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Thank you gentlemen, that certainly answers my original question, I glad they still exist.

Hello Justin,
I think that this has turned into one of the best threads this forum has ever had, is there anything else you can tell us about Major Wright, I'm assuming that he was in charge of a detachment of three hundred or so NVAC on the day in question?
Regards Frank

JustinLDavies wrote: Brett,

I join the others in thanking you for a very informative and interesting post.

Somewhere (either in the I.L.N. or Black and White Budget) there is a very good drawing of Major Wright, Gordon Highlanders, facing off the Boers on the top of Spion Kop while trying to collect the wounded. Wright had fought on Majuba in the First Boer War (twice mentioned in despatches). He had been wounded at Elandslaagte.

As a small footnote to your article, the following were mentioned in Sir Redvers Buller's despatches:

Volunteer Ambulance Corps: Major H. Wright, Gordon Highlanders; Capt. Lord R. Manners, K.R.R.C.; Lieut. E. Baker, Manchester Regiment; Lieut. C. Findlay, 2nd Lieuts J. Stansfield and P. Stewart, Gordon Highlanders.

Indian Ambulance Corps: Mr Clarence, Superintendent; Mr Ghandi, Asst. Superintendent.

Best wishes,

Justin

Hello Brett,
I have found your thread to be quite fascinating and it has made me look at the whole business in Natal once again.
Bennett Burleigh wrote some graphic and very interesting reports for the Daily Telegraph from the battlefields and commented on several occasions regarding the Natal Volunteer Ambulance Corps and then published his famous book.

He stated, Yesterday, Tuesday 12th December, Major Stuart Wortley came up from Durban and Maritzburg with one thousand two hundred Uitlanders, who have been enrolled to serve as stretcher bearers.
The men are a likely set of fellows, they wear their own clothes, their distinguishing badge being a red cross on a white band worn around the arm.
To each of the four infantry brigades three hundred have been assigned to follow the troops afield.

With regard to the events of the 15th of December, Burleigh continues, The surgeons and ambulance men had followed in the foot steps of the troops and done all that was possible to mitigate suffering.
Still, there were many they could not reach, for the Boers took no notice of the Geneva Cross badge on any man's arm.

I have to say Brett, certainly from my own way of thinking, the writing had very much been on the wall since the events at Willow Grange on the 23rd of November with the RAMC's own ambulances being fired on by the enemy.

On the 20th of January 1900 during that awful week of battles, Burliegh went on to add, the "Body-Snatcher's" as they are irreverently called, namely the one thousand two hundred men of the volunteer ambulance recruited in the Natal towns did splendid service.
Their behaviour was as brave as at Colenso, forward they went up to the firing lines to assist in bringing in the wounded and as at Colenso they paid the penalty of their devotion.
Several were killed and nearly a score wounded, for the Boers never hesitate to fire, regardless of Red Cross flags, upon all and sundry at the front .
They have, however, more than once, to our knowledge, sheltered their movements and fed their fighting men by means of the Red Cross ambulances.
One of the volunteer stretcher bearers, a man named Robertson (actually Robinson) an ex coffeehouse keeper in Durban, whilst calling to his comrades to "Come on, never mind the Boers!" was shot through the head with an expanding bullet.
The wound was terrible and immediately fatal.

Of the events at Spion Kop, Burleigh wrote of the NVAC, The volunteer ambulance men, recruited in Natal, chiefly from ex Randites, were early on the hill, they have borne wounded men from the firing lines to the field hospitals.
They also have had their repeated toll to pay in killed and wounded, for without hesitation the Boers have fired upon the Red Cross flags and ambulance bearers.
Burleigh, makes mention of the incident in Justin's earlier post and said, Major Wright of the Gordon's, in charge of the ambulance corps, palavered for over an hour and a half and ultimately Botha let them all go, he bade them, within twenty four hours, remove themselves and all hospital south of the Tugela, or he would fire upon them without exception.

All of this makes me realise the shocking state of affairs in Natal, in particular, regarding the medical side, as a direct result of the Natal campaign, two new organisations were created as part of the SAMIF, first on the 20th of March 1900 in Pietermaritzburg, the Imperial Bearer Corps, with an establishment of some twenty two companies for general service throughout the whole of South Africa.
A short time later on the 2nd of May 1900, the Imperial Hospital Corps was raised in Durban, it had an initial strength of sixty section leaders and some six hundred and forty orderlies, these men too saw service throughout the whole of the country, with both corps remaining in the field until after Vereeniging.

Anyway Brett, I had meant to make a contribution to your thread a couple of weeks ago and did not get around to doing so.
I bought the medal to Leader J W Kershaw, which had been mentioned in Rory's NVAC leader thread, after reading Rory's comments on him, I was and remain convinced that I had done the right thing, but, as I did not have a single medal to the NVAC anyway, it fills an important gap.
Kershaw was an original member of the NVAC, joining on the 9th of December 1899 and served until the 12th of March 1900, he then joined the SAMIF, the Imperial Bearer Corps on the 21st of March and served with them, as a Section Leader, until the 26th of November 1900.

A truly great thread Brett, very well done indeed,
Kind regards again Frank

Frank

Many thanks for a most interesting addition to the history of the NVAC. I have copied it to add to my NVAC file. That is a great medal and I am now on the lookout for a similar one. I am sorry that I did not pay more attention to the NVAC after I became aware of its existence. It deserves to be better documented and better remembered.

The saddest thing about the unit is that the record of its casualties is incomplete. Given the almost informal nature of its existence, this is perhaps not surprising. I suspect that the Natal Indian Ambulance Corps must have had casualties, both through battle and disease, but I know of no such record.

I do know of the existence of a comprehensive collection of press reports on the NVAC from Natal newspapers. I made an offer to buy it, but the owner said my offer was too low. As far as I know, the collection has not been bought by anyone else, so I might make a higher offer.

Regards
Brett

Hello Brett,
Many thanks for your comments, I am certainly not disappointed, I noticed a single clasp to a bearer in the current city coins sale, I will perhaps add more in due course as and when.
Tell me Brett, do you know who was actually paying for the NVAC for those three months, strictly speaking, they were not part of the SAMIF, where did the money come from?
Regards again Frank

Frank,

From Colonel Gallwey's evidence to the Royal Commission on the Care and Treatment of the Sick and Wounded during the South African Campaign on 16 September 1900, it appears that the NVAC, IBC and IHC were paid for by the Natal Army.

In a separate written submission, Gallwey gave the strength of the NVAC (raised 9th December 1899, disbanded 12th March 1900) as 10 officers and 1,415 men and the Imperial Bearer Corps (raised March 1900 and still in existence in September 1900) as 6 officers and 600 men.

All best wishes,

Justin