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DCMs for the Boer War 8 years 2 months ago #48505

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DSO GV
MC GV
DCM VR USerjt. C.I.V.)
QSA (5) CC Paard Drie Joh DH (328 C. Sgt. S.G.L. Bradley. C.I.V.)
1914 Star, with Bar (2.Lieut. D.C.M. 16-Lond.R.)
BWM and Victory MID (Lt. Col.)

Lieutenant-Colonel S.G.L. Bradley, 16th Battalion London Regiment, Late Colour-Sergeant, City of London Imperial Volunteers

DSO London Gazette 1.1.1918 Capt. (T./Lt. Col.) Samuel Glenholme Lennox Bradley, M.C., Lond. R.

MC London Gazette 3.6.1916 Lt. (temp. Maj.) Samuel Glenholme Lennox Bradley, 16th Bn., Lond. R., T.F.

DCM London Gazette 27.9.1901 Sergeant S.G.L. Bradley, City of London Imperial Volunteers.

Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Glenholme Lennox Bradley, D.S.O., M.C., D.C.M., born 1869, served with the City of London Imperial Volunteers in South Africa (Mentioned in Despatches London Gazette 10.9.1901; and promoted Colour Sergeant); Commissioned Second Lieutenant, 13th Middlesex (Queen´s Westminster) Rifles, Volunteer Corps, 13/11/1901, held commission in the mounted infantry company of the Regiment until disbanded on the formation of the Territorial Force in 1908. On the outbreak of the Great War he was re-Commissioned Second Lieutenant, 16th Battalion (Queen´s Westminster Rifles) London Regiment, and served with the Regiment on the Western Front from 1/11/1914; Lieutenant, 2/4/1915; wounded 27/10/1915 and thereafter served as Staff Captain, 18th Infantry Brigade, 6th Division, October 1915 - May 1916; D.A.Q.M.G., 6th Division, May 1916 - March 1917; General Head Quarters, France, March 1917 - February 1919 (Five times Mentioned in Despatches, L.G. 1/1/1916, 15/6/1916, 15/5/1917, 11/12/1917, and 20/12/1918; and promoted Brevet Major); transferred to the Territorial Force Reserve, with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, 7.2.1919, and was appointed Commanding Officer, 16th (Territorial) Battalion, London Regiment; retired, 20/9/1921.
Dr David Biggins
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DCMs for the Boer War 8 years 1 month ago #48855

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Hi everybody
The June 2003 issue of the OMRS Journal carried an article "Dated Distinguished Conduct Medals" by John D O'Malley. He listed 11 recipients of dated 2nd Boer War DCM's, including Adams.
Another of the 11 is Pte G Livingston of the Connaught Rangers. I disposed of his QSA and dated DCM in 1992 as part of a complicated 3-party exchange and I have been looking for another dated example ever since!!
I was therefor very, very pleased when my bid at DNW was successful for the dated DCM to Pte W T Adams, Rifle Brigade, that was illustrated in this thread some three weeks ago. Now I just have to find his QSA.
Henk
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DCMs for the Boer War 8 years 1 month ago #48856

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Sorry !! I missed this last month.
I meant to point out that the Battle of Magersfontein took place 11 days after the end of November 1899.
Henk

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DCMs for the Boer War 8 years 1 month ago #48858

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Well done, Henk!
Dr David Biggins

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DCMs for the Boer War 8 years 1 month ago #48963

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From the next DNW auction


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DCM, E.VII.R. (Tpr: J. Blades. Loch’s Horse);
BSA CM reverse Mashonaland 1897 (436 Troopr M. J. Blades. B.S.A. Police.);
QSA (3) CC, OFS, Joh (196 Tpr: M. J. Blades, Loch’s Horse)

DCM LG 27 September 1901.

Matthew James Blades was a farmer by trade and a native of West Bank, Hawes, Yorkshire. He attested for the British South Africa Police, 28 April 1897, and served with the Mashonaland Division. Having left the British South Africa Police after a year’s service he attested for Loch’s Horse, aged 34, on 15 March 1900.

Loch’s Horse was raised by Lord Loch in February 1900. With a combined strength of 220, during their 12 months’ service ‘they shared in the advance from Bloemfontein to the Transvaal as part of the 8th Corps of Mounted Infantry commanded by Colonel Ross of the Durham Light Infantry, the Brigadier being Colonel Henry. The 8th Corps were part of the advance guard or screen to the centre of Lord Roberts’ army, and had a lot of scouting skirmishing in the northward march. Colonel Henry’s men, including the 1st and 2nd Victorian Mounted Rifles, South Australians, Tasmanians, Lumsden’s Horse, Loch’s Horse, and the 4th Mounted Infantry Regulars, were among the first to cross the Vaal, and had very stiff fighting before the infantry got up, particularly at the mines in the neighbourhood of Vereeniging, about Elandsfontein, and outside Pretoria. Their work was highly praised by the Generals and by the correspondents.’ (The Colonials in South Africa, refers)

Over the course of the Regiment’s 12 months of active service it suffered eleven men lost to wounds and disease, and in each case the widow or next of kin was paid the sum of £50, the amount for which the life of each officer and man was insured by the Committee.

1 of 3 D.C.M.’s gazetted for the Regiment, one of which was subsequently cancelled, another upgraded to a Commission and the award of a D.S.O., and the final one awarded to Trooper Blades. Therefore it is likely that this is the only D.C.M. in existence to the Regiment.
Dr David Biggins
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DCMs for the Boer War 8 years 1 month ago #48964

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From the next DNW auction too. There are some magnificent DCM groups.


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MC GV, reverse contemporarily engraved ‘No. 5748 C.S.M. T. Carney. 1st. Bn. East Yorkshire Regt. 26 Aug 1918’;
DCM VR, with Second Award Bar (5748 Dmr: T. P. Carney. 2nd. E. Yorks: Regt.);
QSA (5) CC, Witt, Tr, SA01, SA02 (5748 Pte. T. Carney 2: E. York: Regt.) unofficial rivets between clasps;
1914-15 Star (5748 Sjt. T. P. Carney. E. York: R.);
BWM and VM (5748 W.O. Cl.2 T. P. Carney. E. York. R.);
Defence Medal;
Meritorious Service Medal, G.VI.R., 2nd issue (5748 W.O. Cl.2 T. P. Carney. M.C. DCM E. Yorks.);
Army LS&GC GV, 1st issue (5748 C.S. Mjr: T. P. Carney. E. York: R.)

MC LG 1 January 1919. DCM LG 27 September 1901. DCM Second Award Bar LG 3 October 1918:

‘For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in action. During an attack he was constantly along the line assisting and encouraging his men, on one occasion standing upon the parapets and shooting at parties of the enemy advancing in the open. Later he organised a bombing party and cleared out the enemy, who had gained a footing in our trenches. At all times he has shown great courage and a fine soldierly spirit.’

Thomas Patrick Carney was born in Dublin on 17 December 1884, the fourth of five sons of Sergeant Henry Carney, East Yorkshire Regiment, and was educated along with his four brothers at the Royal Hibernian Military School. Following the lead of his entire family, he joined the East Yorkshire Regiment as a Drummer on his fourteenth birthday on 17 December 1898, and served with the Regiment in South Africa during the Boer War from 14 March 1900 until 8 April 1901, and again from 19 March 1902 until the end of the war. During the Boer War boy soldiers are estimated to have swelled the ranks of regular soldiers by just over 3,000, principally as drummers and buglers, and the death rate was predictably high. It was during this period that Carney was awarded the first of his two Distinguished Conduct Medals, for the actions at Harrismith in the Orange Free State, in July 1900, for which the clasp Wittebergen was authorised for the Queen’s South Africa Medal, when only 15 years of age. He was also mentioned in Lord Roberts’ Despatch of 29 November 1900.

After nine years spent with the Regiment in India, from December 1905 until December 1914, during which period he was advanced to Sergeant, he went to France with the East Yorkshires on 15 January 1915, but was invalided home with frostbite on the 20 February of that year. Re-joining the Regiment for service with the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, he disembarked at Port Said on 28 December 1915, before embarking once more for service with the B.E.F. in France on 29 February 1916. Arriving back in France on the 8 March, he remained on the continent until after the Armistice, as Company Sergeant Major and then, latterly, as Warrant Officer 2nd Class. Confined to trench warfare and constantly in danger for much of the time, he was awarded a Bar to his Distinguished Conduct Medal, for his courage during a German attack, and was subsequently awarded the Military Cross for his gallantry in holding a bridgehead for 15 hours across the River Ancre, following the taking of Le Sars and Butte de Warlencourt in northern France. As The Snapper recorded: ‘On the night of the 23rd-24th August 1918, the Regiment was ordered to advance down the Ancre valley to seize the high ground south of Miraumont, and so enable the Fourth Corps to attack it. The principal difficulty before the 5th Corps, of which our Division was a part, was crossing the River Ancre, which had been deliberately flooded by the Germans, and in places was 300 yards wide. That evening the Royal Engineers Field Company came down to the river to fix foot bridges across the river in three places already selected, about 300 yards apart, and opposite Beaucourt. All was quiet, and the foot bridges were carefully covered with marshy debris to prevent the enemy from recognising them the next day. They were sited where marshes and trees nearly stretched across the river. Just before midnight the Germans made a determined counter-attack against our positions... The following day... we had some cause for self congratulations, having fought our own bridgehead positions, crossed the Ancre, and on a pitch dark night advanced up to three miles to our allotted objective over craters and shell-hole country, and holding that objective in the face of determined outflanking enemy, until relieved some 15 hours afterwards. In spite of all, our casualties were light, and our success had been the key to the operations on either flank. On several occasions during the eventful night excellent work was done by Company Sergeant Major T. Carney, who was afterwards awarded the M.C. for his gallantry.’

Awarded his Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal on 1 October 1917, Carney was posted to the 3rd Battalion on 8 October 1919, before being finally discharged on the 21 December 1919, after 21 years and 5 days’ service. With three gallantry awards he was the most highly decorated soldier in the Regiment. He put on a uniform again for service with the Home Guard during the Second World War, and was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in 1953.

19 men have been awarded the D.C.M. in two separate Wars, but the addition of the M.C. makes this group unique to the whole of the Army.
Dr David Biggins
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