TOPIC:

I bought this QSA (see photos) to 8713 Pte G Craig Lovat's Scouts as it attracted me for two reasons

1.I had only heard of the Lovat Scouts whereas this medal is named,correctly, to 'Lovat's Scouts'. The unit was formed in January 1900, attached to the Black Watch,and disbanded in July 1901 when two companies (the 113th and 114th) were formed for the Imperial Yeomanry. When the Boer War ended in 1902, the two companies of the Imperial Yeomanry were disbanded. The unit was reformed the following year, consisting of two regiments, titled the 1st and 2nd Lovat Scouts.

Graham Craig,aged 23, attested on 6 February 1900 at Beaufort Castle for one year, enlisting in'The Black Watch for Special Highland Scouting Corps'. Interestingly, he wasn't a gamekeeper or ghillie, as the stereotype might have it, but a gardener.

His Statement of Service says he was posted on 10 March 1900, presumably to South Africa. He was certainly there in July that year as he was entitled to the Wittebergen clasp. He,along with others from his unit(see photo)was then attached to the Provisional Transvaal Constabulary, in which he served from 10 October 1900 to 30 June 1901. He was discharged on 20 August 1901.

2.I hadn't heard of the Provisional Transvaal Constabulary, and it seems that not a lot is known about it, judging by the unit information on this site.Can anybody furnish any information?I presume its duties would be military in nature, given that it seems to have been made up from units like the Scouts, Brabant's Horse etc. Hopefully, the photo showing some,if not all,of the Lovat's Scouts serving in it will add to the knowledge of this unit.

Patrick

Patrick
Lovat's Scouts indeed did a splendid job in the operations leading up to the surrender of Prinsloo (clasp Wittebergen). General Hunter commented that -

"the mountain range to my front concealed forces whose numbers and whereabouts were a mystery. It possessed ins and outs, shepherd tracks , even occasional cart roads, none marked on maps. To get news, Lovat Scouts were used. The idea was General Macdonald's, instigated by Lord Lovat. In ones, twos and threes these men crept, climbed and spied, were absent for days at a time, but always came safely back with the truth discovered. Major Murray, who commanded them, Captain Lovat who raised them and each officer and man in the corps is a picked man and a specialist. As scouts, spies, guides, on foot or on pony, as individual marksmen or as a collective body in the fighting line, they are a splendid band of Scotsmen, which is the highest compliment I can pay them".

Lord Lovat raised two Companies (total of 236 all ranks); one mounted and one on foot. Eighty odd members were specifically chosen for prowess at stalking. The rest of the Scouts were chosen on the normal military requirements of shooting skill, riding skill and general suitability. They were given seven weeks of intensive training and the first contingent arrived in SA in April, 1900. A reasonable outline of the activities of the various contingents of the Scouts may be found on the Lovat Scouts website.

After the war, the quite large sum of 500 pounds was raised with the object of presenting Lord Lovat with a portrait of himself. Instead, Lord Lovat insisted the sum be used to build a memorial to the Scouts killed during the ABW. The monument was completed in 1905 and is located in the town of Beauly.

Thus, any QSA named to Lovat's Scouts is worth having. I have only seen a few medals named to them; however, each is impressed with "Lovat's Scouts" and the apostrophe is inverted! From this distance, the only slightly puzzling aspect of the activities of Lovat's Scouts in the ABW is that no specific unit history appears to exist.

I cannot help much regarding the Provisional Transvaal Constabulary - apart from what is on the internet. Others will doubtless be better qualified to do do that. All I do know is that numbers of the 1st Queensland MI were transferred to the PTC and afterwards went on with military service.

Regards
IL.

IL

Thanks for this. I have started to do some research, but you have already added to it. The seven weeks intensive training is interesting , as I did think the posting came not long after enlistment and wondered if it really was to SA on that time scale. I'd like to find out more about my man if possible, but, as you say, there doesn't much detail about the Scouts in the ABW.

I'd noticed the inverted apostrophe and it's interesting to know that this seems to be a feature of the Lovat's Scouts' QSA's.

Patrick

Patrick
About a year ago, I initiated a post in this topic titled "Lovat's Scouts - apostrophe variations" and there is a bit of extra info on naming in the replies. Not earth-shaking - but interesting. You might find it of value. In the time I have been collecting QSAs, I think I have seen only three apart from yours. Not exactly commonplace here in OZ.
Regards
IL.

Patrick

I once hunted in vain for information on the PTC. All I discovered was that it was established after the British captured Johannesburg and Pretoria. Amongst the 'recruits' were members of the Natal Police who had been PoW's. Perhaps men from other units who had policing experience were also selected. The PTC existed for only a short time and their duties were taken over by the Transvaal Town Police in the Witwatersrand area, while the South African Constabulary policed the rest of the Transvaal after the war ended.

Regards
Brett

That is a very fine medal you have there, not a very common one either.
Lovat's Scouts was a superb corps raised by Simon, the sixteenth Lord Lovat, a very young man he was too, from memory, he approached the War Office on the 12th of December 1899, he received permission to raise initially a single company that year, but, by the new year, the War Office were all the other way.
Although, they did propose that only one company should actually be mounted, Simon had always desired his men to be mounted.
There was a shortage of khaki serge at the time, so much so, that Simon went as far as actually ordering his own tweed, the "Lovat Mixture" to clothe his own men.
He had already served in the Life Guards and at that time he was a Major in the 4th Cameron Highlanders, it is no coincidence that a number of other officers ended up being attached from this regiment.
The companies of the original contingent left Scotland and arrived in Capetown, the first, very quickly indeed, at the end of March and the second a little later in April, the one that was intended to be dismounted, were supplied with horses and training to the normal British Army MI standard, before being put into the front.
Lovat returned home in April 1901 to obtain more men, to replace those time expired, they were all magnificent, the only really serious incident I can think of took place later that year on the evening of the 19th of September at Quaggafontein near Zastron.
Kritzinger and his commando wanted to link up with Smuts in the Cape, so needed to cross the Orange river, they attacked Colonel Murray's camp that night and caused a hell of a mess.
The commanding officer, Andrew Murray and his adjutant, Edward Murray, were both killed and from memory only about thirty or so men from the company managed to fight their way out.
The other company with Lovat himself in command, was over at Elandskloof at the time, so he was lucky, things could have been much worse I suppose, he assumed command after Murray's death.
The third contingent was raised in October that year too, Lovat's men returned home in August 1902 and the corps was disbanded.
A new regiment with the same name was raised in 1903 as part of the Home Service Imperial Yeomanry Force, Lovat had originally given up his yeomanry commission the year before, however, he was granted the rank of Honorary Major in the Army, but, he chose to transfer back into the yeomanry to command Lovat's Scouts as a Lieutenant Colonel.