TOPIC:

Berenice,
John Lewis - Pte 7353 3rd vol bn RWF. Not on the casualty rolls, I picked his name from the regtl war memorial in Wrexham.

IL,
Kendall - the magic words "New Zealand" are missing. He was a gunner with the NZ Artillery then served with 5th NZMR.

Regards
Meurig

I think we need a new thread just for those who died at sea.

BereniceUK wrote: At what point did soldiers who died become eligible for a medal? Below are two examples I've come across of soldiers dying before reaching South Africa - would their families have later received Queen's South Africa medals in the names of the deceased men?

"After leaving Teneriffe a shadow was cast over the ship, for on March 2nd one of the Yorkshires, a native of Scarborough, died at three a.m., and was buried at ten the same morning. Only the members of his own company were allowed at the funeral, which lasted about five minutes. All the other companies had to fall in on their own decks, and stand at attention while the service was on. I may mention that we crossed the equator the same day."

The soldier who died on March 2nd was likely to have been a Private Sewell, Special Service Contingent (Scarborough), of Sherburn, North Yorkshire, who died of pneumonia.

I'm in the process of collating soldiers' deaths that took place on transports going to, and back from, South Africa.

The attached (11 April 1901) is from: Atthill, AW Maunsell. 1909. From Norwich to Lichtenburg: Being Some Personal Experiences of the 2nd Norfolk Volunteer Active Service Company in South Africa, 1901-1902. AE Soman, Norwich, 166 pp.

Atthill sailed on Easter Sunday, 1901 on the Kildonan Castle.

I apologise for a vague and anonymous tip.

Hi Berenice,

One that I have from my incomplete Rimington’s Guides / Damant’s Horse Roll. It may be a false lead, the details are off a medal roll.
Lang, John Martin or Jack Martin, 207, Damant’s Horse, enl 29/01/02, discharge 21/05/02. ‘ died at sea on way to Australia’.
This is all I have unfortunately, Have not been able to find anything else.
Cheers,
Jim

Berenice
As stated earlier in this thread, according to the Army Order, a soldier had to actually serve in South Africa to be granted the basic QSA medal. The only exception would be the men who did guard duty on St. Helena.
Therefore, someone dying on the way to SA would not qualify. .
Jim
Your man in Damants Horse actually served in SA for four months and earned three clasps on his QSA. Hopefully, John Martin Lang received his campaign medal before departing for these shores.
Regards
IL.