TOPIC:

To start this topic off -


William Abbott, labourer, at 20 years and four months of age, attested for service in the Grenadier Guards as Private, 3121, in London on 13th August, 1891. He just scraped in as far as height was concerned (shown as 5ft, 8 and 5/8 inches when the minimum standard for the Guards was five feet and nine inches). Edward Spiers ("The Late Victorian Army") tells us that it was then difficult to find men of the necessary high physical standards for the Foot Guards due sickness and invalidity caused by the severity of sentry duties in London. Our man survived and transferred to the army reserve on 11/8/1898. He was recalled to Army service under Special Army Order of 7/10/1899.His South African service dates from 21/10/1899 to 20/8/1902 with the 3rd bn., Grenadier Guards.
"3121 Pte. W. Abbott of 3GG was awarded the Queens South Africa medal with the illustrated six clasps and the Kings medal with the usual two date clasps.
Stirling ("Our Regiments in South Africa") devotes several pages to the activities of 3GG and readers interested in that Regiment are suitably directed to that source.
On return from South Africa, Pte.W. Abbott served on in the reserve (1st Class and Sec.D) and was finally discharged at the termination of his engagement on 8/12/1907.
On 15/4/1915, aged 44 years, William Abbott signed up for one years' service in the TF in the 4th Bn., West Yorks Regiment. He had Home service until 4/3/1917 and then Reserve service until 30/4/17 when he was Discharged as "Surplus to Military requirements".
After a long and hopefully fruitful life, at the age of seventy-seven years, retired stevedore William Abbott died of natural causes on 3/7/1950 at Easton, County of York, with his married daughter present. What changes in Society he must have seen.
The illustrated, mounted pair was spotted on that favourite on-line auction site many years ago now and immediately appeaed to IL.
Hopefully others will post examples of QSA/KSA to the Grenadier Guards on this topic.
Regards to all
IL.

A great start to the thread, IL, thank you. A classic pair to the Grenadier Guards,

Picture courtesy of DNW

MC GV;
QSA (3) CC SA01 SA02 (9001 Pte. J. Clements. Gren: Gds: M.I.);
BWM & VM (Lieut. J. R. Clements.)

MC London Gazette 4 October 1919.

‘For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. On the night of 8/9th October , 1918, he was in charge of a party of sappers detailed to build a bridge over the Canal de l’Escaut to enable the infantry to cross to the attack. After man-handling general service wagons, loaded with material along a road under heavy fire, he pushed forward ahead and personally reconnoitred the bridge site. The bridge was completed under heavy shell fire, causing several casualties, and the infantry passed over it twenty-five minutes after the party arrived on the work.’

Picture courtesy of Spink

MC GV;
Queen's Sudan 1896-98 (2/Lt. Sir R. Filmer Bt. 1/Gren:Grds:);
QSA (5) Cape Colony, Driefontein, Johannesburg, Diamond Hill, Belfast (Lieut: Sir R. M. Filmer, Bt, Gren: Gds:);
KSA (2) (Lieut. Sir. R. M. Filmer. Bt. Gren.Gds.), officially impressed naming;
Khedive's Sudan (2nd Lieut Sir Robert Filmer. Grenadier. Guards. 1898.), naming officially engraved in block capitals;
1914-15 Star (Capt. Sir R. M. Filmer. Bt. G.Gds.);
British War and Victory Medals 1914-19 (Capt. Sir R. M. Filmer. Bt.).

MC London Gazette 22 January 1916: 'For conspicuous gallantry and skill near Neuve Chapelle on the night of 11th/12th December 1915. He made a reconnaissance of the German trenches previous to a successful attack, crawling down the entire length of one trench to a point where it joined another, finding out the best points to attack and the weak spots in the wire. The success of the enterprise was largely due to his reconnaissance and subsequent gallant conduct in the trenches.'

Robert Marcus Filmer was born on 25 February 1878, the youngest son of Sir Edmund Filmer, 9th Baronet and The Hon. Lady Georgina Caroline Filmer of East Sutton Park, Maidstone, eldest daughter of Lord Arthur Marcus Hill. He succeeded his father as 10th Baronet in 1886, aged just eight years. Educated at Eton from 1892-96, he played Fives for his house and was elected to the House Debating Society in 1896. One of his debating opponents was Winston Churchill, representing Harrow.



Filmer attended the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst and was gazetted as a 2nd Lieutenant with the Grenadier Guards in February 1898. He served with the 1st Battalion in the 1898 Nile Expedition, and was present at the Battle of Omdurman on 2 September 1898. The Grenadier Guards landed at Khartoum two days previously and held the left-centre of the British line during this famous action. Filmer then took part in the 2nd Boer War, arriving in the Orange Free State in February 1900. He fought at Poplar Grove, Driefontein, Vet River (5-6 May) and Zand River. Operations in Transvaal included Diamond Hill (11-12 June) and Belfast (26-27 August). On 27-29 November he served at Caledon River in Orange Free State. Returning home in 1902, Filmer resigned his regular commission and joined the East Kent Yeomanry in 1907, rising to Major on 2 August 1912. He twice stood for election as a Conservative M.P., first in North-West Durham in 1906 and then in Lincoln in 1910. Both attempts were unsuccessful.

The onset of the Great War saw Filmer return to what he knew best. Joining the newly-formed 4th Battalion, Grenadier Guards in early 1915, he arrived in France on 27 July that year, serving with No. 3 Company throughout the campaign. Led by Colonel Lord H. Seymour, the Battalion left billets at Annequin on 23 October and entered trenches opposite the Hohenzollern Redoubt. German shelling had reduced these trenches to a tangled morass, and considerable work had to be done to make them serviceable. Brigadier-General Heyworth inspected the trenches and praised the 4th Battalion for the zeal with which it set about this task. Two days later the Battalion retired to Allouagne, where it remained until 14 November. It then marched to Pont du Hem along the La Bassée Road, via Estaire, garrisoning trenches between Chapigny and Winchester Road. Every 48 hours it was relieved, returning to billets. This routine went on for nearly a month. On 12 December, the 4th Battalion carried out a brilliant raid which captured a German trench at very little cost to themselves. Filmer showed particular bravery and presence of mind on this occasion. The Regimental History records:

'At 8.15 p.m. Captain Sir Robert Filmer, accompanied by Sergeant Higgins and three men in No. 3 Company, went out to make a preliminary reconnaissance. By crawling right up to the enemy's trenches he succeeded in locating the exact position of the German machine-guns, and was able to confirm the report as to the gap in the enemy's wire entanglements. Captain Sir R. Filmer, who had already earned a name for bravery, crept quite alone down the entire length of the German trench, and carefully noted all he saw. On his return to our line the final orders were issued to the raiding party, consisting of thirty-three men from No. 3 Company, and the Battalion bombers under Lieutenant G. Ponsonby. The night was very dark, and it was difficult to see any landmarks. Sergeant Higgins led the party over the parapet at 11 p.m., and was followed by Captain Sir R. Filmer and a covering party. Silently they advanced, but lost direction slightly to the left, with the result that they missed the gap and found themselves held up by low wire entanglement. Sir R. Filmer came up to ascertain the cause of the delay, and after considering the situation decided to cut the wire and rush the trench. The wire-cutting was successfully done, although only a few yards from the German line, and the party, headed by Sergeant Higgins, dashed into the trench....

The bombing and bayoneting began in earnest, and the Germans were completely cleared out of the trench. The machine-guns, which were found to be too securely fixed to take away, were destroyed by bombs. It was during this trench fighting that the bombing officer, Lieutenant G. Ponsonby, was badly wounded in the leg. Private W. Sweetman, finding him unable to move, carried him on his back under heavy fire to our lines. The other casualties were one man missing and three wounded. This small number of casualties proved how well arranged the raid had been, and how brilliantly it had been carried out.'

General Sir Douglas Haig was generous in his praise for this 'well planned and well-executed operation', and Filmer was personally congratulated by General Lord Cavan. He was subsequently awarded the Military Cross. Christmas Day 1915 was spent in billets at Laventie, the 4th Battalion moving into trenches just outside that town on 13 January 1916. Key strongpoints in that vicinity were A1 Redoubt, Flank Post, and Firework Post. These were subjected to heavy shelling by the German artillery. It was during one of these bombardments, on 25 January, that Filmer was mortally wounded. The Regimental History takes up the tragic story:

'He had just left the trenches when he found he had lost his glasses. Being very short-sighted, he determined to go back and look for them, although he was warned that the road was bring heavily shelled at the time. With that supreme contempt for all shells that characterised his whole conduct since he came out, he rode back when a shell burst close to him, killing his horse and wounding him so severely that he died the next day.'

Filmer died of his wounds at No. 2 London Casualty Clearing Station. He lies in Merville Communal Cemetery (Grave Ref. VII. A. 4), eight miles north of Bethune, and is also commemorated on a stained glass window at St. Peter & St. Paul's Church, East Sutton. This window shows him in Guards uniform. A member of the Guards, Turf, Carlton and Beefsteak Clubs, Filmer never married; the ancient Filmer baronetcy became extinct upon his death.

Picture courtesy of DNW

Sudan (6030 Pte G. E. Paragreen 1/Gren: Gds:);
QSA (6) Belmont, Modder River, Driefontein, Johannesburg, Diamond Hill, Belfast (6030 Pte. G. E. Paragreen, Gren: Gds:);
KSA (2) (6030 Pte. G. Paragreen.Grenadier Guards.);
Khedive’s Sudan (1) Khartoum (Pte. G. E. Paragreen. Gren. Gds.) last with Regimentally impressed naming

George Ebenezer Paragreen was born at Blisworth, Northamptonshire, on 21 May 1871, and attested for the Grenadier Guards at Northampton on 5 October 1896. He served with the 1st Battalion in Egypt and the Sudan from 19 July to 7 October 1898, and, taking part in the advance on Khartoum, is believed to have fired the first rifle shot at the Battle of Omdurman, 2 September 1898:

‘At 6:40 a.m. the shouts of the advancing Dervish army became audible, and a few minutes later their flags appeared over the rising ground, forming a semicircle round our left and front faces. The guns of the 32nd Field Battery opened fired at 6:45 am. at a range of 2,800 yards, and the Dervishes, continuing to advance rapidly, delivered their attack with all their accustomed dash and intrepidity. The Battle of Omdurman had finally begun.
The men of Gatacre’s division - on the left-flank - had taken up positions behind a rough fence made of thorn bush. Before the battle had began, these men were ordered to fix bayonets and line the fence in two ranks, the front of which were kneeling while the rear rank remained standing. Captain F. W. Earle, the adjutant of the Warwicks, galloped up to the officers of his regiment and shouted to them: “Get into your places please, Gentlemen, the show is starting!”
As the Ansar advanced on this section of the zariba, Kitchener rode over and positioned himself behind Lyttleton’s 2nd Brigade. From here, he watched the warriors under Ibrahim al-Khali advance to within 2,000 yards of the British line, at which point a single shot rang out from the ranks of the Grenadier Guards. This ranging-shot, believed to have been fired by Private G. E. Paragreen, was then followed by an eruption of rifle fire from the Lee Metfords of the battalion. The rest of the 2nd Brigade then opened up, quickly followed by Wauchope’s 1st Brigade.
Thousands of lethal .303 bullets were now hurtling towards the packed, massed ranks of the Ansar. Soon, the entire zariba, including the Egyptian and Sudanese troops, were pouring rifle and Maxim fire into their oncoming attackers’ (The Sirdar and the Khalifa: Kitchener’s Reconquest of Sudan, by Mark Simner refers).

Paragreen transferred to the Army Reserve on 5 October 1899, but was recalled to the Colours just four days later for service during the Boer War, and served with the 3rd Battalion in South Africa from 21 October 1899 to 21 July 1902. He re-transferred to the Army Reserve on 17 March 1903, and was discharged on 4 October 1908, after 12 years’ service. He died at Daventry on 23 March 1951.

Picture courtesy of DNW

Sudan (6590 Pte: F. Carter. 1/Gren: Gds.);
QSA (6) Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Johannesburg, Diamond Hill, South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902 (6590 Pte. F. C. Carter, Grenadier Gds.);
Khedive Sudan (1) Khartoum (Pte. F. Carter. Gren. Gds.) regimentally impressed naming.

Provenance: Upfill-Brown Collection, Buckland, Dix & Wood, December 1991.

Frederick Carter attested for the Grenadier Guards on 11 June 1897 aged 18 years. He served on the Nile Expedition of 1898 and was slightly wounded in the leg. In South Africa, he served initially with the CIV, No. 1552, earning the first four clasps to his Queen's Medal in that unit. He then transferred back to the Grenadier Guards, Mounted Infantry, for the remainder of the war, earning the clasps South Africa 1901 and South Africa 1902. Carter was batman or private servant to Major Trotter, Grenadier Guards in the Sudan 1898, in the CIV (No. 1. Mounted Infantry Company) and later also in South Africa with the Grenadier Guards.

Carter was discharged on 10 September 1909. Major Trotter was subsequently killed in the Great War.

Sold with a silver open-faced presentation Pocket Watch, by Hamilton & Inches, Edinburgh, with black Roman numerals and subsidiary seconds dial, the outer case engraved ‘No. 6590 Private F. Carter Grenadier Guards, from Captain E. H. Trotter, DSO’, the inside back plate engraved ‘ - .No. 3 Coy. 1st. Bn. Gren. Gds. 1898 Egypt. Khartoum. - .CIV 1900 South Africa. Cape Colony, Orange River Colony, Johannesburg, Diamond Hill. - .No 1 Coy. Guards M.I. South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902. -’, the original inside glazed cover much scratched, otherwise in good condition and apparently in working order.