TOPIC:

djb wrote: Another relief casualty. The NFF role says killed at Colenso 15 Dec 99 whereas Watt records died of dysentery 17 Dec 99. DNW say wounded at Colenso and DOW on 17 Dec.

QSA (1) RoL (5026 Pte. C. Gray, Devon: Regt.)

Picture courtesy of DNW

DNW's info comes from the medal roll. Newspapers state KIA.

Novice question - Does this mean that it could be awarded even if they did not participate in the actual relief? ie just by being in Northern Natal between those dates? thanks Darryl

Darryl
The clasp "Relief of Ladysmith" was " granted to all troops in Natal North of and including Estcourt between 15 December 1899 - 28 February 1900 inclusive". All those troops were deemed to have contributed to the success of the Ladysmith relief.
Regards
IL.

Picture courtesy of Spink

Sudan (4120 Pte P. Towler 2/Lan. Fus.);
QSA (1) RoL (4120 Pte. P. Towler, Lanc: Fus:);
Khedive's Sudan (1) Khartoum (4120. Pte. P. Towler. 2nd. L.F.)

The catalogue erroneously states the clasp is DoL.

P. Towler was wounded at Spion Kop on 24 January 1900 whilst serving with the 2nd Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers.

The Battle was little short of a massacre for the men of the Lancashire Fusiliers. As the fog lifted and Boer shells began to reign down upon the plateau commanded by British troops, Commandant Henrik Prinsloo, responding to Botha's call for reinforcements, led his 88-man strong Carolina Commando onto Aloe Knoll, 400 yards east of the British position. From there, Prinsloo's marksmen unleashed a deadly fire on the unsuspecting men of the Lancashire Fusiliers, who were on the extreme right flank. The 'Khakis' as the Boers called them, never knew what hit them - seventy were later found dead with bullet holes in the right sides of their heads.

Grimly, the British held on to a 400-yard-wide battlefield. The men in the ranks squirmed into every square inch that they could find in the rocky topsoil, but it did little good - Boer artillery shells dismembered entire files of soldiers as they lay whilst the sharpshooters dealt with those who dared raise their heads off the ground.

According to The Spion Kop Despatches, the Principal Medical Officer reported at 7.30 p.m. on 24 January that 150 wounded had been brought in, that every available stretcher of 4th, 10th and 11th Brigades had been sent, and 24 ambulances as well. The wounded were brought down to the foot of Spion Kop and transferred to ambulances, which made their way to the field hospital at Wright's Farm.

QSA to Towler verified on WO100/179p93. He was invalided 31 March 1900.

Picture courtesy of DNW

QSA (1) RoL ((5731 Pte. W. Carroll. Rl: Lanc: Regt.)

Private W. Carroll died of wounds received in action at Spion Kop on 24 January 1900.

The regiment suffered 3 officers and 55 men either killed in action or died of wounds received at Spion Kop.