Subadar Ayodhya Pathan Bahadur, last survivor of the Powder Bag Party, Kashmir Gate, Delhi 1857, 1915

Watercolour by Alex H Kirk, 1915.

The medal with the scarlet and white ribbon and two clasps that Bahadur wears, is his Indian Mutiny Medal.

The storming of Delhi was one of the key engagements of the Indian Mutiny (1857-1859). During the attack, Colonel George Campbell of the 52nd Light Infantry, led his column to the critical Kashmir Gate. He sent a small party of Bengal Engineers, under Lieutenant Duncan Home, to pack explosives under the gate. A firing party of the 52nd covered them as best it could, but half of the exposed sappers were killed.

Lieutenant Philip Salkeld was mortally wounded, but Sergeant John Smith managed to touch off the explosion that blew a hole in the gate. As Bugler Robert Hawthorne of the 52nd sounded the attack, the British troops poured through the opening. Home, Salkeld, Hawthorne and Smith later received Victoria Crosses; Salkeld's was the first posthumous award.