Casualty Egypt Medal 1882-1889, undated reverse, 1 Clasp: El-Teb awarded to Private J. Duke, 1st Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment who saw service in Egypt during the Egyptian War where he would be present at the Battle of El-Teb on 29th February 1884 suffering a slight bullet wound to his right ankle.
Egypt Medal 1882-1889, undated reverse, 1 Clasp: El-Teb; (1201 PTE. J. DUKE. 1/YORK & LANC:R.)
Condition: toned, contact wear Very Fine
John Duke was born in North Curry, near Taunton, Somerset and giving his trade as labourer attested at Taunton on 27th January 1866. He would initially see service at home before travelling to the East Indies on 10th January 1871. He would remain there for over 13 years, before on 28th February 1884 he would travel to Egypt and the Sudan, where on 29th February 1884 he would be involved in the second Battle of El-Teb. On this date he would suffer a slight bullet wound to his right ankle. The British defeat at the first Battle of El-Teb on 4th February incensed the imperialist faction, represented by Lord Wolseley, who demanded the intervention of British troops. Reluctantly, the British government agreed and several units - Royal Irish Fusiliers on their way returning from India, 3 battalions from the Army of Occupation in Egypt, York and Lancaster Regiment from Aden and a battalion of Marines - were sent to Suakin.
On Thursday the 21st, the force under the command of Sir Gerald Graham left for El Teb, via Trinkitat. It was composed of 4,500 men (British and Indian soldiers) with 22 guns and 6 machine guns. On Friday the 29th, they approached the main Mahdist position, on a hill near El Teb. This position consisted of various entrenchments and rifle pits. The Mahdists also had several artillery pieces including Krupp guns captured from the Tokar garrison, some of whom had changed sides, and were now fighting for the Mahdists. The British, forming into a square, circled the Mahdist entrenchments to outflank them, under cover of dense rifle and cannon fire. After a brief artillery duel, the Mahdist guns were silenced, and the British advanced. The Mahdists hid in trenches to avoid incoming British rifle and artillery rounds, then rushed out in small groups of twenty to thirty warriors instead of the massive attack that was expected. Another tactic was to pretend to lie dead on the battlefield as British cavalry charged through, then, as the cavalry returned at a slower pace through the ranks of the 'dead', the Mahdists would rise up and slit the hamstrings of the horses then proceed to kill the riders. At the top of the hill, a village had been fortified by the Mahdists, and here they resisted. The British infantry had to clear the trenches with bayonets after which the fighting died down.
During the battle, Captain Arthur Wilson of HMS Hecla joined the right half-battery, Naval Brigade, in place of a lieutenant who was mortally wounded. As the troops closed on the enemy battery, the Mahdists charged out on the detachment which was dragging one of the guns, whereupon Wilson sprang to the front and engaged in single combat with some of the enemy, and so protected the detachment until men of the 1st Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment, came to his assistance. For this action he was awarded the Victoria Cross.
Graham's force then advanced to Tokar, encountering no further resistance. After the battle, at a place called Dubba, most of the equipment lost by Baker's force was recovered (1,500 Remington rifles, 200 boxes of ammunition, one 7-pounder gun, and one Gatling gun), and 700 of the survivors from Tokar were escorted to Trinkitat. A party of the 42nd Regiment was sent out to bury the Europeans who fell in Baker's defeat.
The British suffered only light casualties, the Mahdist fire being generally inaccurate. Baker Pasha, who accompanied the force, was wounded in the jaw. The Mahdists suffered heavily from British firepower, with estimated 2,000 of them killed (though only 825 bodies were actually counted on the field of battle).
Duke would return home on 22nd April 1884 and would subsequently receive the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal on 1st January 1885 before finally being discharged on 2nd February 1887. He would also be in receipt of the Khedive’s Star.
