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Picture courtesy of the London Medal Co

QSA (0) (6056 PTE. W. ALLCHIN. E. KENT REGT.);
British War Medal and Victory Medal; (T-19613 DVR. W. ALLCHIN. A.S.C.)

William Allchin saw service as a Private (No.6056) with the 3rd Militia Battalion, East Kent Regiment - the Buffs, and was present during the Boer War on service in Saint Helena guarding the Boer prisoners of war, as a result of which he qualified for the medal without clasp. Allchin then transferred to the Army Service Corps on 1st September 1902, and later service with this unit during the Great War as a Driver (No.T-19613), initially with the 19th Infantry Brigade Train out on the Western Front from 3rd September 1914, as part of the Supply and Commissariat Staff, but then went on to see service with a Horse Transport Company.

£175

Picture courtesy of DNW

QSA (4) Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal, South Africa 1902 (6395 Pte. A. Whitnall. E. Kent Regt.);
1914 Star, with copy clasp (L-6395 Pte. A. J. Whitnall. 1/E. Kent. R.);
BWM and VM (L-6395 Pte. A. J. Whitnall. E. Kent. R.);
National Fire Brigades Association Long Service, silver, with ‘Five Years’ and ‘Twenty Years’ bars, edge impressed ‘4166’ and engraved ‘Alfred J. Whitnall’;
National Fire Brigades Association Long Service, bronze, reverse engraved ‘Westgate-on-Sea Fire Brigade’, edge impressed ‘6866’ and engraved ‘A. J. Whitnall’;
Westgate-on-Sea Fire Brigade Challenge Medal, silver medal by Vaughton & Son, silver, hallmarks for Birmingham 1900, unnamed, the reverse inscribed ‘Westgate-on-Sea Fire Brigade Challenge Medal won by...)

Thank for the tip. : ) This claspless QSA for guarding Boer PoWs on St. Helena is an essential addition to a Boer War PoW collection.
Thanks again,
JL

Pictures courtesy of DNW

QSA (3) Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal (5781 Pte. P. Giannini. E. Kent Regt.);
KSA (2) (5781 Corpl: P. Giannini. E. Kent Regt.);
BWM 1914-20 (752 C. Sjt. P. Giannini. M.F.P.);
MSM GV (752 Sjt: -A.S. Mjr:- P. Giannini. C. of M.P.);
Army LS&GC GV 1st issue (752 Sjt: P. Giannini. M.F.P.)

Ponzaino D. G. Giannini was born in Hammersmith Middlesex, in 1880 and attested for the East Kent Regiment at Canterbury on 11 November 1898. He served with the 2nd Battalion in South Africa during the Boer War from 9 June 1900 to 27 October 1902, and transferred to the Military Foot Police on 16 July 1903. He saw further service in Malta from 3 November 1910 to 24 May 1915, and then spent the rest of the great War on home service. He was awarded his Long Service and Good Conduct Medal per Army Order 125 of 1917, and for his services during the Great War was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal (LG 22 February 1919). Appointed Regimental Sergeant Major at Aldershot, he was discharged with the rank of Warrant Officer Class I on 26 July 1920.

Sold together with an attractive triple decanter Tanterless set with front cigar compartment, with top silver plaque inscribed ‘Presented to R.S.M. P. D. G. Giannini by the W.Os. and NCOs Military Police Aldershot, as a Token of Esteem on his Retirement, June 1920’; the recipient’s Masonic apron, housed in a leather satchel, the front embossed ‘Bro. P. D. G. Giannini, Aldershot Camp Lodge No. 1331.’; a R.A.O.B. Orphanage subscriber’s Medal, bronze, the reverse engraved ‘Bro. P. D. G. Giannini. 1920.’, with ‘Life Vote’ suspension bar and ‘Founded 1898’ top riband bar; and copied research.

(In this instance, the Royal East Kent Mounted Infantry)
Queen's South Africa Medal with clasps Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal, South Africa 1901 and South Africa 1902
Impressed to "6063 Pte. H.A.Wells, E.Kent M.I.


SAFF Casualty list for the period 1/1/1902 to 31/5/1902 shows the recipient as "severely wounded at Rooival, 11th April 1902 with marginal remark that he was serving with the 21st Mounted Infantry Battalion.
Henry Arthur Wells, ocupation Laborer, aged eighteen years and one month, attested at Canterbury for service with The Buffs" (East Kent Regiment) on 11th October 1899. He saw home service with the 2nd and 3rd Bns. of The Buffs until 1st May, 1901 - presumably undertaking Mounted Infantry training - until he was transferred to No.3 Shorncliffe Mounted Infantry Coy; which was soon deployed to South Africa as a component of the 21st M.I. Bn.
Forum members undertaking research into the doings of the various battalions of the M.I. in the guerrilla phase of the war must find the task frustrating - this writer certainly has. Stirling in "Our Regiments" summarises things pretty well. "One feels to close the manuscript without any adequate reference to the work of the Regular Mounted Infantry". "Composed as our M.I. Bns. were , changing their composition as they did , and moving rapidly and constantly from one part of the scene to another, it is practically impossible to follow or record their services".
Nevertheless, in this instance, help was at hand. By some coincidence (and if regular Forum members believe that .........!) , IL discovered in his library the work "Two Years on Trek" by the late Lt. Col. Du Molin of the 1st Bn., Royal Sussex Regt. Appendix B to that work provides an overall account of the work of the 21st M.I.'s two companies and includes a detailed description of its critical participation in the Rooival action by a certain Lt. Beeson of the Royal Sussex Regt.
The two companies of the 21st M.I. departed for South Africa separately and the Battalion appears not to have had a No.1 Coy. No.2. Coy., at 130 all ranks was composed entirely of men from the Royal Sussex Regt. and left for the front at the end of April 1901. No.3 Coy., (that of 6063 Pte. Henry Arthur Wells) was 136 strong and made up of sections from the Royal Sussex, the Dublin Fusiliers, the Buffs and a mixed section of the West Kent and Loyal North Lancashire Regts. It left England on the 19th May 1901 and disembarked at Durban on 14th June, 1901.
While 21st M.I.'s No.2 Coy. served with the column commanded by Col. Williams, its No.3 Coy. was employed on continuous and necessary convoy escort duty between their HQ at Potchfstroom and Ventersdorp. By October, however, the two Coy. were united and under the command of Maj. J.W.G.Roy of the Sherwood Foresters and the 21st M.I. operated in the Western Transvaal as part of Col. Hickie's column. In November of 1901, that column held the strongly entrenched and wired-in camp at Brackspruit ; apparently with the objective of enticing the combined commandos of Gen. De La Rey, Kemp, and Liebenberg to attack. Unsurprisingly, they did not take the bait.
At the end of the year, the 21st M.I. operated with Col. Hickie's column down to the Vaal River - with little initial result due to the heavy rains. However, on 3rd February 1902, along with 11th Coy. I.Y. and the Scottish Horse, the 21st M.I. scored a success at Grusfontein during a dawn raid against the laager of Commandant Sarel Albert's commando. Fifty plus Boers were killed or captured (including the Commandant himself) along with a number of wagons. Towards the end of February, the 21st M.I. were transferred to Lord Methuen's command and joined the column of Col. von. Donop.
In the middle of March, 1902, Col. von Donop's column did a five days' drive towards Klerksdorp and the 21st M.I. unexpectedly met an enemy party and in pursuit drove them into the waiting arms of General Kitchener's column ; where sixteen were made captive. Further small operations took place and on 4th April 1902 at daybreak and after a long gallop, the 21st M.I. took part in the capture of a large Boer convoy.
Om 9th April 1902, the mounted troops of the combined columns (including those of Col. von Donop) joined Gen. Ian Hamilton's big drive against Gen. De La Rey's commando. Two days later they arrived at Rooival and entrenched for the night. Two hours before daylight on 11th April, scouts reported the combined commandos of De La Rey, Kemp, Liebenberg and Potgeiter - an estimated 2,000 mounted men - were halted six miles away to the right of the line of march. A clash of arms was obviously the objective of both sides. What follows is best described in the words of the 21st M.I.'s man-on-the-spot; Lt. Beeton.

"Col. von Donop's column ..... was the first to move, the 21st M.I. being ordered to furnish the screen and supports of the advanced guard. At about 6 A.M., the screen came over a rise and at once was face to face with De La Rey's commandos, who were partially concealed in large mealie patches less then 4,000 yards away. Although apparently surprised, the enemy horsemen quickly formed into two or three long lines, and riding almost knee to knee, charged through the screen , shouting and firing from the saddle. The 21st M.I. dismounted and those horses which were not shot were galloped to the rear., the men lying in the grass and firing at the Boers as they galloped through".
"Many of the latter and of their horses were shot as they passed von Donop's main body, which by this time had had sufficient warning and received the change with heavy fire ....... the Boers were now effectively stopped, their casualties being very large, Col. von Donop's Scottish Horse were then ordered to charge the enemy ... who wheeled to the left ..... the British guns then opening fire caused the whole force of Boers to break and scatter in all directions. By 4PM, all their guns and many prisoners had been captured".
"The 21st M.I. suffered more casualties than any other corps in this engagement, losing two officers and a colour Sgt. killed and five out of nine officers dangerously or severely wounded, including Maj. Roy of the Sherwood Foresters then in command".

Based on the entries in the SAFF casualty list for the nominated period, the 21st M.I. suffered 21 casualties all ranks at Rooival on 11th April 1902. IL anticipated that identifying those casualties would be made difficult due to the ranks of the 21st M.I. being made up of officers and men of different parent units. Fortunately, that was not the case as in each instance, SAFF obligingly denoted its casualties by the marginal notation "21st M.I.".
Subsequent to the Rooival action, the remainder of the 21st M.I. (now commanded by Lt. Beeton) pulled back to Brackspruit in order to rest men and horses - no doubt the severely wounded Pte. Henry Arthur Wells was included and was given appropriate medical treatment. Depending on his degree of incapacity, he may have been fit to resume duty for the last big five day drive into the Mafeking line ending about 10th May 1902: which netted 400 captives. Upon the Peace, the 21st M.I., was involved in bringing in many of the surrendered Boer parties.
The Army, however, was not finished with Pte. Henry Arthur Wells. Returning home on 13th July 1902, he returned to South Africa in June of 1905, was posted to duty in Hong Kong on 27th October 1908 and was finally discharged after "doing his twelve" on 10th October 1911.
Researching "6063 Pte Henry Arthur Wells of the Buffs" - with initial assistance from Kevin Asplin -proved an insight into the diversity and composition of the 21st M.I. Bn. Moreover, Pte Wells saw a sight of the like few others could boast; his heavily outnumbered unit, dismounted in the face of a mass onslaught of Boer horsemen, met the charge and - according to Lt. Beeson's contemporaneous account - provided just that degree of warning to allow Col. von Donop's men to shake out and defeat the Boer assault.
Effectively, the last action of the Boer War.
Thanks to all who have read this far.
IL.

IL,
Many thanks for a fascinating account.
Cheers Steve