Order of the Dooranee Empire

1st Class Star awarded to Sir Thomas Willshire in the Musée national de la Légion d'Honneur et des Ordres de Chevalerie, Paris

The Order of the Dooranee Empire was awarded to British field officers and above during the First Afghan War by Shah Shoojah-ool-Moolk of Afghanistan in gratitude for his restoration to the throne.[1]

The first investiture of the order was held at a grand durbar in the courtyard of the Harem Serai of the Bala Hissar, Kabul, on the evening of 17 September 1839.[2] At the time there were not enough decorations prepared but on the day those who were not on duty were presented before the king.[3] The result was that there are numerous variations in the stars and medals as many were subsequently made in India and Europe, particularly in the number of pearls on the order.

There were three classes to the order as to emulate the three classes of the Order of the Bath. The first and second classes had both a star and a medal while the third consisted of a medal only. The medal of all three classes had the red/green ribbon of the Ghuznee Medal.

1st Class

Medal: A gold Maltese cross with eight points terminating in a gold bead on two crossed swords. In the centre is a green flower on a blue enamel ground with the words "dui-i-dauran" in Persian script, meaning "pearl of the age", the name attributed to the Durrani dynasty. The enamel centre is encircled by pearls.

Star: A silver star with a smaller Maltese cross in gold overlaid in the same style as the medal with the addition of a diamond on each arm of the gold cross. There are 17 pearls circling the enamel work.

2nd Class

Medal: As the 1st class but with 20 pearls encircling the centre.

Star: A silver star shaped like a Maltese cross with the gold medal overlaid as above but with 18 pearls.

3rd Class

Medal: As the 1st class but with 14 pearls encircling the centre.

Recipients

This is not an exhaustive list

1st Class

  1. Lieut. Col. Sir Alexander Burnes
  2. Lieut. General Sir Willoughby Cotton
  3. Lord Auckland
  4. Lieut. General Sir John Keane
  5. Sir William Hay Macnaghten
  6. Lieut. Col. Sir Claude Martin Wade
  7. Major General Sir Thomas Willshire

2nd Class

  1. Lieut. Col. Robert Arnold
  2. Lieut. Col. JG Beaumgardt
  3. Major A Campbell
  4. Major Patrick Craigie
  5. Major William Garden
  6. Lieut. Col. Keith
  7. Lieut. Col. Macdonald
  8. Major General Sir James Outram
  9. Major General James Parsons
  10. Major Alexander Peat
  11. Major General Abraham Roberts
  12. Major General Sir Robert Henry Sale
  13. Lieut. Col. J Scott
  14. Major General Edward Simpson
  15. Lieut. Col. Stephenson
  16. General Sir Joseph Thackwell
  17. Lieut. Col. George Thomson
  18. Major Elliot D'Arcy Todd
  19. Lieut. Col. Hugh Wheeler

3rd Class

  1. Major General Augustus Abbott
  2. Major William Alexander
  3. Captain William Anderson
  4. Superintending Surgeon James Atkinson
  5. Captain JDD Bean
  6. Colonel David Birrell
  7. Lieut. Col. Bulstrode Bygrave
  8. Lieut. Col. Neil Campbell
  9. Lieut. Col. Charles Carmichael Smyth
  10. Lieut. Col. Richard Carruthers
  11. Major CJ Connyngham
  12. Captain Edward Barry Conolly
  13. Lieut. Col. Croker
  14. Lieut. Col. David Cuninghame
  15. Lieut. Col. Charles Robert Cureton
  16. Lieut. Col. Daly
  17. Captain David Davidson
  18. Lieut. Col. William Dennie
  19. Major Deshon
  20. Major General Thomas Douglas
  21. Superintending Surgeon J Forsyth
  22. Major J Fraser
  23. Captain H Garbett
  24. Major C Griffiths
  25. Major Crawford Hagart
  26. Major Henry Hancock
  27. Major John Hay
  28. Lieut. Col. John Herring
  29. Captain Hugh Johnson
  30. General Sir George St Patrick Lawrence
  31. Major Robert Leech
  32. Mr PB Lord
  33. Lieutenant Frederick Mackeson
  34. Lieut. Col. James Maclaren
  35. Lieut. Col. McDowell
  36. Lieut. Col. GHM McGregor
  37. Captain James McGregor
  38. Major Thomas McSherry
  39. Colonel Thomas Monteath
  40. Lieut. Col. Joseph Orchard
  41. Lieut. Col. John Pennycuick
  42. Lieut. Col. William Persse
  43. Lieut. Col. Peter Pew
  44. Major Edward Pottinger
  45. Lieut. Col. Sir HC Rawlinson
  46. Captain James Nathaniel Rind
  47. Lieut. Col. Henry Salter
  48. Captain Edward Sanders
  49. Lieut. Col. Bentham Sandwith
  50. General Sir Richmond Shakespeare
  51. Lieut. Col. LR Stacy
  52. Lieut. Col. Foster Stalker
  53. Major Robert Thomas
  54. Major John Thompson
  55. Lieut. Col. Tronson
  56. Captain Hamilton Wade
  57. Captain A Wall
  58. Major General George Warren
  59. Lieut. Col. John Weston
  60. Lieut. Col. CB Wheeler
  61. Captain Foster Wheler
  62. Colonel GP Wymer
  63. Captain AGFJ Younghusband

References

  1. ↑ p.139 British Battles and Medals by Major L L Gordon; published by Spink & Son Ltd 1947
  2. ↑ pp. 322-323 The Expedition into Affghanistan: notes and sketches descriptive of the country, contained in a personal narrative during the campaign of 1839 & 1840 by James Atkinson, etc; published by W H Allen & Co, London, 1842
  3. ↑ p. 21 The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Miscellany, Volume 31, 1840
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