4042, later D/20999 Squadron Sergeant Major Frederick Allsopp, 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons

Medals sought, please, for the man pictured above. His name was Frederick Allsopp and in the undated photograph above he wears the following medals:

Distinguished Conduct Medal

QSA with clasps for Johannesburg, Diamond Hill, Belfast, Cape Colony and Orange Free State

KSA with usual two clasps

1914-15 Star

British War Medal

Inter-Allied Victory Medal

Delhi Durbar Medal

Long Service & Good Conduct Medal

Frederick was born in 1878 and enlisted with the 6th Dragoons on the 12th October 1898 having previosuly served with the 3rd (militia) Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment. He extended his service in 1904 to complete eight years with the colours. extended aagain in 1906 to complete 12 years with the colours and then re-engaged in May 1910 to complete 21 years. By the time he was discharged in November 1919 he had soldiered in South Africa, Egypt, India and France and Flanders. He had three children, all born in India, two of whom died in infancy.

Frederick Allsopp's DCM was gazetted on the 26th June 1918. His son, a veteran of the Second World War, is now hoping to find his father's medals. Please contact me if you can help.

7162 Pte Alexander Burns, Royal Highlanders

I've written about 7162 Private Alexander Burns before.  Since that post, I've managed to retrieve his Boer War medal rolls from Ancestry, and also his First World War medal index card.  I looked in vain on WO 363 and WO 364 for a surviving service record, and also checked WO 97 over at findmypast.co.uk on the offchance that there might be something there that had been mis-filed.  There wasn't.  I did however, find papers in WO 96 which show that Alexander joined the Forfar and Kincardine Artillery (militia) on the 11th October 1898. He signed his name as "Alex Burns", giving his age as 17 years and 11 months and his place of birth as Dundee.  He was a mill-worker employed by Mr Scott of Dundee; not a lot to go on in terms of research leads, but at least it's a lead of sorts.


Alex was slight. He stood five feet, five and a half inches tall and weighed 109lbs (which is just seven stones and 11 pounds).  He had a fresh complexion, grey eyes and brown hair.  A scar on the second finger of his right hand is also recorded.


Alex's attestation was approved at Perth on the 12th October 1898 but he was barely with the regiment before he joined the Royal Highlanders on the 20th January 1899.  He had completed 49 days of drill and his character was noted as "good". 


There are only four pages of this service record that survive in WO 96 but crucially, on page four, Alex's father is recorded as Frank Burns of 17 Arbroath Road, Dundee.  This again, should enable further research.

King's South Africa Medal (KSA)

Instituted:
1902

Qualification:
Boer War. Issued to all those who were in a theatre of war on or after 1st January 1902 and who had completed 18 months’ service in the conflict before 1st June 1902.

Description:
Silver, 36mm diameter, with the same swivelling suspension as that on the Queen’s South Africa Medal (QSA). The obverse portrays the bust of King Edward VII (facing left) in field marshal's uniform with the legend EDWARDUS VII REX IMPERATOR. The reverse is the same as the reverse of the 3rd version QSA, namely Britannia, her trident and shield on the ground behind her, holding a standard in her left hand and offering a wreath (pointing to the letter F of AFRICA) with her right. A column of soldiers advances towards and past her whilst at her back, battleships can be seen offshore. The words SOUTH AFRICA are written above.

Ribbon:
From the left, equal widths of green, white and orange.

Naming:
Impressed in sans serif capitals. There are some known examples of officers’ medals which have been engraved.

Clasps:
Two clasps were awarded: South Africa 1901 (awarded to all those who served in South Africa between 1st January 1901 and the 31st December 1901 inclusive)and South Africa 1902 (awarded to all those who served in South Africa between 1st January 1902 and the 31st May 1902 inclusive).

Other:
The KSA was never issued on its own and was always paired with the Queen’s South Africa Medal (QSA). Nurses received the KSA without clasps.

Alexander Burns and George A J Welch, commemorated on this site, both served during the Second Boer War and received the QSA and KSA.

Queen's South Africa Medal (QSA)

Authorised:
1900.

Qualification:
Second Boer War 1899-1902. Awarded to military personnel from the British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Marines who served during the Second Boer War in South Africa between 11th October 1899 and 31st May 1902. The medal was also awarded to members of colonial forces who took part in the conflict, “non-enlisted men of whatever nationality who drew military pay”, and war correspondents. Additionally, the QSA without bar was awarded to troops guarding Boer prisoners of war on the island of St Helena.

Description:
The majority of the medals were silver, although bronze versions were issued to some Indian troops and the “non-enlisted men” above.

36mm in diameter. The obverse portrays the veiled head of Queen Victoria facing left, and the legend, VICTORIA REGINA ET IMPERATRIX (which translates as VICTORIA, QUEEN AND EMPRESS). The reverse depicts Britannia, her trident and shield on the ground behind her, holding a standard in her left hand and offering a wreath with her right. A column of soldiers advances towards and past her whilst at her back, battleships can be seen offshore. The words SOUTH AFRICA are written above.

Variants:
So confident were the authorities that the campaign against the Boers would be a swift one, that the QSA was struck with the dates 1899-1900 which appeared at approximately the 3 o’clock position on the medal, above the heads of the advancing column. When it was realised that the war was going to last beyond 1900, the dates were machined off, but not before around 50 had been issued. Subsequent releases of the medal were issued without the dates and with Britannia’s wreath pointing to the letter F in AFRICA and not the letter R where it had pointed on the first, dated version of the medal. Dated versions of the QSA are rare. Undated versions and versions of the medal with “ghosting” or “ghosted dates” are common.

Ribbon:
Orange centre (12mm width) and then, on either side, dark blue (5mm width) and red (5mm width) width.

Naming:
Some medals were impressed in sand serif capitals around the edge, whilst others were engraved in sloping serif capitals and lower case.

Clasps:
Twenty six clasps were issued. Five of these clasps detailed South African states. Two detailed dates and 19 detailed actions or engagements. It is common to find multiple clasps issued to army personnel but the majority of QSAs issued to Royal Navy personnel were issued “bare=arsed”, only around 1500 issued with one clasp and 700 issued with two clasps.

The five South African state clasps are:
Cape Colony, Natal, Rhodesia, Transvaal, Orange Free State. (Note, a man could qualify for either the Cape Colony clasp or the Natal clasp, but not both).

The two date clasps are:
South Africa 1901 and South Africa 1902. These were awarded to troops who served between 1st January 1901 and 31st December 1901 inclusive and/or between 1st January 1902 and 31st May 1902 inclusive who were not entitled to receive the King’s South Africa Medal.

The 19 battle clasps (in alphabetical order) are:
Belfast, Belmont, Defence of Kimberley, Defence of Ladysmith, Defence of Mafeking, Diamond Hill, Driefontein, Elandslaagte, Johannesburg, Laing’s Nek, Modder River, Paardeberg, Relief of Kimberley, Relief of Ladysmith, Relief of Mafeking, Talana, Tugela Heights, Wepener, Wittebergen.

Other:
Alexander Burns and George A J Welch, commemorated on this site, both served during the Second Boer War and received the QSA and KSA.

Sub Conductor George A J Welch, Indian Army Ordnance Corps, formerly Yorkshire Regiment

Medals held:
Queen's South Africa Medal and three clasps (Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal), King's South Africa Medal and two clasps (1901, 1902), 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal, Delhi Durbar Medal 1911, Military Long Service and Good Conduct Medal.

George A J Welch was born in Allahabad, India around 1880 or 1881. He appears on the 1891 census as a ten year old scholar; the eldest child of James and Lily Welch. James Welch, born at Shepton Mallet in Somerset, is recorded as a 39 year old quartermaster sergeant serving with the Yorkshire Regiment. His wife Lily is recorded as 31 years old; a British subject born in Burma. Apart from George, the other children are noted as John L Welch, a seven year old scholar born at Netley, Hampshire; Frederick H D Welch, a four year old scholar born at Richmond, Yorkshire; Thomas R Welch aged two, also born at Richmond; and Louisa M L Welch aged one month, born at Richmond. At the time the census was taken, the family was living at Allen Place, Richmond.

Neither George nor John appear on the 1901 census (both were away fighting the Boers in South Africa). The rest of the family though - including two additions - had moved to Potternewton in Leeds and was living at 18 Leopold Square. The household comprised James (head, aged 49, recorded as an army storekeeper and noted by the census takers as an army pensioner), his wife Lily (aged 41, this time recorded as having been born in India), and the couple's five children. They were: Frederick Welch aged 14, Thomas Welch aged 12, Louisa Welch aged 10, Isabelle Welch aged seven, and Herbert Welch aged five. Both Isabelle and Herbert had also been born in Richmond, suggesting that the family moved to Leeds some time after July 1895 (Herbert's birth was registered at Richmond in the September quarter of that year).

George's army service record does not appear to have survived, although his brother John's has. Like his elder brother, John Leeson Welch joined the Yorkshire Regiment, initially serving with the 3rd (Militia) Battalion during the Boer War and then joining the regular Yorkshire Regiment on 15th June 1903. Enlisting for a period of 3 years with the colours and nine on the reserve his approving officer wrote, "Smart lad. Served two and a half years in S Africa with 3rd Yorkshire Regt. Has father and brother in Corps. Has been employed in an office and will prob[ably] soon develop. Is a drummer and bugler. Character exemplary. Corps [unclear but possibly "advised"] to obtain him." John would extend his service with the Yorkshire Regiment, serve overseas in India and again in South Africa, transfer to the Reserve in 1911 and then be recalled to the colours on 5th August 1914. Exactly two months later he would land in France, remaining there until wounded in 1917. He would return there in May 1918, this time with the Coldstream Guards, finally earning his discharge in 1919. John's medal group would have been almost identical to George's, the absence of the Transvaal clasp on his QSA and no Delhi Durbar medal being the only difference.

So George was certainly still with the Yorkshire Regiment in 1903 but by 1911 he'd transferred to the Ordnance Department. His Delhi Durbar medal is inscribed to O Sub Condr G.A.J. Welch, Ordnance Dept.

George's First World War medal card (below) makes no reference to an award of a 1914-15 Star so I am currently puzzled how this forms part of his group. Like the British War and Victory medals it is inscribed to Sub Condr G A J Welch, I.O.D. Finally, George's QSA is inscribed to 4596 Cpl G Welch, Yorkshire Regt, whilst the KSA is inscribed to 4596 Serjt G Welch, York Regt. His Military Long Service and Good Conduct medal is inscribed to Staff Serjt G.A.J Welch.

7162 Private Alexander Burns - 1st Royal Highlanders

Medals held:
Queen's South Africa Medal and three clasps (Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal), King's South Africa Medal and two clasps (1901, 1902), 1914 Star and bar, British War Medal, Victory Medal, King George VI Defence Medal.

This was the first group that I bought and there is still a lot of research to be done.

Alexander Burns's service record does not appear to have survived in the WO 363 and WO 364 series at the National Archives. His number indicates that he joined the Royal Highlanders in late 1898 or early 1899 and he may have been with the original draft when the 2nd Royal Highlanders embarked for South Africa from Tilbury Docks on 22nd October 1899. The battalion comprised 29 officers and 887 men and they sailed aboard the SS Orient. Alexander's Boer War medals are inscribed to 7162 Pte A Burns, 2nd Rl Highlanders.

When the First World War was declared, Alexander Burns should have completed his seven years with the Colours and five on the Reserve. It seems possible though that he either extended his service before war was declared or rejoined his old regiment and was allowed to retain his earlier number. Certainly, by 26th August 1914 he was in France albeit with the 1st Battalion Royal Highlanders rather than his old battalion. His medal card indicates his entitlement to the three WW1 medals noted above, as well as the clasp and roses. He was also entitled to a silver war badge (not in this collection) and was discharged from the army as no longer physically fit for war service, on 9th August 1915.