Description: An original WW1 era "SPECIAL FIREARMS LICENSE" issued to Captain Arthur Harold Hobbs of the WELCH (Welsh) REGIMENT while on service in the Khartoum Province of Sudan. He would very soon go on to become Major and Second in Command of the 1st Battalion Welch Regiment during the Battle of Loos. However, on a night operation to capture 'Little Willie Trench' in the German frontline (on the Western side of the infamous HOHENZOLLERN REDOUBT), Major Hobbs received a gunshot wound to the hand and was subsequently declared 'Missing in Action'. (There is a very detailed account of this action in an online publication entitled "Reported Missing in the Great War".)According to records, he died on the 2nd October 1915, and a large stained-glass memorial window dedicated to him can still be seen at St Mary's Church in Saltford, Wansdyke. (Images can be found on the Imperial War Museum website.)Whilst this document predates the War by almost ten months, it proves that he was already a career officer with a promising future in the British Army. His death in one of the War's most famous Battles whilst attacking one of the most heavily fortified German defensive positions, makes it all the more poignant.The license, for a double barrelled 12 bore shotgun and a German rifle, was issued only two years before his death in combat.Measures 31cm x 25cm and was printed on watermarked paper. I have adjusted the contrast in one of the images to show the watermark as best as possible.A really unusual find. (Seller's Ref - MIN0822)
Price: 39.99 GBP
Location: Ipswich
End Time: 2025-01-17T00:05:03.000Z
Shipping Cost: 13.63 GBP
Product Images
Item Specifics
Returns Accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Country/ Organization: Great Britain
Issued/ Not-Issued: Issued
Type: Documents & Maps
Conflict: World War I (1914-1918)
Service: Army
Era: 1914-1945
