TOPIC:

Hello Brett,
Very nice to hear of a most interesting story of survival of an important piece of Natal history, I wonder where MK's silver no clasp QSA (this latter does not seem fair!) is these days?
I doubt that he would have ever worn it anyway.
Regards Frank

I have my doubts: Any medical artifact must, in this day and age, be ascribed to Gandhi. I think that they were stretcher bearers who carried stretchers. There were other medical units that I am am inclined to think used wagons such as the one illustrated and have a better claim than Gandhi. Besides, at that time in Gandhi's life, I think caste and social position meant that he would not be inclined to lift a stretcher let alone climb in an ambulance wagon with a body- he was a leader


Young India dated 4th August, 1920:

It is not without a pang that I return the Kaisar-i-Hind gold medal granted to me by your predecessor for my humanitarian work in South Africa, the Zulu War medal granted in South Africa for my services as officer in charge of the Indian volunteer ambulance corps in 1906, and the Boer War medal for my services as assistant superintendent of the Indian volunteer stretcher-bearer corps during the Boer War of 1899-1900.

I venture to return these medals in pursuance of the scheme of non-cooperation inaugurated today in connection with the Khilafat movement. Valuable as these honours have been to me, I cannot wear them with an easy conscience so long as my Mussalman countrymen have to labour under a wrong done to their religious sentiment.

Events that have happened during the past one month have confirmed me in the opinion that the Imperial Government have acted in the Khilafat matter
in an unscrupulous, immoral and unjust manner and have been moving from wrong to wrong in order to defend their immorality. I can retain neither respect nor affection for such a Government.









Gandhi's medals can be viewed at
a) the Mahatma Gandhi museum in Bombay
b) the Nehru Museum, in New Delhi, (located in the former residence of the Commander in Chief India);
c) the Gandhi Museum, in New Delhi.

Hello David,
The newspaper says that this particular ambulance bears his name, but, really little else, given the number of ambulances used during the Anglo Boer War, it would seem very unlikely that MK ever rode around or loaded anything into this particular one, although, of course, he may have done at some point.
You mention three different locations regarding his QSA, is the medal actually on display at each at different points in time and is it a bronze example, I just assumed it was silver, because the word bronze has not been written on the particular page of WO100/298 from which it was issued?
Kind regards Frank

My point exactly. Any link with Gandhi is tenuous but seems dominate the historiography whether factual or not.

From what I understand there is some confusion as to where the originals are located. These are just some of the locations that I have been able to find. The last pics look like cast copies. I understand that there are 3 locations where "Gandhi's medals" are on display

Hello David,
LOL, so it is not unfair to assume that MK's original QSA might well still exist today, somewhere, but, if the group was "returned" to the British government, it must have then been given or misappropriated at some point in time?
Regards Frank

I have never been able to get confirmation that they were given back to Gandhi. I have always supposed that they were returned to the Viceroy's Office in protest and someone recognised the importance and kept them in India. Returned to Gandhi or the Government of India in 1947. No paper trail as yet to confirm. The Grant tour of India has been delayed for the 20th year running but one day............