TOPIC:

I was chuffed to acquire the medal to the above chap who earned the clasps Transvaal, Relief of Ladysmith, Tugela Heights and South Africa 1901

I know these chaps to have been heavily engaged at Spioen Kop but would like to know if there is any way to verify that my man was indeed there?

Regards

Rory

Given that he had re joined the colours on the 13th of November 1899 and served in South Africa from the 2nd of December, moreover, his statement of service would tend to make us believe that this service was with the 2nd battalion and that there is nothing to suggest he was not on duty on the 24th of January and in particular, as the whole battalion was part of the force rather than just a certain company or companies, I would suggest to you that it is certainly not altogether unreasonable to believe that William Hargreaves was actually there on the 24th.
You could always merely buy a casualty for the battle if you want peace of mind at some point in the future.

The Lancashire Fusiliers was one of those local regiments that I've never really had any real interest in, their museum moved into the centre of Bury a few years ago and was only in the news recently as they had managed to open an exhibition of all their very famous Gallipoli Victoria Cross winners, with the actual VC's for the first and quite possibly, the only time ever.

Incidentally, from memory, Hargreaves Colonel, Charles Blomfield, was on record as saying that he had always felt the Kop to "be absolutely untenable" although, he himself, had good reason to believe that to have been the case, so here we are, back to Sir Reverse again, oh dear!

Despite being well liked by the rank and file Sir Reverse was not the most able of tacticians.....

Many military blunders were made over the course of the war but, in Hart's case, believing the gestures of an illiterate native guide cost many lives, needlessly.

Putting the chaps through their paces ala parade ground also added to the general fatigue.

Regards

Rory

Hello Rory,
I know quite a number of people who would all tell you that Fitzroy Hart's employment by the War Office was a military blunder and I cannot disagree with them.
The common denominator with the 15th of December 1899 and the 24th of January following, was Buller, he had simply been promoted way beyond his own capability, but, in the case of the former, it is important to remember that Hart was merely acting under orders, clearly, he should not have marched into the loop, but, merely have marched around it, if he had been able to employ the services of just a single member of the Natal Police/ Volunteers/Militia things might have been very different.
I feel a little sorry for Buller at this point who was actually watching events happen in front of him, he was powerless to do anything about them, perhaps rather like attending one of those awful dinner parties, Fitzroy Hart could be thought of as the starter, then of course, the main course arrives in the form of Charles Long, before the tragic well known desert, not a great day.
That all said, this went beyond one man, it is important to remember that the war was the first real modern media war, one where the press had far more influence than ever before, the actual casualties, those killed, during Black Week were utterly insignificant, unless, of course, you happened to be one of them, but, the press turned matters into an absolute national crisis.
There was an immediate need to restore public confidence, not just in the Army, but, in the Government itself and that soon became very clear in Westminster indeed.
Kind regards Frank