County: Lincolnshire
Issued on: Return
Dates of presentations: 07/07/1901, 24/10/1902
Number issued: 10 (33 a possiblity, but unlikely)
Gold medals, and silver tobacco boxes, to:
07/07/1901 presentation (gold medals & silver tobacco boxes)
1st Volunteer Active Service Company, Lincolnshire Regiment –
6521 Sergeant John William BAINES
6524 Corporal Robert BARTON
6657 Corporal Henry Mason WHINCUP (died, Pretoria, 25/01/1901 - medal presented to his sister)
6542 Private Herbert George GEE (absent - in S.Africa, invalided)
6543 Private Matthew Henry GOODALL
6551 Private Stephen JOHNSON
6650 Private Harry REYNOLDS
6525 Private John SMITH
6574 Private Fred TOWNEND
St John Ambulance Brigade –
339 Private T. CLAYWORTH
Presentation made by Councillor Cooper, J.P., in the Market Place, Gainsborough.
Medal for Corporal Whincup, who died of enteric in Pretoria, presented to his sister.
24/10/1902 presentation (medals and silver tobacco boxes)
2nd Volunteer Active Service Company, Lincolnshire Regiment –
6660 Private Arthur BALLANCE
6719 Private F. BOOTH
6648 Private Thomas William BROWN
6654 Private Joseph CONWAY
6658 Private W. EVANS
6675 Private S. HEARNE
6720 Private John William HUNSLEY
6718 Private William Ernest MILLER
6672 Private William PINKNEY
6652 Private John William PYGOTT
6662 Private George Henry RADLEY (died, Rietfontein West, 20/03/1902)
6651 Private W. SCOTT
6655 Private Arthur George SIMMONS (absent - remained in South Africa)
3rd Volunteer Active Service Company, Lincolnshire Regiment –
6777 Corporal Herbert CONGILL
6778 Private Sidney CALAM
6772 Private J.W. FORD
6773 Private John Thomas GILBERT
6775 Private Robert HOLMES
6779 Private W. HORSTEAD
6774 Private Oswald JOHNS
6783 Privaqte [Lance-Corporal] A. SPENCER
6780 Private Walter Percy TAFF
6776 Private Ernest Edward WILSON
Presentations made by Captain Marshall (war medals) and Councillor Barlow (tobacco boxes), during the Gainsborough Volunteers' annual dinner, at the Town Hall.
The medals were "surmounted by the regimental badge [red cross for the ambulanceman], and suitably inscribed".
It seems that silver tobacco boxes and gold medals were presented to the first contingent, whereas the second and third contingents received tobacco boxes only. Although medals were distributed to the second contingent on 24 Oct 1902, these were almost certainly QSA's.
The tobacco boxes were inscribed: "Presented to Pte. H. Reynolds / GAINSBOROUGH CONTINGENT / VOL. A.S. Co. LINCOLNSHIRE REGT. / By his Fellow Townsmen. / S.A. War. 1900-1".
"Each man also received a silver tobacco box, bearing a like inscription to the medal" (Lincolnshire Chronicle, 12/07/1901). This suggests that the inscription above also appeared on the gold medals.
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Lincoln Leader, 18th May 1901
GAINSBOROUGH.
BANQUET AND MEMENTOES.
The Active Service Volunteers who went to South Africa from Gainsborough are expected to arrive in the town on Saturday.
The local reception committee is an exceptionally strong one, including all the members of the Urban Council, the Volunteer officers, the principal tradesmen and professional residents, etc., and they have held several meetings to draw up a programme worthy of “our old town” and its traditions. As at present arranged the men will arrive at Gainsborough on Saturday afternoon by the 2.58 G.N. and G.E. train at the G.N.R. station. They will be met by the massed bands of the Volunteers and the Britannia Works, the members of the committee, the two local companies of Volunteers and the local battalion of the Church Lads Brigade. A procession will be formed and this will proceed by way of South Parade, Trinity Street and Market Street to the Mart Yard, where, under the shades of the venerable old Hall, a public and official welcome will be offered the men. Of course, the line of route will be gaily decorated with banners, flags, streamers, bunting, etc., and typical greetings florally treated will be much in evidence.
It is hoped to raise at least £100 to make suitable presentations to the men as a memento of the occasion, and it was at first mooted that a house-to-house collection should be made. For this, 150 collectors would have been required, however, and it was felt that much of the trouble involved would be a case “love’s labour lost”, so that idea has been wisely abandoned. Subscription lists have been opened at the various banks in the town, and a committee of gentlemen has also been appointed to wait on various inhabitants of the town and district with a view of soliciting their financial support.
THE BANQUET.
A public reception banquet, followed by a smoking concert is to be held in the Market buildings on Wednesday next, to commence at 7.30 p.m., and to this we learn the member for the division, the Hon. Ormsby Gore, has been invited. There is to be no more time taken up by “speechifying” than the occasion demands, the general feeling being that the proceedings should be of as a free and convivial a nature as possible.
A PERMANENT MEMENTO.
A variety of suggestions have of course been made with the object of providing some permanent memento of the event. It was thought by all the men themselves should be given some present in honour of the occasion. Some suggesting a clock, others a watch, a medal, a pendant, etc., ad infinitum. Eventually it was decided to give each man an inscribed gold pendant with the regimental badge on the reverse side, the presentation to be public.
Mr T. CLAYWORTH, who went to the front as a member of the St John Ambulance Corps, and the relatives of Private WINTHORP [sic - Whincup], a Volunteer who went out and died of enteric, are rightly to be included with those who shall receive the memento pendants.
Sheffield Daily Telegraph, 20th May 1901
Gainsborough.
The train conveying the Gainsborough volunteers home arrived from Lincoln about three o’clock on Saturday afternoon. Several thousand persons thronged the Great Northern railway station approaches. The two Gainsborough companies of Lincolnshire volunteers were drawn up in front of the station entrance, the officers present being Captain Kelsey (in command), Captain and Adjutant Boothby, Captain H. Marshall, Lieutenants J.H. Marshall and Elliott, and Surgeon Nicholson. Massed bands played the regimental quickstep, “The Lincolnshire Poacher”, as the train drew into the station. On emerging from the station doors the returned soldiers were vociferously cheered by their comrades, and by the large crowds outside. The men returning were Sergeant BAINES, Corporal BARTON, Privates J. SMITH, S. JOHNSON, GOODALL, TOWNEND, and REYNOLDS. Private GEE was not present, he having been invalided home on the Kildonan Castle, after an attack of enteric fever. The returned volunteers were joined by a Gainsborough man named CLAYWORTH, who had been at the front with the ambulance corps, and had recently returned home. A procession was formed from the station to the Mart Yard, where a platform had been erected. Here the volunteers were warmly greeted by Mr C. Cooper, chairman of the Urban District Council, who was supported by the rest of the councillors. A banquet is to be given in honour of the men on Wednesday evening, and a fund has been raised for the purpose of presenting to each man a memento of the campaign and a little purse of money.
Lincolnshire Chronicle, 24th May 1901
GAINSBOROUGH.
The return of seven of the squad of Gainsborough Volunteers, who formed a portion of the first detachment for the front, on Saturday, provoked scenes of the wildest enthusiasm. The town was profusely decorated with flags and mottoes, and thousands of people, both from town and country, were present to do the returning soldiers honour. Long before the train was due the approaches to the station were crowded, and the police, who had the assistance of the members of the fire brigade, had a great deal of difficulty in preserving clear the line of route. The adjutant – Capt. Boothby – of the 1st Volunteer Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment, and the officers of the two local companies were present to receive the returning volunteers, and as the train steamed into the station the massed bands of the companies of the Britannia Ironworks, consisting of 50 instrumentalists, burst forth with the stirring strains of the regimental quick-step, “The Lincolnshire Poacher”, and a “salute” of guns was fired. To the continuous plaudits of the assembled thousands the khaki-clad warriors marched to the Market Yard, where they mounted a specially-erected platform, and were formally welcomed home by the chairman and members of the Urban Council. Mr C. Cooper, J.P., stated that a more formal welcome would be extended to the men at the banquet, and that they would each receive a memento of their South African experiences, in the shape of a gold pendant, inscribed and bearing the badge of the regiment, in addition to a sum of money. Private GEE, it was stated, had been left behind invalided, and the gold memento is to be forwarded to the family of Private WHINCUP, who died in South Africa of enteric.
Lincolnshire Echo, 24th May 1901
GAINSBOROUGH.
A banquet was given in the Town Hall, Gainsborough, on Wednesday evening, in honour of the local men who returned from South Africa last week, Mr C. Cooper, Chairman of the Urban District Council, presiding. Capt. Hutton replied to the toast of “The Imperial Forces”. He was present at the commencement of a small fight, where 28 of those gallant fellows were surrounded by the whole of Kritzinger’s commando of 700 men. They fought for eight hours in a hollow with Boers on the right and left of them, and also behind them. It was not his (the speaker’s) luck to meet his fellow county men, the guests of that evening, on active service, though he was very close to them when they were at Pretoria. In fact, he sat on the Board of Enquiry, at Pretoria, into the loss of the Lincolnshires’ kit. He might tell them that the Lincolnshires had a lot of luggage – tons of it – (laughter) – and, as his own regiment had been taken prisoners, they could well imagine that the Court gave the Lincolnshires as much as it was possible for them to do. (Cheers).
Mr W.J. Barnard proposed the toast of the Active Service Force, and the health of the returned Volunteers. Whilst the Motherland produced such sons, she needed no conscription. (Loud cheers). He would like to see in the town of Gainsborough some further recognition of the Volunteers. In their town they raised two companies, but they had no building set apart for their use. Every other Lincolnshire town had its drill hall, and he hoped that before long Gainsborough would be similarly provided. (Cheers).
Sergeant BAINES, as the senior of the returned Volunteers, then returned thanks.
Other speeches and toasts followed. In silence the company rose and drank to the memory of Private WHINCUP, a Gainsborough schoolmaster and cricketer, who died on active service.
The Chairman announced that gold pendants and silver tobacco boxes were being prepared for the Volunteers. A gold pendant would also be given to the late Private WHINCUP’s sister, and a tobacco box would be sent to his father. (Cheers).
Sheffield Daily Telegraph, 24th May 1901
THE LINCOLNSHIRE VOLUNTEERS.
BANQUET AT GAINSBOROUGH.
On Wednesday evening, at the Gainsborough Town Hall, a banquet was held in honour of the local volunteers who have just returned from the front. Mr C. Cooper, chairman of the Urban District Council, presided, and there was an attendance of about 250 persons. …….
……. In silence the company rose and drank to the memory of Private WHINCUP, a Gainsborough schoolmaster and cricketer, who died on active service. – The Chairman announced that gold pendants and silver tobacco boxes were being prepared for the volunteers. A gold pendant would also be given to the late Private WHINCUP’s sister, and a tobacco box would be sent to his father.
Lincolnshire Chronicle, 12th July 1901
PRESENTATION TO RETURNED VOLUNTEERS. – The first Gainsborough contingent of the Active Service Company of the Lincolnshire Volunteers attended Divine service on Sunday at the Parish Church. After the service the volunteers were drawn up on the Market Place, and Mr Cooper, J.P., chairman of the Urban District Council, presented each of the men with a gold pendant, surmounted by the regimental badge and suitably inscribed. Each man also received a silver tobacco box, bearing a like inscription to the medal. Private T. CLAYWORTH, a member of the St John Ambulance, was also a recipient of the mementoes, with the exception that a “red cross” surmounted the pendant in place of “Egypt” and the Sphinx. Private WHINCUP was the only member of the detachment who died in South Africa, and the mementoes are to be forwarded to his relatives.
Lincoln Leader, 28th June 1902
HOME AGAIN.
LINCOLNSHIRE WELCOMES HER VOLUNTEER SONS.
A number of men who belonged to the Volunteers are remaining in South Africa. Some have joined the Rand Rifles, and one the South African Constabulary, while three, who belonged to the 1st Battalion – Private G.H. RADLEY (Gainsborough), Private Edge (Stamford), and Private Calligan (Horncastle), are dead. The members of the company drawn from the 1st Battalion were as follows: – Captain J.S. Ruston, Sergeant C.E. Snartt, Sergeant F.B. Mantle, Privates H.K. Barnes, W. Betts, Buckley, A. Daniel, A.E. Foster, A. Howson, E.W.G. Howson, H. Hicks, F.W. Jeffries, H. Lunn, S. Meanwell, Naylor, J. Pick, W. Rock, D.G. Sanders, C. Sylvester, W.C. Thorpe, W.R. Ward (Lincoln); A. Enderby, H. Allbones, K. Belton, Calligan, A. Fisher, E.A. Kent, J. Ranshaw, D.F. Sutton, J.E. Richardson (Horncastle); W. EVANS, S. HEARNE, G.W. HANSLEY [sic – J.W. Hunsley], W.E. MILLER, W. PINKNEY, G.H. RADLEY, W. SCOTT, A.G. SUMMONS [sic – Simmons], J.W. PYGOTT, A. BALLANCE, F. BOOTH, F.W. BROWN, and J. CONWAY (Gainsborough).
Lincolnshire Chronicle, 21st October 1902
GAINSBOROUGH.
The twenty-one Gainsborough active service Volunteers who served with the second and third active service companies of the Lincolnshire Regiment, have been presented with medals and silver tobacco-boxes, subscribed for by the townspeople. It has been decided to erect tablets to the memory of two Volunteers who died at the front, in St. John’s Church and the Wesleyan Chapel, Morton.
Sleaford Gazette, 25th October 1902
PRESENTATION TO RETURNED VOLUNTEERS AT GAINSBOROUGH.
At the annual dinner of the Gainsborough volunteers on Friday, in the Town Hall, 21 men who had been to South Africa with the second and third active service companies of the Lincolnshire Regiment were presented with medals and silver tobacco boxes, which had been subscribed for by the townspeople.
Councillor Cooper explained that one volunteer who had gone out was still in South Africa, and two had died – Corporal WHINCUP and Private RADLEY. It has been decided to erect tablets in their memory in St John’s Church and the Wesleyan Church, Morton, where they respectively worshipped. All the other local volunteers who have been out would have their names engraved on a tablet, which would find a prominent place in the Town Hall. (Applause).
Retford & Worksop Herald, 28th October 1902
VOLUNTEERS’ ANNUAL DINNER.
The annual dinner of the Gainsborough Companies took place in the Market Hall, last Friday, but as no intimation of the event was sent to the office of the Leader, we are only able to give a very incomplete and inadequate account of the proceedings. This is the more unfortunate as the occasion was one of more than usual interest, from the fact that those Volunteers who had returned from active service in South Africa received a special welcome from their comrades, who had remained at home.
At the commencement of the proceedings Captain Marshall presented medals to the returned Volunteers as follows: – Corporal CONWAY, Lance-Corporal PIGOTT [sic], Privates W. PINKNEY, W. SCOTT, W. MILLER, J.W. HUNSLEY, T.W. BROWN, A. BALLANCE, F. BOOTH, EVANS, and S. HEARNE.
Mr Councillor Barlow also presented silver tobacco boxes, which had been subscribed for by the townspeople, to the following: – Lieutenant ELLIOTT, Corporal CONWAY, Corporal COVEGILL [sic], Corporal SPENCER, Lance-Corporal GILBERT, Lance-Corporal PIGOTT [sic], Privates PINKNEY, EVANS, HUNSLEY, HEARNE, BALLANCE, WILSON, JOHNS, W. SCOTT, CALEM [sic], BOOTH, TAFF, MILLER, T.W. BROWN, HOLMES, HORSTEAD, and FORD.
He explained that two, Corporal WHINCUP and Private RADLEY, had died in South Africa, and Private SIMMONS had remained there.
Lieutenant Elliott briefly acknowledged the presents, on behalf of the recipients.
Mr Councillor Cooper said it was intended to have the names of the men who been out engraved on a tablet, which would be placed in prominent position in the Town Hall. With regard to the two Volunteers who had died, Corporal Whincup and Private Radley, it had been decided to erect memorial tablets in St John’s Church and Morton Wesleyan Church, where they had respectively attended.
At the dinner, which was excellently supplied by Mr Lobley, of the Sun Inn, Captain Hermann Marshall presided, supported by Major Kelsey, Lieutenant Elliott, Councillors Barlow and Cooper, and other gentlemen.
Subsequently, a long list of prizes, presented by various tradesmen in the town, were presented to the winners in the shooting competitions.
Roll of Gainsborough men embarking with the 3rd V.A.S.C. (Lincolnshire Echo, 6th February 1902).
