BN.,ROYAL INNISKILLING FUSILIERS : KILLED IN ACTION 1 JULY 1916 :

1914-15 Star; British War Medal (24042 Pte. R.Innis. Fus.); Victory Medal 1914-19 (naming neatly erased) : (ALEXANDER McNEILL - Born Larne, County Antrim, Ireland and enlisted Hamilton : He entered the war in Gallipoli from 14 November 1915 and on 9 January 1916 was evacuated to Egypt : The Battalion landed in France on 18 March 1916 and on the First Day of the Battle of the Somme suffered the loss of 20 Officers and 548 Other Ranks : On 1 July 1916 the Battalion was holding the Line in front of the enemy strong-point known as Hawthorn Redoubt between the River Ancre and the strongly defended village of Beaumont-Hamel : At 07.30 hours the Inniskillings moved forward in the general attack in lines of Platoons in Single-File, immediately they got out of their assembly trenches they were met with a driving rain of machine-gun and rifle fire combined with a mortar and artillery barrage, it seemed impossible that anything could survive in such a cauldron of fire : The men faced the storm unflinchingly, the casualties were terrible and included the Commanding Officer killed with eleven other Officers before they had gone a hundred yards : A mere remnant of the Battalion reached the enemy wire, there only to find that the wire had not been cut by the British Artillery bombardment, this made any further movement impossible : At this point they were met with heavy cross fire from neighbouring strong-points and what was left of the Battalion had to take whatever cover could be found in shell holes as movement in any direction was impossible : The recipient was killed in the attack, he has no known grave and is commemorated on Thiepval Memorial.) : Sold with verification, CWGC. information and related research : Court mounted for display purposes GVF - £495