TOPIC: AN OFFICER OF THE S.A.M.I.F. - A QUESTION

Well, I think I would be happy with it, Mike, upon looking at the roll entries, he appears to have been a remount officer at some point, the medal came from Woolwich, it is difficult to say from the photographs if the first three letters had been subsequently added, I would have a good look under a glass if I were you.

Hi Mike,

Unfortunately, your photographs are not good and hence one is a little reticent to comment.

Walton’s medal was a late issue and hence one can perhaps expect the naming to be a little different from the norm.

I don’t like the look of the upright square nature of the engraved naming – it appears to be much too harsh when compared with the normal engraved naming of ABW medals awarded to South African Colonial Officers. The QSA of my SAMIF pair/trio is impressed whereas the KSA is engraved. (The recipient signed your Lt Walton’s medal application sheet!)

I guess you have checked everything about the medal …. Is the engraving on “Original rim”? Are there feint guidelines for the engraving? Has all the engraving been executed symmetrically around the rim. The “SEC” added? If “SEC” was an abbreviation for “Second” it would presumably have been engraved “Sec” with the last two letters in the lower alphabet.

Walton’s name is not listed as being one of the approx. 800 QSA medals which were altered in Cape Town. The vast majority of these alterations only involved the alteration or addition of clasps, the correction of initials and or the spelling of the surname. Relatively few involved the full alteration of the name and unit. The surviving Seale and Co and Armstrong and Co’s lists seemingly do not record any instance where an unnamed Silver QSA or KSA medal was named in Cape Town although there is a record of a group of bronze medals being engraved to members of the C.M.R. in March 1908.

RobM

Thanks to everyone for your comments.....

A friend a fellow medal collector came over to clean the snow off my walks and had a look at the naming.....

He thinks that the Rank has been replaced but the remainder is OK.....

Mike