Mossy

Thank you Mervyn, and you're quite correct, it was a small contingent, some 119 in fact with 4 casualties. There is such information, but our nations obsession with Gallipoli tends to relegate our contribution to the Boer War to a small, dusty corner of history making sources difficult to locate. Not going to stop me searching of course! What has puzzled me however, is the Lieutenants medal. If he was an officer, why has he recieved the medal not the Officers Decoration? The awarding rules mentioned in 'Australians Awarded' do read, however, "The recipient can be of any rank, but if an officer he would not have had the time required in the commissioned rank to qualify for the Officers Decoration." This could indicate he did in fact serve in the Boer war as a sergeant or lance-corporal and got his promotion to lieutenant, and medal, later. If anyone with more knowledge of long service award regulations could confirm this, it would be greatly appreciated. All the best, Sam.

It's been far too long a while since i was on here last, but i'm back now and thought i'd start things off with my lastest auction win: A father and son pair of Colonial Long Service medals. or, to be more precise, the fathers Officers Decoration and the sons Medal. Also included is the original miniature of the Officers Decoration. Details are: Fathers Officer Decoration: Major J. W. Castine, dated to 1902. One of 8 awarded to the South Australian Militia forces. Sons Medal: Lieutenant C. H. Castine 23rd Barossa Light Horse. Now, at the moment, i have not found any further information on the father but a quick search on the Australian War Memorial site (www.awm.gov.au) shows a Claude Clement Castine of the 2nd Mounted Rifles Contingent (a South Australian Formed Contingent) at the rank of Lance-Corporal or, according to Murray, a Sergeant having served in the Boer War. IF this is our fellow, he could be entitled the QSA with the following clasps: Cape Colony, Belfast, Orange Free State, Transvaal, Johannesburg, Diamond Hill. For the moment, this is all the information i have but with this kind of lead, well, i could hardly leave it at that could i? Sam. EDIT: Worth noting that the Barossa in question is a prominant area of South Australia. Whoops. :speechless:

Miniatures aren't usually my thing, but this set is quite nice. I hope it can traced, but it would require quite a bit of looking through regimental histories i think. Sam.

Well, although he deserved the VC, a more interesting issue (in my opinion, anyway) is the retro-active awarding of such medals. A dangerous practice, in my mind. There are inumerable reasons why a person may have been given a 'down-graded' award. And with so many records missing, destroyed, hidden, etc., well, this becomes a very dangerous area. Just my two cents on a subject that i think needs some serious discussion. Sam.

Pity about the possible (read very likely) re-name, but i'd still look into research. Pollard might not have earned this particular medal, but who knows (without research, that is) if he earnt any others? Still a story here folks! Sam.

Recently i found a Sutlej Campaign Medal with 3 bars to a soldier in the 50th regiment who served in Australia (More details on this part to follow...) and having had an avid interest in the Sikh Wars, I had to get this one. Any thoughts people? Named to: William Montieth, 50th Regt. (Note: Montieth may be mis-spelt, this will need more work when the medal arrives) I'm pretty happy with this on, especially since it has all three (four) bars., Moodkee being on the exergue. Anyone else got any Sutlej medals they'd like to show? I just the design of this medal! Sam.

And more: Originally known as Great Swanport, Swansea is a quiet paced town of 600 located on the northwest shore of Great Oyster Bay and is ideally placed midway - approximately 135 kms (85 miles) - from both Hobart and Launceston. The area was settled by Europeans in the early 1820's and included a convict station at Rocky Hills of some 400 prisoners. A small contingent of the 40th Regiment Of Foot under the command of Captain George Hibbert was also garrisoned at Waterloo Point. The town remained under military control until the Glamorgan Municipality, the first rural municipality in Australia, was established in 1860. It eventually became the primary service centre on the lower eastern coast of Tasmania and, in recent times, has proved to be a popular holiday destination Numerous sailors passed through the bay over the next twenty years but it wasn't until the 1820s that Europeans settled in the district. In 1821 there were three families in the area. It wasn't until 1827 that any sort of substantial community was established in the area. It was in that year that Captain George Hibbert of the 40th Foot Regiment established a military outpost at Waterloo Point (near the present site of the Swansea Golf Club). It was a typical military post with accommodation for the soldiers, a guard house and a commissariat. By 1852 it had hardly developed. One observer wrote that it was little more than 'One struggling street, its chief feature a long wooden pier, erected by the inhabitants with government aid, the white cottage of an English clergyman on the point to the south ... and a few whitewashed buildings.' None of these buildings now remains. 1826 July 10: Captain Bishop of the 40th Regiment receives instructions to go to Illawarra to protect settlers from bushrangers, apprehend escaped convicts, and stop the illegal cedar trade and general lawlessness. A stockade is set up at David Allan's farm, Red Point, with 30 soldiers. Victualled by C.T. Smith. It is unclear why Red Point was chosen - prominent geographical feature? Evidence of bushrangers around this time is contained in Alexander Harris's Settlers and Convicts and the story of the Geraghty brothers. *[Augustus Earle watercolour, May 1827] If only we could get our hands on some kind of roll detailing who was where whilst on tour in the colonies. Then we could a much clearer picture of what the individual soldiers were doing. Sigh, almost impossible really. Probably due to the fact the British regiments who served here had such a distaste for their duties here. Sam.

And yet more snippets of information regarding the actions of the 40th...All sourced from this fantastic site: http://www.militarybadges.info/brits/category/02-units.htm While the Mounted Police enabled the colonial government to deal with, if not control, bushranging, its formation was sometimes detrimental to the regiments serving in New South Wales. If colonels allowed reliable men to be transferred to the force the their regiments' discipline often suffered. If they sent bad soldiers the policing of the colony was jeopardised. This added to the strains on the troops, for during the 1820s the garrison's responsibilities were widened to include a number of outstations. The colony was not only growing from Sydney and across the mountains but distant settlements were established along the Australian coast, and responsibility for their security fell to the army. Men detached to garrison these isolated stations were entered on the regimental rolls as being 'on command' ' Port Macquarie and Moreton Bay were settled as penal stations in 1822 and 1824. In 1825 Norfolk Island, abandoned since 1813, was reoccupied, also as a penal settlement, by Captain Robert Turton and 33 men of the 40th. In May, 1826, Captain Peter Bishop, a lieutenant and 30 men of the 40th marched about the almost unexplored southern highlands for a month. After travelling for several hundred kilometres, having seen virtually no hostile Aborigines, Bishop's party returned to Sydney. The Sydney Gazette sarcastically pointed out that his expedition was the only one known to have returned without spilling blood. Darling, however, chose to believe that the 'prompt and unexpected appearance of the had some effect' in convincing Aborigines that resistance was futile. In 1829 officers of the 40th enquired into the hardships which their men endured while serving against the Aborigines. Sergeant Armstrong testified that he had been part of a detachment stationed at Bothwell. Twenty of the 77 men under a Lieutenant Williams generally remained in the barracks, 32 were posted at small outstations and another 25 formed several 'roving parties'. The roving parties left Bothwell for patrols of up to three weeks, carrying what salt rations they could. After using up the meat, which would have frequently gone bad in summer, they relied on settlers for provisions, often receiving poor rations in return for government receipts. The 40th (2nd Somersetshire) Regiment saw more action in Australia than any other regiment. It served in Van Diemen's Land during the Black war from 1824 and returned for a second tour from 1852 to 1860. 'Roving patrols' from Bothwell, undertaken to locate and attack Tasmanian Aborigines, were exhausting. Armstrong testified that they were 'very frequently lost in the Bush for 3 or 4 days together. The parties, usually comprising three or four men under a corporal, rose before daylight to march through thick scrub or forest. Sergeant Armstrong claimed that 'the stoutest men of the Regt were frequently knocked up on these fatiguing marches'. He wears the white duck trousers issued between October and May during the southern summer. Due to an oversight the men of the 40th serving in the bush at this time were without haversacks, and Armstrong carries his ration in a cloth bag slung from his cross-belt. Sergeant 40th Regiment of Foot, 1829 Image by Lindsay Cox

Gorgeous sets, Chris and excellent write ups! Definetly some of the more under-appreciated medal groups, and yet some of the most interesting. If i may ask, where do you find these Bore soldier medals and groups? And how is research conducted on them? Look foward to the next installment! All the best, Sam.

Thanks Ed. In my opinion, it looks like the (Hopefully temporarily) missing Star is the cause of most of the 'injuries', similar markings abound on the 1882 Egypt medals. The ribbon appears to be old, but not the original. Probably just a 'wardrobe-manfunction', but one i'll leave alone for now. A person over at another forum i posted this medal at, noted he had seen other Afghan War medals with similar hangers. Consequently, i'm currently searching for an image of such a medal to see whether it was a isolated group, ie regimental or squad, or more widespread. Any ideas, people? As i'm currently working my through Stewart's records at the moment, i'll be able to post more information on him shortly. Stay tuned... Sam.

This is my first medal to a member of the 40th who had service down here in the colonies. Name: Robert Stewart Date of Enlistment: 1820. Age at Enlistment: 14 years, 5 months. Date of Discharge: 1845. Rank at Discharge: Sergeant. Period of Overseas Service: 20 years. Period of Australian Colonial Duty: 11 years, 2 months. I have copies of all his paper work here, but have just started properly looking through it. I'm guessing i'll find he was also up for a Maharajpoor Star as well, see the 'love taps' on the medal. Whether he was involved in the above mentioned campaign or not, i may not be able to tell (no rolls or lists) but matching up dates and locations may be the best i can do. If any one has other ideas, i would be glad to hear them. As an aside, the hanger on the medal is rather decorative. Floral designs and a 'hand' (Yes, that's what it actually is!) gripping the medal. And who says British medals all look the same, eh? Sam.

14 August: To suppress the conflict between Aboriginal and European populations, Brisbane proclaimed martial law west of the Blue Mountains. The detachment at Bathurst was strengthened to 75 men and local magistrates rode with soldiers in pursuit of the Aborigines. The ?most warlike chieftain? was taken to Sydney to receive a pardon from the governor and many of his ?tribe? attended the annual gathering of Aborigines held on 28 November. Martial Law ceased on 11 December. Article from ?Australians: Events and Places?, part 8 of the ?Australians: A Historical Library? encyclopedia set. Executive editor S.G. Foster, Published 1987 by Fairfax, Syme & Weldon Associates.

Bathurst Emergency, a series of engagements between September and November 1824 which marked the final phase of resistance by Wiradjuri Aborigines to British settlement of New South Wales west of the Blue Mountains. An escalating series of clashes beginning in 1822, led by Wiradjuri leader Windradyne (or ?Saturday? as he was called by whites), caused the governor, Major-General Sir Thomas Brisbane, to proclaim martial law ?West of Mount York? on 14 August 1824. A further 43 troops of the 40th (2nd Somersetshire) Regiment were sent to Bathurst, brining to 75 the strength of the garrison there under Major James Morisset. In addition, a paramilitary force of 50-100 men was raised from among local settlers. Few details of the military campaign which followed are known with certainty. Although the episode is often called the ?Battle of Bathurst?, it was neither a single action nor focused exclusively in the immediate vicinity of the present-day city of that name. Grassby and Hill maintain that events began on 10 September with a clash about 80 kilometres north-west of Bathurst, between a 30-40-strong Wiradjuri war-party and three station hands who were tracking cattle that the Aborigines had driven from the Cudgegong River area. The next morning the whites stumbled upon the war-party?s camp about 32 kilometres north of Bathurst - fortunately emptied of its occupants, who were burying three warriors killed the day before. Finding the camp laden with weapons, the station hands buried the greater part of this cache before the tribesmen returned. Opposed now by largely defenceless Aborigines, the whites shot down sixteen of their opponents ? including one of the Wiradjuri leaders nicknamed Blucher, after the Prussian commander at Waterloo ? and forced the remainder to retreat with many wounded. In one stroke a major war-party had been eliminated. Following on this success, a week later the garrison at Bathurst itself took to the field in four ?flying? columns. The largest of these led by Morisset advanced north, while another moved west and two others headed east. Over the next fortnight a giant sweep was carried out across a radius up to 160 kilometres from Bathurst, covering as far east as Mount York and as far north as the Capertee district and Cudgegong River. The success of this operation was unarguable. By mid-October, the first Wiradjuri had begun to surrender; by 3 November Governor Brisbane was able to report that ?hostile Natives were hourly coming in and sue for peace and protection?. Brisbane, evidently concerned to justify to London such an extreme measure as the resort to martial law, later admitted that the number of Aborigines who were killed in achieving his desired outcome ?can only be gathered from conjecture?, but claimed that in all probability the figure was not much more than double the seven Europeans who lost their lives. Aboriginal tradition, however, presents a different picture, suggesting that tactics of the utmost severity bordering on extermination were employed. Two incidents alone ? at Bell?s Falls Gorge, a few kilometres west of Sofala, and in another gorge near the headwaters of Clear Creek (east of Brucedale) ? allegedly resulted in the systematic shooting of hundreds of Wiradjuri men, women and children. Another incident amounting to a massacre reportedly occurred at a camp established mainly as a refuge for women and children. Brisbane?s own description of the campaign?s aims and methods ? although superficially innocuous ? lends support to the worst interpretations of what happened. The governor reported that: ?the Detachment at Bathurst?[was] divided into various small parties, each headed by a Magistrate, and proceeded in different directions in towards the interior of the Country, and by previous arrangements were to form junctions at certain given points. This system of keeping these unfortunate People in a constant state of alarm soon brought them to a sense of their Duty? The tactics are recognizably those of marshalling terrorized Aborigines into areas where they could be attacked. It need scarcely be added that the presence of magistrates did no more than preserve the quasi-legal nature of proceedings, since at least one of these functionaries was a retired army officer anyway and another was Morisset himself, the very man authorised to employ ?the Use of Arms?beyond the ordinary Rule of Law in Time of Peace?[including] Resort to summary Justice?. While a ruthless policy of extermination undoubtedly brought results, curiously Windradyne himself remained at large for several months after the terror began. Not even the offering on 25 August of a reward of a land grant of 500 acres (202 hectares) for his apprehension did anything towards inducing his hapless fellow tribesmen to betray him. Windradyne decided himself when resistance was useless and submitted personally to Brisbane at Parramatta on 28 November, described by some as a broken and defeated leader. On 11 December Brisbane formally repealed his martial law measures. Historical records of Australia, Series I, vol. 11 (1917), Sydney: Commonwealth Parliament Library Committee; Al Grassby & Marji Hill (1988) Six Australian Battlefields, Sydney: Angus & Robertson. Article from ?Where Australians Fought: The encyclopedia of Australia?s battles? Written by Chris Coulthard-Clark, Published 1998 by Allen & Unwin.

Thanks guys! It might be a bit slow at times, but i think alot of it should be reasonably unknown to most. I myself have only recently begun to learn about this part of our history, so it's new to me as well! Ed, i don't suppose you would be able to tell us the exact dates of Pte. Maxham's service in Australia as it might help narrow down his location and duties. I'll be posting a large article on the Bathurst Emergency of 1824 in a bit, it's long but interesting. Because information of this campaign is scarce, i've copied it directly from the sources (there's 2) and left it unaltered in order to avoid any 'mis-translations' on my part. Sam.

The 40th Regiment of Foot, the 'Excellers', were posted to Australia from 1823 until 1829. They were posted to the main areas of settlement in Tasmania (Called Van Deimans Land at the time) and Sydney. Their main duties were guarding convicts, constructed fortifications, assisted police and provided other guard duties. They also took part in the 'Bathurst Emergency' of 1824 and likely several other low-key encounters with the Aboriginals.

Alright, a quick intro shall we? This tread is where i will be posting what i can find on the 40th regiment, primarily on their first tour in Australia in the 1820's. However, i hope this will also branch out into other units and time periods. I'm hoping other people will also contribute here with whatever they have; be it about Australian colonial history in general, the Regiments' service in other colonies or wars, or information on a particular individual from the Regiment. Questions are very welcome also, as are thoughts or statements in general. So, without much more ado, let's get into it shall we? Sam.

Brad, Most of Neils work on the 40th seems to be concentrated on Eureka and remainder of their second tour in Australia during the 50's. I plan on working on their first tour, back in the 20's. Not as an excting time in a European sense perhaps, but it was a fairly momentous time in its own right. I'll be starting a seperate thread on that just upstairs in the 'Regimental history' section, hoping to get a few people here involved. But, this is getting , so i'll hand it back to you guys. Anyone else got a Colonial Long Service medal they'd like to show off? Sam.

I'm afraid i must, most ashamedly, admit it wasn't my doing. Rather i had Neil Smith of Mostly Unsung conduct the research. Great guy and great value. Besides, i'm working on another project at the moment, the 40th Foot on duty in Australia in the 1820's. I was actually suprised to see just how vicious the early frontier work was, and the amount of it. And, of course, this was started by a new medal soon to arrive in my collection, but more on that soon... Sam.

Yay, research just came in! So, without furthur ado... Andrew Lindsay was born on the 17th of April, 1857 in Adelaide (South australia) to Robert and Mary Lindsay. His wife was Jane Skemmer Lindsay (Nee McKinley) and he was a Presbyterian. He enlisted in the South australian Volunteer Field Artillery, a part time militia, in 1880 to the camp at Fort Glanville. The SAVFA would later change its name to the Australian Garrison Artillery in 1901 due to federation (Boo!) His long service medal, only entitlement, was awarded on the 8th of July, 1905 for 20 years part time service. Here's a link to a pretty good site about Fort Glanville, lots of photos and a '360 degree tour': http://www.communitywebs.org/FortGlanville...t_Glanville.htm Not a bad little medal as it turns out, our Mr. Lindsay might not have seen alot of action in the empires service but still pretty nifty. Sam.

Nope, the bids started at comparatively low prices rather than dirt cheap. Thus far there's been a few bids, but it's like it was a bit of a waste of time for poor old Spink. Time will tell though, i suppose. Although , that's a beaut set Ardent! Could you post it in a seperate thread for discussion and drooling? Love to know the story behind that group! Sam.

The naming appears to be engraved in block capitals, i'll have to get a photo or scan done over the weekend for you. Sam.

Gilbert, Great set! Certainly makes you appreciate what one medal can mean when researched and the associated bits and pieces are added. And i wouldn't be too sure about the 'no heroics' bit, after all, several years in a prison camp, surrounded by the enemy with your own bombs coming close to hitting you during the last years. Just curious, is the medal named to Mr. Thorpe-Woods, or is it a representitive piece? Sam.

The 'Star of David' is a symbol used by several different religions and groups. This medal is probably Morrocan. My reasons being the Arabic writing on the rear and just a feeling i've seen it before. Just a guess though. Similar sort of this here: http://www.coleccionesmilitares.com/medall...o/marruecos.htm And i'm sorry to hear of your loss, Don. That grouping looks brilliant. Hope they resurface, but six weeks isn't too bad for some postage systems, there migh be hope yet. Sam.

Nice photo! Are you able to get us a closer shot of the collar tabs, and the shoulder boards as well if able. sam.

"New South Wales and Van Diemen?s Land ? 1 year 11 months " Gah! Be still my beating heart! Truly beaut set there, will have to have a closer look on his units particular service down here. Probably guard duty and maybe a bit of 'pacification ' work. I may have to hold you to that trade. Eventually... Sam.