TOPIC:

Have just been shown a QSA medal with the following claps - Talana, South Africa 1902, Orange Free State and Cape Colony. The private's name and number have been defaced but it is possible to make out some of the letters and numerals. The private was in the Rifle Brigade
What is the best way of finding out who it belonged to?
The medal was won in a gambling match by a Boer War soldier of the Royal Irish Fusiliers!

Good afternoon,
A very strange combination of clasps, are all the clasps original, are they original to this particular medal, in what order are they mounted and what do the rivets look like, are they all original?
I would not expect to see that entitlement in WO100/210 for any Rifle Brigade battalion.
Regards Frank

Hello Frank,
The clasps are in the order of uppermost - Talana,then SA 1902, then Orange Free State and at the bottom Cape Colony. The story goes that this medal and clasps were won at gambling, and the winner lost his SA medal and clasps but gained someone else's, hence my interest in finding out who the original recipient was. The winner was in the Royal Irish Fusiliers during the Boer War, but this medal has Rifle Brigade engraved on it.
Regarding the rivets, what should I be looking for?
Thankyou.Llinos

Hello,
The clasps, if they are original, are not in the correct order, it sounds like the erasure is not the only issue here, was the medal engraved or impressed? official rivets look like this, the four from the right are official and the one on the left is not.
Regards Frank

Thankyou Frank
I have emailed your photo to the 'guardian' of the medal, and expect to hear something this evening.
I'm going to Kew in February so will have to look up the QSA medal roll and see what I find!
Llinos

Frank
Have just been on ancestry and have found a soldier who may have been the original recipient of this medal in the 5th Bn Rifle Brigade. Is it the Talana clasp which shouldn't be there? I've just looked at the medal roll, and this soldier was awarded the other three clasps.