Medals and awards

6728 Private William James JONES

7528 Private William DAVIES

 

Presentation made by Lord Tredegar, at the Rogerstone Institute.

 

7530 Private Edwin FLETCHER [Edward Fletcher] received a silver watch and address.

Private Fletcher's watch inscribed: "PRESENTED / TO / PRIVATE / EDWARD [sic] FLETCHER / 2ND VOLL BATT S.W. BORDERERS / BY THE / PARISHIONERS OF BASSALEG / IN RECOGNITION / OF HIS / Services in the / SOUTH AFRICAN WAR / 1900-1901".

 

The pendants may have had inscriptions similar to the one on the watch, indicating that they were gifts from the people of Bassaleg (opposed to Rogerstone). Service papers give residences in Rogerstone (for Fletcher) and Bassaleg (for Davies & Jones), whereas the Star of Gwent (07/06/1901) lists all three as belonging to the Bassaleg Company.

 

 

Silver watch in the Constantine Collection.

 

 

_____________________________________

 

 

 

Star of Gwent, 7th June 1901

 

BANQUET AT NEWPORT.

 

 

Western Mail, 29th July 1901

 

LORD TREDEGAR AND CAVALRY TACTICS.

Lord Tredegar on Saturday evening handed presents to four local South African heroes, at a concert held at Rogerstone Institute.

The Vicar of the Parish (the Rev. D. Bowen) presided, and said that the gathering was the outcome of a parochial collection to do honour to four men who responded to the call of the country last year. Corporal J. Hinton STRATTON, of the Gloucester Company of the Imperial Yeomanry, was presented with a dressing case, handsomely fitted, and an illuminated address; Privates W. JONES and W. DAVIES, of the Active Service Company of the 2nd Volunteer Battalion South Wales Borderers, each had a gold albert, pendant, and illuminated address; and Private E. FLETCHER, of the same battalion, had a silver watch and address.

Lord Redegar, in making the presentations, remarked that, speaking as an old cavalry officer, he found he could hardly feel surprised that our War Office clung to its old traditions until the Army had to meet the Boers. They were now told, for instance, that the shock of the cavalry was a thing of the past. The Heavy Brigade, 1,800 strong, on the morning of Balaclava, in line, charged about 3,000 Russian cavalry in line – charged up hill. The shock was too much for the Russian cavalry, and they turned and fled. Later in the evening the Light Brigade, of 600, charged in line several batteries of horse artillery, and several thousand cavalry in the rear, but the shock was too much for the enemy. They turned and fled. (Hear, hear). Could they be surprised that the War Office still clung to the notion of the effect of the shock of cavalry charging in line? But that had been entirely dissipated. There was now in South Africa no such thing as cavalry charging in line. They found that by the time they could get to the Boers the Boers would have jumped on their ponies and ridden away, and the horses were too blown to follow them. The more they read of the war the prouder they were of the soldiers who had taken part in it, of the Volunteers whom left their homes at the time of the country’s crisis, and still more of those women who went out to assist in the hospitals. (Hear, hear).