The important Defence of Lucknow Indian Mutiny Medal awarded to James Luffman, a 15-year s...

The important ‘Defence of Lucknow’ Indian Mutiny Medal awarded to James Luffman, a 15-year scholar at La Martinière School - a ‘Ragged Fusilier’, one of only two boys wounded during the siege and one of the six senior boys who bore arms Indian Mutiny 1857-59, 1 clasp, Defence of Lucknow (James Luffman.) fitted with contemporary silver ribbon brooch; together with the Punjab 1848-49 medal awarded to his father with clasps for Chiliamwala and Goojerat (James Luffman.) this correctly impressed but with rank and regiment neatly erased, toned, good very fine (2) £2,000-£2,600 --- Luffman’s mutiny medal has always been associated with a two-clasp Punjab medal, also named to James Luffman. It has a well executed erasure both before and after the impressed naming consistent with the rank and regiment having been obliterated. Research by Major H. E. Dadley in conjunction with A. J. Farrington of the India Office Records confirms that the Punjab medal belongs to James’s father Staff Sergeant James Luffman, 3rd Company 1st Battalion Bengal Artillery, with the medal roll confirming the clasps for Chilianwalla and Goojerat. It further transpires that there is only one man named Luffman on the Punjab medal roll. Fifty-eight medals were awarded to the Foundation boys and staff of the La Martinière School and are highly prized for their uniqueness and rarity – this one to James Luffman more so as he was one of only two boys wounded during the Defence. These boys boarded at the school and came under the auspices of the Claude Martin Charities being deemed as being from straightened but deserving families. On 13 June 1857, at the command of Sir Henry Lawrence, the scholars all marched from the Martinière to the Residency on a journey that, over the next 6 months, would turn these schoolboys into men and earn for them the soubriquet “The Ragged Fusiliers”. The siege commenced on the 1st July 1857 when Luffman was just a few days shy of his sixteenth birthday. With the firing of the first shots most of the servants fled the Residency so the military authorities impressed the younger boys of the Martinière to undertake domestic chores including, sweeping the compounds, the drawing of water, grinding the daily rations of corn to make bread and some to cook the boys meals. Others tended to the sick officers and others to take messages between garrisons. Later, Brigadier Inglis requested that as many boys as possible should be sent to pull the punkahs over the sick and wounded at the General Hospital. For this purpose 36 were told off in reliefs of 12 each and changed every 12 hours. The boys’ health suffered greatly and two died. The junior boys were used as night watchmen and for digging the wells for the “filth” of the Establishment whilst six senior boys bore arms defending the Martinière Post, operating the semaphore system on top of the Residency Tower and in supervising the younger pupils. L. E. R. Rees wrote of their plight:
‘The poor Martinière pupils, who go about the garrison more filthy than others, and apparently more neglected and hungry even than we are, are made use of to drive away these insects (flies) from the sick in hospital, and others. That they, too, should contribute their share of usefulness is but just and fair; but that they should be placed in menial attendance upon the healthy great in the garrison is, in my opinion, far from right. But I shall say nothing more on this subject, lest I assume a tone of censure.’ The Martinière Post, after the Judicial Garrison, was the most exposed defence in the Residency. Johannes’ House kept up an incessant rifle fire from just outside the perimeter with “Bob the Nailer” causing the most nuisance. The Post was defended by men from the 32nd Regiment of Foot, civilians and six armed senior boys from the Martinière named as: James Luffman, Edward Henry Hilton, David Aratoon, John Hornby, George Roberts and Samuel Wrangle. The wounding of Luffman is best described by Edward Hilton from his book “The Tourist's Guide to Lucknow”. Hilton spent much of his latter years given tours to local visitors and is well placed to give the most accurate account. The boys who carried arms used to take 20 or 30 rounds and go to the top of the house in which we were located and fire through the loopholes at the enemy and at whatever seemed a fair target. There were pumpkins and other vegetables which would have made a welcome addition to our cuisine growing in Johannes’ garden outside the line of our defence. We found it very tantalising to know that we must not venture to forage in this garden for the vigilance of the enemy’s marksmen was untiring and they never lost an opportunity of picking off any member of the garrison who was so incautious to expose himself. Seeing that the coveted vegetables were not available for us we did our best to make them unfit for the enemy and found some diversion in firing at the gourds. This “sport” was put an end to by the following circumstances: ‘Shortly after the boy Smith had been hit by one of the enemy’s marksmen, known to the boys by the soubriquet of “Jim the Rifle” located in the Johannes’ warehouse facing our post, Luffman and myself, with the intention of avenging this, went on the the roof of the building in which we were quartered and which overlooked the enemy’s position to try and get a shot at the rascal; we both used the same loophole. While on lookout one of the lads, S. Hornby, came to the roof with a supply of ammunition, and, while our attention was thus diverted our mutinous opponent across the way fired at us. His bullet struck Luffman’s musket, [which was in the loophole], glanced along the barrel and lodged in his left shoulder. As already mentioned he fortunately recovered but our target practice had to be discontinued owing to the ammunition being put out of our reach.’ 
James Austen Luffman was born on 5 July 1841, the eldest of three sons to Sergeant James Luffman, Bengal Artillery, and his wife Mary (née Bowers). Mary died on 4 August 1852, at Peshawar leaving James with the unenviable task of taking care of his three children. He sought assistance from the Claude Martin Charities who accepted the two elder brothers, James Austen and John Thomas, at the Martinière at Lucknow, with the younger, William Collins, being accepted at the sister Martinière School at Calcutta. The boys were orphaned on 11 June 1858, when their father died at Raneegunge, where he had been working as a Dak Agent for the Inland Transport Company. The Principal Registry of Probate, England, handed guardianship, until full age, to their lawful aunt Anne Still who, with her husband John, had been resident in India before returning to England living in Sudbury, Middlesex. At the denouement of the mutiny James Luffman joined the East Indian Railways together with “partners in crime” John Hornby and Edward Hilton, an understanding expected of all Martinière boys that they serve at least a year within the railway establishment. On 26 March 1859, he joined the Indian Police and performed non-gazetted appointments in and around Oudh until being gazetted on 16 January 1879 with the rank of District Superintendent of Police, a position he held until retirement on 25 October 1894. His record of service showed he worked variously in Bahraich, Hardoi, Partagarh, Jalaun, Gorackpur and Rae Barelli. It should be noted that at this time gazetted appointments in the police were generally filled by military officers or appointees from England making promotion and gazetting of locally enlisted officers discriminato...