Bahawalpur Groups

[oamotme]

Gentlemen,

Further to James's thread on the medals of Bahawalpur I am pleased to display some groups I have the good fortune to acquire.

The first group came loose from Pakistan and is lucky to survive as a group. I have them cleaned and mounted with a view to maintaining their integrity. As and when I can obtain the correct ribbons the neutral brown/red ribbons will be replaced. The medals are as follows:

• Long Service Medal - 17 Subedar Gulam Mohd Armourer 1st B.S.I.
• Centenary Medal - 2nd Lt. Ghulam Mohd. Armourer
• War Medal - 2913 Sepoy Ghulam Mohd Khan. 5 - Lt. Inf.
• India General Service Medal - 2193 Sepoy Ghulam Mohd Khan. 5/Infy.

More to follow,

Owain

 

[oamotme]

Gentlemen,

The next group also came loose from Pakistan - I have yet to get these medals mounted and of course the correct ribbons are not easily available. The medals are as follows:

• Military Efficiency Decoration 2nd Class - 7150 L. Mohd Nawaz S. Inf.
• Good Conduct Medal - 135 Lance Naik Mohammed Nawaz
• Centenary Medal - 7150 L. Mohd Nawaz Khan. 1st Bahr. Sad. Inf. 
• Volunteer Corps Medal - 127 Lance Mohammed Nawaz.

Note the change of numbers.

Owain 

 

Gentlemen,

Finally a British group with a Bahawalpur medal - from a UK auction. The medals are:

• War Medal - J. A. Bailey. Bd. Mastr. 105 Infy.
• Victory Medal - J. A. Bailey. Bd. Mastr. 105 Infy.
• Delhi Durbar 1911 - J. A. Bailey Band Master 28th Punjabis
• Installation Medal 1924 (Silver) - No.1 Band Master Mr. J. A. Bailey

Bailey's Great War Medal Card notes his rank as Sub:Cond (Band Master) and his address is, 'Musical Director Bahawalpur State Band, Bahawalpur, Punjab'.

Regards,

Owain

 

[Gordon Craig]

Owain,

Interesting medal groups.  Especially the second set.  Good luck in hunting up the ribbons you need to mount your medals correctly.  Be interesting to see them again once they are mounted.

Regards,

Gordon

 

[peter monahan]

Lovely!  How long did it take to get three groups like this, if I may ask.

[paul wood]

Yes I have three Bahawalpur groups but it has taken me over 15 years to get them all ex Geoffrey Jacob collection (author of makets of orders) Details to follow in due course.

P

[oamotme]

Gentlemen,

I had a contact in Pakistan who, once in a while, would show me the occasional Arab medal, and then other stuff much of which was not my field of interest. Over the years I have built a collection of Bahawalpur singles including miniatures and when he offered  the groups in 2014 and 2016 I could not resist them.

Regards,

Owain

 

[oamotme]

Gentlemen,

I had a contact in Pakistan who, once in a while, would show me the occasional Arab medal, and then other stuff much of which was not my field of interest. Over the years I have built a collection of Bahawalpur singles including miniatures and when he offered  the groups in 2014 and 2016 I could not resist them.

Regards,

Owain

[922F]

Owain thank you for your images!  May be able to find someone with old Spink supplied ribbons for you; will send you a note when/if located.  Someone in the UK offered possibly reproduction Bahawal ribbons a while ago.  

An earlier post in a thread I can't find now illustrates one of the last Nabob's ribbon bars, no longer in my hands.  Images below may interest......

First belonged to a staffer, 2nd an adj.  & 3rd (querishi) a ...I forgot!!  Have to look up names/ranks.  One of them at least is in the attached photo.  A CBE accompanies the Querishi lot but although obtained from the family believe that's not consistent with it.  Somewhere I have the last Bahawalpur Chief Justice's Bahawal neck badges and an again doubtful CBE but no image readily to hand.

If you can track down a copy of  Nazeer Ali Shah's  Sadiqnamah: The History of Bahawalpur State, Lahore: Maktaba Jadeed 1959 the photo section quite worth seeing.  I do not have a copy unfortunately.

Edited May 26, 2020 by 922F
spelchek

[oamotme]

922F,

Thanks for sharing. On searching my files I came across a group of miniatures - for sale a couple of years ago at an OMRS Convention. If I recall correctly it was attributed to the British CO of the Bahawalpur Forces at the end of WW2 - Lt. Gen. Marden (??). The dealer's asking price, I think, was £1,200 - far to steep.

On searching on line Morton & Eden sold the full size medals last year - see below - Paul may be able to provide an image of the  full size medals.

The Remarkable O.B.E. Group of 20 awarded Lieutenant-General John Harold Marden, O.B.E., Commander-in-Chief of Bahawalpur State Forces, late 2nd / 76th Punjabis. Having served as a Second Lieutenant late on in the Great War, and on the North West Frontier in 1919-21 with the forces of the Maharajah of Nabha. Some years later in the 1930s he joined the Army of Bahawalpur, becoming its Commander-in-Chief, and serving (and being wounded) during the periods of unrest leading up to and after the partition of India and the creation of the Dominion of Pakistan in 1947. He served as a Personal Aide to the Amir of Bahawalpur until his death in 1974, and features heavily in the book ‘Divide and Quit: An Eyewitness Account of the Partition of India’ by Sir Penderel Moon, Revenue Minister of Bahawalpur, comprising: The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Military Division, Officer’s (O.B.E.) breast badge, in silver-gilt; 1914-15 Star (Lt. J. H. Marden.), erased and renamed; British War and Victory Medals, 1914-1919 (2. Lieut. J. H. Marden.); India General Service, 1908-1935, two clasps, Afghanistan N.W.F. 1919, Waziristan 1919-21 (tailor’s copy, damaged) upon ribbon (Major J. H. Marden, Nabha I. S. Infy.), privately engraved correction to rank, remainder officially impressed; 1939-1945 Star; Burma Star; War Medal, 1939-1945; India Service Medal, 1939-1945; Jubilee 1935; Coronation 1937; Territorial Force Efficiency, G.V.R. (Lt. J. Marden.) erased and engraved in upright capitals; Pakistan Medal, 1947 (Lt. Gen. John Harold Marden Bahawalpur State Forces), impressed; Bahawalpur, Bahalwalpur-Pakistan Alliance Medal, 1947; Bahawalpur, The Second Great War Medal (or Overseas Service Medal), 1939-1945; Bahawalpur, Victory Star, 1939-1945; Bahawalpur, Golden Jubilee Medal, 1955/6 (incorrect ribbon); Bahawalpur, Installation Silver Jubilee Medal, 1949; Bahawalpur, Installation Silver Jubilee Medal, 1931; Bahawalpur, British-Bahawalpur Alliance Centenary Medal, 1933 (Major. J. H. Mardon, 1st Bahr. Sad. Inf.), engraved in upright capitals; Group swing-mounted upon bar with reverse pin for wear, toned, generally very fine to good very fine, a rare combination of medals (20). O.B.E.: London +A2551:A2568Gazette (Supplement): 1 January 1946 (New Year Honours)

Regards,

Owain

 

[Guest Abbasi]

I am the Great Grand Son of H.H Nawab Sir Sadiq Muhammad Khan Abbasi V, Nawab of Bahawalpur, If anyone of you need any information or material regarding Bahawalpur State feel free to contact.

[oamotme]

Dear Guest Abbasi,

Welcome and I hope you find these post of interest. Some years ago I had the good fortune to obtain the illustrated set of forty-one ribbons of British and Bahawalpur mounted in nine rows. Accompanying the ribbons was a letter which noted, “Nawab Salahuddin Abbasi ‘gifted’ me this item at an audience at the Darbar Mahal outside of Bahawalpur city, telling me that it belonged to his granddad, General Nawab Sadeq Muhamad Khan V” . The ribbons are detailed below.  I believe that this is a representative set and I have no evidence of it being worn. There are some anomalies, for example no British orders (Victorian, Indian Empire & Star of India); the Nawab was too young to serve and qualify for the British Great War trio of medals; the Nawab was at Aitchison College and thus did not qualify for the India General Service Medal (I need sight of a medal roll to confirm this); ditto the General Service Medal; the WW2 Defence Medal and the WW2 India Service medal were mutually exclusive,  i.e. you could not get both, and there are other anomalies. However the ribbons are an impressive compilation and may well have been put together by a military tailor as a representative selection.

Owain

 

·         Row 1 – Bahawalpur – Orders of Sutlej, Abbasia & Haroonia

·         Row 2 – Bahawalpur – Order of Huzoori, War Efficiency Decoration, UK – 1914-15 Star & 1914-18 War Medal

·         Row 3 – UK – 1914-18 Victory Medal, 1908-35 India General Service Medal, 1918-62 General Service Medal, 1939-45 Star

·         Row 4 – UK – Africa Star, Pacific Star, Burma Star, Italy Star, 1939-45 Defence Medal

·         Row 5 – UK – 1939-45 War Medal, 1939-45 India Service Medal, 1911 Delhi Durbar Medal, 1935 Jubilee Medal & 1937 Coronation Medal

·         Row 6 – UK – 1953 Coronation Medal 1953, Pakistan – 1947 Independence Medal, 1956 Republic Medal, Bahawalpur – 1914-18 Great War Star, 1919 North West Frontier Medal

·         Row 7 – Bahawalpur – 1930-31 Kot Sabzal Campaign Medal, 1939-45 Second Great War Medal, 1939-45 Victory Star, 1924 Installation Medal, 1933 British-Bahawalpur Alliance Centenary Medal

·         Row 8 – Bahawalpur – 1931 Installation Silver Jubilee Medal, 1947 Independence Medal, 1947 Bahawalpur Pakistan Alliance Medal, 1956 Installation Golden Jubilee Medal & 1885 State Award (??)

·         Row 9 – Military General Service Medal, Military Long Service Medal, Good Service Medal, Military Good Conduct Medal & 1935 Pilgrimage Medal