TOPIC:

I was looking at FMP in relation to the Lodge pair, and found some conflicting information.
Whilst the DNW write up states "awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his gallantry at Blakfontein", there is an entry on FMP with the following notation under the sub heading Biography "From Redmarley, Gloucs. enl. 1893 aged 18, disch. 1902. DCM awarded for Koornspruit 31-03-1900." Source: Abbott. Mkt

-Record set Anglo-Boer War Records 1899-1902

I would like to know if this source reference is known and how reliable it is or if there are any other source documents to follow.

I was the winning bidder on this lot, and need to confirm 1 way or the other if in fact the DCM is for Sanna's Post.

Simon

Simon,

In the Recipients of the DCM 1855-1909 by P E Abbott, the DCM is not linked to any single action. The notes say "U Bty RHA; LG 27.9.01; AO 15/02. pow 31.3.00 Sannah's Post and released".

The information on FMP may come from Meurig Jones so I would approach him for the source of his data.

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From the next Warwick and Warwick sale.


Picture courtesy of Warwick and Warwick

DCM EdVII (L-Corpl F. Redman 17th Lancers,);
QSA (4) Cape Colony, Johannesburg, Diamond Hill, Wittebergen (4145 Pvte J. Redman 17/Lcrs,);
KSA (2) (4184 Serjt F. Redman 17th Lancers,);
1914 Star (4148 Sjt F. Redman 17/Lrs,)
BWM & Victory Medal (L-4148 Sjt F. Redman 17-Lrs)
Army LS&GC GV (naming partly erased - regt Gord Hdrs,)

Described as:

QSA number part officially corrected, first 3 with range of contact marks and wear, thus about fine, 1914 Star trio good very fine, swing mounted for wear. Frank Redman's DCM was announced in the London Gazette dated 27th September 1901. A copied Bradford newspaper article reads "The list of honours for distinguished service issued by Lord Roberts includes Lance-Corporal F. Redman, youngest son of the late Marmaduke Redman, of Manningham. Corporal Redman is in the 17th Lancers, and has now been nearly two years in South Africa, and the service of the regiment includes a three months' chase of De Wet. It is understood that Lance-Corporal Redman's distinguished service, for which he is mentioned by Lord Roberts, was the holding of a kloof with a handful of Lancers against an attack of the Boers. He has, however, done other excellent bits of service during his long period of hard campaigning. The Lancers were on the move for 327 days on end."

With copied LG, MIC, newspaper article, QSA and KSA rolls, the difference in numbers and initial appear to be a compiler's error and as there is no other Redman listed on the rolls, they are all to the same man. It is not clear if he was awarded an LSGC, or added one as he thought he deserved one. With DCM, QSA & KSA swing mounted matching miniatures and a 1914 Star miniature. This is one of only four DCMs to the 17th Lancers for the Boer War.

Simon,

I went through WO291 looking for Sgt Lodge. He is listed twice but there is nothing to explain his award.

From p631



All the Boer War awards are recorded as SA 1900 so this date is not significant.

Hello all,

I was pleased to recently manage to complete what I feel is one of the most important reunites I have ever accomplished, and thought I would share the story of the recipient of this important Canadian group, John Hynes, who served in the North West Mounted Police and as Regimental Sergeant Major of both Lord Strathcona's Horse and the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles.

Distinguished Conduct Medal (VR), Northwest Canada Medal 1885 with clasp ‘SASKATCHEWAN’, and Queen’s South Africa Medal 1899-1902 with clasps ‘NATAL’, ‘ORANGE FREE STATE’, ‘BELFAST’, ‘SOUTH AFRICA 1901’, and ‘SOUTH AFRICA 1902’. DCM named to SERJT: - MAJ: T. HYMES. LORD STRATHCONA'S CORPS; NWC named J. HYNES, CONST. N.W.M.P., and QSA named RGT. SEJ. MAJOR J. HYNES. LD. STRATHCONA'S H.



John Hynes was born in Epecourt, County Galway, Ireland sometime in May 1861. It is not known when he emigrated to Canada, but he was working in the Canadian Northwest as a labourer for convoys when he enlisted in the North West Mounted Police (NWMP) on 14 January 1884. Hynes was assigned service number 995. Shortly after his enrollment, Hynes was involved in what became known as the ‘Craig Incident’, an altercation in June 1884 between a farm instructor at the Little Pine Reserve, John Craig, and a young warrior named Kāwīcitwemot, who physically assaulted Craig when the latter denied him food. This assault led to a tense standoff with the NWMP, who were called to the reserve to make an arrest. The incident took place during a Cree council gathering of approximately 2000 people at the reserve of Pitikwahanapiwiyin (Poundmaker). The purpose of the gathering was to discuss treaty terms, and was instigated by Cree chief Mistahimaskwa (also known as Big Bear), who called on Cree chiefs to unite and press the government for one large reserve on the North Saskatchewan River. During the council, Mistahimaskwa hosted the Thirst Dance (also known as the Sun Dance), a ceremony of renewal, which was forbidden by the Indian Act. The assault by Kāwīcitwemot on John Craig occurred during the celebration. The NWMP were called in to respond, and a force of about 90 men, which included young Constable John Hynes, arrived at Battleford, ready to arrest Kāwīcitwemot. Although confronted by a group of about 400 armed and angry Cree warriors, the NWMP managed to apprehend Kāwīcitwemot peacefully. To appease the warriors, the NWMP provided large supplies of food. A violent episode that could have potentially trigged a larger battle or war between Indigenous peoples and the police was avoided, but the tensions that were evident came to a head with the outbreak of the Northwest resistance the following year. Hynes served in ‘D’ Division at Battleford, Northwest Territories (NWT) during the resistance, in what is now Saskatchewan, and fought in the battle of Cut Knife Hill on 2 May 1885. A letter he wrote to the Commissioner of the NWMP on 30 October 1931, contained in his NWMP file, details his service during the conflict. It states:

I was stationed in Battleford in 1885 and took part in the numerous schirmishes (sic) that occurred there during the blockade before the troops came up. I was detached for the Field Force under Colonel Herchmer and joined it at once. We left Battleford with the Force under Col Otter and marched to Cut Knife.

About daylight next morning we got in truck with the Indians and engaged them for about seven hours, getting back to Battleford that evening. There was no casualty list published but as far as I know we lost about seven men killed, two wounded. I do not think there are any of these now alive.

I have the honour to be, sir, your obedient servant.

John Hynes

For his service in the campaign, Hynes earned the Northwest Canada Medal with Saskatchewan clasp, one of the first 163 medals awarded to members of the force. Hynes’ service over the next fifteen years was marked by frequent charges for intemperance and associated indiscipline, which saw him move up and down the ranks of the force on a regular basis between each re-engagement. He was a Sergeant in the NWMP when he enlisted in Lord Strathcona’s Horse at Maple Creek, Northwest Territories, on 5 February 1900. He was assigned regimental service number 4 and was posted to C Squadron as Squadron Sergeant Major. It appears that Hynes was tapped fairly frequently to fill in as Regimental Sergeant Major in an acting capacity through much of the life of the regiment before being formally appointed to the position on a permanent basis in August 1900. When the unit was stationed in Ottawa on 22 February 1900, the Regimental Orders that day included mention in R.O. 92, that, “Acting R.S.M. Hynes will lecture to N. C. Officers of the Regiment every evening for at least one hour, on drill touching particularly upon wheeling and inclining, questioning the N.C. Officers during the lecture.” In the Regimental Orders of 25 May 1900, published by Major Belcher on board the S.S. Maplemore, R.O. 002 notes that, “Until further orders S.S.Major Hynes will act as Regimental Sergeant Major”.

In LCol Steele’s correspondence with Lord Strathcona sent on 20 July 1900, when the unit was at Leeuw Spruit, he mentions that “I was obliged to send Regtl. Sergeant Major Steele to Standerton some days ago. He received a strain which makes it impossible for him to ride. However, he will be useful there looking after our supplies, etc.”. Hynes was formally promoted to Regimental Sergeant Major on 22 August 1900 when the unit was stationed at Geluk’s Farm, replacing RSM Steele who had been granted a commission and appointed paymaster. In the Regimental Orders of 31 August 1900, 83 Private J.R. Stalker was assigned to Hynes as his batman until further notice. Hynes was mentioned in General Buller’s dispatch of 9 November 1900 as one of a number of men, “who have specially distinguished themselves”. He was mentioned again in Lord Roberts’ dispatch of 2 April 1901, “for meritorious services performed”. He was later awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal in the London Gazette of 27 September 1901. His award was one of 16 made to Canadians during the Boer War, out of a total of 2096 awards for the conflict. It was presented to him on 15 October 1902. His service file notes that his initial was misspelled in the entry notifying his award in the London Gazette. Comments on Hynes provided to his NWMP superiors by LCol Steele, which are contained in his NWMP service file, state: “Did excellent work, both as Q.M.S.M. and afterwards as R.S.M. In fact, I consider that his work in “C” Squadron made it what it became, one of the best. Great favourite with the men.” Hynes had returned to Canada with Lord Strathcona’s Horse on 8 March 1901, but his popularity as a leader saw him sought out to return to South Africa for a second tour of duty as RSM of the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles under LCol T.D.B. Evans. He enlisted at Moosomin, NWT on 11 December 1901, and returned to Canada in July 1902. For his service in South Africa, Hynes was awarded the Queen’s South Africa Medal with clasps Natal, Orange Free State, Belfast, South Africa 1901 and South Africa 1902; his medal appears to have been one of those that had the dated reverse, but Hynes had the dates erased, and had 1900-1901 engraved in their place. Hynes retired from the North West Mounted Police on 13 January 1904. An Order in Council on 19 August 1904 granted him a life pension of $111.67 per year in recognition of his 20 years of service. His NWMP service file contains a great deal of correspondence about the issue of his pension, which had been complicated by his broken service in the force as a result of his time in South Africa. He actually had to delay his retirement by two years, as a result of a rule which stated his pension would be based on the average of his total police pay over the course of his last three years of service. Despite a great deal of intervention by Superintendent Steele and other senior NWMP personnel, it took an extended period of time and several letters from Hynes before adjustments were made to his total pension amount to address the unfair impact on the latter that his willing service in South Africa had imposed. Hynes retired to Loughrea, County Galway, Ireland, where he died on 29 March 1933.

I was aware that the three medals Hynes had been awarded had all survived. His NWC Medal and QSA had been purchased separately by a UK collecting colleague in the 1980s, his NWC Medal turning up in a Donald Hall sales list in 1984, and his QSA at Glendinings in 1988. I knew his DCM had been in the collection of Major Charles Lovell, MBE, which was sold back in 1978 at Sothebys, and I had last spotted it for sale at Jeffrey Hoare's Auction 14 in 1994. I had actually handled it during the viewing before the latter sale and bid on it, on my friend's behalf, at the auction - sadly, I was unsuccessful, and it disappeared into the woodwork. It happily turned up again for sale here in Canada early this year, and I was able to purchase it to avoid it disappearing again. The owner of the remainder of Hynes' group, who I had not corresponded with for a few years, had sadly passed away, and I learned from one of his colleagues that his collection had been sold, with most of it apparently coming to Canada. Some more detective work here resulted in me tracking Hynes' pair down early this month, and discussion with the collector who had purchased them led the latter to agree to sell them to me to reunite with his DCM.

I suspect that these medals have been separated for almost 90 years, and the feeling I had when I unwrapped the pair this morning, gave them a gentle cleaning, and put them into my cabinet with Hynes' DCM would be hard to describe. As a former member of Lord Strathcona's Horse, I appreciate Hynes' significance in the history of my regiment, which makes it a sincere honour to be the custodian of the medals and awards he received for his service. I feel particularly fortunate that my interest as a collector in the medals awarded to members of the unit, and the extensive research and correspondence I have carried on with custodians of medals awarded to men from the Strathconas over the past 30 years, provided me with the insights that enabled this reunite, and I am overjoyed that I was able to finally bring them all back together after such a long period of time apart.

Kind regards,

Jim

References:
Queen’s South Africa Medal register (National Archives of Canada file RG 9 II A 5)
South African War Service files (National Archives of Canada file RG 38 1A)
Clare, M.W. (Ed.), Strathcona’s Horse Letters and Weekly Reports Between Lt. Col. S.B. Steele and Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal, (Calgary, 1992)
RCMP Graves Database website entry for 995 S/M John Hynes
Irwin, R.W., Distinguished Conduct Medal, Awards to Canadian for the South African War, Canadian Military Medals and Insignia Journal, June 1979, Vol 15 (2), pp. 840-843.
Strathcona's Horse Routine Orders for the Boer War