A Great War 'Palestine' M.C. group of five awarded to Captain E. Hammick, 17th Infantry,...

A Great War ‘Palestine’ M.C. group of five awarded to Captain E. Hammick, 17th Infantry, Indian Army, who died of wounds on 8 October 1918 Military Cross, G.V.R., the reverse contemporarily engraved ‘20th. Sept. 1918 Capt. Eustace Hammick. 17th. Regt. I.A. Palestine’; 1914-15 Star (Capt. E. Hammick. 1/17/Infy.); British War and Victory Medals (Capt. E. Hammick.); Belgium, Kingdom, Chevalier’s breast badge, silver and enamel, tiny green enamel chip to wreath on last, extremely fine (5) £1,600-£2,000 --- Provenance: Dix Noonan Webb, December 2013. M.C. London Gazette 4 October 1919.
The original Recommendation states: ‘He commanded the ‘advance guard’ of the covering force on the night of the 18/19th September 1918, across Wadi Samieh and led his Company in a charge against the enemy’s position on Wye Hill, near El Mugheir. By his fine leadership and skill the operation was a complete success. On 20th September he led his Company to the attack on Kh. Jibeit and although severely wounded during the charge, he remained with his Company until he was too weak to carry on. He set a magnificent example to his regiment.’ M.I.D. London Gazette 6 August 1918. Belgian Order of the Crown, 5th Class London Gazette 29 November 1918. Eustace Hammick was born on 19 November 1888, the second son of Stephen Hammick and Constance Hammick, née Schneider and the grandson of Sir St. Vincent Love Hammick, 3rd Baronet Hammick. Educated at Tonbridge School and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, he was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the 1st Battalion South Lancashire Regiment on 19 September 1908. He joined the regiment in India and was promoted to Lieutenant in December 1910. In July 1914 he transferred to the 17th (The Loyal) Regiment, Indian Army and in October that year accompanied them to Mauritius, from whence in May 1915, he was detached for duty with the Indian Expeditionary Force in France. On the withdrawal of the Indian troops from France towards the end of that year, he rejoined his own regiment which was then in German East Africa. Hammick was promoted to Captain in September 1916. As Adjutant of the Regiment, he took part in the operations throughout 1916-17 against the German forces under General P. E. von Lettow-Vorbeck. He and his eldest brother, Major St. Vincent Frederick Hammick, 13th Rajputs, were both ‘mentioned’ in General Sir J. L. Deventer’s Despatches, ‘for distinguished services during the operations from May to December 1917’; he was also awarded the Order of the Crown by the King of the Belgians. After returning to India for a short rest and recruitment, the regiment then embarked for Egypt and in September 1918 joined the forces fighting in Palestine. A brother officer wrote, ‘He had done very good work on patrol and was given the responsible job of advance guard and covering party to the Battalion in a difficult night march in precipitous country. He did this work very successfully and the Commanding Officer, Colonel Fagan, being hit while we were attacking, he took command of the Battalion and did sterling work until our second in command arrived.’ At the commencement of the Battle of Megiddo on 20 September 1918, the enemy held the high ground of Khan Jibeit which was taken in a bayonet charge by the Cape Corps but who in turn were forced back by a heavy counter-attack. The 17th Infantry having been ordered to retake the lost ground at all costs were led by Captain Hammick. The Official History of the Great War, Military Operations Egypt & Palestine states, ‘... From 12.25 to 12.45 p.m. Khan Jibeit was again bombarded and then recaptured by a brilliant assault carried out by the 17th Infantry, who took 155 prisoners and 3 machine-guns, at a cost of 73 casualties.’ Towards the end of the day, while assisting one of his men who had been wounded, Captain Hammick was himself severely wounded by a bullet from a machine-gun. He was evacuated by hospital ship to Cairo, where he died on 8 October 1918. He was buried in the Cairo War Cemetery. Sold with a fine portrait photograph of the recipient.