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Medals to the King's Own Scottish Borderers 3 years 4 months ago #72964

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From the next City Coins auction, November 2020

Waterval Drift, 15 February 1900

“Lord Roberts’ supply column cannot keep up with the infantry and is ordered to stay at Waterval Drift, 20 km south of Jacobsdal, and to follow the main force as soon as the oxen have recovered sufficiently. General Kelly-Kenny details about 500 troops to escort the convoy which stretches more than 10 to 12 kilometers.

As soon as the main force is out of sight, General De Wet attacks. His long-range shelling and rifle fire causes the draught animals to stampede and the escort commander realizes that there is now no way of preventing the wagons from falling into enemy hands. He retreats, abandoning the convoy.

De Wet takes 180 loaded wagons, about 2 800 oxen, a few horses and an enormous supply of food, as well as 58 prisoners. The loss of four days’ precious rations and almost a third of all the oxen brought together for the advance can jeopardize a massive operation in an inhospitable country, but Roberts is unfazed.”
“The Anglo-Boer War: A Chronicle” by Pieter G. Cloete.

QSA (3) CC, Paard, Jhburg (2735 Pte. J. Pearson, K.O. Scot Bord.)

Pte Pearson was wounded in the Waterval Drift attack but evidently recuperated in time to earn the Johannesburg clasp.

He is noted as “Discharged” on the QSA roll.
Dr David Biggins

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Medals to the King's Own Scottish Borderers 3 years 4 months ago #73030

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From the next City Coins auction, November 2020

Karee Siding, 29 March 1900

“General Tobias Smuts, with a force of about 2600 men, and Lieutenant-Colonel S P E Trichardt with 11 field-guns are ordered to cover Chief Commandant De Wet’s secret expe¬dition to the Bloemfontein Waterworks near Sannaspost. Neither of them is familiar with the vicinity and they have to wait for guides before taking up their positions. Where they could have easily prevented it, the delay allows the British to cross the Modder River without opposition. In a desperate race for positions near Tafelkop, the burghers reach it first and the British cavalry is repulsed. They have to make a huge detour to work around the Boer flank while the infantry, supported by the artillery, occupy the enemy’s attention with assaults on their front.

General Chermside’s Scottish Borderers, convinced that the Boers have been cleared out by the overwhelming barrage, are rudely disillusioned when the burghers open up from invisible positions in their front and completely shocked when Trichardt’s shells land among them.
The British guns are pushed forward with every charge, but they remain inefficient in silencing either their counterparts or the enemy riflemen. On their flank Captain Danie Theron and seventeen of his scouts delay General Tucker’s vanguard, a unit of about 400 men, for most of the day – even taking the time to capture 100 oxen in the process. The action is inconclusive and General T Smuts returns to Brandfort when, at dusk, the British take heights west of the railway line and threaten their line of retreat.

The British lose 30 killed, 155 wounded and five missing in action. Boers lose three killed and 18 wounded.”
“The Anglo-Boer War: A Chronology” by Pieter G Cloete.

The battle was important, nonetheless, in opening the way for Roberts to resume his advance across the northern half of the Free State and on to the Transvaal.

Also see “War with Johnny Boer” p165.

QSA (2) CC, Paard (2893 Pte. E. Reid. K.O. Scot. Bord.)

Pte Reid was killed in the action at Karee Siding and is interred at Karee.
Dr David Biggins

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Medals to the King's Own Scottish Borderers 2 years 3 months ago #80345

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Picture courtesy of DNW

DSO VR, silver-gilt and enamel, with integral top riband bar;
QSA (6) Cape Colony, Paardeberg, Johannesburg, Diamond Hill, Wittebergen, South Africa 1901, date clasp a tailor’s copy (Capt. C. Leigh. D.S.O, K.O. Sco: Bord:) engraved naming;
Ottoman Empire, Order of Osmanieh, Fourth Class breast badge, silver, silver-gilt, and enamel;
Order of the Medjidieh, Third Class neck badge, silver, gold, and enamel, with mint mark to reverse, with neck riband, red enamel damage to crescent part of suspension;
Khedive Sudan (1) Nyam-Nyam, unnamed as issued

Provenance: Woodliffe Collection, Dix Noonan Webb, May 2011.

D.S.O. London Gazette 27 September 1901:
‘In recognition of services during the operations in South Africa.’

Ottoman Order of Osmanieh, Fourth Class London Gazette 9 December 1910.

Ottoman Order of the Medjidieh, Third Class London Gazette 2 July 1912.

Chandos Leigh was born on 29 August 1873, the son of the Hon. Sir E. Chandos Leigh, K.C.B., K.C., and was educated at Harrow and Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and joined the King's Own Scottish Borderers from the Warwickshire Militia on 29 May 1895, becoming Lieutenant in September 1897. He served in South Africa during the Boer War, where he was employed with Mounted Infantry, and took part in the Relief of Kimberley; operations in Orange Free State, including operations at Paardeberg; actions at Poplar Grove, Houtnek (Thoba Mountain), Vet River and Zand River; operations in the Transvaal, including actions near Johannesburg and Diamond Hill; and operations in Orange River Colony, including actions at Wittebergen and Bothaville. For his services in South Africa he was Mentioned in Despatches (London Gazette 4 September 1901), received the Queen’s South Africa Medal with six clasps, and was created a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order. His D.S.O. was presented to him by the King on 29 October 1901.

Leigh was promoted to Captain in April 1901, and then spent ten years in the Egyptian Army. He was with the Western column, in the operations against the Nyam Nyam tribe in the Bahr-el-Ghazal Province, and received the Orders of the Medjidieh and Osmanieh, and the Khedive’s Sudan Medal and clasp. A fine horseman and polo player, he was well known on the Cairo turf, where he more than once headed the winning list of steeplechase riders, both amateur and professional. He had hunted from his boyhood in Warwickshire and Northamptonshire, and more recently with the Meath and Ward Union packs, when he was quartered with his regiment in Ireland. He also took honours in the open jumping at the horse show in Dublin.

Reverting to his parent unit, Leigh was with his battalion at Belfast during the troubled time of the riots at Harland and Wolff shipyards in 1912, and through the many succeeding troubles in Dublin from the strikes in August 1913. Following the outbreak of the Great War he proceeded to France as Officer Commanding, “D” Company, 2nd Battalion, on 15 August 1914, and took part in the Battalion’s initial action at Les Herbieres on the Mons-Conde Canal during the Retreat from Mons.

On the evening of 23 August 1914, the Battalion was positioned on the banks of the Canal at Lock 4. Next to the canal stood a small farm house that was occupied by three Belgians: a man and his wife and their daughter. That night they cooked a fine eve-of-battle dinner for the K.O.S.B. Officers. The lady of the house then invited all those present to sign their names on the tablecloth as a memento of the event. The next day battle began. Leigh himself was an early casualty, posted missing in action following a defence of the canal bridge at Lock 4. Reportedly, when last seen, though severely wounded, he ordered his men to leave him and retire across the canal, so that there should be no delay in blowing up the bridge in the face of the advancing Germans.

After having been returned as ‘missing’ for seven months, news was received in March 1915, from a returned disabled prisoner that Major Leigh had died of his wounds on 29 August 1914, shortly after his capture, and he is buried at Hautrage Military Cemetery, Belgium. He was the first of 644 Old Harrovians to fall in the War.

By way of a postscript, four years later, in November 1918, shortly before the Armistice, Major d’Ewes-Coke, a fellow K.O.S.B. Officer, who had dined with Leigh at the farmhouse back in August 1914, found himself in the same place, overlooking the canal and the lock. At first he could not recognise the house, which was mostly destroyed by four years of war. At last he found the remains of the building, and proceeded to explore. Suddenly out of a door appeared the two women who had hosted and fed the officers four years ago. Invited in, d’Ewes-Coke recounted that he had been their guest on that occasion, and recalled signing the tablecloth. As soon as he mentioned it, the women produced the treasure. Each signature had been embroidered, and at their instance, d’Ewes-Coke signed the tablecloth a second time. Today the tablecloth hangs in the Regimental Museum, and directly in the centre in the embroidered signature ‘C. Leigh’. Accompanying it in the Regimental Museum are the recipient’s two war diaries that contain his personal accounts of the Boer War, as well as photographs and drawings.

Note: Major Leigh’s Medal Index Card for the Great War ‘1914 Star returned, undelivered, 17.2.20’. It would appear that no medals for his service in the Great War were ever received by his family.
Dr David Biggins
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Medals to the King's Own Scottish Borderers 6 months 1 week ago #92032

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Picture courtesy of Spink

QSA (3) Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Johannesburg (6992 Pte R. Crosbie Vol: Coy K.O.Scot : Bord.);
TFEM Ed VII (2047 Sgt R. Crosbie 5/K.O.S.B.)

Robert Crosbie was born at Dalbeattie, Kirkcudbrightshire in 1875, working as a tuner whilst also serving with the Galloway Rifle Volunteers. This unit being a precursor to the 5th (Dumfries and Galloway) Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers. Embodied for service on 18 January 1900 he entered the war the next month on 14 February 1900. Serving here until 27 November 1900 when his period of service came to an end Crosbie returned to Britain and was demobilised. Continuing to serve with the Volunteers he was with them when they became the 5th (Dumfries and Galloway) Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers in 1908.
Dr David Biggins
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Medals to the King's Own Scottish Borderers 4 months 5 days ago #92890

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The DCM group to Col J Murdison, KOSB, is here.
Dr David Biggins

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