TOPIC:

Hello - and apologies to those who may have read this earlier today on Victorian Wars Forum (with thanks to QSA Mike)..

I am trying to justify the clasps on the QSA to Gerald Stewart Andrewes (frequently spelt Andrews).

His 'Discharge Certificate of an Enrolled Volunteer' confirms that 7113 Pte G S Andrewes served in the London Rifle Brigade Volunteer Corps from 17 Nov 1898 to 31 Oct 1902.

On 23 Feb 1900 he attested as 8965 with Royal Fusiliers, was promoted Cpl on 2 Mar 1900, and then served on South Africa from 3 April 1900 to 25 Jun 1901 and transferred back to reserve on 1 Jul 1901.
I have found an entry on the QSA roll for him with 2nd Battn. Royal Fusiliers which confirms his clasps for Cape Colony, Orange Free State and Transvaal. So far so good..

His miniature medals include QSA with the three clasps mentioned plus SA 1901 and SA 1902, but no KSA.

I can find no roll entry to show either date clasp - but there is one for 8969 Cpl G Andrews, 2nd Royal Fusiliers that shows the three clasps and a second for 8969 Pte G Andrews that shows eligibility for SA1901 but not SA1902 or KSA. This would fit, as 8965 Andrewes left SA in Jun 1901. But do you find mistakes in the Service numbers in the rolls?

Andrewes re-enlisted in ASC in 1914 and, apart from listing London Rifle Brigade and Royal Fusiliers in the 'Have you ever served....' question (along with earlier service in London Rifle Brigade and the Royal Horse Guards) of his attestation papers, he includes '1st City of London Yeomanry'.

My suspicion is that he returned to SA in latter 1901/ 1902 with this Yeomanry unit, but I can find no trace of him here in the rolls. And of course the SA 1902 clasp may been included by mistake, but this doesn't fit with what I know about the man.

So my next question is 'are the rolls complete?' Are spelling mistakes common? Where else should I look?

All my work so far has been on Ancestry, including looking up the records of 102 Andrew[e]s with an initial G.

Alternatively, are muster rolls for the London Yeomanry units available anywhere?

Sorry to kick off with such a long post, but I'll welcome any thoughts or guidance.......

Hello Again Richard.....

The reason that I suggested to come to this forum as it is the one with the largest group of people with knowledge on your subject that I am aware of......

1. With the service that you have shown he would have only been entitled to the SA01 that is if he came home again after being transferred to the reserves.

2. The SA01 may have been sent to him later to be attached to the medal and has been lost in the sands of time.....

3. Miniature medals in many cases were made up in advance by Jewelers and were not issued by the Government he may just have purchased on with the two date bars and just never took the SA02 off......

4. In some cases but not all the SA01, SA02 and KSA were shown on a separate roll and this may be the case for the SA01 here.....

5. Spelling mistakes do abound in the rolls and have seen a mans name spelt 3 different ways in three different areas.....

OK Guys I throw it open to you now......

Mike

Mike and Richard
Mike's reply pretty well sums it up! All KSA's I have researched or had researched have been on a separate roll.
IL.

Thanks to you both.

All makes sense Mike. I guess the question now is if anyone knows where I can find muster rolls for the '1st City of London Yeomanry'. It may just be that he was with them after 1902, in which case the SA02 clasp simply shouldn't be there!

Richard

Hello Richard

Errors with service numbers are not uncommon, I believe GS Andrews 2nd RF is your man:

There are three entries on the medal rolls for this man, two with the number 8969 and one with the number 8965.

His service papers on FmP provide enough matches to the medal rolls to confirm it is the same man.

On the evidence I think the SA02 clasp on the miniature is spurious. The 1st City of London Yeomanry dates from 1908 - the unit dates back to the 20th bn IY which fought in the IY.

No Gerald Andrew(e)s fought with the IY in the ABW.

Regards
Meurig

Hello Meurig
Thanks for this and for your vote of confidence in the 2nd RF theory. Comforting to hear of the possibilities of number and spelling errors. At the same time, I think that you and the others are confirming that the rolls are basically intact and complete - even with several entries for the same man.
I'll keep looking for him in CoLY post-1908.
Richard