An Officer’s Punjab and Indian Mutiny Pair awarded to Captain J. Y. Gowan 18th Native Infantry. A survivor of the Bareilly Massacre, he communicated by coded letter with British officers at Meerut to secure the escape of ‘30 other Christians’ and refugees who had likewise escaped and gone into hiding in Kattra, comprising: Punjab, 1848-49, no clasp (Lieutt J. Y. Gowan. Adjutt 18th N.I.), erased and officially re-engraved; Indian Mutiny, 1857-59, no clasp (Captn J Y Gowan 18th Native Infy); Pair loose, lightly toned, very fine (2). Captain J. Y. Gowan is mentioned in the book ‘British Administration During The Revolt of 1857’ by H. G. Keene as having taken part in protecting and then helping to save the lives of a group of refugees from the Bareilly Massacre. The book describes the events as follows: “About this time authentic intelligence began to reach Wilson, on the further side of the Ganges, of the presence of Christian refugees of various classes and of both sexes in the villages of Bohilcund… On the morning of the 20th, being at Aligarh with Mr. Bramly, he opened a letter brought over by a couple of native messengers, addressed to the Chief Civil Officer at Meerut. It proved to be from Captain J. Y. Gowan, and contained a touching appeal for the rescue of himself and thirty other Christians, survivors of the Bareilly massacre and now concealed at a village near to the town of Kattra. Sending word to the Chief Commissioner at Agra, Mr. Wilson left a note for Gowan (written in the Greek character) with Mr. Bramly, which the latter promised to send on to Gowan with the Chief Commissioner’s reply, when it arrived from Agra. The purpose of Wilson’s note was to inform Gowan that, whatever might be the decision of the Government, he (Wilson) would surely be at a certain ford on the 28th, prepared to rescue the refugees. When the Chief Commissioner’s answer arrived, one of the messengers took it, with Wilson’s enclosed, to the village where Gowan and some six of his companions, adults and infants, were awaiting his return with what anxiety may be partly imagined. When the envelope was hastily opened, nothing at first appeared but a precept from the Government offering a reward of ten thousand rupees “to any native who would escort in safety to Aligarh all the Christian refugees now lying concealed in Bohilcund.” “This was cold comfort; and Gowan, with sinking heart, was in the act of destroying the envelope when he felt the enclosure and read Wilson’s Greek note… It is on record that the seven forlorn creatures, who felt that they had passed from death into life, fell simultaneously upon their knees in the shed where they were lurking, and offered their tribute of pious thanks to the Almighty... Hastening, then, to his earthly protectors, the native villagers, Gowan consulted with them; and the result of the consultation was the despatch of a second letter, written in Greek like that to which it was a reply, and fixing another rendezvous for the 29th the earliest date, as it would seem, on which he could come down with his company to the river-side. Wilson received this note at 7 P.M. of the 28th. In another hour he had started with 100 horsemen and four fast elephants; and the native officer, Buland Khan, was the only person to whom the secret of their destination was confided. It was a service of danger…but Wilson secured the boats at the ford of Kuchla (the first that he had named to Gowan), amused the enemy with feints, and then, marching in the cold autumn night thirty miles down the river, reached the place where he expected the refugees, only to meet with fresh disappointment. To cut a long story short, Wilson reached the fort of Kadirganj early on the morning of the 81st, got a break- fast out of the “Nawab” (as the man in charge called himself), by a mixture of boldness and conciliation, and had the pleasure soon after of receiving a cart, escorted by matchlockmen, and containing Gowan, with Sergeant and Mrs. Belcham, and their children. The good native officer, Buland Khan, when he saw the children, turned aside to hide his tears, and muttered, “And these are the darlings whom those infidels seek to murder - God’s curse on them!” On the 2nd November Wilson’s party marched with them into Aligarh, and the following morning brought them safely into Meerut.” The author also mentions that Gowan did ‘good work through the winter campaign’.
Estimate: £300-£400