TOPIC:

From what I was able to establish, 28 medals were awarded to this unit, of which only 12 were not returned to the Mint. Most of the names on the roll are Dutch in origin, chaps who would have been confronted with the choice of becoming Cape Rebels or of throwing there lot in on the Imperial side.

Hartslief Junior (and his father) chose the latter although it must have made life uncomfortable for them. If memory serves, Maraisburg was a hot-bed of Rebel activity towards the end of the war. I would appreciate any info on what these chaps did and more about Maraisburg in particular.







Regards

Rory

Rory,

This is a really nice QSA to a very unusual TG.

From the 3 pages of the roll, I think there are more than 12 issued. This is because several of those marked on the left at bring returned were later issued (in 1910). This makes the issue 23 according to my reading of the roll.



As you no doubt found, there does not seem to be a great deal written about the town during the War.

Best wishes
David

Thank you David - I did mention that I had counted 28 issued but then factored in the returned medals - I had excluded those that were reissued in 1910 so I think we balance out?

Hartslief's medal, as can be seen from the corrugation around the "20", had been slightly soldered in an attempt, I suspect, to brooch-mount it. When a bit of rigour was applied the solder melts away, hence the way it currently presents.

Maraisburg (now know as Hofmeyr), was in the zone where the Cape Rebels were known to flourish; making it a "hot-bed" of activity. It couldn't have been easy being a loyalist when your friends (and sometimes family) were fighting for the other side.

Regards

Rory