Military History Journal
Vol 2 No 3 - June 1972

It may interest readers to learn that in the Ronnie Hunt medal collection, on permanent loan to the S.A. National War Museum, is a Queen's South Africa Medal with ten bars.

As stated by Mr. K. R. Gibbs in the previous article, "Bars and Medals" and also according to several authorities on the subject the maximum number of bars to any one medal is nine (army) and eight (navy).

The medal in the Ronnie Hunt collection includes the two date bars, "South Africa 1901" and "South Africa 1902" which are normally found on the King's S.A. Medal but which sometimes appear on the Queen's S.A. Medal when the recipient was ineligible for the King's S.A. Medal but who had, however, qualified for the bars. To qualify for the King's S.A. Medal one had to be serving in South Africa on or after 1st January, 1902 and complete eighteen months service before 1st June, 1902. Those who had not completed eighteen months service but who had served at the 'front' between 1st January, 1901 and 31st December, 1901 were awarded the bar "South Africa 1901" with the Queen's S.A. Medal. Likewise those who served at the 'front' between 1st January, 1902 and 31st May, 1902 but who had not completed eighteen months service were awarded the bar, "South Africa 1902" with the Queen's S.A. Medal. Where awards were made in terms of the foregoing the Queen's S.A. Medal would have one or both the date bars but normally would not have bars for individual actions for, with the exception of the bars "Cape Colony","Orange Free State" and "Transvaal", the recipient would have had to serve prior to 1st January, 1901 to have qualified for any of the other bars and this would have given him more than 18 months service, thus qualifying him for the King's S.A. Medal.

It is only natural, therefore, that the authenticity of the two date bars on the medal at the Museum is often queried. Bars are often taken off the King's Medal and added to the Queen's Medal. The Queen's Medal has also been popular among fakers and many odd and often impossible combinations of bars are to be found but a close scrutiny usually reveals a fake. A very close examination of the medal at the Museum gives one the impression that it is normal in every way and that it has not been tampered with.

Twenty-one of the 26 bars issued for the South African War 1899-1902, were issued for actions fought up to 27th August, 1900. The medal in question, inscribed "Tpr. M. Wilson, Damant's Horse" has eight of these bars (excluding the two date bars). They are, Belmont, Modder River, Relief of Kimberley, Paardeberg, Driefontein, Johannesburg, Diamond Hill and Wittebergen. These bars cover actions fought between 23rd November, 1899 and 29th July, 1900 -- a period of eight-and-a-half months. Tpr. Wilson, it is assumed, then broke his service and only joined again late in 1901. On 31st May, 1902 he had not completed eighteen months service, despite his creditable number of actions in 1899 and 1900, and qualified for both the "South Africa 1901" and "South Africa 1902" bars on his Queen's S.A. Medal.

Dr. F. K. Mitchell, JCD, Honorary Curator of the Medals and Numismatics department at the Museum has provided the following information on this medal but has added a note:
 

"I'm sure this information will interest you but it doesn't quite dot the i's of the Museum's Queen's S.A. Medal with 10 bars. A perusal of the medal rolls at the Public Records Office, London (W.O. 100/244), revealed that the following officers and men of Damant's Horse, all of whom were previously members of Rimington's Guides (sometimes known as Rimington's Tigers from the leopard skin hatbands worn on their slouch hats), were entitled to the Queen's South Africa Medal with eight or nine bars.

The following are the bars concerned:

Usual eight:

Belmont
Modder River
Relief of Kimberley
Paardeberg
Driefontein
Johannesburg
Diamond Hill
Wittebergen (Replaced by "Belfast" in the two cases indicated).

South Africa 1901 (in the twenty-nine cases indicated.)
South Africa 1902 (in the case of Sgt. Berry only.)

 (NOTE: Where most or all of these bars are found on a medal named to a member of another South African colonial unit, as does occasionally occur, it is likely that the recipient concerned was a member of Rimington's Guides during the advance to the Relief of Kimberley, but transferred subsequently to the unit named on the medal.)

 Medal Roll:

R.S.M.	Armstrong, A.W.	Usual 8 bars
Lt. Col.	Rimington, M.F.	Usual 8 bars (6 Innisk. D.G.)
Major	Rankin, C.W.	Usual 8 bars 7H
Capt	Gale, Hy	Usual 8 bars
Surgeon	March-Phillips, L	Usual 8 bars
Lieut.	Bennett, E. Geoffrey	Usual 8 Bars
Lieut.	Drake, Wm. B	Usual 8 bars
Lieut.	Harvey, Thos. W. P.	Usual 8 bars plus S.A. '01: Died of wounds 1.3.01
Lieut.	Vaughan, A. O.	Usual 8 bars
Lieut.	Vice, Arthur	Usual 8 bars plus S.A. '01.
Cpl.	Huderson, Wm	Usual 8 bars
Sgt.	Berry, J. A.	Usual 8 bars plus S.A. '02.
Tpr.	Bettlinger, C. Hy	Usual 8 bars
Tpr.	Boden, Wm. Reginald	Usual 8 bars
Pte.	Brotherton, Geo.	Usual 8 bars plus S.A. '01 (Gorringe's Flyg. Col.)
Cpl.	Burn, C. Seton	Usual 8 bars
Cpl.	Burton, Fdk.	Usual 8 bars
Conductor	Camp, Hy. J.	Usual 8 bars plus S.A. '01
Tpr.	Carlisle, John	Usual 8 bars
Sgt.	Clements J. J. (VC)	Usual 8 bars plus K.S.A. and 2 bars Coronation Contgt.
Tpr.	D'Arcy, J. W.	Usual 8 bars plus S.A. '01
Sgt.	Davis, Isaac Hy.	Usual 8 bars
Tpr.	Dewden, Arthur	Usual 8 bars
SQMS.	De Landre, V. R.	Usual 8 bars (Coronation Contgt.)
SM.	De Laporte	Usual 8 bars
Tpr.	Dismore	Usual 8 bars
Cpl.	Dodd, H. E.	Usual 8 bars plus S.A. '01
Sgt.	Dodge, J. H.	Usual 8 bars plus S.A. '01
Tpr.	Dormer, A. E.	Usual 8 bars
Sgt.	Dowdle P. Morgan	Usual 8 bars
Tpr.	Duke, Thos	Usual 8 bars plus S.A. '01
Cpl.	Edy, H. John	Usual 8 bars
Cpl.	Eton, Chas.	Usual 8 bars plus K.S.A.
Tpr.	Evans, Wm.	Usual 8 bars plus S.A. '01
Sgt.	Frielick, Soln.	Usual 8 bars
Tpr.	Gamble, Thos.	Usual 8 bars
Tpr.	Garratt, Geo.	Usual 8 bars
Tpr.	Glanville, W. H.	Usual 8 bars
Tpr.	Gordon, Hugh	Usual 8 bars plus S.A. '01
Tpr.	Grant, G. W.	Usual 8 bars plus S.A. '01
Tpr.	Green, John	Usual 8 bars
Cpl.	Gumley, Algernon	Usual 8 bars
Tpr.	Hannaford, J.N.	Usual 8 bars
Sgt.	Heberden, H.V.	Usual 8 bars plus S.A. '01
Tpr.	Helps, Percy	Usual 8 bars plus S.A. '01
Tpr.	Helps, C. E. Hale	Usual 8 bars
Tpr.	Herschell, Allan	Usual 8 bars plus S.A. '01
Tpr.	Hicks, Wallace	Usual 8 bars plus S.A. '01
Tpr.	Inman, G. D.	Usual 8 bars plus S.A. '01
Cpl.	Isacke, N. N.	Usual 8 bars
Tpr.	Jackson, J. C.	Usual 8 bars
Tpr.	Jenking, W. R.	Usual 8 bars (Died of wounds 8.7.00)
Sgt.	Kirkman, W. R.	Usual 8 bars
Tpr.	Kruger, C.	Usual 8 bars
Tpr.	Lane, James	Usual 8 bars plus S.A. '01
Tpr.	Lofts, C. Temple	Usual 8 bars
Tpr.	Love, F. G.	Usual 8 bars
Tpr.	Lucas, P. W.	Usual 8 bars but "Belfast" in place of "Wittebergen" (also K.S.A.)
Tpr.	Ludlow, R. V.	Usual 8 bars
Tpr.	Macdonald, David	Usual 8 bars plus S.A. '01
Cpl.	MacLachlan, Lewis	Usual 8 bars
Tpr.	McWilliam, N.	Usual 8 bars
Tpr.	Mack, Robert	Usual 8 bars plus S.A. '01
S.Q.M.S.	May, Fredk.	Usual 8 bars
Tpr.	Milue, J. S. D.	Usual 8 bars
Tpr.	Mullins, Steve	Usual 8 bars plus S.A. '01
Tpr.	Mullins, Patrick	Usual 8 bars
Tpr.	Murchie, A. (D.C.M.)	Usual 8 bars
Tpr.	Murnison, L.	Usual 8 bars
Sgt.	Newton, J. H. (D.C.M.)	Usual 8 bars
Tpr.	Nolan, P. C.	Usual 8 bars
Tpr.	Norval, J. E.	Usual 8 bars plus S.A. '01
Cpl.	Patten, E.	Usual 8 bars plus S.A. '01
Rectg. Cpl.	Poole, P. Gower	Usual 8 bars plus S.A. '01
Tpr.	Prosser, E.	Usual 8 bars plus S.A. '01
Sgt.	Rawstorne, J. G.	Usual 8 bars
Sgt.	Remington, Wm.	Usual 8 bars plus S.A. '01
Tpr.	Sangster, A. G.	Usual 8 bars plus S.A. '01
Cpl.	Smith, F. W. B.	Usual 8 bars
Cpl.	Somerset, W. G.	Usual 8 bars
Tpr.	Soundy, R. H.	Usual 8 bars
Tpr.	Springhill, C. J.	Usual 8 bars (Died)
Tpr.	Spurr, W. H.	Usual 8 bars
Sgt.	Stewart, Wm.	Usual 8 bars plus S.A. '01
Sgt.	Stewart, R. B.	Usual 8 bars
Tpr.	Taylor, Fred	Usual 8 bars
S.S.S.	Thesen, H. O.	Usual 8 bars but "Belfast" in place of "Wittebergen"
Tpr.	Thistlewhite	Usual 8 bars plus S.A. '01
Tpr.	Thompson, Jas.	Usual 8 bars plus S.A. '01
S.Q.M.S.	Townsend, S. R.	Usual 8 bars
Tpr.	Van Wyk, H.J.	Usual 8 bars and K.S.A.
Pay Sgt.	Walker, F. L.	Usual 8 bars
Intell. Guide	Weakley, F. A.	Usual 8 bars
Cpl.	Webb, H. S.	Usual 8 bars
Sgt.	Webber, B. J.	Usual 8 bars killed 25.11.00
Tpr.	Whelan, John P.	Usual 8 bars
Cpl.	Wiener, Leopold	Usual 8 bars
Tpr.	Wilson, Moses	Usual 8 bars "

It is interesting to note that the two date bars are not shown against Wilson's name. There are, however, 29 medals with 8 bars all of which include the "S.A. 1901" bar and one only with 8 bars and the "S.A. 1902" bar. It is well known that the medal rolls are not always accurate and often have omissions. It is possible that Wilson's subsequent service was with a unit other than Damant's Horse which might account for the fact that the Medal Roll of Damant's Horse does not show these two bars.

EDITOR'S NOTE: It would be interesting if readers could throw new light on this very interesting medal.

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