Ex-cricketer sells military medal collection

A Military Cross awarded to a World War One soldier from Herefordshire is to be auctioned, as part of a collection of 135 military medals owned by a former England wicketkeeper.

The medal was given to Graham Bromhead Bosanquet, who was killed fighting with the Gloucestershire Regiment in 1916 on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.

Jack Russell, who hung up his gloves in 2004, said he had long been passionate about military history, which he described as "an addiction".

Bosanquet's Military Cross is expected to fetch between £5,000 and £7,000 when it goes under the hammer at Noonans Mayfair on 15 April.

Russell's collection, which focuses on the Gloucestershire Regiment, is expected to fetch about £100,000 as a whole, the auctioneer said.

The soldier, who was born in Liandinabo, was the only fatality at Ovillers on 1 July, 1916, Noonans said.

The brevet major died at 30, and is commemorated at Gordon Dump Cemetery in Ovillers, according to the Commonweath War Graves Commission.

The Military Cross is awarded to soldiers in recognition of acts of exemplary gallantry.

Russell made his England debut in 1988 and played 54 Test matches and 40 one-day internationals before retiring at 40 with a back injury.

He was a key member of the Gloucestershire county side, after making his county debut at the age of 17.

Now an artist with a gallery in Chipping Sodbury, he said if he had not become a professional cricketer and painter, "there is no doubt I would have ended up being a soldier".

In the auction catalogue, he wrote: "A Gloucestershire boy, I naturally took a strong interest in my own county regiment.

"When abroad on tour with the England cricket team, I would always try to spend as much time as I could visiting the nearest battlefield or military site and, whenever possible, pay my respects to any military graves that I could find."

He began to collect medals about thirty years ago, particularly focusing on the Gloucestershire Regiment.

"For me it has now come to a point where I feel it is time for a change in direction," he said.

"I feel that I have got as close to the regiment and its fighting men as I possibly could, and it is now the time to hand them on to other collectors to take guardianship and look after these extraordinary men's medals for the next stage of their journey."

He added he was certain his passion for military history would continue to grow: "With me it is an addiction."

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