British India army chief's medals auctioned

LONDON: The seven medals of General Sir Beauchamp Duff, who was the commander-in-chief of colonial India just before the start of World War I, have been bought at an auction for more than double the expected amount.

Born in Aberdeen in Scotland, Beauchamp was blamed for a bungled bid to capture Baghdad in 1915.

He was an aide-de-camp to King George V and also Lord Kitchener's right-hand man in India during a distinguished military career, which was ruined when he was blamed for the 1915 Baghdad invasion fiasco.

He committed suicide at his London club in January 1918 by taking an overdose of sleeping tablets.

His medals were expected to fetch between 3,000 and 4,000 pounds when they went under the hammer at Sotheby's, but a Yorkshire dealer bought the medals for 8,625 pounds.

The collection included an 1878-1880 Afghanistan Medal and an 1899-1902 Queen's South Africa Medal with five clasps.