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Picture courtesy of Aubrey's

QSA (4) Tugela Heights, Orange Free State, Relief of Ladysmith, Transvaal (3958 Pte H. Sheard 13/ Hussars);
KSA (2) (3958 Pte H. Sheard 13th Hussars);
1914 Mons Star with date clasp (25847 Pte. H. Sheard 11/Hrs);
BWM (25847 Pte. H. Sheard 11-Hrs);
VM (25847 Pte. H. Sheard 11-Hrs).

Picture courtesy of Aubrey's

QSA (4) Tugela Heights, Orange Free State, Relief of Ladysmith, Transvaal (3133 Pte. T. F. Gunning, 13/ Hussars);
KSA (2) (3133 Pte. T. F. Gunning, 13th Hussars);
Army LS%GC GV (5547 Pte. T. F. Gunning, 11/ Hrs.).

Picture courtesy of Noonan's

QSA (3) Orange Free State, Relief of Ladysmith, Transvaal (4551. Pte. G. F. Jones. 13/Hussars) engraved naming.

I have not been able to verify these clasps. Name crossed through on the main roll, WO100/117p167, with a note saying 'supplementary'.

Gilbert Thomas. Born 1879. Shoemaker. Served in South Africa 19 May to 25 September 1900, 130 days. Discharged 2 July 1902. No clasps listed on his service papers. If his service papers are correct, he arrived too late to be entitled to the RoL clasp.

William Mahon was born on the 19th April 1867 in Baltinglass, Wick, Ireland to Thomas & Eliza (nee Cahill) Mahon. He enlisted with the 13th Hussars on the 2nd July 1896 at the age of 29 years old where he had been working as a Horse Trainer prior to enlistment.

William must have shown great leadership or previous military experience as he held the rank of Seargent by the time the Anglo Boer War broke out in 1899.

Anglo Boer War

The Regiment deployed to South Africa for the Second Anglo Boer War, sailing on the Montfort and Templemore, and arrived in South Africa (Durban) in the beginning of December 1899 to join the Ladysmith relief force. They were present at the battle of Colenso on 15 Dec 1899 but not heavily engaged and the squadrons were utilised through the operations culminating in the relief of Ladysmith on the 27th February 1900. The Regiment was mainly employed after June 1900 and up to the end of the year on the Standerton-Newcastle line.

Extract from History of the XIII Hussars by C. R. B. Barrett, p127

At 4 A.M. on December 2, Captain Wiggin with the squadron, 150 mounted infantry, 150 infantry, and two guns, moved out to clear a farm some ten miles to the east. The removal of the mealies there was opposed by a strong force of Boers, who nearly succeeded in cutting off a party of the T.M.I. The enemy had possession of a kraal from which they were firing heavily. Under cover of the guns Captain Wiggin with some mounted infantry advanced on foot and turned them out. Eventually the enemy were driven off and the force returned to Standerton, escorting four waggon-loads of mealies, &c. During the fight Private Ware was slightly wounded in the face, and Sergeant Mahon, who had taken on his horse an officer of the T.M.I., who had been dismounted, had a heavy fall over wire, and was unfortunately incapacitated for three months from the effects.

With Sergeant Mahon incapacitated for 3 months he retuned to the regiment at the beginning of March 1901 just in time for the fight at De Lange’s Drift.

De Lange’s Drift

The orders came on the 3rd of March 1901: the squadron was to march for Vrede, joining General Barr Campbell’s column. At dawn the following day, the men set out, the Grenadier Guards, Imperial Yeomanry, and artillery moving in concert. By evening they reached De Lange’s Drift, the river crossing quiet and empty, no sign of the enemy.

The next morning the column pressed on, and by late afternoon they entered Vrede. The march had been long and hard, the rear-guard harried by some two hundred Boers who shadowed the flanks through the rough hills. Lieutenant Pepys’ half-squadron bore the brunt of this pursuit, firing until their ammunition was nearly spent. Yet, despite the constant skirmishing, only one man of the Yeomanry was wounded.

Rain fell in torrents over the next days, holding the column fast at Vrede. When at last they moved again, reinforcements joined them—the 2nd Leinster Regiment and two more guns. The march was slow, the roads heavy with mud, and the drifts swollen with floodwater. Engineers worked tirelessly to repair crossings, while cavalry squadrons held the high ground against Boer snipers. Convoys struggled across, wagon by wagon, in a process that stretched into thirty weary hours.

On the 14th of March, the squadron moved out once more. Captain Wiggin led the advance guard, while Lieutenant Twist commanded the right rear-guard. Twist’s men were ordered to hold a rocky ledge to shield the convoy. It was a perilous position, exposed and thinly manned, but vital to the safety of the column.

For nearly an hour, the small party endured a storm of rifle fire from two to three hundred Boers. Bullets struck sparks from the rocks, the air thick with smoke and dust. Among those holding the line was Sergeant W. Mahon, a seasoned and respected non-commissioned officer. Calm under fire, he rallied his men, urging them to stand fast against the odds.

Then came the fatal shot. Mahon was struck through the head. Though he lingered until the following day, the wound was mortal. His comrades carried him back, but nothing could be done. The regiment mourned deeply; he was remembered as one of its most gallant soldiers.

With artillery support, Twist’s half-squadron withdrew from the ledge, regrouping on a grassy slope where cover was scarce. The Boers pressed hard, but the men held, suffering only one further wound. Elsewhere, confusion reigned—an accidental volley from a Yeomanry flank-guard struck down Private Parr, a grim reminder of the chaos of battle.

Meanwhile, Wiggin’s advance guard reached the Klip River at De Lange’s Drift. The crossing lay before them, but the river was in flood, the drift impassable. With no way forward, the column camped on the southern bank, the day’s fighting behind them, the loss of Sergeant Mahon weighed heavily on the regiment.

For his gallant endeavours in South Africa William was both posthumously awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal & Mentioned in Dispatches
 
Extract from History of the XIII Hussars by C. R. B. Barrett

William was buried in the Vrede Cemetery and commemorated on the 13th Hussars Boer War memorial in Royal Garrison Church of All Saints, Farnborough Road, Aldershot, Hampshire, England.
Ref: www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/261604