Medal group awarded to Lieutenant Colonel Michael Charles Cooper Harrison, Royal Irish Regiment, 1914-1918

The group, mounted on a bar with brooch fastening, includes: Distinguished Service Order, 1918; Military Cross, 1918, and bar, 1919; 1914 Star, with clasp '5th Aug - 22nd Nov'; British War Medal 1914-20; Allied Victory Medal 1914-19, with oakleaf (mentioned in despatches); Silver Medal of Military Valor, Italy.

Michael Harrison served with the 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment, during World War One (1914-1918). He was wounded and captured at Le Pilly in October 1914. As a prisoner of war, Harrison mounted repeated escape attempts. He recorded these experiences in an account for the War Office, which he later worked up into a memoir, 'Within Four Walls', co-authored with fellow escapologist Henry Cartwright.

After his successful escape and repatriation in 1917, Harrison rejoined his battalion on the Western Front. In the spring of 1918, the Germans unleashed a massive offensive in a last-ditch attempt to win the war. Harrison was awarded the Military Cross for his courage in the desperate and chaotic fighting that ensued. Later that year, the Allies mounted their final, victorious advance. Harrison was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his leadership and gallantry during the offensive.

After the War, Harrison was awarded a bar for his Military Cross; one of a group awarded in recognition of 'gallant conduct and determination displayed in escaping or attempting to escape from captivity'.