TOPIC:

This QSA was sold on eBay this evening. The advert included an excellent picture of the naming and it was fairly unusual not to include any information other than the initial and surname.



According to the QSA roll, F W Stacy, is listed on WO100/279 p238 under Civilian Officials, Natal as a Mechanic for whom the note says he worked at Colenso on work in connection with the road bridge and trestle bridge and that he was under fire.

The QSA sold for £205.

Regards
David

Good Evening David.....

I was seriously looking at this one myself.....

Mike

That medal would have fitted very well into my collection. I have two such QSA's awarded to Natal civilians, both of whom were attached to the Royal Engineers.

Regards
Brett

Brett,

Were yours similarly named? I wonder why these mechanics received no title at all, not even a Mr?

Best wishes
David

David

The medals in my collection are named to:
W Ingram
A W Rowsell

The former was a man with a connection to my family and his no clasp QSA came to me via my father. It is now with Michael in Hampshire. Ingram and my paternal grandfather were plumbers in Pietermaritzburg. Their families were from the New Forest in Hampshire and were connected by marriages.

Rowsell was also from England and he was a builder in Pietermaritzburg. His record states he was a "Civilian drawing Military Pay and employed by the Royal Engineers", which was also the case with Ingram. Curiously, Rowsell's QSA has a 'Natal' clasp, whereas the award of this clasp was deleted from Ingram's record on the roll.

Regards
Brett

This is very interesting.
My own Grandfather; Archibald Campbell, appears on the same QSA roll.
I have his medal and it is marked in the same way.
He was a carpenter in Perthshire, Scotland about 1897 but other than that we know very little. He died in SA about 1914/5 by which time he was an established house builder in Middelburg, SA.
Did these civilians volunteer? Where they asked to go because they had trades that were required? What was so notable about the repair of the Colenso bridges that warranted a medal? Many other civilians must have been shot at but did not receive a QSA.
Any further insight into the others working on the bridge would be of interest.
Attached is the only other item I have relating to Colenso bridges.
Alan. (Yorkshire, England)