to Lieutenant Colonel Harries 63rd Foot, who was severely wounded at Inkermann.
Crimea 1854 -56, four clasps, Alma, Balaklava, Inkermann and Sebastopol. Correctly engraved in a contemporary style - Major T. Harries. 63RD Foot.
France, Second Empire, Legion of Honour 5th Class (Some enamel chips to obverse and reverse)
| Estimate: | £1,800 - £2,200 |
| Hammer price: | £2,600 |
Ottoman Empire, Order of the Medjidie, 5th Class breast badge, Silver and Gold.
Turkish Crimea Medal, Sardinian issue, unnamed as issued.
Each medal has a silver ribbon buckle.
Condition GVF
The group is housed in a contemporary mount which has undergone restoration over the years.
Thomas Harries was born on the 18th of February 1815 at Benthall Hall, Broseley, Shropshire. The son of Francis Blithe and Emma Gertrude Blithe, his father was a wealthy land owner, keen hunter and philanthropist.
Thomas purchased a commission as an Ensign with the 63rd Regiment of Foot (West Suffolk) on the 19th of July 1833 and joined the regiment at Madras. Harries purchased his Lieutenancy on the 2nd of May 1834 and Captaincy on the 26th of January 1844.
Captain Harries fought in the Crimean campaign and was present at the battles of Alma, Balaklava and Inkermann, where he was severely wounded. He was promoted to Major the day after he was wounded.
His service papers note he was ' Commanding Siege and Fall of Sebastopol as Major', and he remained in Crimea until the war's end. He also took part in the capture of the Fort of Kinburn on the 30th of October 1855.
His Legion of Honour was gazetted on the 5th of August 1856, and the Order of the Medjidie on the 2nd of March 1858.
After the end of the conflict, he remained in the army and saw service in Nova Scotia, Canada, where he commanded the regiment. He was promoted to Brevet Lieutenant Colonel in the field on the 6th of June 1856 and his final rank of Lieutenant Colonel on the 17th of September 1858.
Harries retired on the 16th of November 1860 and moved to live with his elder brother and his family at Cruckton Hall, Shrewsbury. Thomas lived from his pension and was obviously very wealthy from inheritance. Upon his death, on the 12th of October 1879, he left his estate to Major General Charles Vanbrugh Jenkins, a family member who had inherited Cruckton Hall.
