County: Yorkshire
Issued on: Return
Dates of presentations: 05/09/1901, 00/10/1902, 13/02/1903
Number issued: c. 1,625

 

MUCH MORE WORK TO BE DONE HERE

 

County Medals, to:
 

05/09/1901 presentation

Imperial Yeomanry –

774 Yorkshire members of the Imperial Yeomanry.

Presented by Lord Herries at Fulford Barracks, York, in the presence of Lord Roberts.
 

October 1902 presentation

Imperial Yeomanry –

c. 775 members of the "1901 contingent of the Yorkshire Imperial Yeomanry, comprising the 9th, 11th, 66th, 109th, and 111th squadrons, who have lately returned from South Africa".

The presentation was to take place at the Headquarters of the Yorkshire Dragoons, Doncaster "where the contingent, consisting of 775 men, was raised".

Cost of medals for the 1901 contingent: £362 12s 0d.
 

13/02/1903 presentation

Sheffield squadron, Yorkshire Imperial Yeomanry –

74 yeomen

Presentation made by Earl Fitzwilliam at the HQ of the Sheffield Squadron, Queen's Own Yorkshire Dragoons, Brunswick Street, Sheffield.

Full list of February 1903 recipients appears in the Sheffield Daily Telegraph, 28/01/1903 & 14/02/1903.

Trooper G. SIMMONITE is missing from the list, due to his having settled in South Africa. Medal given to his parents.

 

Inscribed with the recipient's name (on the edge).

Medal inscribed (as reported in the Sheffield Daily Telegraph): "Imperial, Yorkshire, (3) Yeomanry; 1900 - South Africa – 1901 / A tribute from Yorkshire".

"The medals are very pretty. On one side are the Prince of Wales's feathers, surmounting the words 'Imperial, Yorkshire, (3) Yeomanry; 1900 - South Africa - 1901'. On the reverse side are the words, 'A tribute from Yorkshire ', above which appear a crown and white rose, the whole being surrounded by a wreath".

An article in the Yorkshire Evening Post (30/03/1904) suggests that the medal was issued without a ribbon: "I would like to know through the Yorkshire Evening Post if we can wear the Yorkshire County Medal along with the others we got for the war, and also if there could not be some kind of ribbon worn with it".

 

Distributions.

9th (Yorkshire Hussars) Company [336]

10th Company [259]

11th (Yorkshire Dragoons) Company [293]

12th Company [279]

66th (Yorkshire) Composite Company [148]

109th Company [176]

111th Company [133]

APPROX. NUMBER OF MEDALS PRESENTED: 1,625 (taken from nominal roll in Birkin 1905).
 

 

 

A covering letter enclosed with one of the 1902 tributes suggests that medals were sent to recipients by post. This would explain why no report of the proposed October 1902 presentation has come to light.

 

Doncaster covering letter 

Covering letter enclosed with the medal sent to 26765 Pte E. H. Charlton 9th (Yorkshire Hussars) Company, 3rd Battalion Imperial Yeomanry (with thanks to Paul Dunn).

 

 

 

Yorkshire Evening Post, 05/09/1901
Sheffield Daily Telegraph, 06/09/1901
Yorkshire Post, 23/10/1902
Volunteer Service Gazette, 12/12/1902
Sheffield Daily Telegraph, 28/01/1903
Sheffield Daily Telegraph, 10/02/1903
Sheffield Daily Telegraph, 14/02/1903
Yorkshire Evening Post, 30/03/1904
Birkin, 1905
Hibbard #A31
 
 
 
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Doncaster portrait s
 
 
 
Doncaster Tribute Booth
 
This portrait shows 32257 Trooper George Henry Booth, 109th (Yorkshire Hussars) Company, 3rd Bn. Imperial Yeomanry, wearing both the Doncaster and Yorkshire tribute medals, together with his 5-clasp QSA (Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal, South Africa 1901 & South Africa 1902).
He served in South Africa from 23rd March 1901 to 23 August 1902.

The portrait was purchased with Booth's Doncaster tribute medal. Sadly this has become separated from his Yorkshire medal and QSA.

Reports in the press at the time suggest that the Yorkshire medal was issued without a ribbon: "I would like to know through the Yorkshire Evening Post if we can wear the Yorkshire County Medal along with the others we got for the war, and also if there could not be some kind of ribbon worn with it" (Yorkshire Evening Post, 30/03/1904).

The photograph of Trooper Booth shows a very pale ribbon without stripes, which I assume was yellow (the same as the IY LS & GC ribbon). The contemporary date of Booth's portrait suggests that he considered this the "correct" colour at the time. However, the blue & yellow Cape of Good Hope GS ribbon is often seen with the medal today. Perhaps, without an officially sanctioned ribbon, individuals wore which ever colour they preferred.