TOPIC:

I was equally surprised and delighted (with a tight auction budget) to have won this QSA to 2997 Private A. Lorde for £140 hammer today at M & E.
I can only assume that this good fortune was enabled by the abundance of riches available today. Some fantastically rare units.

Preliminary searches may reveal a brother/relative serving alongside the recipient, and further service within the empire's conflicts. Hopefully, I will be able to find out more.

I might be able to further the interest of my other half in my medal collecting now. She is of Jamaican ancestry, so this regiment has long been a life target for me.

2997 PRIVATE A. LORDE : 3RD BATTALION WEST INDIA REGIMENT


QSA with no clasps awarded to 2997 Pte. A. Lorde who served as a POW guard on St. Helena as confirmed on the medal roll for 3WIR (WO100/287).



Officially impressed number, rank and name to the rim.



Regimental naming.


POTENTIAL PREVIOUS SERVICE?

While making the usual searches I came across a medal roll (WO100/76) for the ,4th Ashanti war which had 3476 Private A. Lorde who served with the 2nd battalion West India Regiment thereon and eligible for a West Africa medal. Further, medal roll WO100/83 states that he was also entitled to the clasp 1897-98.
The latter document has his discharge from service as 13th April 1899.
So I surmise that he could have re-enlisted at a later date. Or, if assuming this is the same man, would he have been compelled to remain on reserve and then called back to the colours as in other imperial regiments?


Medal roll WO100/83 for 2WIR


Medal roll WO100/76 for 2WIR

Also interesting to note is that a 3490 Private J. Lorde appears on WO100/76, and 1040 Private J. Lorde stationed in Jamaica on WO100/83.

Potentially previous service and another family member? It would appear that if this is the case then service numbers may have been issued for each period of service.

If the QSA to Lorde has survived maybe there is a West Africa medal still out there aswell!!

References

Findmypast

Ancestry

ABW Forum

Further to my previous post, whilst perusing WO100/287, I noted the fatal casualty details for men of the 3rd West India Regiment. None would appear in the casualty rolls of Watt(2000), Palmer (1999) or Hayward (1982) because they never set foot on African soil during the second Anglo Boer War.

Here below a list of men who died, all on St. Helena while guarding Boer prisoners:

2754 Pte. W. Johnson---03/01/1901
2999 Pte. C. Jordan---21/06/1901
2737 Pte. A. Wray---19/03/1901
2983 Pte. J. Chatman---15/03/1901
3023 Pte. S. Henry---31/12/1900
2897 Pte. P. Myrie---30/04/1901
2967 Pte. G. Phillips---27/08/1900
3056 Pte. J. Wallace---19/05/1901

The details for each individual deceased soldier found on Find my past, clearly states that each man on the medal roll served on St. Helena after 14th April 1901.
I'm confused! All but three of the men listed above would have been dead before that date!

In 'Trouble on St. Helena: 1st bn West India Regiment' on The Anglo Boer Wars website Meurig Jones ( 2018) sets the scene in his description of the mutiny carried out by elements of the 1WIR .Following their 'surrender' they departed for Sierra Leone on 13th January 1901.
2754 Pte. W. Johnson died on 3rd January 1901 just as the mutiny ended. A victim of violence?

Meurig writes that 3WIR were on guard duty before the arrival of 1WIR. Did a number of the 3rd bn stay on after the mutiny? Or were they sent back to the island after the event?

I am hoping someone out there can shed more light on this. Perhaps I've missed something glaringly obvious (it would not be the first time!).

Any comments most gratefully appreciated.

A great addition to your collection, Steve, and already a research opportunity.