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James Horsefield Dodge entered this world on May 9, 1872. He was the Son of Rev. Samuel Dodge (Wesleyan Minister) and Hannah Horsefield, who at the time of his birth were resident in Bakewell Derbyshire with the parents originally from Dewsbury in Yorkshire.

He was to be christened a few months later on 18th July 1872 by his father, His father Samuel was to die in April 1881 at the age of 40 after which, Hannah was to take the 4 children including James back to Dewsbury in Yorkshire from which she hailed.
We know little of James’ life upon his return to Yorkshire apart from the fact he attended a school run by the Wesleyan Church, but what is known is that on the 1881 census, his mother is described as the “Head of House and a Widow. Apart from the 4 children, there was 1 servant and 1 boarder, that being Rev. Nicholas William Tomlinson who was the Wesleyan Minister in Dewsbury.
By the time of the 1891 census, James had left home, his mother had married the Rev. Nicholas Tomlinson (9 years her junior), and James had become indentured into the drapery business, where he is shown as living in the house of Mary Wrigley, his relationship to her is shown as servant and occupation as Drapers apprentice.
But the life of a draper was not for James, he went out seek adventure and a new life in South Africa only 2 years later. He was to migrate to South Africa onboard the SS Scot under the command of Captain Travers on 4th March 1893, as an aside, the SS Scot was transferred to the Union Castle line a few years later and was to be used as a troop transport vessel during the Anglo Boer War.
Again, not much is known of his early life in South Africa suffice to say that having been in the Cape, 2 short years, James had volunteered to join a force under the control of Dr Leander Starr Jameson to quell an upcoming insurrection of “outlanders” in Johannesburg.

With the telegraph wires cut at the start of the raid (but not those to Pretoria) the Transvaalers intercepted the messages to the Cape and sent a force to meet Jameson and his 500 odd raiders.
The first armed encounter with Boer forces occurred at an outpost 20 odd miles from Krugersdorp which was a short exchange. At Krugersdorp, the Boers had blocked the road to Johannesburg and had entrenched defensive positions by the time the raiders approached. The exchange of fire lasted for a number of hours and there was a number of men KIA and a good number of wounded.
After this engagement, Jameson turned South East in the hope that he could outflank an approaching force of Boer troops, however they were tracked by Boer scouts and on the morning of January 2, 1896, Jameson met with a large Boer force at Doornkop and exchanged fire where near 30 of the Raiders fell. It was at this point that Jameson saw how hopeless his situation was and surrendered to Piet Cronje.

With the "Raid" a total failure, Jameson and his men were taken as prisoners to Pretoria, from there negotiations with the British Colonial Administrators and London ended with Jameson spending 15 months in Holloway prison in the UK, and the Raiders were sent via the SS, Harlech Castle back to England to stand trial. The Boer Republic was also to receive £1M compensation from the British South Africa Company.

Now this is where it gets interesting, Young James at the age of 22 having participated in the Jameson Raid is posted as “Missing – Escaped” (taken form the ABW.com website).
It was also reported in The London Echo on Tuesday 14th January 1896 the following.
Jameson's Rank and File
“Names of the Escaped – The British South Africa Company have received a cablegram from Cape town dated the 13th January, giving, From the Johannesburg Times The full official list of the rank and file of Dr Jameson’s Force who have been taken Prisoners.

The British South Africa Company further state: - the following, Frank Thatcher, James H. Dodge and H. Wyley, who escaped and reported themselves at Cape town, state the following also escaped:- Sergeant Ruck, Corporal Keth, Troopers Valle, Williams, Larson, Kelsall and Davidson”. There were another 22 unaccounted for according to the Newcastle Weekly Chronicle of January 18, 1896, which provides The official list of combatants, casualties, escapees and the missing. There was no confirmation at a later date reporting and confirming the escape of the other 7 men.
The next time James surfaces is for his marriage to Nellie Smith Pentland on 14th April 1898 in Johannesburg, Transvaal. Nellie is said to have been born in London in about 1878 and was 20 at the time of their marriage. Having done the right thing by Nellie, she gave birth to a son, James Mathew Dodge whose date of birth is not known but young James was baptized on November 20, 1898.
It was only a year later that James answered the call to arms for the 2nd Anglo Boer War.
His skills, both fighting and civilian, had given him the ability to be attested into Rimington’s Corps of Guides through service during the Jameson Raid, his bushcraft in evading capture. The fact that he was married in the Transvaal indicates that he most likely learnt Afrikaans there (being 1 of the requirements to be admitted into the "Corp of Guides".
Rimington's Guides participated in the early actions of phase 1 of the 2nd ABW. Their opening large-scale engagement was at Belmont, where they prepared the field by ongoing reconnaissance and patrol work. They then participated in the battle at Graspen on the extreme right flank, but on the left flank at Modder River being some of the first troops to cross. Then again at Colesberg who they undertook incessant patrols prior to the action commencing. when approximately 1000 Boers counter attacked at Jasfontein, it was Rimington and the 6th Dragoons that held the flank.
In February 1900, the Corps went back to the Modder River where French was to deploy the Corps across several columns in preparedness for his Push to Kimberley. Having seen the munitions and stores train that was with Cronje after Magersfontein, they sent word to French that Cronje had been located.
Next came Paardeburg, Poplar Grove and Driefontein.
A portion of the Corps joined Broadwood near Bloemfontein and held the right flank at the Battle of Koornspruit/ Sannah's Post after De Wets brother Pieter had dislodged Broadwood and his column from the waterworks just outside Bloemfontein. This action was the first of the war where the numbers were numerically similar and the first time the guerrilla ambush tactic had been employed. They were present at the capture of Brandfort and whilst attached to Sir Ian Hamilton and his command, they acted as his personal bodyguard.
They were engaged at Diamond hills on the 11th and 12th of June 1900.
On the 15th of July 1900, they were again attached to Broadwood’s 2ndCavalry when De Wet and 1500 of his men were chased after thet broke out of the Brandwater basin.
During the last few months of 1900, Henry found himself in the Orange Free state doing some tough fighting with Generals Hunter and Hamilton. His period of service was to end in January 1901.
With the transfer of Colonel Rimington, out of the unit for detachment elsewhere, Rimington Guides were paid off. When reformed under their old 2i/c Major Damant, they were to be referred to as Damant’s Horse.
James signed off on 28th January and returned to his family, his young bride Nellie and son John, but it was to be short lived in the truest sense of the word as James had contracted Dysentery. It is interesting to note that he contracted the illness 3 weeks before being paid off from Rimington’s Guides, and subsequently dying of the disease some three weeks after that (his death certificate stating he had been afflicted for 6 weeks prior to his death). Given the fact he would have contracted the disease whilst on service, it seems strange he was not sent to a hospital rather than being paid off. It may well be that he was on leave when he contracted Dysentery and was not well enough to return to his unit by the time they were paid off.
In any event, James left a young widow of 23 years of age and a 3year old son.
Sadly Nellie was to die in 1907 but not before remarrying - William Gager and having a 2nd child.
James junior was to live until 1964 in King Williams Town where he was the Postmaster, dying at a relatively young age of 65 of Liver Cancer, it must be said that his death certificate states he was born in 1900. This is at odds with his baptism, but fully understandable given the social norms regarding conception out of wedlock at the turn of the century.
The search for the man behind this medal has been a fascinating journey, discovering many things about him and what he did in his short life.
Initially purchased because he was a founding member of Rimington’s Corps of Guides that participated in the action I am most interested in (Koornspruit), but finding out of his involvement in the Jameson Raid and being 1 of a very few men that escaped, through to being the only Raider to possess a 9 clasp QSA has made this purchase very special.
Photo is courtesy of Noonan's of Mayfair.

Lovely medal Simon and well researched into the bargain.

A keeper that's for sure

Rory

A very tidy medal Simon. QSAs do not get much better than that!
Thanks for sharing James Dodge's story.
Cheers Steve