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Peter
Thank you for sharing the letter with us. I think that it is history at its best - written by a participant while events were still fresh in his mind. Such records are a blessing for armchair historians.
Regards
Brett

Morning Brett,
I don't think you have ever mentioned Stanley Smith to me before, anyway, I would certainly be keen to read the account you mention.
Regards Frank

Brett Hendey wrote: David

This is the first time that I have seen photographs of McPhail's medals. Thank you for posting them.

McPhail was effectively in charge of the 23 men of the Buffalo Border Guard at the time of the Battle of Isandlwana, since the regiment's only officer was away purchasing cattle to feed Lord Chelmsford's army. Fifteen of those men missed the battle by being away with a patrol of Colonials that had gone in search of the Zulu army. Five of the eight men who remained, including Dugal McPhail and my great-great uncle Charles Stretch, escaped and crossed back into the safety of Natal. Only one man, Trooper John Guttridge, died on the battlefield, while the two remaining were caught and killed when they were already in sight of the Buffalo River and safety.

The BBG's survival rate was unequaled by other regiments. Of those Colonials on the battlefield, the Natal Mounted Police lost 25 out of 34 men, the Natal Carbineers 22 out of 29, and the Newcastle Mounted Rifles 8 out of 15. Most of these men died in a last stand around Colonel Durnford, who was later to be regarded either as a hero by some or the architect of the disaster by others in the Anglo-Zulu War fan club. The reason for the BBG's high survival rate can be put down to the men being residents of the local area on the border with Zululand (hence the regiment's name), and they knew what to expect if they stayed to fight the hordes of Zulus that had confronted them.

Shown below is the only relic of the BBG in my possession, the medal awarded to Trooper Stanley Smith, who was a blacksmith and wagon maker at Helpmekaar, His partner in the business was the Trooper Guttridge, who died on the battlefield. (Apparently there are only two badges of the BBG known to exist, and I do not have one of them, hence the drawing of the badge.)

The most readily accessible account of the BBG is that of Terry Sole in his book 'For God, Queen and Country' (Token Publishers, 2011). If anyone would like a copy of my account written in 2010, please send me a PM.

Brett

Frank

Thank you for your interest. I was very fortunate to get Smith's medal. BBG medals seldom come on the market. I know because I have a vain hope that the one awarded to Charles Stretch will one day materialise. I suspect that one has long since disappeared into a melting pot. Charles had a 'drinking problem', and it is probable that the medal helped to sustain it.

Smith's medal was acquired by a local dealer, together with medals named to the Guttridge family, which found a home elsewhere. Since Stanley's partner in his blacksmithing business at Helpmekaar was the Guttridge who died on the Isandlwana battlefield, it is safe to assume that the two families were close, and that is how their medals all ended up with a Guttridge descendant..

Unfortunately, Stanley was not a good research subject, since I could not find out his place in the Smith clan. There were several Smiths prominent in the early history of Dundee and the Biggarsberg. They included William Craighead Smith, the Officer Commanding the BBG, who was away buying cattle when his regiment met its fate at Isandlwana.

I will e-mail you my account of the BBG later.

Regards
Brett

Morning Brett,
All received, very interesting indeed, many thanks.
Regards Frank

That was a great letter, Peter. Many thanks for sharing it with us.

Picture courtesy of DNW

QSA (3) Tal DoL Tr (3471 Band-Serjt: J. Richards. K.R.R.C.)
Army LS&GC VR (3471 Band Sgt. J. Richards. K.R.R.C.)

Joseph Richards was born in Wellington, Shropshire, in 1865 and attested for the 60th Rifles as a Boy on 22 November 1878. Ranked as a Bandsman in the 1st Battalion in September 1884, he was advanced to the rank of Band-Sergeant in May 1896. He was a survivor from the troopship Warren Hastings when she ran aground and was wrecked off the Island of Reunion, on 14 January 1897. Awarded his Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal. in April 1898, he served with the 1st Battalion in India and Mauritius, and in South Africa from 12 March 1899 until 24 February 1901, and was discharged at Cork on 23 August 1901 after 22 years and 278 days’ service.



Sold together with a photographic image of the recipient alongside fellow Warren Hastings survivors. Has anyone seen a full copy of this picture?