Description
WW1 and Afghanistan N.W.F. 1919 pair – Hampshire Regiment.
British War Medal, 2413 Pte H.A. Pescodd Hamps. R.; India General Service 1908 (Geo V) clasp, Afghanistan N.W.F. 1919, 240850 Pte H.A. Pescodd Hamps. R.
Harold Alfred Pescodd is confirmed as only entitled to a BWM for WW1 service plus his India General Service medal, also showing the change in service number, serving in the 1/5th Hampshire regiment.
The medal roll for the I.G.S. shows his as Disembodied 16th December 1919.
Condition – NEF and nicely toned.
The 1/5th Battalion, Hampshire Regiment was a Territorial Force unit headquartered in Southampton that played a crucial strategic role during World War I before seeing active combat on the North-West Frontier in 1919.
Mobilised on 5 August 1914 as part of the Hampshire Brigade (Wessex Division), the battalion sailed from the UK in October 1914 and arrived at Karachi in November.
Rather than deploying to the Western Front or Mesopotamia, the 1/5th remained stationed in India for the entire war.
Garrison Operations: The battalion maintained internal security, guarded critical infrastructure, and garrisoned military cantonments across the Indian subcontinent. This deployment was vital to the broader Allied effort, as it freed up experienced regular British and Indian Army units for front-line service in active combat theaters.
The Third Anglo-Afghan War (1919)
Frontier Mobilisation: Following the European Armistice, the battalion’s overseas service was extended when Afghan forces under Emir Amanullah Khan invaded British India in May 1919.
Mobilised for the Third Anglo-Afghan War, the 1/5th served on the rugged North-West Frontier from 6 May to 8 August 1919. The men endured extreme summer heat, difficult mountainous terrain, and guerrilla skirmishes while securing mountain passes, supply routes, and border outposts.
After five years of continuous service overseas—transitioning from home Territorials to vital garrison troops and frontier combat veterans—the 1/5th Hampshire Regiment finally returned to the United Kingdom on 8 November 1919 to demobilise.
