TOPIC:

The medals to FAB Daly, RAMC



Francis Augustus Bonner Daly was born in Dublin on 28 May 1855. Educated at Trinity College Dublin, he gained a B.A., M.B. and B.Ch. and was appointed a F.R.C.S.I. in 1887. Appointed a Surgeon, afterwards a Surgeon-Captain, in the Army Medical Department in 1881, he served in the Egypt campaign of 1882 and also served with the Sudan Frontier Force, 1885-86. He was promoted to Surgeon-Major in 1893.

He served in the South African War of 1899-1902, and took part in the relief of Ladysmith. Daly served as Regimental Medical Officer to the Royal Irish Fusiliers at Talana and was ordered by the S.M.O. to remain at Dundee with the wounded who were unable to travel, thus becoming a prisoner-of-war of Boers. He was released in January 1900. In February 1901 he was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel and appointed the Principal Medical Officer of a Field Hospital with the local rank of Colonel. For his wartime services he was twice mentioned in despatches (London Gazette 30 March 1900, 4 February 1901) and awarded the C.B. (1901). He was placed on Retired Pay in 1909.

He wrote a short account of his time at Talana which makes for fascinating reading.