Capt. Alan Moir GRAHAM ²

  General Notes:

ID: I162
Name: Alen Moir GRAHAM Sex: M Birth: 1879 in India
Residence: Glencoe, Camberley, Surrey, England Census: 1881 30 Hatherley Grove, Paddington, London, Middx, England.
Occupation: Capt. 5th Royal Gurkhas F.F.

Indian Quarterly Army List, 1 January 1912 page # 125:
Alan Moir Graham
Date of Birth: 25 June 1878
First Comm. 4 Aug. 97
Date of Rank: 4 Aug. 06
Rank Captain
Company: British Officers of the Indian Army
Remarks: 5 G.R (Gurkas regiment)

Commonwealth War Graves Commission:
GRAHAM, ALAN MOIR Initials: A M Nationality: Indian (meaning Indian Army) Rank: Captain Regiment/Service: 5th Gurkha Rifles (Frontier Force) Unit Text: 1st Bn. Secondary Regiment: 2nd King Edward's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles) Secondary Unit Text: attd. 2nd Bn. Age: 36 Date of Death: 20/12/1914 Additional information: Son of Maj. Gen. Sir Thomas Graham, K.C.B., and Lady Graham; husband of Edith M. Graham, of 4, Iverna Court, Kensington, London. Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 28. Memorial: NEUVE-CHAPELLE MEMORIAL

KIA near Festubert at the first battle of Givenchy with 2/2nd Gurkas

With thanks to Mark at Aberdeen medals [mark@aberdeenmedals.com]:

I sold the medals of Captain Alan Moir Graham, about 3 months back for gbp 6875.
The medals had earlier resided in my personal collection for about 12 years.
FYI: I am here below appending the item description that was used on my website at time of listing the medals for sale.
QUOTE,
The extraordinary 'Killed 10 Tribesmen before breakfast' Kings Police Medal 'Gallantry' group of 6: Captain A.M Graham, K.P.M., attached 2nd Battalion 2nd Gurkha Rifles, late 1st Battalion 5th Gurkha Rifles

- Kings Police Medal. GV first issue (Capt, A.M.Graham, Asst Comm, Assam Mil Pol
- IGS 1908. GV first issue 'Abor 1911-12' (Captain, A. M. Graham, Lushai Hills Bn, Assam M.P.)
- 1914-15 Star (Capt A.M.Graham, 1/5 GR)
- British War Medal 1914-18 (Capt, A.M.Graham)
- Allied Victory Medal 1914-19 (Capt, A.M. Graham)
- 1911 Delhi Durbar Medal (Captn, A.M.Graham, 1st Bn 5 Gurkha Rifles F.F.)

Important: The recipient was himself subsequently 'Killed-in-Action' in France & Flanders on 21 December 1914.

Note: The medals have been court-mounted mounted professionally by Spink in the prevailing post Great War order of precedence.

In 1911, the Miri Mission was formed by the Government of Eastern Bengal and Assam. The missions objects were to establish and formalise friendly relations with the hill Miris who lived in an the territory between Bhutan and the Dihang, and to survey the country to the west of the area where the Abor Field Force was operating. Captain Graham was in command of the armed military police escort of the Miri Mission comprising, 50 rifles.
Captain Graham's exploits with the Miri Survey Party on the North East Frontier of India, are well described in the book 'Far Frontiers (Whitehead)', as under;
Quote,
"Captain Graham with the main party moved north, reaching Rugi early in February, 1912, having as a cautionary measure nabbed the Gams of Seitom while they were asleep. The moment of truth came when they were camped at Tali nearby. 'Dawn had scarcely broken and the camp was hardly awake' - let Hamilton tell the story;

Captain Graham was lying in his blankets at work; Mr Kerwood was asleep; the sepoys except for a guard, were either cooking breakfast or cutting wood some little distance away. All was peaceful when suddenly the sentry fired his rifle and shouted, 'Sahib, the enemy are upon us'. Captain Graham, seizing his revolver, jumped out of his blankets to find but very few yards away a party of three hundred tribesmen, armed with swords and spears, charging down upon the camp firing as rapidly as possible, Captain Graham held the enemy at bay, as, with extraordinary gallantry and coolness, he dropped men shot by shot, the last falling as near as eight yards from him in the actual perimeter of the camp. It was a fine and plucky action, and saved the situation until the sepoys were able to reach their rifles. As soon, as the rifles began to speak, the raiders fled.
Twenty dead were left behind in the field no less than ten being killed by Captain Graham in his single-handed defence.

Stirring stuff, but hardly the way to achieve the mission's principal object of establishing friendly relations with the MIris, especially as , judging Rugi and Tali to have been the villages responsible for the attack, they proceeded to burn them."
Unquote.

Interestingly the official recommendation for the award of Graham's KPM includes reference to his censure by the Government of India for not having taken sufficient precautions against such an attack;

The official recommendation ex WO45/10999/217900 is shown below;

Quote,

"Recommended for conspicuous gallantry and valuable political services.
Captain Alan Moir Graham is Assistant Commandant of the Lushai Hills Miltatry Police Battalion. He commanded the escort of the Miri Mission last cold weather. He was conspicuous for gallantry and pressence of mind when a determined attack was made on the Miri Mission Force in the village of Tali, and it was entirely owing to his prompt and courageous action that the surpise attack was checked and finally repulsed. The Government of India held that Captain Graham should have taken precautions against an attack, but the Chief Commissioner trusts that his failure to do so will not debar him from credit for his gallantry."

Unquote.

An obituary for Captain Graham, together with a portrait photograph of him in full dress uniform, appear in 'The Bond of Sacrifice' . The content of the obituary is shown below;

Quote,

"Captain Alan Moir Graham, 5th Gurkha Rifles (Frontier Force), attd, 2nd King Edwards Own Gurkha Rifles (Sirmoor Rifles), who was killed on the 21st December, 1914, was the younger son of Major-General Sir Thomas Graham, K.C.B., of Heatherdale Lodge, Camberley. Born on the 25th June, 1878, he was educated at Haileybury and the R.M.C., Sandhurst, on passing out of which he received an un-attached 2nd Lieutenancy in August, 1897, and served his probationary period with the Devonshire Regiment. In november, 1898, he was gazetted to the Indian Staff Corps, became a Lieutenant in the Indian Army in July, 1900, and was promoted Captain in August, 1906. He was in command of the military police escort to a surveying party in the Miri country in 1912, and was granted the Kings Police Medal for conspicuous gallantry in repelling an attack. Captain Graham also commanded the military police during the Aka Expedition in the early part of 1914, and obtained the medal. He was killed on the 21st December, 1914, while covering the retreat of his company from an attack which had taken it in flank at Festubert. Captain Graham, who was a member of the Junior Naval and Military Club, married Edith Margaret, second daughter of Stafford F. Still."

www.aberdeenmedals.com/index2.php

  Noted events in his life were:

1. Death. Killed in Action at the 1st. Battle of Givenchy

Alan married Edith Margaret STILL, daughter of Stafford Francis STILL and Sophia Barbara STILL, on 4 Mar 1907 in Bombay, Bombay, India.¹ (Edith Margaret STILL was born in 1881 in Wimbledon, Surrey, England, christened on 14 Jan 1881 in Wimbledon, Surrey, England and died on 1 Nov 1967 in Pembroke House, Romsey, England.)