TOPIC:

I found this account of a visit to Magersfontein in 1901. The author recorded how he and his companions covered exposed remains believed to be of Scandinavian volunteers.

“A HUCKNALLITE VISITS THE BATTLEFIELDS.

“In a letter received last week from Mr. Henry Winfield (son of Mr. F. Winfield, Byron House, Hucknall), he says:- “Things in this country have not begun to look up very much. I suppose these little raids will go on for some considerable time as our men don’t seem to be able to get hold of the Boers, though they keep coming across their tracks here and there. Only about a week ago the train from Vryburg to Kimberley was fired on by the Boers and one man killed; but they are only in small parties, and are of little real danger. All round Bloemfontein fighting is going on almost daily, and that place is running short of stores I hear. Last Sunday three of us – one of the Diamond Field Horse, a telegraphist, and myself – walked out five miles to Carter’s Ridge, where one of the hottest engagements took place during the siege – between the Kimberley forces and the Boers. The Boers’ redoubts are still standing, and our friend of the Diamond Field Force pointed out all the interesting spots, and related many striking incidents of the engagement. I have seen many interesting mementos of the siege, such as Boer shells, Mausers, etc. Plenty of dead horses are lying round Carter’s Ridge even now.

“I think I told you I intended having a ramble over the battlefield at Magersfontein. We arrived at the siding, where we had to detrain for Magersfontein, about 4.30 a.m. Then we proceeded to the ruined and deserted farm, and filled up our water bottles at the well there and proceeded to discuss breakfast. We had a sparklet bottle with us, and were very glad of it, for the water was poor and insipid till aerated. Breakfast finished we proceeded to tramp to the trenches. We arrived at the first trench (Boer) about 6.30 a.m. The Boer trenches there extend from Magersfontein to Jacobsdal, a distance of about 25 miles. They are most interesting to explore. We picked up various pieces of shell (shrapnel), etc. and plenty of empty cartridge cases – one of these off the grave of the Highlanders. We saw the spot where Wauchope fell and where the Highlanders were cut up (and obtained a bit of barbed wire which impeded them); also the spot where the Scandinavian contingent (Boers) were cut up. They are buried on the same spot as they fell. So shallow are they buried that the boots, and in one or two cases the shins also, protrude through the ground. We buried all these gruesome relics with stones, and left them to rest quietly with nothing but a few stones to mark the grave. The graves of the Highlanders and Household Brigade are finished off very nicely with white stones and well fenced off with a rough wooden cross over each grave.

“We climbed two of the kopjes. One of them was the one from which Cronje watched the battle of Magersfontein. The natural formidability of these kopjes cannot be fully described. They are composed of large blocks of ironstone, and are difficult to climb under ordinary conditions. These kopjes command an extensive stretch of flat veldt reaching far beyond [the] Modder River, and I am not at all surprised that our men were unable to turn the Boers out of these positions. The kopjes and the veldt show numerous signs of the heavy shelling we gave the Boers, and in one portion one can plainly see where one of the Boer magazines in the trenches was blown up by our shells.”

‘Rushcliffe Advertiser’, 11th January 1901.

Good Morning Everyone.....

I have been contacted by a fellow collector who has one of these medallions which is also Un-Named.....

Mike

Hi
Below is the text that accompanied the example that I sold at City Coins
Commemorative Medallion of the Scandinavian Corps : Magersfontein 1899
Engraved in upper case on rim: “Till Sune Lindström vilken komponerat denna jetong”
This extremely rare item is not recorded in HH or AM (patinated brass, 92mm, some discoloration, in damaged circular box of issue)
At Magersfontein, on 11 December 1899, fifty men from 4 Nordic Countries (Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland) fought for the Boer Cause under the common name “Scandinavian Corps”. 41of them were killed or wounded in the intense fighting.
25 years later, Maj-Gen Gustav Lindström, Chairman of the Stockholm Rifle Association, propagated the idea of a medallion and a tri-annual shooting contest between the four countries to commemorate the heroic stand of the Scandinavian Corps. His son, the architect Sune Lindström, designed the medallion and the first contest took place in Helsinki in 1925.
According to the rules of the competition, the story of the Scandinavians at Magersfontein had to be specifically mentioned when the trophy was handed to the winning team. The medallion was given as a separate prize to the highest-scoring member of the winning team.
• Obverse: A Viking ship on a rough sea with a bright star above the horizon. Underneath: “De kunde icke vika blott falla kunde de” which can be freely translated as: “They could not give way; they could only fall”
• Reverse: A cross, as is found on the national flags of the four Scandinavian countries, divides the area in four equal parts: these quarters contain the heraldic emblems of the four nations. Around the circumference: “Åt minnet av den Skandinaviska Kårens strid vid Magersfontein 1899”, freely translated as “In memory of the Scandinavian Corps’ battle at Magersfontein, 1899”. At the bottom “SL 25”

The late Dr H M Stoker mentioned in an article in “De Nummis” No 3, 1960 that between 1925 and 1960 a total of 29 medallions were struck. Of these two were in silver and 27 in brass.
One of the silver examples was presented to “General Lord Baden Powell… from admiring Scandinavians” on 7 Aug. 1935.
Four brass examples (probably unnamed) went to unknown collectors and named examples are known to Gen Jan Smuts, Advocate Oswald Pirow and Dr S N F Gie (the last two for their part in facilitating the award of five DTD’s and 34 ABO’s to Scandinavians in 1936/37).

As I mentioned at the start of the write-up the City Coins example was named on the rim, as translated "To Sune Lindström, who designed this medallion"
I still have the bronze example to Dr Gie, named AAN ZYNE EXCELLENTIE D:R S.F.N. GIE, ENVOYE DER ZUID AFRIKAANSCHE UNIE, ZWEDEN in the original box of issue, as well as the hall-marked silver one to Baden-Powell. This came in a specially made fitted blue case with gold embossing and is named GENERAL LORD BADEN POWELL COM. IN CHIEF AT MAFEKING, FROM ADMIRING SKAND:NS. With it was a sturdy label, reading on one side "Commemorative Medal of the SCANDINAVIAN CORPS which fought against us in the Boer War 1900" and on the other side "Presented in their behalf by Mr. Uggla at Stockholm 7 Aug 1935"
My scanner is at present "acting-up" a bit. I will later post some images, also of the style of naming. This is of interest as the engraving is identical with that on a DTD/ABO pair that I have to a Scandinavian Officer, Lt L H C Larsen which was issued in Scandinavia. Forsyth erroneously listed him as "Scandinavian Corps": he actually served in Edwards' Scouts till mid 1900. His Vorms "A" & "B" were approved by Dr Gie
Henk

I have been contacted by someone with one of these medallions to sell.



If anyone is interested, please contact Hans-Christian in Sweden to discuss. [email protected]

I have no connection to the seller.

Some more information that has come my way......

According to the Swedish coin magazine "Myntkontakt" 1980, number 1, the medallion was designed by Sune Lindström 1925 and engraved by Georg Jensen's goldsmith's company in Copenhagen. The medallion demanded large machines to be pressed so the stamps were sent to Sporrong in Stockholm and pressed by them in 1927. There are no markings from Sporrong on the 1927 medallions since it was not Sporrong that had the deal. But the stamps remained at Sporrong and in 1977 a small batch were pressed, 10 in total - 2 gilded and 2 silver plated, all made of bronze. This time the 10 medallions have the marking of Sporrong.

Still a not so common piece, One of Six......

Mike

Picture courtesy of City Coins

Silver Commemorative Medallion of the Scandinavian Corps: Magersfontein 1899.
Presentation medallion given to Lord Baden- Powell

This silver medal is accompanied by a simple metal edged card reading:
“Presented in their behalf by Mr Uggla at Stockholm 7 August 1935”.
Edge engraved (in square capital letters):
“GENERAL LORD BADEN POWELL, CO. IN CHIEF AT MAFEKING,
FROM ADMIRING SKAND:NS”.
DIAMETER: 90.80 mm
WEIGHT: 217.3 grams
OBVERSE: A Viking ship on a rough sea with a bright star above the horizon. Underneath:
“De kunde icke vika blott falla kunde de” which can be freely translated as:
“They could not give way; they could only fall”.
REVERSE: A cross, as is found on the National Flags of the four Scandinavian countries, divides the area in four equal parts: these quarters contain the heraldic emblems of the four nations. Around the circumference:
“Åt minnet av den Skandinaviska Kårens strid vid Magersfontein 1899”,
freely translated as:
“In memory of the Scandinavian Corps’ battle at Magersfontein, 1899”.
At the bottom “SL 25”
MAKER: C. C. Sporrong & Co.

The medallion is housed in its original square black presentation box with gold trim.
The box is slightly damaged but is easily repairable with a small amount of glue.