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Picture courtesy of Spink

QSA (3) Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Belfast (7242 Pte G. F. Davies, Gren: Gds:), edge bruising, light contact marks, suspension loose, very fine

Spink say 'G F Davies served with the 3rd Battalion, Grenadier Guards during the Second Anglo-Boer War, he returned to Britain on 24 May 1901; sold together with copied medal rolls.'

Clasps verified. Also entitled to SA01 and SA02. KSA roll entry crossed through.

Poor quality picture courtesy of Warwick and Warwick

QSA (4) Cape Colony, Driefontein, Johannesburg, Diamond Hill (Pte Gren Gds);
Army LSGC GV (4434 L.Cpl M.J. Wright G. Gds)

Warwick and Warwick state 'With 4 copied pages of service record, Martin James Wright was born near Newport Pagnell, enlisted 14/8/93, served South Africa 16/3/00 to 15/2/01, clasps confirmed, discharged 8/9/11, died of aortic disease 16/10/46.'

6899 CORPORAL HENRY ALFRED HONEY: 3RD BATTALION GRENADIER GUARDS
KILLED IN ACTION AT BELMONT ON 23RD NOVEMBER 1899.

Henry Alfred Honey was born in around 1879 at Stamford, a village in Lincolnshire right on the border with Northamptonshire. He was baptized on the 2nd November 1879 at Stamford-Baron, Northampton, England.

The great Census of 1881 tells us that Henry was the son of Charles Honey, a 30 year old Foreman Carpenter, and his 32 year old wife Annie (nee Leaver) who lived at Burghley Pilsgate Lodge, Pilsgate (Northampton), Stamford, Northamptonshire
The one year old Henry was the youngest child of the family which at that time comprised of; Mary E (9), Ada A (7), Lizzie M (5), Edith (4), Frederick C (2).
The profession of Foreman Carpenter obviously provided well for the Honey family as they were able to afford the services of Sarah J. Crane (16) a General Domestic Servant.

1891 finds the family residing at Burghley Lodges, Stamford Road, Barnak, Stamford, Northamptonshire. Father Charles was now Manager of Estate Works, Carpenters etc.
Henry was now an 11 year old Scholar, sisters Mary and Lizzie were both Dressmakers. The family was also expanded with the addition of William J (9) and Edward E (1). No mention of Ada, who would be of eligible age for employment and maybe fledged the nest, nor Frederick.


Passenger list for "Rakaia"

On the 8th December 1898, the Honey family were on a 90 day voyage aboard the "Rakaia" (under Master J. A. Sutcliffe) a ship of The New Zealand Shipping Company bound for Cape Town in South Africa. An artisan with Charles Honey's skills would have been much in demand in building the empire in South Africa, especially as he had project management experience on a large English estate.
Henry Alfred Honey's name does not appear on the passenger manifest as shown above, so I consider it safe to assume that he was already serving Queen, Country and Empire with the Grenadier Guards. However, the fates were at play, and it would not be long before there was to be a poignant family reunion on South African shores.

As we know the maelstrom of conflict was set in motion in South Africa between the two Boer republics and the mighty British Empire.
Henry, as part of the 3rd Battalion Grenadier Guards embarked for the war at Gibraltar on 25th October 1899 aboard the ship "Ghoorka". The battalion arrived at the Cape on 15th November 1899, little knowing that within eight days 23 of their number would be dead, killed in action or died of their wounds.

It was when the ship entered the Cape Town port for disembarkation of the troops that those about to be moved up to the front had the cherished opportunity to meet with relatives who were already "in-country". 6889 Corporal Honey was lucky enough to be one of these men as detailed in the following extract from a newspaper as referenced below.


Taken from a New Zealand publication "Evening Star," dated 13th January, 1900; page 3.

"A PATHETIC INCIDENT"
Just one week before the Grenadier Guards landed at the docks at Cape Town and we're entrained alongside the ship for the front, notice to that effect had been published in the morning papers, and, there being a very near relative of mine in the Grenadiers, I (writes an "Old Soldier" in the Sydney News), went down to the docks to see him. Only those having relatives amongst the officers or men were allowed to pass the line of sentries posted at the end of the wharf, so there were not many mingling with the men. While talking to my friend our attention was drawn to a little group just inside the door of a coal shed. An old Englishwoman and her daughter had their arms around a smart, well set-up young corporal; while an old man was looking on proudly at the young fellow, who was over 6ft. I found out that the old couple with their daughter, had travelled down from a back block town to see their son, whom they had left behind them in England. Their meeting only lasted about fifteen minutes, when the bugles sounded the fall in, and the mother parted with her boy for ever in this world, for the other day in the obituary list of the Cape 'Argus' appeared the following notice:- ' Killed in action at Belmont, Corporal Henry Honey, Grenadier Guards, in his 21st year, the beloved son of H and J Honey of Stamford, England.'

And so we see the poignancy of that last final family reunion as Corporal Honey was one of the 25 men of the 3rd Battalion Grenadier Guards to have been killed in action or died of wounds at the battle of Belmont on 23rd November 1899. At least they got to say their farewells briefly and so were fortunate in that respect.

Henry was a member of 4 Company at the time of the battle. Other comrades who were in the same company and lost their lives at Belmont as follows:

KILLED IN ACTION
6697 Lance Corporal C. Drury
3135 Private W. Griffith's
6801 Private E. Mansfield
5899 Private J. Stevenson

DIED OF WOUNDS
Lieut. W. B. H. Blundell (23/11/1899)

I will not enter into an account of the Battle of Belmont here, but would refer the reader to the threads on this website detailing the Grenadier Guards in the Unit Information section of the forum and also to the thread 'Belmont'. Also the account "First or Grenadier Guards 2nd and 3rd Battalions in South Africa 1899-1902" is most informative and still available at reasonable cost from Naval and Military Press.

The Army Register of Deceased Soldier's Effects (100149) lists 6889 Honey as a Lance Corporal (as do the above mentioned book). A sum of just 7 shillings was retained for his father. Payment had not been effected by 27th October 1902. One can assume that his poor father may have just been too heartbroken to want to claim it.


Queen's South Africa medal with single clasp Belmont awarded posthumously to 6889 CORL H. A. HONEY GREN:GDS:


A very pleasing darkening tone to the medal and possibly original ribbon.


The medal would, of course, have been forwarded to the Honey family in South Africa where they were resident.
It came into my possession from a dealer with connections in SA, so maybe this has not been on the market previously. I am very pleased to be it's custodian for a while.

MEMORIALS TO 6889 CORPORAL HENRY ALFRED HONEY

KIMBERLEY, WEST END GR

Watt (2000) tells us that he is commemorated along with his comrades on the monument at Kimberley West End where he was finally reinterred from the battlefield burial site.

THE GUILDHALL, NORTHAMPTON

There are four memorial tablets commemorating the men of Northampton who died during the Anglo Boer War located within the entrance porch (centre of building with the three arches) of the town's Guildhall as can be seen above.


The plaque showing Grenadier Guards


Close-up showing Honey amongst his comrades.

PETERBOROUGH
I believe there may be another memorial bearing his name here, but have yet to visit.

AND WHAT OF THE FAMILY?



It would appear that they remained in South Africa. The above Death Notice for Henry's widowed father at the age of 71 in Transvaal testifies to this.
The children named on this document includes Ada and Frederick C who were absent from the 1891 Census back in England. So they just were not at home on census day!

This has been a most interesting man to research. With the absence of any extant attestation papers, I assume that the QSA with single clasp Belmont was his sole medal. An unusual surname and the lucky find of the newspaper clipping from Oz-base have certainly helped.

Does anyone else have any more information on this proud Grenadier? I would welcome any input.

Cheers Steve

6889 CORPORAL HENRY ALFRED HONEY: 3RD BATTALION GRENADIER GUARDS

Owing to the 10 image limit on previous post to this thread please find below the appropriate medal rolls.

A GOOD READ ON THE GRENADIER GUARDS IN SOUTH AFRICA

5777 PRIVATE JOHN WALTER ARGENT: 3RD BATTALION GRENADIER GUARDS

John Walter Argent was born in Swansea, Glamorganshre, Wales. Various sources give a number of different birth years, but I will go with the 1939 Census which gives 9th September 1875.

John was living at 95 New Oxford Street in Swansea in 1881, along with his English born parents, father Isaac, a 35 year old Labourer who originally hailed from Barrow-in-Furness, Westmoreland and mother Mary who was 33years old and born in London. John was five years old and had siblings Abraham (11) and Mark H (3).

Census 1891 finds the Argent family now living at Vincent Street, Swansea. John, now 16, followed the same occupation as his father and brother Abraham as a General Labourer. Young Mark was a Grocer's Errand Boy.

John was not to remain a General Labourer in Swansea and at some point was attracted to the adventure of attesting to the Grenadier Guards for a life of travel, discipline and potential conflict in foreign fields for Queen, Country and Empire. Unfortunately, I have been unable to raise his attestation papers from the usual FindMyPast sources, so my information comes from census events and newspaper articles.


QSA and KSA awarded to 5777 Private J W Argent


Possibly renamed KSA?



A classic QSA pair to a man of the 3rd Battalion Grenadier Guards.
But, we do know that he was one of the many Welshmen present at the Guards' baptism of fire at the battle of Belmont on 23rd November 1899 and also present at the following action at Modder River. He had experienced the horrors of being under a withering fire and seen comrades knocked over all around him and tasted bittersweet victory once they had run the Boers from their position at the point of a bayonet.

Medal Rolls WO100/163 and WO100/317 confirm John's entitlement to the QSA, KSA and clasps. The latter roll notes that he was "To England 27.6.02."

I have found no evidence of any further medal entitlement for Sudan etc., and so it seems likely that these are his only medals.

Once his military career had ended we find him marrying Maria Emery at Bridgwater in Somerset in quarter 3 of 1917. She was 16 years his junior..

It would appear that the couple did not have any children as the future censuses would infer.

Census 1921 tells us that the couple were residing in Bridgwater at number 9 Polden Street along with Mary Ann Emery (John's widowed mother in law) and boarders Frank and Maude Thyer.
John (44 years and 8 months old) was, by trade, a Plumber and Domestic Engineer working for Messrs. Pittard and Sons, Builders, Longport, Somerset.

He was still living at the same address in 1939 and was now classed as "Incapacitated", his health obviously in decline.

The following year, 1940, records the death of John William Argent. As evident from a report of his funeral, his military service was something of which he would have been extremely proud.

From the "Somerset County Herald," dated; Saturday, February 24th, 1940:

"FUNERALS OF RESIDENTS"

"MR. J. W. ARGENT"

"Military honours were accorded at the funeral in the Bristol -road Cemetery on Thursday of Mr. John Walter Argent of 9 Polden Street, whose death was reported last week. Mr. Argent had served in the Grenadier Guards, and had acted as a trainer to the Bridgwater Rugby Football Club. The Reverend P. M. Taylor, vicar of St. John's, officiated. The mourners were:- Mrs. Argent (widow), Mr. A. Argent (brother), Mr. and Mrs. H. Emery (brother and sister in law), Mr. and Mrs. L. Pollard (nephew and niece), F. Coles, Congresbury (nephew).
Among those at the graveside were Mr. L. H. Hayter, T. J. M. Barrington, Mr. D. J. Snook and Mr. R. Bird (the latter representing St. John's Ambulance Brigade). The coffin was covered with the Union Jack, from Taunton Barracks, and after the interment, the "Last Post" and "Reveille" were sounded by Bugler Cox (S.L.I. Taunton Depot).
The funeral arrangements were by Messrs. J. E. Gilbert and Sons, St. John Street."

Any further information regarding attestation papers would be most welcome.

Cheers Steve