Ghuznee Medal 1839, Colonel Joseph Orchard, 1st Regiment of Bengal European Light Infantry (Ghuznee Medal...

Ghuznee Medal 1839 awarded to Colonel Joseph Orchard, 1st Regiment of Bengal European Light Infantry. Joseph Orchard (1790-1847) was born Joseph White Jeffery in Newfoundland, and changed his name in 1807. In that year he was commissioned as an ensign in the Bengal European Regiment, rising to the rank of brevet colonel in 1846. As a captain he took part in the siege and capture of Bharatpur (Bhurtpore) in 1826, and during the 1st Afghan War (1838-1842) was present at the capture of Ghuznee in 1839 and the occupation of Kabul. Appointed in 1846 to command the 4th Brigade of the Army of the Sutlej, he died in February 1847 from injuries sustained when he was thrown from his horse on parade some months earlier. Colonel Orchard’s regiment was a formation composed of European, not Indian, troops. At Ghazni the regiment was part of the main attacking column, supporting the advance ‘storming party’. After two hours of fierce street fighting Ghazni was taken. Although Orchard’s regiment lost only one soldier in the struggle, 60 were wounded, including Orchard himself. From a medal group including, Order of the Bath, Knight Commander Star and Companion Badge, Sutlej Campaign Medal 1845-46 and Order of the Dooranee Empire, Afghanistan.