Victoria Cross awarded to Sidmouth 'Hero of Manipur' goes to auction

A Victoria Cross awarded to a heroic soldier who spent his last days in Sidmouth is to be auctioned today (Wednesday, June 23), and is expected to fetch between £300,000 and £400,000.

Colonel Charles Grant was a 29-year-old Lieutenant with the 12th Regiment (2nd Burma Battalion) Madras Infantry when he fought in the Anglo-Manipur War in 1891, during the era of the British Raj.

The Scots-born soldier led his men during the Battle of Thoubal where just 80 troops fought off wave after wave of attack, defeating an estimated 2,000 enemy troops.

After a long military career, he spent his later years in Sidmouth in Devon, where he died in 1932, aged 71.

The group of five medals will be sold by Dix Noonan Webb along with an archive of historical importance, including Grant's unpublished leather bound 'Officer's Field Note and Sketch Book and Reconnaissance Aide-Memoire' in which he records the march to Manipur and the capture and subsequent defence of Thoubal, illustrated by several detailed sketches of both actions and positions; and a file of original letters, including the negotiations between Grant and the Manipuris and a coded message from Grant in Greek characters to the relief force.

Mark Quayle, Associate Director and Medal Expert at Dix Noonan Webb, said: "We are very excited to be offering this outstanding VC group and important archive in our June sale. The action fought by Lieutenant Grant and his small band of Gurkhas in 1891 on the North East Frontier of India was a great epic of empire which brought him fame during his lifetime as the 'Hero of Manipur'.

"His storming of the defences at Thoubal was remarkable in itself, but it is no exaggeration to say that the subsequent defence of that place for eight days, with just 80 men against an estimated 2000 of the enemy, is a feat that probably ranks alongside Rorke's Drift in the history of famous defences against overwhelming odds."

The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration, awarded for valour in the face of the enemy. Since its introduction in 1856 there have been 1354 recipients. Charles James William Grant was the 406th recipient.

For more information, visit the Dix Noonan Webb website.