WHYTE'S THE HISTORY SALE TIMED ON-LINE AUCTION 1-11 NOVEMBER 2023

53 1916. Volunteer Training Corps armband and two buttons. As worn by members of the VTP attacked at Beggars Bush Barracks during the 1916 Rising. The brass cuff buttons with monogram VC. Provenance: Condition: Slight moth damage to the armband, very good. The Volunteer Training Corps was a voluntary home defence reserve force in the United Kingdom during WorldWar I. The only time that Volunteer Training Corps men were engaged in actual combat, was in the Easter Rising in Dublin on Easter Monday, 24 April 1916. Some 120 members of the 1st (Dublin) Battalion, Associated Volunteer Training Corps were returning from field exercises at Ticknock, when they heard the news of the uprising. The commanding officer, Major Harris, decided to march to Beggars Bush Barracks. They carried rifles but were without ammunition or bayonets. They were fired on by a party of Irish Volunteers from a railway bridge. Part of the VTC force entered the barracks by the front gate, others made their way to the rear and scaled the wall. About 40 men at the rear of the column were pinned down by fire from surrounding houses and four were killed. The VTC men then assisted the small garrison of regular soldiers to hold the barracks until the end of the Rising. The ‘GR’ for Georgius Rex (King George) on the armband was the source of the nickname, ‘The Gorgeous Wrecks’. Estimate €200-€300 (approx £170-£260) Click here for more images and to bid on this lot 53 54 1916-1923. A pinfire revolver owned by a Volunteer from Offaly, with good provenance. Owned by Joseph Reddin (1895-1974) of Cloghan, Co. Offaly, veteran of the 1916 Rising, War of Independence and the Civil War. With his detailed military record of service in Dublin, Offaly, South Armagh andWestmeath. A rare fully provenanced weapon of the period. Provenance: Joseph Reddin (1895-1974), Cloghan, Co. Offaly; Thence by descent to the present owner. Condition: Heavily oxidised but could restore well. Complete and will dry fire. Estimate €1,000-€1,500 (approx £860-£1,290) Click here for more images and to bid on this lot 54 History 36