Recent postings about medals issued to members of the Natal Volunteer Ambulance Corps induced me to try and unravel the story of the recipient of the following medal:
Single – QSA five clasps: TugH, OFS, RoL, Tvl, L’Nek (Br. G. Dickenson. Natal Vol. Amb. C.)
Note: Various service and medal rolls record the spelling of his surname as Dickinson, in one instance the spelling thereof as impressed on his medal being corrected to the letter “i”.
Clearly Dickinson continued to serve later during the war – he in fact also qualified for and was issued with the KSA medal. That has unfortunately become separated from his QSA medal. His full identity also still unfortunately remains a mystery to me.
George Dickinson is recorded as having enlisted with the Natal Volunteer Ambulance Corps on 9 December 1899 and continued to serve with them until he was discharged on 12 March 1900. He then continued to serve for a further 9 months with the Imperial Bearer Corps, the relevant QSA medal roll which was signed in Pietermaritzburg on 31 December 1902 recording his additional clasp entitlements for the Cape Colony, Transvaal and Laing’s Nek marginal notes recording that he also served for a further period of 6 months as No 46 with the 1st Scottish Horse until his discharge at Pietermaritzburg on 27 June 1901. Still willing to serve he joined the 4th Railway Pioneer Regiment as L/Corp. No 2796 qualifying him for the additional award of the King’s South Africa medal.
His QSA medal issued off the NVAC medal roll was initially issued with the two clasps Tugela Heights and Relief of Ladysmith on 25 March 1904 but was returned and reissued with the additional further 3 clasps subsequently earned on 19 December 1905 it being recorded that the medal was sent to Mr F. Fisher c/o York City County Banking Co Ltd. in Dalton-in-Furness. From this it may perhaps be reasonably assumed that George Dickinson was a British National who had indicated to the Military and/or medal issuing Authorities of his intention to return to England and that Mr Fisher was perhaps a relative or his father’s banker.
I havn’t (as yet!) had access to any of George’s various attestation papers but it seems as if he is a ‘fit” for the George Dickinson who was baptised in Dalton-in-Furness on 25 August 1870. His father was an Ironmonger also named George whereas his mother’s name was Ann Backhouse. His father died in 1907.
