TOPIC:

From: MONUMENTS AND BATTLEFIELDS OF THE TRANSVAAL WAR 1881 AND THE S.A. WAR 1899, by J. L. Smail, Published 1966, Limited Edition 1500 Copies...…

Best I can do without a larger scanner......

Mike

Smethwick
In the words of Henk Loots: "That I could covet!" Have been on the lookout for a man linked to that action for ages.
BTW, My copy of Palmer shows your man as serving with the 5th Mounted Infantry.
Regards
IL.

This is another account of the Fort Prospect engagement - found by the link I provided previously. It is obviously a display board at the site and online you can find a website offering tours of the site along with Fort Itala.

George Duckworth is mentioned as the only person to be killed in the engagement. the South Lancs do not get a mention but the 5th Mounted Infantry do. So, presumably at the time George had been seconded from the South Lancs. At least 4 South Lancs were kia on the day but they were at Fort Itala.

George's personal effects record.

Dave.....

Many thanks Dave. The Medal roll I put up previously for him has his service number as 4176 - this was obviously a case of numerical dyslexia by the gent who filled out the medal roll. The 4167 shown on the document you have found was his correct service number with the S Lancs Rgt.

Yesterday evening i went on a further voyage of discovery with George. I found his local militia attestation forms against a service number of 3040 and then his service records for his time with the S Lancs. The FMP transcriber has had an even worse attack of numerical dyslexia and logged them against a service number of 7147. The latter have also been logged as WW1 burnt records which does not help find them. So, unusual to find a service record for a died in service soldier.

Finally your document shows he married somebody called "Mary A", something which has escaped his biographers on Ancestry. I have found a 1898 marriage in the right neck of the woods between a George Duckworth and a Mary Ann Pilkington. Don't think he married into glass "aristocracy" as Pilkington seems a very common name in Lancs as does Duckworth. So I now have a pretty complete "picture" of him.

I feel fortunate indeed to have yesterday at auction, acquired a QSA with Transvaal clasp (also entitled to SA01) to 4578 Pte T. Saunders Royal Lancaster Regiment (MI) POW in the attack on Vryheid (Lancaster Hill) 11-12-1900 and later to be Killed in Action at Fort Itala, 26th September 1901.
Having read the accounts of the action above, I feel that I have added something very special to my collection.

i attach images obtained from the auction house, you will note that the initial is shown as "J" as opposed to "T", and that the medal has had a pin attached to the rear of the Transvaal clasp to be worn (presumably) as a mourning brooch. I think that I will leave it as is affixing ribbon and just slide a SA01 on the ribbon. I have read where the SA01 was issued off a roll dated 1903, and it is highly probable that the clasp was received after the NOK had made the alterations to the medal for wearing.