Dever Mayfly Posted 12 June , 2020 Share Posted 12 June , 2020 Can anyone help with the details of this officer? He commanded No 2 Composite Yeomanry Regiment in the early stages of the Senussi Campaign as a major before he was promoted and twice mentioned in despatches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonbem Posted 12 June , 2020 Share Posted 12 June , 2020 (edited) Hi try searching in the Army Lists https://digital.nls.uk/british-military-lists/archive/88735803 and in The Gazette https://www.thegazette.co.uk/all-notices/London/issue/30873/notice?results-page-size=10&categorycode-all=all&numberOfLocationSearches=1&location-distance-1=1&london-issue=30873 then once you can establish a career path try the relevant war diaries https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/british-army-war-diaries-1914-1922/ Edited 12 June , 2020 by jonbem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie962 Posted 12 June , 2020 Share Posted 12 June , 2020 I presume we are talking about this JT Wiigan ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dever Mayfly Posted 13 June , 2020 Author Share Posted 13 June , 2020 7 hours ago, charlie962 said: I presume we are talking about this JT Wiigan ? Thank you. I am sure that is him but there is no mention in this potted history, or in Bloody Red Tabs of him commanding the 2nd Composite Yeomanry Regiment as a Major at the action of Wadi Senaib on 11th December 1915, the first battle in the Senussi Campaign. The LG states that after this, on 20th December he was promoted to temporary Lt Col and he again led this regiment into battle at Jebel Medjwa on christmas Day. For these actions, he was MiD twice by General Maxwell in his Despatches to Lord Kitchener and then pops up in the 1916 King's Birthday Honours list where he is awarded the DSO. The Wiki profile states that he was awarded the DSO for Gallipoli, but I sense that this award may have been for his command in the Senussi Campaign. Is there a link to the DSO citations of 1916 anywhere, so that I can confirm why he was awarded it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryBrook Posted 13 June , 2020 Share Posted 13 June , 2020 An obituary was published in The Times on Wednesday, 26 November 1952, if it's any help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dever Mayfly Posted 13 June , 2020 Author Share Posted 13 June , 2020 Thanks for this help. There were some real characters in the Western Frontier Force apart from Wigan. Jack Gordon, who commanded 15th Sikhs in a turban, was a larger than life, old school commnader. And the artillery CO, Jo Laycock who was awarded a DSO in South Africa, where he befriended Winston Churchill, had been cited in the scandalous divorce of the Marquis of Downshire and represented GB at the 1908 Olympics with the Duke of Westminster. Nevertheless, this still doesn't answer the question whether JT Wigan received his DSO in 1916 for the Senussi Campaign, or for the Gallipoli Campaign? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie962 Posted 13 June , 2020 Share Posted 13 June , 2020 31 minutes ago, Dever Mayfly said: Nevertheless, this still doesn't answer the question whether JT Wigan received his DSO in 1916 for the Senussi Campaign, or for the Gallipoli Campaign? The award was in the 1916 Birthday honours. Does this imply there is no specific citation ? National Portrait Gallery has a couple of portrait photos 1930 here Charlie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guerramundial1 Posted 4 May , 2021 Share Posted 4 May , 2021 I have this miniature medal group in my collection for some time, but some months ago I finally could attribute them to John Tyson Wigan. Thanks to the digital records of TNA I was able to start with the four clasps of the QSA (Tugela Heights, Orange Free State, Relief of Ladysmith, Transvaal) and found out that the most suiteable regiment was the 13 Hussars (reference: WO-100/117). I'm not sure if I can post these downloads here, including his Medal Index Card which on its reverse has an interesting query regarding the campaign in Eqypt? Best regards, Wim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guerramundial1 Posted 4 May , 2021 Share Posted 4 May , 2021 CB (1919), CMG (1918), DSO (1916), QSA - 4 clasps, KSA - 2 clasps, WW1 trio (MiD), Defense Medal, King George V Silver Jubilee Medal (1935), King George VI Coronation Medal (1937), Territorial Decoration George V (1928) Cheers Wim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewFrench Posted 20 January Share Posted 20 January A picture or three paints a thousand words Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewFrench Posted 20 January Share Posted 20 January His DSO was for actions with the WFF not Gallipoli Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now