Western Morning News (Saturday)
Medals turn up in secret drawer in writing desk
AN antique writing desk handed down through the family of a Devon man has revealed clues to one of the most famous battles in British military history.
Now a nationwide appeal has gone out to trace the descendants of a Battle of Balaklava war hero after his medals were found in a secret drawer where they had lain hidden for a centuryand-a-half.
Pensioner David Grant, 71, from Brixham, was restoring an antique “writing slope” desk in his loft when he discovered the trove belonging to Armourer Serjeant Edward Webb, who was among a two-deep line of around 500 infantry from the 93rd (Sutherland Highlanders) Regiment who stood firm against a force of around 2,500 Russian cavalrymen during the Crimean War. The episode has been immortalised by historians as the Thin Red Line Incident.
His medals were hidden behind a panel in the Victorian writing slope activated by a spring mechanism concealed in a crack in the wood grain which Mr Grant discovered while brushing away cobwebs. He said: “It was a portal to another world and obviously tremendously exciting. I felt a pulse of electricity shoot through me as the panel popped open and revealed the secret drawers behind.
“It was like a gadget from an old James Bond movie – and then I saw the medals staring up at me along with this man’s photo. His descendants are out there somewhere and it would be wonderful to find them.”
Serjeant Webb’s photo was also accompanied by a lock of hair and a watch fob presented to him on leaving the army. Staff at Baldwin & Sons auctioneers on The Strand in London say they desperately want to trace his descendants ahead of the medals going under the hammer, and hope that someone looking at his photo might see a resemblance.
While little is known about Serjeant Webb, the battle in which he fought is the stuff of legend and inspired heavy metal group Iron Maiden’s anthem The Trooper. On October 25 1854 Serjeant Webb and his comrades were guarding a supply base at the village of Balaklava when they spotted the Russian cavalry massed on the horizon.
As the enemy galloped towards them, and their Turkish comrades fled in terror, the regiment’s commander Sir Colin Campbell told his men: “There is no retreat from here...You must die where you stand.” Typical of the stoicism of the times, a junior officer quickly replied: “Aye, aye, Sir Colin, if needs be, we’ll do that.”Serjeant Webb later returned to civilian life after completing more than 30 years service. A watch fob also found in the drawer is engraved ‘To Armor Sergt E. Webb From The Sergts XCI PLH June 9th 1874’ which is understood to have been the date of his leaving. It is believed his widow later placed his personal effects in the secret drawer for safekeeping before her family later sold it. The writing slope was eventually acquired by David Grant’s London-based grandmother who gifted it to him as a schoolboy.Serjeant Webb’s Crimea Medal, Army Long Service Medal and Good Conduct Medal will be sold with the writing slope and other items with a guide price of £2,000.