The Royal Hampshire Regiment Museum is delighted to announce that we have recently purchased at auction the medals of Colonel William Bell Kingsley. These were purchased with support from Arts Council England/V&A Purchase Grant Fund, and we are extremely grateful for their support.
Bell Kingsley served from 1855 until 1886 in the 67th Regiment of Foot, later the Hampshire Regiment. He was wounded at the Battle of Taku Forts, and was mentioned in Dispatches twice for operations in Afghanistan in 1878-80. He commanded the 2nd Battalion Hampshire Regiment in the Burma Campaigns of 1885-86. We have multiple photographs of Bell Kingsley in the archives, along with other personal items, but did not have his medals. We are planning to put these all together on display in 2025.
The medals are (from left to right): The Most Honourable Order of the Bath, C.B. (Military) Companion’s breast badge; the China War Medal 1857-1860 with clasps for Taku Forts 1860 and Pekin 1860; the Afghanistan Medal 1878-80 with clasps for Charasia and Kabul; and the India General Service Medal 1854-94 with clasp for Burma 1885-87.
Further details on the grant scheme is here: https://www.vam.ac.uk/info/the-ace-va-purchase-grant-fund
