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Picture courtesy of Baldwin

QSA (1) Natal (Nursing Sister L. Dale)

Described as:

The Queen’s South Africa Medal awarded to Nursing Sister Louisa Dale , Army Nursing Service Reserve which has the Clasp Natal. Medal Roll WO/100/229 shows 11 Nurses with the QSA awarded Clasps. Some say this is just a check list, perhaps, but 9 show Natal clasp and one shows Defence of Kimberley and One Defence of Mafeking. It is known that Medals for the War were issued without clasps, but mistakes do happen. The clasp is original and is as originally fixed to the Medal and the Medal is impressed naming. An Anomaly, a mistake, but perhaps one of the 11 Queen’s South Africa Medals to nurses issued with a Clasp by mistake comprising Queen’s South Africa Medal, 2nd type, no ghost dates, one clasp, Natal, (Nursing Sister L. Dale), impressed naming, medal cleaned, rim toned, very fine (1)

Nursing Sister Louisa Dale served in the South African War with the Army Nursing Service Reserve, first at 18 General Hospital in what was the small but growing town of Charleston which is situated at the top of Laing’s Nek pass in what is known as KwaZulu-Natal for which she may have qualified for the Natal Clasp, by mistake, the clasp is ticked on Wo100/229 but also a Roll shows No Clasp. She was to continue to serve on the Hospital Ship Nubia, in 1901 she served at the 14th General Hospital.

The ticks on the roll (WO100/229p159) are similar to the administration marks we see on other rolls (eg in the Belmont column).



The medal was issued off WO100/229p164 and would originally have been a no clasp medal.