TOPIC:

I have the medal of my great uncle Thomas Ganter who served in South Africa with 66 Coy Imperial Yeomanry. He is listed on the medal roll on this site as Trooper but the medal says Pte. It has five bars, South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902, Transvaal, Orange Free State and Cape Colony. It was given to me 40 years or so ago by his daughter Madge, his only child, as she was unmarried and had no direct descendants. She had a distinguished war record in WW 2 as a Matron serving at the front in field hospitals.
Uncle Tom was born in 1880 and I have somewhere a photo of him taken at Aldershot, he is wearing a bush hat Aussie style, puttees and spurs and has a leather bandolier across his chest. I have only vague memories of him as he lived in Dewsbury and I didn't see that branch of the family very often, he died in the 50's, from memory, possibly whilst I was abroad in my military service. He did not serve in WW 1 as I believe he had suffered with enteric fever whilst in South Africa.
His younger brother Percy served in WW 1 from 1914 to 18 rising to the rank of sergeant and winning the MM as a corporal in the RGA. Sadly I don't know what happened to his medals.
I know nothing of what the 66th Coy Imperial Yeomanry did in the war, can anyone enlighten me?

vcltel
It is always good to have family memorabilia in the form of medal/s and photos. My CD of the IY shows Thomas GANTER as having number 23037. The terms "Trooper" and "Private" are synonyms and either may be found on medals to the IY. The 66th (Yorkshire) Coy was a component of the 3rd Bn., IY. It had a strength of 150 all ranks. The clasps you mention are correct for the IY and represent service in the guerilla phase of the war.
There is an interesting book that deals with Yeomanry and Volunteers in the ABW: "Absent Minded Beggars" by Will Bennett (ISBN 0 85052 685 X). The book does not specifically mention the 66th Coy; however it does detail some of the work of the 3rd Bn IY.
Have you thought about doing an on-line Yorkshire newspaper search for any reference to Thomas GANTER? Might be useful. Others in the forum may be able to supply extra info on the activities of the 66th Coy., IY.
Good luck
IL.

Thomas Ganter, a 21 year old agent from Dewsbury joined the Imperial Yeomanry at Doncaster on the 24th of January 1901, he served in South Africa from the 23rd of February that year until August the following year, he was discharged at Aldershot on the 30th of August, his intended place or residence being with his father, Thomas, at 76 Carlton Rd Dewsbury.

Thanks very much Frank, I hadn't looked into his details in any depth. As I remember it, he and his brother Percy both worked as insurance agents in Dewsbury. I knew uncle Percy quite well as he used to visit us in his Ford V8 Pilot just after the second World War. As I said Uncle Tom was not one of the many Dewsbury relatives that I saw very often. I believe that he was a very talented water colour painter. As I am 81 and have no descendants to leave the medal to. I am wondering whether to sell it and how much it would be worth. Perhaps someone could give me an idea on the sort of price it would fetch.

Hello,
I always feel that it is a great shame when family medals are sold, but, only you can make that choice, medals to the IY are quite sought after here, however, unless there is something special about them, a casualty of any sort, a special unit or rank, any particular instances of gallant conduct etc, sadly, they are seldom worth a fortune.
To be quite honest, if you don't need to sell it, I'd hang on to it, if you have a really good local museum, dedicated to the history of the town and it's people, then perhaps they might like to have it.
The value in terms of money is rather less than the effort needed to earn it in the first place, notwithstanding what you choose to do, I hope it will survive and with it, the memory of a loyal patriot that was Thomas Ganter.
Kind regards Frank Kelley

vcltel wrote: Thanks very much Frank, I hadn't looked into his details in any depth. As I remember it, he and his brother Percy both worked as insurance agents in Dewsbury. I knew uncle Percy quite well as he used to visit us in his Ford V8 Pilot just after the second World War. As I said Uncle Tom was not one of the many Dewsbury relatives that I saw very often. I believe that he was a very talented water colour painter. As I am 81 and have no descendants to leave the medal to. I am wondering whether to sell it and how much it would be worth. Perhaps someone could give me an idea on the sort of price it would fetch.

Hi Frank,

Thanks for your thoughts, I agree that ideally the medal should stay in the family. However the family is nigh on extinct. There were a lot of Ganters before WW 1 but most of them never married, or if married had no children. I have lost touch with the last of the Ganters of my mother's era, who had no children themselves. I have only a nephew and his one daughter to act as my heirs in the direct Ganter family line. They have no interest in the medal at all, I'm afraid.