WW1 British Army 1918 Military Medal to acting Sergeant Walter Lea, Military Mounted Police who was a Boer War veteran & Lancashire Police Officer

Military Medal, (G.V.R.) impressed named P-978 PTE A.SJT – W.LEA. M.M.P.

Comes with Boer War service papers, M. I.C, medal rolls, 1911 census, baptism record & basic research. N.B.: 260 Military Police soldiers received the Military Medal during WW1.

Military Medal London Gazette 20 August 1919. Schedule 281,666. MM Gazette no 67. This gazette marks the end of the use of schedule numbers, it also the last main gazette for Great War Military Medals.

Walter Lea was born on the 14/6/1880 in Knutsford, Cheshire England. The son of a prison warden who was working at H.M Prison Knutsford. On the 11/2/1901 he enlisted into 57th (Buckinghamshire) Company 15th Battalion Imperial Yeomanry and was given the regimental number 25435. He was serving with the 5th Lancashire Artillery Volunteers at the time. Served: Home 11/2/1901 - 24/3/1901. South Africa 25/3/1901 - 2/8/1902. Home 3/8/1902 - 9/8/1902. On the 25/1/1902 he was sentenced to 84 days H.L (Hard labour) for an unknown offence however his conduct on discharged was described as ‘very good’. In 1911 he was married with 3 children and living in Lancaster & employed as a Police Constable (PC 407) in the Lancashire Police. He enlisted into the Military Mounted Police for WW1 and was given the regimental number of P978. He served with them for the duration of the war after landing in France on the 19/7/1915 and was awarded the Military Medal (France) in the closing days of WW1. He was discharged to class Z 2/4/1919 and returned to the Police Force. The 1939 census records him as living in Lancaster as a ‘Police Constable retired’ where he died in December 1959. He is entitled to the Queen’s South Africa 1899 - 1902, 5 clasps; 1914 - 15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal & Coronation 1911 medal.