TOPIC:

Rory - Waugh also appears on the QSA roll for the Volunteer Composite Regiment as number 267 and qualifying for the Transvaal clasp. A note on the roll shows he was discharged medically unfit.

David

Yes indeed David - and in the body of my article above I make mention of that (see quote)

The Siege of Ladysmith came to an end on 28 February 1899 and Waugh, by now recovering from his wound, went with his regiment on a break to recuperate from the travails they had experienced. Thereafter he went with Buller into the Transvaal (at that time Utrecht and points north were classed as being Transvaal territory) as part of the Natal Volunteer Composite Regiment with no. 267. This group of approximately 300 men was made up of volunteers from all the premier Natal regiments and assisted greatly in the expulsion of the remaining Boer forces from Natal. Waugh commenced service with them on 1 October 1900 until they were disbanded, their services no longer deemed necessary, in March 1901. The medal roll in respect of Waugh noted that he was discharged “Medically Unfit” – perhaps his wound hadn’t properly healed.

See also the excerpt from the medal roll you refer to where is states that the Transvaal clasp earned whilst with the VCR was awarded off the NC Roll.



I suspect that the medal won on auction was to CR Waugh - my chaps brother - if not, and it is named to my man then I suspect foul play.

Regards

Rory

Hi Rory,
I've just sent you a private email with a link to the auction site. I look forward to hearing from you.
All the best,
JL

I've PM'd you my e-mail address JL

Good morning all

Azyeoman and I have been in communication off-line in an effort to get to the bottom of this contretemps. This after he revealed that he had won the QSA to Waugh on an auction. After seeing this I broke out into a cold sweat and I was only able to confirm, this morning, that I still had Waugh's QSA. I have now fetched it home and taken a photo with todays date inserted on a scrap of paper, reminiscent of a hostage situation in the "old days" where the victim would be photographed holding an edition of the days newspaper aloft, to verify his existence!

I don't know if the one Azyeoman bought (and has now requested a refund for) is a fake or a copy - what I do know is that, according to the rolls, only one QSA was awarded to Waugh - the one you see in the photo below.

The words caveat emptor come to mind in this situation - there have been many reports on various forums, highlighting the sudden surge in questionable items being sold on a well-known on-line auction site.



Regards

Rory

Thanks Rory,
Yes, the medal in question, the fake, was offered on ebay and seemed to be good, but with Rory having what is beyond any doubt the real and official one, I asked the dealer for a refund, which he immediately issued. Sadly he said he had had one other from the source of the medals that was a fake too. So as Rory says, caveat emptor.