TOPIC:

David
Thank you for a superb posting and covering so many conflicts involving one family with such detail and courage over the generations.
Pity not still in the family
The first Waterloo medal l have seen. Interesting to see their value today
Clive

This was posted on the London Medal Co site on Friday and had been sold by this morning.



Described as:

The important South Africa Boer War and Great War Sheffield Pals First Day of the Battle of the Somme Commanding Officer casualty group awarded to Major A. Plackett, 12th Service Battalion (The Sheffield City Pals), York and Lancaster Regiment, formerly a Corporal with the 9th Yorkshire Hussars Company, 3rd Battalion, Imperial Yeomanry. Plackett from Harrowgate, Yorkshire was a banker in civil life, but saw service during the Boer War with the Yorkshire Hussars, being present on operations in the Cape Colony, Orange Free State and the Transvaal during 1901 and 1902. Plackett obtained a commission during the Great War as a Major with the Sheffield City Battalion, and after a brief period of service in Egypt at the beginning of 1916, in April of that year was then posted to the Western Front where his battalion brigaded in the 94th Brigade alongside the 1st and 2nd Barnsley Pals of the York and Lancaster Regiment, and also the Accrington Pals of the East Lancashire Regiment, went into the line opposite the fortified town of Serre. Plackett was serving as the commandant of the 31st Division School, when owing to the battalion commander being taken ill, he then found himself appointed to command of the battalion and on course for his place in the history books, in holding command of a famous Pals battalion for the opening of the Somme Offensive on 1st July 1916, in what became known as the infamous first day of the Battle of the Somme. The Sheffield City Battalion would have the dubious honour of being on the extreme left of the 15-mile British front opposite Serre. At 7.30 am the bombardment stopped and the four waves of the battalion rose and advanced into a devastating hail of machine gun bullets and artillery fire. They were caught in machine gun fire from their exposed left and their front. The third and fourth waves were cut in half before they even reached No-Mans land. Practically the whole battalion had been wiped out, and amongst the casualties was Plackett, who was badly wounded, being eventually invalided from service in July 1917.

Picture courtesy of Noonan's

DSO GV;
QSA (2) Cape Colony, South Africa 1902 (Lieut: G. D. Mann, Imp: Yeo:) second clasp a contemporary copy;
AGS 1902 (1) N. Nigeria 1906 (Lieut: G. D. Mann. R.F.A.);
1914-15 Star (Major G. D. Mann. R.F.A.);
British War and Victory Medals, with MID (Brig. Gen. G. D. Mann.)

DSO London Gazette 14 January 1916.

MID London Gazette 31 May 1916 (Cameroons), and 7 March 1918 (East Africa).

George Duncan Mann was born on 28 August 1876, son of Horace and Mina Mann. Educated at Repton, he was gazetted 2nd Lieutenant in the Norfolk Artillery Militia on 12 April 1898. He then joined the Royal Artillery on 5 May 1900, being made Lieutenant on 1 May 1901; Major on 30 October 1914; and Temporary Brigadier-General on 19 October 1917.

Mann served in the South African war in 1902 with the 132nd Company (Irish Horse) Imperial Yeomanry (Queen’s Medal with 2 clasps).

He was employed with the West African Frontier Force from 1905 to 1909, and served in West Africa (N. Nigeria) in 1906 (Medal with clasp). He was again employed with the W.A.F.F. from 1911 to 1918, and entered the Cameroons theatre of war on 24 August 1914, commanding the Artillery in the Northern Cameroons in 1915 (Despatches). Mann then commanded the column operating from Ibi, on Banzo and Jaundi, from July 1915 to February 1916; commanded Nigerian Brigade in all fighting, from October 1917 to February 1918; and commanded British Troops south of the Rouma River, in Portuguese East Africa, from December 1917 to February 1918 (Despatches three times (sic), Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel; 1914 Star (sic)).

Two of his brothers were killed in action, one in 1915, and the other in 1916, and his fourth brother was wounded.

2/Lt George Duncan Mann, PWO Norfolk Artillery, Yarmouth, May 1899 from Sancroft Holmes, Hon Lt Col J. 1910. Diary of the Norfolk Artillery 1853--1909. Jarrolds & Sons, Norwich. 2nd edition, 169 pp.



If you know how I can avoid the interference pattern on this scan, please send me an email.

Rob.

Rob,

My experience is counter-intuitive but effective. In Photoshop you can slightly blur the image to remove the interference and then sharpen the image.

If you email me the high resolution image I will have a go at that for you.

Best wishes
David

Picture courtesy of Noonan's

QSA (4) Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal, South Africa 1901, unofficial rivets between state and date clasps (6024 Pte. P. Chillingworth. 39th. Coy. 10th. Imp: Yeo:);
Special Constabulary Long Service Medal GV (2) The Great War 1914-18, Long Service 1929 (Sergt. Percy Chillingworth)

Percy Chillingworth served with the 39th (Berkshire) Company, 10th Battalion Imperial Yeomanry in South Africa during the Boer War.