TOPIC:

In the September 2020 Medal News is a letter from Mick Kippin.

Continuing his thread on the FID, he queries an entry in the Medals Year Book 2020, p158, which says 'A small number of bronze medals without a clasp were issued to bearers and servants in Indian units'. Mick says his study of the roll shows that 260 native FID scouts received the bronze QSA, 258 with the clasp Belmont and two with no clasps. He asks why Belmont was the only clasp given to native scouts.

We will need to create a term for the misreading of the Belmont and Natal column ticks for clasp entitlement.

David
Mr. Kippin is clearly not familiar with the terms and conditions of the issue of Bronze QSAs. Yes, prima facie, certain rolls do give the impression of certain clasps being issued - and it pleases me that one of the chaps in my collection ("39 kneader Kuppusawmy, S@T Corps") would have been entitled to "Defence of Ladysmith" on his bronze QSA had clasps been authorised. We know they were not. And Mr. Kippin is not alone in his belief. As witness the recent NN auction.
Unfortunately, I can't think of a suitable acronym for misreading clasp entitlement. Perhaps "The Case of the Misread Tick"?
Best regards
IL.

Belmont was an extraordinary affaire, apparently, with huge numbers of Indian participants (some 200 to 300 lancers) most of whom took no futhur part in the war being repatriated only to return at the end of the war. The "Belmont" / "South Africa 1902" clasp combination, as confirmed on the rolls, is by far the most common combination available on silver medals to Indians. I hope this helps.

From Elite Collections, No 2 (date unknown).

CIE LG 5 June 1920;
DSO VR LG 20 May 1898;
IGS 1985 (3) Punjab Frontier 1897-98, Samana 1897, Tirah 1897-98 (Lt 1st Hyderabad Contgt);
QSA (1) Cape Colony (Capt DSO 1st Hyderabad Cont);
IGS 1908 (1) Afghanistan NWF 1919 (Brig Gen IA);
[ 1914-15 trio ]
1935 Jubilee
1937 Coronation

Charles Edward Every Francis Kirwan MacQuoid.
GVF £3,250

From the October sale.


Picture courtesy of DNW

QSA (0) bronze issue (35 Syce Lakha S. & T. Corps Bo. Cod.) suspension post repaired.

Last outing in public was at Philip Burman in 2012 where he listed it at £175.