Silver QSA to Indians

In the late Victorian era the "followers" in a military campaign were awarded medals, but in bronze not silver as a cost saving exercise. These men performed non-military menial duties such grass cutting (for forage), ward sweepers, transport drivers, water carriers and so on.  Most commonly seen is the India General Service medal 1854-1895 in bronze for the campaigns of the 1890s covered by clasps such as Punjab Frontier 1897-98, Relief of Chitral 1895 and Tirah 1897-98.

This practice continued into the Second Anglo-Boer war and bronze medals were awarded to an officer's servant (irrespective of colour). The most bronze medals were awarded to Indians who came across with the very large numbers of white troops stationed in India. No official medals were awarded to the indigenous africans and other non-whites who performed a similar role to the Indian followers and many even bore arms; their story is for another post.

Collectors may see on the market a silver QSA named to an Indian in typical flowing script but on the medal roll it is clearly marked they were issued with a bronze medal. Is this a piece of fakery or not?

After the war in 1903 the Indian government decided to allow attested followers (except ward sweepers) silver medals. Un-attested and authorised followers ("private followers") were still awarded bronze medals.  This change of policy had its roots in the Anglo-Boer War, in May 1902 the Indian government allowed men to exchange their bronze medals for silver ones at their own expense when they enlisted as soldier. The date 1903 is critical as many medals to Indian followers had not yet been issued, therefore technically the new rules could apply to QSAs even though the campaign pre-dated the rule change. Whether this happened is not actually clear.

Here is an example of a silver QSA to an Indian who should have bronze QSA:

This medal is to M46 Dafadar Pat Ram I(ndian). P(ack). Mule Train.





The medal roll was prepared in Cape Town in September 1901, four men, all (Indian) Veterinary Assistants were to receive silver medals with clasps, these were issued in December 1904. For Pat Ram and the remainder it is clearly shown they were to be issued bronze medals without clasps (unlike the issue of the bronze IGS). These medals were sent to India for distribution, no date is shown.

One can assume then that Pat Ram received a bronze medal without clasps. So, how did his silver QSA come about? Under the 1903 rules it would appear he enlisted as a regular soldier and purchased a silver QSA.

However, the naming is an issue. The great collector and researcher into QSAs and KSAs to Indians, David Grant, has only seen verified exchange medals with impressed naming not engraved. David surmises that Ram's medal with engraved naming might then be a replacement medal, issued after 1903 according to the rules then in force. The Mint in Calcutta did not issue a replacement bronze medal. A number of blank silver QSAs were sent to India, an impressing machine was not sent until 1908. There is clearly more research to be done in this area.

If Ram had been issued clasps they would have been Transvaal, Defence of Ladysmith and Laing's Nek. However, he wasn't and his QSA (bronze or silver) without clasps illustrates the joy of collecting QSAs; the hidden facts that come with a bit of research.

David Grant has published on this topic in the journal of the OMRS and online on the Anglo-Boer War forum, see:

http://www.angloboerwar.com/forum/5-medals-and-awards/71-the-indian-contingent?start=54
http://www.angloboerwar.com/forum/5-medals-and-awards/71-the-indian-contingent?start=168#45827

Kakul POW Camp

Many thousands of Boer POWs were sent overseas to camps remote from South Africa, in places like Bermuda, Sri Lanka, St Helena, Portugal and India (and now Pakistan). One of the smallest and short-lived camp was in Kakul near Abbottabad in north-west India, what is now Pakistan.

The camp was set up in 1902 and existed for just a few months. One of the noted past-times of the Boer POW was to create handicrafts from whatever local materials they could find, wood, stone, bone and on Bermuda they wove neckties too. These items are highly collectible today. Handicrafts from the bigger camps such as on Bermuda and St Helena are not hard to find, those from smaller camps are rare and Kakul items must rank amongst the rarest due to it's small size and short life. In Pieter Oosthuizen's fabulous book Boer War Memorabilia: The Collectors' Guide (The Alderman Press, 1987) none of the items featured are from Kakul. The War Museum of the Boer Republics in Bloemfontein only have a handful of examples.

The items illustrated below come from a collection of 16 Boer POW handicrafts collected by a British soldier who guarded the camp at Kakul. Eight of the items are marked 'Kakul'

 

Research Puzzles: "Odd" casualties from war memorials

War memorials are a great source of information and supplement the official casualty rolls, they can provide first names, biographical details, exact cause of death and a clue as to where a man came from.

However, there are names on war memorials that just don't make sense, they are casualties but just cannot be found in the usual sources. I will write about three examples that I recently resolved as they reveal interesting stories and illustrate the need to "keep digging".

After the war the Royal Artillery erected a large memorial on The Mall in London - just down the road from Buckingham Palace. On the plaques arranged by battery are the names of all the gunners who died during the war. There are two that, until, recently were a mystery: Lts FC Fox and GTW Webb. Neither man in the official casualty roll nor in the November 1899 Army List which implies they weren't serving officers during the war, why then are they on the memorial?

FC Fox:
On the casualty rolls there is an entry for a Trooper Francis Charles Fox, Border Mounted Rifles, the only similar record to Lt FC Fox RA; what if any is the connection. This research was resolved quickly by contacting the Library of the Royal Artillery. There records show Lt FC Fox was killed while serving as Captain with the Border Mounted Rifles. He was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1869 and resigned his commission in 1879. When he was killed at Caesar's Camp on January 6th, 1900 he was quite old for a trooper, fifty perhaps? I double checked his rank with a Border Mounted Rifles collector in South Africa and he was not a captain. Exactly how his name was added to the RA memorial is not known, but he had not served with the regiment for 20 years on his death. There must be other ex-gunners killed in the war who are not included. There is certainly a story to be uncovered on what Fox did between 1879 and 1900.

GTW Webb:
The Register, being an agglomeration of records from many sources, had a record for a GT (George Theodosius) Wynne-Webb, 2nd Lt RGA and Trooper Steinaecker's Horse who died May 28th, 1901 at Pietermaritzburg, previously a prisoner released June 6th, 1900 at Waterval. This last record comes from The Times and is not in the official casualty roll, he is described as "attached" to the RGA. Obviously there is a great similarity between GTW Webb and GT Wynne-Webb, but what is the connection between the two records?

A name like "George Theodosius Wynne-Webb" is ripe for internet searching, and so it proved. GTW Webb was born in 1876, educated at Merchant Taylors. He was first commissioned into the Royal Marines in 1894, resigned at his own request in 1895. His service record (ADM196/62/304) refers to "confidential reports". He then joined a militia unit, the Royal Jersey Artillery from which he was commissioned into the RGA in 1897. He left the RGA in July 1899, circumstances unknown. Almost immediately he sailed for southern Africa and on the outbreak of war was in or near Ladysmith where he became attached to the 10th mountain battery RGA. The Digest of Service for the battery describes him as "Mr Webb", hence The Times describing him as "attached". How this relationship came about is not known, perhaps he had pals in the battery who invited him along. Whatever the nature of the relationship "Mr Webb" accompanied the battery into battle on "Mournful Monday" and was captured in the ensuing debacle on October 30th, 1899. On his release from POW camp Mr Webb did not re-join the battery but instead turns up in Utrecht, eastern Transvaal employed at the customs office. On May 9th, 1901 he enlists with Steinaecker's Horse as Trooper 3783 but dies three weeks later of pneumonia. The connections that saw him attached as a civilian to the 10th mountain battery RGA persist after his death, his name is included on the RA memorial despite him not being a serving officer at the time of his death and his brief, and perhaps chequered, career when he was commissioned. As ever, "worthy of further research" - see this blog.

QM & Hon Captain EJ Piper:
The third example is Quartermaster & Honorary Captain EJ Piper 1st volunteer battalion King's Shropshire Light Infantry (KSLI). He is named on the Devonshire county memorial in Exeter Cathedral, but not the (KSLI) memorial in Shrewsbury which implies Piper did not die on active service with the KSLI. On the medal roll there is a record for a Lieutenant & Quartermaster EJ Piper 5th bn Imperial Yeomanry (IY), roll marked "deceased". His name is not in the official casualty rolls suggesting he died in the UK, but what are the connection between a man from Devon, the IY and the KSLI?

With no first names and a surname like 'Piper' there is not much to search on. Fortunately FindmyPast have uploaded a huge archive of British newspapers which are treasure trove for researchers. Experimenting with different first names "Edwin Piper" drew a direct hit. His obituary was published in the Western Times (Devon) on December 21st, 1900, and full obituary it is too.

Edwin Piper was born about 1841 in (or about) Exeter. He served for 30 years with the volunteers, the last 16 with the 1st vb KSLI and as Supply and Transport Officer, Welsh Border Brigade. On the otubreak of war he was offered the role of Supply and Transport Officer for the 5th bn Imperial Yeomanry, one company of which came from Shropshire. In South Africa he fell ill with dysentery and enteric and was invalided home. He had two operations in July, but never recovered. He left a widow and six children. He was a deacon in the United Methodist Free Church, Albert St.

I will continue to work through the "odd" casualties on war memorials, one that I am working on know is Lt SP Knowles, formerly 2nd Life Guards. So far I cannot find any likely casualties with which to work on; one day all will be revealed.

International History Conference 2014 - Talana

In October 2014 Meurig presented a paper on war memorials at the
International History Conference: From the Anglo-Boer War to the Great War at Talana Museum, Dundee, Kwazulu-Natal October 2014. Research for this paper has added 200 memorials to The Register - with more to come.

The proceedings of the Conference can be downloaded here. 

Research Puzzles: NL Hawkyard

Another example of conflicting casualty information but this one is plain weird as the two pieces of information are wildly different. Norman Lewis Hawkyard served as Trooper 26371 Commander-in-Chief’s Bodygaurd (he had previous service with the Cape Mounted Rifles, discharged “worthless character” and as a Corporal Herschel Native Police).

The South African Field Force casualty roll shows he died of disease at Charlestown, Natal on May 6^th, 1901. The Times (surname spelt Hawkeyard) confirms this adding that he succumbed to enteric fever. The medal roll and the nominal roll (WO127) show very clearly that he was killed in action at Aliwal North, Cape Colony on May 6^th, 1901. Which is correct? The two locations are a seven hour drive apart, so the location and cause really are in conflict.

To resolve this we have one other source to consult: In Memoriam (Steve Watt, University of Natal, 2000). This is a marvellous reference work showing the burial location of thousands of Anglo-Boer War fatalities. The entry for Hawkyard show he is buried in Newcastle, Natal just 45 minutes away from Charlestown. With this evidence it is more likely Hawkyard died in Natal rather than the Cape Colony, and he succumbed to disease. There was no fighting in this part of Natal in May 1901 (or in Aliwal North for that matter). Where does the killed in action information come from? It is impossible to tell.

Hawkyard’s QSA medal is currently for sale with LiverpoolMedals, who may have acquired it from eBay where it was offered for sale in December 2015. Worryingly Liverpool Medals choose to state that Hawkyard was killed in action and ignore the died of disease stated in the casualty roll. I did write to them with this information, which they have ignored. The premium for a killed in action is higher than that for a died of disease. 

Caveat Emptor!

The Last Post - a major revision

The Last Post was compiled in 1903 by Mildred Dooner to commemorate the officers who died during the Anglo-Boer War. These officers “died heroic deaths” and it was her aim that their memory should not “fade into oblivion”. Dooner, the daughter of Colonel WT Dooner, compiled her information from a variety of sources; casualty lists, memorials and correspondence. Dooner recognises her list may not be entirely accurate. There has been no revision to The Last Post until now using the updated casualty roll in The Register.

Dooner also included two appendices one for nurses and the other for war correspondents. Nurses are an obvious choice and were beloved by the officers and men, it was the nurses who endeavoured to keep the sick and wounded alive. The war correspondent is a somewhat odd choice as these men (and one woman) merely reported the war, they did not fight or help the sick and wounded. Indeed many officers did not like war correspondents, they resented their quest for information and many thought their reports biased and unhelpful. Although some senior officers manipulated the press. However, this information exists nowhere else, modern day researchers must be thankful to Dooner for this anomaly.

To revise Dooner I have checked every entry in her book against the casualty rolls and a variety of other sources but primarily the medal rolls, war memorials and The Times newspaper.  I have verified 1,159 entries, these include 14 war correspondents and 10 nurses. Unfortunately a number of errors and inaccuracies have crept in. 

There are three duplicate entries: Betty/Kemmis-Betty, Birch/Burch, Chapman/Clapham. Dooner has included four officers who died after the war but not from related illness or wounds. Another, FE Hancock, was not apparently serving when he died of enteric fever in 1902. The Official Casualty Roll shows him as a civilian and the medal roll indicate he was entitled to the “South Africa 1902” clasp. It is not clear if Hancock was serving the military in a civilian capacity. Dooner does include one civilian, Mr F Chapman, a farmer, was a guide to the British forces attacking Willow Grange (23-11-1899) when he was shot dead. Two men were not commissioned officers when they were killed, G Falcon and A Spencer (Cape Medical Staff Corps) and there is no indication they were about to be commissioned. The unit for Lt AG Warren is incorrect, he was in the Cape Police not the Cape Mounted Rifles.

For the vast majority Dooner has given the exact cause of death, “enteric” instead of “disease” as often seen in the Official Casualty Roll. However, for some the exact cause is not shown which may be to protect the sensibilities of the family. Lt HG Berghuys, Kitchener’s Horse “died of wounds..in Feb., 1901”, in fact he was murdered by Trooper F Carpenter in a row over leave in November 1900. Trooper Carpenter was executed. Four officers committed suicide (as per Official Casualty Roll), others died of self-inflicted wounds. Cpt MMD Morrison according to Dooner died of asthma, the Official Casualty Roll shows “Died of wounds Revolver, self inflicted”.

There is one man listed who I cannot trace in any source as a fatal casualty: Captain EB Muller, Kaffrarian Rifles killed at Ramathlabana 31-03-1900 with Colonel Plumer’s column during the relief of Mafeking. There was a Captain EB Muller, Kaffrarian Rifles who survived the war, he was not involved in the relief of Mafeking neither were the Kaffrarian Rifles. Then there is the case of Lt WBM Carruthers, Canadian Mounted Rifles. Carruthers was widely reported as being killed at Brakspruit March, 3^rd 1901, naturally Dooner picked this up and included him in The Last Post. Carruthers was not killed in the war, but died in 1910 from tuberculosis apparently contracted on service in South Africa.

As to the omissions from the The Last Post I have traced 22 officers, one war correspondent and 20 nurses who died in South Africa during the war. Of the 22 officers 16 are from colonial units, a group Dooner admitted having difficulty finding information about. I have also included in this group Captain HH Morant, Bushveldt Carbineers, who was executed by the British for murdering Boer civilians. Dooner may have deliberately left him out. The additional war correspondent turns out to be the most interesting WH Mackay. Mackay, from Scotland, was a newspaper editor in Pretoria and Reuters agent at the outbreak of war. He remained in Pretoria and handled the telegraph communications between Winston Churchill when he was a prisoner and his mother, Lady Randolph Churchill. Mackay is also credited with breaking the news of the relief of Mafeking to Britain. News of the relief reached Pretoria on the same day, May 17^th, Mackay bribed an engine driver to take his despatch to Lourenco Marques in Portuguese East Africa where it was sent on reaching Britain the next day. He died suddenly in Pretoria in July 1900. I have traced information on his death to a notice in the Dundee Evening Post, July 21^st. Mackay is on the War Correspondents memorial in St Paul's Cathedral, London and on the War Correspondents medal roll, but is not shown as deceased. A further 25 officers and two nurses died outside of South Africa or after the war in South Africa.

Other revisions to Dooner include adding first names, correcting minor errors in the biographical information, and these records also have medal entitlements, memorials and gazetteer information. Biographical information has been added where possible to the "new" records. Having revised Dooner the numbers of officer, nurse and war correspondent fatalities directly attributable to the war can now be stated as:

Officers: 1,187 (plus 25 died outside South Africa or after the war in South Africa)

War Correspondents: 14

Nurses: 30 (plus two died after the war)

Dooner has been re-printed in book form and electronically (for free), one version can be found here. Dooner's text has also been included uncritically on various websites which will only serve to mislead the unwary.

11th Hussars: a rare QSA?

Whenever I read the words "rare QSA", I ask "How do they know?"; "they" usually being a dealer.

I may be too cynical, but there is much about the QSA for which is there is no hard evidence, no facts and figures upon which to judge such a statement. Most dealers never cite a source for what is an inducement to the buyer to purchase the medal now, "fools rush in......."

As I create The Register of the Anglo-Boer War I am building up the data upon which we can answer with a great degree of certainty that a QSA is truly rare based upon a host of factors; unit, sub-unit, clasps, rank and if you want surname, place of origin, casualty details; anything you fancy really.

This article was prompted by the offer for purchase of the QSA group to Pte 4208 AE Eltringham 11th Hussars, described as a "rare QSA" and "QSA possibly unique to regiment with this clasp combination.". No sources cited, most dealers are experienced so they may be correct, but it could be Dealer X just hasn't seen as many QSAs to the 11th Hussars as another dealer.

The only way to certify such statements is to look at the facts. Published information states between 108 (National Army Museum and British Empire),  110 (angloboerwar.com), 114 (North East Medals)  and 315 (DNW) men served in the war. The 11th Hussars did not serve in the war as a unit, they were stationed in Egypt, therefore it is likely not many men served and those that did would be attached to other units. Most of these sources quoted are just looking at the medal roll for the 11th Hussars itself, the detachment sent to Natal that became besieged in Ladysmith. The medal rolls show five officers and 99 men (104 in total) served in the Defence of Ladysmith attached to a variety of units; 5th Lancers, 5th Dragoon Guards, 18th Hussars, 19th Hussars and Army Veterinary Department. What most ignore that DNW alludes to with its figure of 315 is that many more 11th Hussars serving in South Africa are found on other unit rolls. 

How many men of the 11th Hussars served in South Africa? The Register shows 304 (18 officers and 286 men), about 40% of a typical cavalry regiment, which is a large number for a unit that did not go overseas. However, not all of these men were serving with the regiment in Egypt in 1899. An analysis of the service numbers and enlistments dates shows that 178 men had served between 5 years and 11 years 11 months; these men had served the minimum term of five years and were eligible to go on the reserve. Eleven men had served 12 years or more. Ninety-seven men had served 5 years or less, the majority of these (80) served in the Defence of Ladysmith. The contingent besieged in Ladysmith would have mostly come from the regiment in Egypt. Therefore the vast majority of the 11th Hussars who served were reservists called up in England and allotted to other units serving in at the front.

The men of the 11th Hussars served with a total of 34 units including a number of colonial units. DNW stated that most were attached to the "5th Lancers and 8th Hussars." The figures do not bear this out:

Attached Units (largest contingents):

• Remounts:                  145
• 6th Dragoon Guards:   70
• 5th Dragoon Guards:   49
• 5th Lancers:                 21
• 19th Hussars:               20
• 18th Hussars:               14
• 8th Hussars:                 14

Many served in both the 6th Dragoon Guards and the Remounts.

The number of 11th Hussars that served in South Africa is three times greater than widely believed, but how many medals are named to the 11th Hussars, how rare is that QSA?

When men served on attachment it is not always obvious which unit is on the QSA. Looking at medals on the market for the 11th Hussars it appears that "11th Hussars" is on all QSAs except for the men who served with the 6th Dragoon Guards and 19th Hussars (Defence of Ladysmith clasp).

Attached Remounts only: Ptes 2992 Stannard, 3088 Warne, 2971 Ainsworth
Attached AVD: Sgt 3627 J McElhinney 
Attached 5th Dragoon Guards: Pte 3451 J Moore 
Attached 5th Lancers: Pte 2639 WAL Lewis 

Pte 3239 CA Cook, 11th Hussar reservist, served with the 6th Dragoon Guards and the Remounts. His QSA and KSA are named to the "6th Dragoon Guards". However, a number of men are not on the 6th Dragoon Guards roll, but are marked as "attached 6th Dragoon Guards" on the Remounts roll. Their medals may be named 11th Hussars and not 6th Dragoon Guards like Cook's medals.

Pte 4231 J Wood, 11th Hussar reservist, served with the 19th Hussars in the defence of Ladysmith. His QSA is named to the 19th Hussars and his KSA is named to the 11th Hussars.

This straw poll would seem to indicate that the majority about 250 of QSAs issued to the 11th Hussars are named "11th Hussars". In the scheme of things 250 is a small number of QSAs, but not rare as such; frequency of 11th Hussars medals on the market is a different consideration, they do not appear often.

What then of Pte Eltringham's clasp combination of  "Johannesburg,Diamond Hill,CC,OFS", is that unique? Yes, it is and only two others have that combination with other clasps.

This research has shown that significant numbers of men from cavalry regiments served with the Remounts. What needs to be established is how many of these men are not on the regimental rolls, and are "new" as such increasing the numbers served as we have seen for the 11th Hussars.