21st Nov, 2024 10:00
Military & Aviation History, Medals & Militaria, The Bill Townsend Dambusters Collection
Presentation Sword. George III shamshir presented to Major-General Sir Hugh Robert Rollo Gillespie
Sold for £10,000
The George III shamshir presented to Major-General Sir Hugh Robert Rollo Gillespie K.C.B. from his serving officers as a token of esteem for the suppressing of mutineers at Vellore on 10 July 1806. Gillespie was once described by military historian Sir Fortescue as "the bravest man to ever wear a red coat"
the 77 cm curved steel blade left plain (an indication this was a fighting sword), the grip probably rhino horn with three silver studs, the cruciform crossguard with lions paw terminals, this and the scabbard of white metal and almost certainly silver and silver gilt, one side contemporarily engraved in running script ' from the serving officers to Col Gillespie', the other 'Vellore 10th July 1806', with a repeating crescent and foliate scroll engraved decoration throughout, overall length 90 cm, the upper section of the scabbard would benefit from some restoration as currently detached and the tip missing
(Quantity: 1)
Provenance: Vice-Admiral Sir Cecil Charles Hughes-Hallett, K.C.B., C.B.E., Royal Navy (1898-1985), thence by family descent.
Please note, a CITES license is required for exporting outside of the U.K. and the buyer must obtain one if necessary.
Hugh Robert Rollo Gillespie (1766-1814) was born in Comber, County Down, Ireland. He was educated in England and in 1783 was commissioned into the 3rd Irish Horse (6th Dragoon Guards). Gillespie was known for being physically strong and a hot-headed character and on one occasion he found himself involved in a pistol duel whilst serving in Ireland. The duel resulted in the opposition, a youth named Barrington being killed and Gillespie fled to Scotland. He eventually gave himself up and was tried for murder in 1788, however, he was acquitted after a verdict of justifiable homicide was reached.
He transferred to the 20th Light Dragoons in 1792 and embarked with the regiment to the West Indies. Unfortunately, the ship never reached the West Indies and was wrecked off the coast of Madeira. Gillespie somehow made his way to shore but was struck down with yellow fever. He recovered and on reuniting with his regiment, he volunteered to take part in an expedition to St Domingo with the regiment remaining in Jamaica. Once settled in St Domingo he was appointed adjutant-general. One night he was woken by eight men breaking into his house. Gillespie armed with his sword confronted them and killed six with the other two fleeing for their lives.
Gillespie distinguished himself in St Domingo and was promoted to Captain and given command of the regiment. He advanced to Lieutenant-Colonel in 1799.
In 1802 the 20th Light Dragoons were ordered back to England and Gillespie was granted 100 guineas by the Jamaican House of Assembly in recognition for his service to the island. He used this money to buy himself a special presentation sword.
He was, however, arrested and accused of drawing pay for dead men (a common practice in those days). His defence was that he used the money for the good of the regiment and not to line his own pockets, he was acquitted in 1804.
Following on from his trial he went to India and commanded the 19th Light Dragoons (stationed at Arcot near Vellore). A few days after taking up this new post, Gillespie was warned of the Vellore Mutiny (10 July 1806). Gillespie and twenty men equipped with galloper guns set out ahead of the main relief force. Gillespie being the daring man that he was charged ahead of his men and arrived at Vellore within two hours of the alarm being raised. He found surviving troops from the 69th (South Lincolnshire) Foot being hacked and killed by hundreds of mutineers and about sixty men were holding the ramparts but had run out of ammunition. Gillespie, unable to gain entry through the main gate requested that his sergeant lower his belt so that he could climb up the wall onto the battlements. Once reaching the battlements, Gillespie led the 69th in a ferocious bayonet charge along the ramparts. When the 19th Light Dragoons arrived, Gillespie ordered them to blow the gates and they then made a second charge along with the 69th. This cleared the space for the gate to allow the cavalry to deploy. The 19th and Madras Cavalry then charged through the gates and slaughtered the mutineers. About 100 mutineers were captured and subsequently executed. Gillespie arrested the sons of Tipu Sultan (who were suspected of masterminding the mutiny) they were sent under guard to Madras.
In 1811 Gillespie commanded the men who took part in the invasion of Java and on his return to India there was an incident when a tiger had escaped and was roaming around the Bangalore racecourse, Gillepsie not being one to hold back, killed the tiger with a spear.
In October 1814 he led a column to attack Kalanga in the Nepal War against the Gurkhas. Here the story of Gillespie comes to a close as during the battle of Nalpani on 31 October 1814 Gillespie tried to force his way into the fort at the head of a party of 8th Light Dragoons. It failed and he renewed the attack with companies of the 53rd (Shropshire) Foot. Thirty yards from the fort Gillespie was reported to have shouted "One shot more for the honour of Down" and he charged with his men. He was hit by a Nepalese sniper who shot him straight through the heart and he died on the spot.
Major-General Sir Hugh Robert Rollo Gillespie is commemorated with a statue in his hometown of Comber, County Down. The statue stands on a 55ft high column. It was unveiled in 1845 to commemorate "the strongest man in Comber". There is also an impressive marble statue on display at St Paul's Cathedral in London.
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Auction: Military & Aviation History, Medals & Militaria, The Bill Townsend Dambusters Collection, 21st Nov, 2024
Dominic Winter (Auctioneers) Ltd
Conditions Of Sale And Business
Terms and Conditions of Sale
1. (a) Dominic Winter (Auctioneers) Ltd ("the Auctioneer") sells as agents for the seller (except where otherwise stated) and as such is not responsible for any default by buyer or seller.
(b) The Seller warrants to the Auctioneer and to the buyer that he is the true owner or is properly authorised to sell the property by the true owner and is able to transfer good and marketable title to the property free from any third party claims.
2. (a) The highest bidder to be the buyer. If during the auction the Auctioneer considers that a dispute has arisen he has absolute authority to settle it or to re-offer the lot. The auctioneer may at his sole discretion determine the advance of bidding or refuse a bid, divide any lot, combine any two or more lots or withdraw any lot without prior notice.
(b) Where goods are bought at auction by a buyer who has entered into an agreement with another or others that the other or others (or some of them) shall abstain from bidding for the goods and the buyer or other party or one of the other parties is a dealer as defined in the Auctions (Bidding Agreements) Act 1927 and 1969 the buyer warrants that the goods are bought bona fide on a joint account.
3. The buyer shall pay the price at which a lot is knocked down by the Auctioneer to the buyer ("the hammer price") together with a premium of 22% except those lots asterisked (*) in the title, in which case the buyer's premium is 26.4% inclusive of VAT. By making any bid the buyer acknowledges that his/her attention has been drawn to the fact that on the sale of any lot the Auctioneer will receive from the seller commission at its usual rates in addition to the said premium and assents to the Auctioneer receiving the said Commission.
4. (a) The buyer shall forthwith upon the purchase give his name and permanent address together with proof of identity and pay the Auctioneer immediately after the conclusion of the auction the total sum due.
(b) The buyer may be required to pay down during the course of the sale the whole or any part of the total sum due, and if he fails to do so after such request the lot or lots may at the Auctioneer's absolute discretion be put up again and resold immediately.
(c) The buyer shall at his own expense take away any lot or lots purchased no later than five working days after the auction day.
(d) The Auctioneer may at his discretion agree credit terms with a buyer and extend the time limits for collection in special cases but otherwise payment shall be deemed to have been made only after the Auctioneer has received cash or funds by bank transfer or a sterling banker's draft or the buyer's cheque or debit/credit card payment has been cleared.
(e) All sums due to the Auctioneer shall be paid as shown and he reserves the right to charge interest which shall accrue at the rate of 4% over such base lending rate of National Westminster Bank Plc as shall be in force at the date that interest becomes due, such sum to be calculated per annum from day to day on all amounts due but unpaid. This right shall be exercisable without prejudice to any other right of the Auctioneer.
5. (a) If the buyer fails to pay for or take away any lots pursuant to clause 4 or breaches any other condition of that clause the Auctioneer as agent for the seller shall be entitled after consultation with the seller to exercise one or other of the following rights:
(i) Rescind the sale of that or any other lots sold to the buyer who defaults and re-sell the lot or lots whereupon the defaulting buyer shall pay to the Auctioneer any shortfall between the proceeds of that sale after deduction of costs or re-sale and the total sum due. Any surplus shall belong to the seller.
(ii) Proceed for damages for breach of contract.
(b) Without prejudice to the Auctioneer's rights hereunder if any lot or lots are not collected within five days or such longer period as the Auctioneer may have agreed otherwise, the Auctioneer may charge the buyer a storage charge up to £1.00 per lot per day.
6. (a) The seller shall be entitled to place a reserve on any lot and the Auctioneer shall have the right to bid on behalf of the seller for any lot on which a reserve has been placed. A seller may not bid on any lot on which he has placed a reserve.
(b) Where any lot fails to sell, the Auctioneer shall notify the seller accordingly. The seller shall make arrangements either to re-offer the lot for sale or to collect the lot and may be asked to pay a commission not exceeding 50% of the selling commission and any special expenses incurred in cataloguing the lot.
(c) If such arrangements are not made within seven days of the notification the Auctioneer is empowered to sell the lot without reserve by auction or by private treaty and to receive from the seller the normal selling commission and special expenses.
7. Any representation or statement by the Auctioneer in any catalogue, brochure or advertisement of forthcoming sales as to authorship, attribution, genuineness, origin, date, age, provenance, condition or estimated selling price is a statement of opinion only. Every person interested should exercise and rely on his own judgement as to such matters and neither the Auctioneer nor his servants or agents are responsible for the correctness of such opinions. No warranty whatsoever is given by the Auctioneer or the seller in respect of any lot and any express or implied warranties are hereby excluded.
8. (a) Notwithstanding any other terms of these conditions, if within fourteen days of the sale the Auctioneer has received from the buyer of any lot notice in writing that in his/her view the lot is a deliberate forgery and within fourteen days after such notification the buyer returns the same to the Auctioneer in the same condition as at the time of the sale and satisfies the Auctioneer that considered in the light of the entry in the catalogue the lot is a deliberate forgery then the sale of the lot will be rescinded and the purchase price of the same refunded. "A deliberate forgery" means a lot made with intention to deceive.
(b) A buyer's claim under this condition shall be limited to any amount paid to the Auctioneer for the lot and for the purpose of this condition the buyer shall be the person to whom the original invoice was made out by the Auctioneer.
9. Lots may be removed during the sale after full settlement in accordance with 4.d. hereof.
10. All goods delivered to the Auctioneer's premises will be deemed to be delivered for sale by auction unless otherwise stated in writing and will be catalogued and sold at the Auctioneer's discretion and accepted by the Auctioneer subject to all these conditions. In the case of miscellaneous books, maps and other items, the Auctioneer reserves the right to extract and dispose of items that, in the opinion of the Auctioneer at his absolute discretion, have no saleable value and, therefore, might detract from the saleability of the rest of the lot and the Auctioneer shall incur no liability to the seller in respect of the items disposed of. By delivering the goods to the auctioneer for inclusion in his auction sales each seller acknowledges that he/she accepts and agrees to all the conditions.
11. (a) Unless otherwise instructed in writing, all goods on the Auctioneer's premises and in his custody will be held insured against the risk of fire, burglary, water damage and accidental breakage or damage. The value of the goods so covered will be the hammer price, or in the case of unsold lots the lower estimate, or in the case of loss or damage prior to the sale that which the specialist staff of the Auctioneer shall in their absolute discretion estimate to be the auction value of such goods.
(b) The Auctioneer shall not be responsible for damage to or the loss, theft, or destruction of any goods not so insured because of the seller's written instructions whether caused by negligence or otherwise.
(c) Any liability of the Auctioneer for any claim arising from loss or damage of any kind in respect of goods whether caused by negligence or otherwise including any claims for compensation will be limited to the amount of insurance cover effected in accordance with the provisions of clause 11.a. above.
12. The Auctioneer shall remit the proceeds of the sale to the seller thirty days after the date of the auction provided that the Auctioneer has received the total sum due from the buyer. In all other cases the Auctioneer will remit the proceeds of the sale to the seller within seven days of the receipt by the Auctioneer of the total sum due. The Auctioneer will not be deemed to have received the total sum due until after any funds received from the buyer have cleared. In the event of the Auctioneer exercising his right to rescind the sale his obligation to the seller hereunder lapses.
13. In the case of the seller withdrawing instructions to the Auctioneer to sell any lot or lots, the Auctioneer may charge the seller a fee of 12.5% of the Auctioneer's middle estimate of the auction price of the lot withdrawn together with Value Added Tax thereon and any expenses incurred in respect of the lot or lots.
14. If, on collation, any named items in the catalogue prove defective, in text or illustration, the buyer may reject the lot provided he/she returns it within fourteen days stating the defect in writing. This however will not apply in the case of unnamed items, periodicals, autograph letters, manuscripts, music, maps, atlases, prints or drawings, nor in respect of damage to bindings, stains, foxing, marginal wormholes or other defects not affecting the completeness of the text, nor in respect of lack of list of plates, inserted advertisements, cancels or subsequently published volumes, supplements, appendices or plates or error in the enumerating of the plates, nor in respect of defects mentioned in the catalogue or announced at the time of sale.
15. The Auctioneer accepts no responsibility in connection with the commissioning of his staff to bid for any lots. Reserves, and commission bids given by telephone are accepted only at the sender's risk and must be confirmed in writing before the date of the sale. Lots will always be bought as cheaply as is allowed by other bids and such reserves as are on our books.
16. Buyers are advised that a storage charge of £1.00 per lot per day plus Value Added Tax at the current rate will be levied on all purchases not cleared within fourteen working days of the sale. After this period the buyer will be responsible for loss or damage.
17. Artist's Resale Rights ("Droit de Suite"). Lots marked with "AR" or another appropriate symbol and referenced as such in the catalogue are subject to the Artist's Resale Right law. The buyer agrees to pay the Auctioneer an amount equal to the resale royalty and the Auctioneer will pay such amount to the artist's collecting agent. Resale royalty applies where the Hammer Price is 1,000 Euro or more and the amount cannot be more than 12,500 Euro per lot.
The amount is calculated as follows:
Royalty For the portion of the Hammer Price (in Euro)
4.00% up to 50,000
3.00% between 50,000.01 and 200,000
1.00% between 200,000.01 and 350,000
0.50% between 350,000.01 and 500,000
0.25% in excess of 500,000
Invoices will be issued in Pounds Sterling. For the purposes of calculating the resale royalty the Pounds Sterling/Euro rate of exchange will be the European Central Bank reference rate on the day of the sale. Please refer to the DACS website www.dacs.org.uk for further details.
18. These conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English Law.
Buyer's Premium :
The buyer's premium is 22%, except those lots asterisked (*) in the title for which Value Added Tax (VAT) will be added to the premium, resulting in a buyer's premium of 26.4% inclusive of VAT. Eligible items include manuscripts, prints, photographs, drawings, framed maps, paintings, pens and other objects which are subject to VAT at a rate of 20% on the buyer's premium as part of the Auctioneers Margin Scheme. VAT zero-rated items such as books, unframed maps and albums are not subject to VAT on the buyer's premium.
Live Auction Charges
An additional commission of 3% plus VAT (3.6% inclusive of VAT) on the hammer price is payable if you use the live auction bidding facility on the Dominic Winter Auctioneers website (dominicwinter.co.uk). This charge will be added to your invoice automatically.
An additional commission of 4.95% plus VAT (5.94% inclusive of VAT) on the hammer price is payable if you use the live auction bidding facility on the ATG Media website (the-saleroom.com). This charge will be added to your invoice automatically.
An additional commission of 3% plus VAT (3.6% inclusive of VAT) on the hammer is payable if you use the live auction bidding facility on the Invaluable website (invaluable.com). This charge will be added to your invoice automatically.
Payment (UK Buyers)
Payment is preferred by direct Bank Transfer to our bank account. Our bank details will be supplied to you with your invoice.
Payment can be made in cash at the Cashier's Office, either during or after the sale. Alternatively, you can pay by cheque (Pounds Sterling only), please allow 5 working days for the cheque to clear before collection of goods.
Credit or Debit Card payments will not be accepted by telephone unless by prior arrangement with the auctioneers. Card payments can be made in person at our premises but must be accompanied by relevant ID confirming address details. We do not accept payments by American Express.
Payment (Overseas Buyers)
Payment must be made by direct Bank Transfer to our bank account. Our bank details will be supplied to you on your invoice. No card payments will be accepted unless by special prior arrangements with the auctioneers. All transfers must state the relevant invoice number. The amount we receive must be the total due after currency conversion and the deduction of any bank charges (normally £7).
UK Shipping
We are not specialist shippers. Some items, such as framed & glazed or fragile goods, will require specialist handling and buyers will be asked to use Mailboxes or RF Shipping Ltd. (details below).
For non-fragile items and items of reasonably small size, we offer an in-house packing and shipping facility for UK buyers. When possible, purchases will be sent by either Royal Mail Special Delivery or DPD overnight service. The charge for this service is variable (£15 minimum per parcel) and will be added to your invoice. Please note shipments to the Highlands and Islands may require shipment by courier and may be more expensive. Please contact us for a quote before bidding.
For larger packages and fragile goods, we recommend Mailboxes, Pack & Send or RF Shipping Ltd who will collect fully paid-for purchases from us twice a week and liaise with the buyer direct. For more information please contact Sarah Ball by telephone on +44 (0)1285 860006 or email sarah@dominicwinter.co.uk. These companies will require payment direct for their services.
