DonM

Thank you Paul for further enlightening me on my grandfather's mystery medal. I do have the attachment that you posted along with a number of others. I was satisfied that he had received the medal as was stated in your document "for loyal service" but of course you have now raised the question - why was only one medal presented & why was he the one chosen to receive it? I wonder if anyone is able to answer that question

I have just come across an extract from what is possibly the Ernestine rolls mentioned by 922F. It tells me that Sergeant Donald Munro received a gold medal at Fort George in 1911 for loyal service. So it would seem that Carl Eduard as honorary Colonel of Seaforth Highlanders paid a visit to Fort George & had to present a medal to someone. My grandfather was the soldied picked to receive it & as my grandchildren would say "that's pretty cool!!" Thanks again for all your help.

Thank you 922F, as you suggest, he may have received the medal on behalf of the regiment, it was something I had wondered about because of the dates. I have to get in touch with Fort George on another matter and will check again to see if anything new turns up when things are sorted out for the redevelopment of the museum.

Thank you Dave, I have ordered that medal. The picture Gotha sent me was indeed from your website. By the time he received the medal he was a sergeant, so you have confirmed what I thought was the reason for the medal being changed from silver on his service record to gold when he was actually presented with it a year later. It seems strange that Fort George has no record of him having received the medal - they could not even tell me why he received the Military Cross.

Thank you all for your help, especially Saschaw for putting me right regarding the medal - I would off searching for the wrong one!! As to why he received the medal, I may never know. Mind you, they are setting up a new museum at Fort George, so who knows what might come to light when that is complete.

Thank you Saschaw, I had a feeling that you would come up with something. I have checked & found that Carl Eduard was the fourth and last reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, two duchies in Germany (from 30 July 1900 to 14 November 1918), and the head of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from 1900 until his death in 1954. As he was awarded the medal in 1910, the Carl Eduard medal (wthout the swords) is the one he would have received. I presume that is correct. I made the mistake of assuming that the archives would have sent me the correct image!! Was that medal both a military & non military award?

Many thanks for your replies - although I am no closer to finding out why he received that medal! The medals he received were the Queen's Medal with 3 clasps, Wittebergen, Transvaal & Cape Colony; The King's Medal with 2 clasps, 1901 & 1902; the Military Cross; the 1914 Star; the British War Medal & the Victory Medal. I also have a transcription of his diary for the first year of WW1. As the pictures were of interest, I have attached some others. Was only able to upload one taken at Fort George - the others were too large.

http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_10_2012/post-14588-0-56944600-1350569629.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_10_2012/post-14588-0-76462400-1350569724.jpg Above are the two files I have attached. The first is the medal in question & the second is my grandfather in France at the end of WW1. Unfortunately, I do not have the medal but would like to purchase one if anyone knows where I can do that

I am afraid I do not have the medal but I do have a picture of it as sent to me by the Gotha Archivist. Unfortunately I cannot work out how to attach it - I don't seem to have an upload button. I am not very good at this!!

My Grandfather was in the Seaforth highlanders. His service recorgds show that he was “Decorated by HRH the Duke of Albany (Regency Duke of Sax Coburg & Gotha) with the decoration “Silberne Medalles des S. Ernest” d. 20.8.10.” I contacted the Gotha Archives who were very helpful and sent me a number of records, one of which showed that he was awarded a gold (not silver) medal in Fort George on August 15, 1911 for loyal service. The Gotha archives had no record of why he was awarded the medal but said “The loyal services of your Grandfather should evidently relate to services accomplished in military actions as the medal was issued to military personnel only.” I thought that I would be able to find a something about the medal at the Highlanders museum at Fort George but they have no record of him having received it. Can anyone tell me why a British soldier could have received this medal. One clue might be that it related to the Boer War and that he was involved in some action with a member of that family. This could have been Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, who saw service in South Africa, or more likely, his son, Prince Arthur of Connaught who was in the in the Boer War and saw active duty with the 7th Hussars at Krugersdorp and my grandfather was also there. If it was related to the Boer War a reason for the change from a silver to gold medal could be that by 1911 he had been promoted to sergeant. Any help would be appreciated.