TOPIC:

Amongst my many collecting interests are medals to the King's Royal Rifle Corps to men who took part in General Buller's Natal Campaign. I have several medals to men of the 1st KRRC. They include a group to a man who was on the 'Warren Hastings' when it was wrecked on the island of Reunion, and a group to a man in the 1st KRRC Mounted Infantry who was captured at the Battle of Talana. Except for the latter, the 1st KRRC men took part in the Defence of Ladysmith. Then there is a QSA/KSA pair to a member of the 2nd KRRC Mounted Infantry who took part in the Relief of Ladysmith, and who went on to serve out the rest of the war in the MI.

Missing have been a QSA to a man in the 2nd KRRC who took part in the Defence of Ladysmith, and a 3rd KRRC man present in the Relief of Ladysmith.

A month or two ago, fellow forum member Rory Reynolds arranged an exchange on my behalf, and, today, I obtained from him a medal to fill the latter gap - the QSA awarded to 654 Pte B Shaw. Except for confirmation of the award, Pte Shaw is unresearched. The medal roll notes that Shaw was transferred to the 2nd KRRC on 26/7/1900, and, presumably, he then accompanied this battalion when it accompanied prisoners of war to Ceylon.

I hope to find out more about Pte Shaw, and, in the meantime, the hunt for a 2nd KRRC medal continues, hopefully one with a proven link to the Battle of Wagon Hill.

Brett