Beschreibung:

The Great War siege of Kut and escaper’s M.C. and Bar group of five awarded to Hon. Brigadier K. D. Yearsley, Royal Engineers, the story of his epic home run from captivity appearing under the title 450 Miles to Freedom - The Adventures of Eight British Officers in their Escape from the Turks Military Cross, G.V.R., with Second Award Bar, unnamed as issued; 1914-15 Star (Lieut. K. D. Yearsley, R.E.); British War and Victory Medals, with M.I.D. oak leaves (Capt. K. D. Yearsley); Coronation 1937, mounted as worn, very fine or better The Second World War Imphal operations M.C. group of six awarded to Lieutenant J. K. N. Yearsley, Royal Engineers, who was seriously wounded in attempting to sweep a track of mines - ‘his magnificent example of coolness under fire in almost suicidal conditions was an inspiration’ Military Cross, G.VI.R., the reverse officially dated ‘1944’; 1939-45 Star; Africa Star; Burma Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45, with M.I.D. oak leaf, mounted as worn, good very fine (11) £3,000-£4,000 An outstanding father and son M.C. family group: ‘To be at large for thirty-six days before escaping from the country, to have been so frequently seen, sometimes certainly to have aroused suspicion, and yet to have evaded recapture, might perhaps be attributed to Turkish lack of organisation. Our escape from armed villagers; our discovery of wells in the desert, of grain in an abandoned farmhouse, and of water (which just lasted our stay) in the ruined wells on the coast; and finally, the timely reappearance of the motor-tug with all essential supplies for the sea voyage - any one of these facts, taken alone, might possibly be called “luck,” or a happy coincidence; taken in conjunction with one another, however, they compel the admission that the escape of our party was due to a higher Power.’ 450 Miles to Freedom, refers. The Great War siege of Kut and escaper’s M.C. and Bar group of five awarded to Hon. Brigadier K. D. Yearsley, Royal Engineers, the story of his epic home run from captivity appearing under the title 450 Miles to Freedom - The Adventures of Eight British Officers in their Escape from the Turks Military Cross, G.V.R., with Second Award Bar, unnamed as issued; 1914-15 Star (Lieut. K. D. Yearsley, R.E.); British War and Victory Medals, with M.I.D. oak leaves (Capt. K. D. Yearsley); Coronation 1937, mounted as worn, very fine or better The Second World War Imphal operations M.C. group of six awarded to Lieutenant J. K. N. Yearsley, Royal Engineers, who was seriously wounded in attempting to sweep a track of mines - ‘his magnificent example of coolness under fire in almost suicidal conditions was an inspiration’ Military Cross, G.VI.R., the reverse officially dated ‘1944’; 1939-45 Star; Africa Star; Burma Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45, with M.I.D. oak leaf, mounted as worn, good very fine (11) £3,000-£4,000 FATHER M.C. London Gazette 23 October 1919: ‘For distinguished service in connection with the defence of Kut-al-Amarah.’ Bar to M.C. London Gazette 30 January 1920: ‘In recognition of gallant conduct and determination displayed in escaping or attempting to escape from captivity, which services have been brought to notice in accordance with the terms of Army Order 193 of 1919.’ Kenneth Darlaston Yearsley, who was born in April 1891, was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers in December 1910 and advanced to Lieutenant in December 1912. First entering the Mesopotamian theatre of war in September 1915, he was employed in operations with General Townsend’s Anglo-Indian Corps and, following the unsuccessful attack on Ctesiphon, among those to retreat to Kut. Subsequently surrounded by Turkish forces under Marchal von der Gotz, the garrison was compelled to surrender in April 1916, having endured five months of appalling conditions - owing to the poor health of the survivors, and their subjection to Turkish ill-treatment over the coming months, nearly half of their number were destined to