Twice Wounded - North Africa & Germany - D-Day Lander & one of 'Monty's Highlanders' medal group of 8: Warrant Officer Class 1 (Superintending Clerk) Christopher J. Kavanagh, Royal Pioneer Corps, late 5/7th Bn Gordon Highlanders, 51st Highland Division

- The 1939-45 Star. No clasp
- The Africa Star. With original clasp '8th Army'
- The Italy Star
- The France and Germany Star. No clasp
- Defence Medal
- War Medal
- Military Meritorious Service Medal. EIIR 2nd issue (22240659 W.O.Cl.1. C. Kavanagh. RPC.)
- Military LS&GC. EIIR issue & 'Regular Army' bar (22240659 S. Sgt. C. Kavanagh. R.P.C.)

Medals Verification: None of the medal rolls for any of the recipients war medals are accessible in the public domain, as of 2026. However all medals are confirmed as entitled per the article including named photograph - showing recipient wearing MSM and wearing 2 x rows of medal ribands - that was published in 'The Pioneer' regimental journal issue of March 1970:

- The 1939-45 Star. No clasp: For 6 months overseas campaign with 5/7th Gordon Highlanders
- The Africa Star. With clasp '8th Army': 1939-45 Star & 1 days service in N. Africa 5/7 Gordon Highlanders
- The Italy Star: 1939-45 Star & 1 days service in campaign theatre with 5/7th Gordon Highlanders
- The France and Germany Star. No clasp: 1939-45 Star & 1 day service NWE 5/7 Gordon Highlanders
- Defence Medal: Awarded for aggregated qualifying 'Home' & overseas non-operational service
- War Medal: Awarded for 28 days service during WW2
- Military Meritorious Service Medal. EIIR. Presented December 1969 'The Pioneer' Journal 1970
- Military LS&GC. EIIR & 'Regular Army' bar: Awarded 1958 on completing 18 years long service

Wounded-in-Action (twice): The on-line British Army Casualty returns for North Africa 1942-43, are in parts corrupted / incomplete, however the recipients 'Wounds' incurred in Germany are confirmed per below source:

- 21/04/1944: No.3391687 Pte. C.J. Kavanagh 5/7th Gordon Highlanders (Ref The National Archives file series WO 417/92/1)

The recipient enlisted in the British Army during the early years of the Second World War when on enlistment he was allocated the unique Army Number 3391687 which was from the block allocated the East Lancashire Regiment in 1920, vis 3377001-3433000 and was issued sequentially thereafter to all new recruits to the British Army who were initially posted to the East Lancashire Regiment between circa 1920-1941. He left the British Army - briefly in circa 1949 - and in the same year re-enlisted, at which time he was allocated a new unique Army Number vis No. 22240659, which he continued to use throughout the rest of his post 1947 service in the British Army 

The 'Royal Pioneer' regimental journal of the Royal Pioneer Corps issue of March 1970, contained the below article - together with a named photograph showing the recipient presented with his MSM:
 
Quote,

MERITORIOUS SERVICE MEDAL AWARDS

WO1 Christopher Kavanagh enlisted into the Army in June 1940 and served in the Infantry before joining the Royal Pioneer Corps in March 1949.

His first unit was the East Lancashire Regt from where he was transferred to a Young Soldiers Bn of the Border Regt. In 1942 he was transferred to the Gordon Highlanders and saw active service with the Regiment (which was part of the old 51st Highland Division) from the Battle of El Alamein in the Western Desert to the end of the North African Campaign; from the invasion of Sicily to the Invasion of Italy and from the D Day landing in France to the end of the War in North West Europe. He was wounded twice in action, the first in the Desert and the second time in Germany.

He was demobilized in March 1949 in the rank of Sgt and enlisted into the RPC in March of that year.

WO1 Kavanagh was promoted to his present rank in May 1967 and is now serving as Staff Assistant on the PL Directorate Staff in HQ BOAR.

Unquote.

A captioned photograph of the presentation of the MSM to WO1 Kavanagh is shown in the same referenced journal, in which WO1 Kavanagh, is shown wearing at the time 2 x rows of medal ribands, and wearing the MSM on the exact same investiture length silk riband with hook attachments, that is fitted on the medal in the group here offered. The caption states;

Quote,

Brigadier C.F Walker, Director of Army Pioneers and Labour and Inspector of the Royal Pioneer Corps, congratulates WO1 Kavanagh following the presentation of the Meritorious Service Medal at Moenchengladbach, Germany, on the 7th December 1969.

Unquote

The re-constituted 51st Highland Division, including the 5/7th Gordon Highlanders, was the only Infantry Division of the British Army to serve continuously under Lieutenant-General - later Field Marshal The Viscount Montgomery of Alamein - from the Second Battle of El-Alamein through North Africa and Sicily, which landed on D-Day, and fought through the entire North West Europe Campaign from Normandy to Germany and the ultimate allied victory in April 1945

Circa 1960-61, while holding the rank of he served in the British Mandate Territory of 'Southern Cameroons' in West Africa. Southern Cameroons was the former British-administered territory in West Africa that now comprises the Northwest and Southwest regions of the Republic of Cameroon. Following a 1961 UN plebiscite, it joined the francophone Republic of Cameroon (Issues of 'The Royal Pioneer' refer)

Warrant Officer Class 1, Christopher 'Chris' Kavanagh former 'D-Day Lander' and twice-wounded veteran of the, 5/7th Battalion Gordon Highlanders of the  51st Highland Division, was a participant-in and witness to some of the hardest fought campaigns ever fought by the British Army.

Important: The sale is for the mounted group of 8 x miniature medals only. The full-size medals are not included in the sale, and are only here shown as illustrative props for provenance / research purposes. We will however send the buyer soft-copies of all the images by email attachment for their records

A most desirable medal group to a twice wounded D-Day Lander veteran of the 51st Highland Division

Mostly GVF

Code: 26122