TOPIC:

The medal is not fake. The naming is not normal though. The style is not how QSA's were named. It looks neat but the order of letters is wrong, it seems it may be engraved not impressed. This is most likely what happened: RIX enlisted under age under another name, and never got a medal or lost his. So he got another and renamed it. Or he was never there since he was too young, and just got one and had it renamed because he wanted one.

Thank you Frank, now I understand fully, because the framer didn't think the medal itself was a fake. I appreciate your expert opinion about the engraving. So we have a number of negatives 1) the medal to Rix is not in the QSAM roll 2) the 3rd (Volunteer) Bn didn't arrive in SA until 17 April 1902, thus only eligible for the Kings SA medal 3) even if Rix didn't go with the 3rd Bn to Ireland in March/April 1900 and transferred to the 21st Mtd Inf Coy at Romford in May 1900, that unit did not fight at Tugela Heights or Ladysmith (as per two of the clasps) 4) Rix was only 16 in 1900 and would have needed his father's permission to leave home to fight overseas, notwithstanding he was volunteering underage and might have been sprung at that point 5) whilst the medal is a genuine QSAM, the order of lettering seems incorrect and appears engraved, not impressed. I think that about wraps it up.
Cheers Graham.

Hello Graham,
Sorry, I should have made myself perfectly clear, from your description and photographs, I do not believe that particular medal was issued to the recipient concerned by the mint via the War Office, because if it had been, the naming would certainly differ.
As a result, I would not expect any entry in WO100/191 or anywhere else in respect of it.
The 3rd Essex were NOT entitled to the KSA because of the actual dates of service in South Africa.
Members of the Militia who were underage for Foreign Service in the Army did serve in South Africa during the campaign.
Do you actually have contemporary, tangible proof, beyond all reasonable doubt, that the recipient concerned, firstly, did serve in the Militia and secondly actually served in South Africa, on campaign and if so what is it?
Regards again Frank

Caldwell wrote: Thank you Frank, now I understand fully, because the framer didn't think the medal itself was a fake. I appreciate your expert opinion about the engraving. So we have a number of negatives 1) the medal to Rix is not in the QSAM roll 2) the 3rd (Volunteer) Bn didn't arrive in SA until 17 April 1902, thus only eligible for the Kings SA medal 3) even if Rix didn't go with the 3rd Bn to Ireland in March/April 1900 and transferred to the 21st Mtd Inf Coy at Romford in May 1900, that unit did not fight at Tugela Heights or Ladysmith (as per two of the clasps) 4) Rix was only 16 in 1900 and would have needed his father's permission to leave home to fight overseas, notwithstanding he was volunteering underage and might have been sprung at that point 5) whilst the medal is a genuine QSAM, the order of lettering seems incorrect and appears engraved, not impressed. I think that about wraps it up.
Cheers Graham.

Hi Frank, In reply to your question of any additional family evidence of service pre-1906, the answer is no. In any case I’ve now found Leonard Rix in the 1901 census of Romford aged 16 with parents and siblings, occupation Labourer: census ref: RG13 Piece 1650 / folio 29 / page 7 . This was taken on night of 31 March 1901, which post-dates the eligibility of the date spread for two of the clasps on Rix’s medal as follows:- Tugela Heights: between 14 and 27 February 1900 and Relief of Ladysmith: between 15 December 1899 and 28 February 1900; thus your assumptions about the medal being spurious was right all along.

With regard to my earlier statement that the 3rd (Militia) Bn Essex Regiment, which arrived S.A. on 17 April 1902, whereby their service members were only eligible for the Kings SA Medal, I picked up this information from the Military in Essex Family History website at (www) essexregiment.co.uk/3rdboer.html where it states on page 2 “The men (of 3rd Essex) were awarded the South Africa Medal 1902 with clasps for Cape Colony, Orange Free State and Transvaal”. I took this to mean the KSAM. If “Medal 1902” means the King’s, then you might want to contact the website owner and put your view forward for a potential correction. The 3rd arrived back in the UK on 5 Oct 1902 after 7 months away.
I’m very grateful for you picking up on my post and helping me to decide that Pte R. Rix never served in the Boer War. Cheers Graham.

You could not get the KSA without the QSA. You needed 18 months service to get the KSA and that then automatically qualifies you for the QSA.

If the 3rd arrived in April 1902 then they just qualified for the QSA and not the KSA. They would have got the QSA with possibly a state clasp and the 1902 clasp.

Ryan

Thanks for joining in Ryan and the medal information QSAM Vs KSAM eligibility, since I've always been confused between when one eligibility ended and the other criteria began. Cheers Graham.