TOPIC:

Indeed, I had seen it Rory, read it and posted in the thread, some time ago, a very nice medal that is too!

Rory wrote: Thank you Frank and Henk

My query related to this chap whose post you have already probably seen.

angloboerwar.com/forum/5-medals-and-awar...hed-to-farmers-guard
Regards

Rory

An update to this post - I have acquired a QSA correctly named to the Farmer's Guard to 9 Pte. M. Perreira with clasps Orange Free State and SA 1901 and 1902. What makes this medal all the more interesting (given the comments by both Frank and Henk elsewhere in this post) is that the QSA is accompanied by Perreira's WWI pair - to the 1st Cape Coloured Labour Regiment.

This is not exactly an unheard of circumstance - the colour lines were very often blurred and a chap's racial classification was very often in the eyes of the beholder. Perreira, which is of mostly Portuguese origin, was most likely olive-skinned and deemed to be white enough during the Boer War for a silver QSA but too dark to be in anything but the CCL in WWI.

Just to confuse matters... I also have his son's WWII medals and here he served with the Prince Alfred Guard - the family were deemed to be European again on this occasion.

I'll post photos once my PC is up and running - I'm having to use my better half's at the moment.

Regards

Rory

Herewith some pics of the group

From Liverpool Medals.

QSA (2) Orange Free State, South Africa 1901 (15 Tpr H. Gradwell, Farmer’s Guard)

What appears to be the Gradwell family all seem to have enlisted at the same time early into the formation of the unit with sequential service numbers, 13 B.J. Gradwell, 15 H. Gradwell, 16 H.W. Gradwell & 17 D.C. Gradwell.

£325

QSA (0) (Trooper H. Du Ploy, Farmers Guard)

£195

Just going back to Henk's post about the rate of pay for Farmer's Guard. I have been going through quite a few attestation papers for Wepener men recently and the rate paid to the Farmer's Guard, 5/- per day, was the standard rate for locally raised units.

City Coins #51, March 2003, contained this medal and information on the Farmer's Guard:

130. – bars: OFS, SA’01 240 Tpr. W.O. Collidge Farmer’s Gd

The Farmer’s Guard (previously called Burgher Police) was formed in 1901 to defend the property and cattle of surrendered burgers in a “protected area” of more than 30 km radius around Bloemfontein. The majority of the men in the unit came from the vicinity of Bloemfontein as well as the Southern and Eastern Free State. By Feb 1902 the radius of the area had been increased to some 65 km. The outposts were spaced at 9 km intervals on the perimeter and were manned by groups of 5-10 guards.