First World War Medal Trio – Private Thomas Lamb, 2nd Bn. Black Watch (Royal Highlanders)
1914-15 Star – S-7508. PTE. T. LAMB. R. HIGHRS.
British War Medal – S-7508 PTE. T. LAMB. R. HIGHRS.
Victory Medal – S-7508 PTE. T. LAMB. R. HIGHRS.
Thomas Lamb was born at Lochee, Dundee, in or about 1897, and was the son of Charles and Helen Lamb, of 1 (later recorded as 3) Sinclair Street, Lochee. He grew up in a large working-class Dundee household and appears in the 1901 Scotland Census aged four, living with his parents and siblings. Prior to enlistment, he was employed at Messrs Spalding & Valentine, Caledonian Works, Lochee, a major local employer, reflecting the industrial background typical of many Dundee volunteers.
Lamb enlisted at Dundee, joining the Black Watch (Royal Highlanders), and was posted to the 2nd Battalion, receiving regimental number S/7508. He embarked for France on 29 April 1915, entering the Western Front during a period of heavy fighting and rapid expansion of British operations in Flanders. His early overseas service placed him with the battalion during some of its most intense actions of 1915.
On 8 October 1915, while serving with the 2nd Battalion, Black Watch, Private Thomas Lamb distinguished himself by an act of conspicuous gallantry at Givenchy Hill. For this action he was awarded the extremely rare Wauchope Medal, a privately instituted gallantry award created by Lieutenant-Colonel A. G. Wauchope for acts of bravery by Non-Commissioned Officers and men of the Black Watch. The medal awarded to Lamb is engraved “For Conspicuous Gallantry on Givenchy Hill Oct. 8th 1915”, with the reverse engraved “2nd Bn. The Black Watch to Pte. T. Lamb from Lt. Col. A. G. Wauchope”.
The Wauchope Medal is one of the most sought-after regimental gallantry awards in British militaria collecting. Approximately 70 examples were awarded during the Great War, with around 60 issued for gallantry during the Battles of Loos and Mushahide (the ‘Battle Beyond Baghdad’), and a small number for particularly hazardous scouting operations in No Man’s Land. Surviving examples are exceptionally scarce, and named medals to men who were later killed in action are rarer still. Lamb’s medal was sold at Noonan’s Medal Auction, Lot 815, in March 2018, achieving a hammer price of £550, and was described as “very rare”, reflecting its high collector importance.
Following service on the Western Front, the 2nd Battalion Black Watch was transferred to the Persian Gulf, part of the Mesopotamian campaign. This theatre was marked by extreme climatic conditions, disease, supply difficulties, and fierce fighting against Ottoman forces. During operations in the region, Private Thomas Lamb was killed in action on 7 January 1916, aged just 19. Contemporary newspaper reports described the loss as a heavy blow to a “patriotic Lochee family”, noting that four brothers were serving with the colours at the same time. His brothers included Private George Lamb, Royal Engineers; Sergeant David Lamb, 1st Black Watch; and Private Fred Lamb, Seaforth Highlanders, while a brother-in-law was serving with the 4th Black Watch.
Thomas Lamb is buried at Amara War Cemetery, Iraq, Grave XXX.H.17, where he is commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. His headstone records his service with the 2nd Battalion, Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) and confirms his parents as Charles and Helen Lamb of Lochee, Dundee.
Killed at just nineteen years of age, Thomas Lamb stands out not only as one of the youngest Black Watch casualties of the Mesopotamian campaign, but also as a decorated gallant soldier, whose bravery at Givenchy Hill was formally recognised by one of the rarest and most important regimental awards of the First World War. His service and sacrifice make this group of exceptional significance to Black Watch, Scottish infantry, and gallantry medal collectors alike.
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