*British, WW1, Medal Pair to Pte. H. Newsome, King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry*
A very good and fully verified medal pair to a twice-wounded early-landing KOYLI man. A mounted pair consisting of the 1914–15 Star and Victory Medal, both officially named to:
1914–15 Star:241005 PTE. H. NEWSOME. YORKS: L.I. Victory Medal (rim):2841 PTE. H. NEWSOME. K.O.Y.L.I.
Mounted on an old two-place leather bar. The medals retain an honest, uncleaned patina with clear, sharp naming.
History & Service: Hagbert “Herbert” Newsome was a Doncaster man living at 61 Jubilee Road, Wheatley, who attested into the 5th Battalion, King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry in 1914 under the early Territorial Force number 2841, later renumbered 241005 in the 1917 TF sequence. He landed in France on 13 April 1915, joining the 1/5th K.O.Y.L.I. during the desperate fighting around Ypres and Hill 60, where he received his first officially recorded wound—listed in the War Office casualty returns of 6 November 1915—later qualifying him for the Wound Stripe under Army Order 204. He served continuously with the battalion through the major campaigns of 1916 and 1917, becoming one of the seasoned Territorials who held the line through the Somme, Arras, and Passchendaele. Promoted to Lance Corporal by 1918, he again appeared in the casualty lists on 12 July 1918 as “Wounded,” with an administrative correction issued on 1 August 1918, a common occurrence during the confused, fast-moving fighting following the German Spring Offensives. His surviving wartime papers—including his Territorial Force attestation, active service casualty form, and a Statement as to Disability completed at the end of the war—show a man who served continuously at the front and carried the physical consequences of that service into civilian life. His medals were issued via Star Roll O/2B 430 and Victory & BWM Roll O/1/103B36 3984, with a 1920 amendment recorded on his Medal Index Card. Together, they represent the full entitlement of a twice-wounded early-service K.O.Y.L.I. soldier who endured the worst fighting of the Western Front from 1915 to 1918.
*Condition* The medals exhibit an even and attractive patina consistent with age, the 1914–15 Star showing only light rubbing to the high points with crisp, well-struck naming, while the Victory Medal has a few minor edge nicks but retains clean, fully legible naming; the old leather mounting bar remains intact with its original period wire fixings still present. Please see photographs as part of the condition report.
