Souvenir Saturday: William Dixon Smith, Lieut Quartermaster BMR 1899

William Dixon Smith 1857-1900. Lieut Quartermaster, Border Mounted Rifles.
Died 13 January 1900 of enteric fever at Intombi Camp, Ladysmith.

Son of John and Margaret Smith (nee Little) of Spring House farm, Slaley, near Hexham, Northumberland.

William married Charlotte Fisher Melvin Anderson 1851-1920, born in Aberdeen. Charlotte's son by her first marriage, Alick Anderson, a trooper of the BMR, also died at Intombi. Both William and Alick received the campaign medal, the QSA.

Did your Anglo-Boer War ancestor get a medal?

There were two campaign medals issued for soldiers of the British Empire who served during the Anglo-Boer War. They were awarded as follows:

The Queen’s South Africa Medal (QSA): to men who served in the campaign between October 1899 and 22 January 1901 (i.e. date of Queen Victoria’s death). Up to nine bars (or clasps)*, for the Army, could be worn on the medal ribbon and eight bars for the Navy.

The King’s South Africa Medal (KSA): to men who served during or after January 1902. Up to two bars for South Africa 1901 and South Africa 1902 could be worn on the ribbon. The KSA was never issued without the QSA.

Major Darrell Hall in his Handbook of the Anglo-Boer War mentions:

‘Note that clasps were not awarded for defeats. There are clasps, e.g., for Belmont and Modder River, but not for Magersfontein. There are no clasps for Colenso and Spioenkop (or Spion Kop as spelt by the British) but there is one for Tugela Heights. The KSA has no clasps marking actual engagements, but simply South Africa 1901 or South Africa 1902.’  These two clasps were issued for both the KSA and the QSA, as was the clasp Relief of Ladysmith.

The Medal Rolls at TNA, Kew, listing recipients, are held in WO 100/120-130, WO 100/356, WO 100/357. These rolls could be helpful in a search for an ancestor whose unit is not known.

Other awards including the Victoria Cross (for all ranks), the Distinguished Service Order (officers only) the Distinguished Conduct Medal (for other ranks), Long Service and Good Conduct Medal etc are also held at TNA Kew.

It wasn’t until August 1902 that King Edward VII approved the principle of awarding the Victoria Cross posthumously. Prior to that date it was awarded only to soldiers who survived their acts of gallantry.

The Military Cross (for officers) and Military Medal (for other ranks) did not come into being until World War I. At the time of the Anglo-Boer War recognition for gallantry could be awarded in the form of Mentions in Despatches.

Awards to men of the Royal Navy during the Anglo-Boer War are in ADM 171/52-54 at TNA.

There are some published medal rolls available: see further details at South African Military History Museum www.militarymuseum.co.za/

*Clasps for QSA include:

Belfast

Belmont

Cape Colony

Diamond Hill
Driefontein
Elandslaagte
Johannesburg
Defence of Kimberley
Relief of Kimberley
Defence of Ladysmith
Laing's Nek
Defence of Mafeking
Relief of Mafeking
Modder River
Natal
Orange Free State
Paardeberg
Rhodesia
Talana
Transvaal
Tugela Heights
Wepener
Wittebergen

Finding an Anglo-Boer War Ancestor

On 21 March 1906 the United Kingdom paid South Africa 9,5 million pounds compensation for damage done during the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902).

In the run-up to the war, there were about 10 000 British troops in the Cape and Natal. Before the delivery of the ultimatum, Britain dispatched reinforcements of another 10 000, about 6 000 officers and men being sent out from India. Before the end of the war was in sight, some 500 000 men were in the field.

One of the most frequently-asked questions I receive is: my ancestor fought on the British side in the Boer War. How do I find out more about him? The answer is, not without difficulty.

If the ancestor was in the British Imperial forces, he could have been in the Regular Army (Cavalry, Artillery, Infantry etc) or a Reservist. He may have been a member of the Militia (reinforcements attached to the Regulars) or among the Yeomanry. Over 120 000 recruits who had no military experience whatsoever joined the British Army during the Anglo-Boer War. If the ancestor served in the British Colonial forces, about 16 000 came from Australia, 6 600 from New Zealand, 6 000 from Canada and over 52 000 from within South Africa.

Statistics vary, but these numbers give some indication of the task ahead when trying to find information about one particular individual. For many family historians the only surviving relic of an Anglo-Boer War ancestor is a man in faded khaki staring out of an old photograph; details are usually scant, his regiment frequently unknown.

As family historians know to their cost, names, dates and places are notoriously absent from the back of photographs. In Anglo-Boer War groups, badges and insignia may not be visible or easily identifiable. More about this in a future post.

If you’re lucky enough to own a medal awarded to the ancestor, engraved on the rim will be his name, rank and unit, which is a good start in any research. Most men serving in the Anglo-Boer War were eligible for one or both of the two campaign medals – the Queen’s South Africa and the King’s South Africa. Several published medal rolls are available, including D R Forsyth’s Defenders of Kimberley Medal Roll, and S M Kaplan’s Medal Roll of the Queen’s South Africa Medal with Wepener Bar, and Medal Roll of the Queen’s South Africa Medal with Bar Relief of Mafeking.

www.militarymuseum.co.za/ South African National Military History Museum: recommended reading is the article ‘Researching Ancestors who were Servicemen’.
Update 2014: the article is now accessible on this blog; see relevant top tag