Harry Fecitt

Mervyn

There is a possibly suitable museum at: http://www.rhodesian....org/index.html

You will find Hugh Bomford's contact details at the bottom of the page.

Harry

Mervyn

Thank you for posting these images - with all the medals on display I think that this is a post-Great War ceremony.

Bechuanaland, I believe, only ever had a small police force.

My instincts tell me that these photos were taken in West Africa, and a research colleague of mine who is an expert on that theatre suggests that this might be the Gold Coast Regiment (GCR) on parade at Kumasi Fort.

If you dig deep you should be able to find out details of post-WW 1 colour presentations to the GCR and then identify the Commanding and Presenting Officers.

Please keep your flow of interesting images coming.

Harry

Michael

Please may I refer you to pages 126 & 127 of John Arnold's splendid rerence book The African D.C.M. (Published by The Orders & Medals Research Society 1988)

John lists your medal.

You are lucky to have access to it.

Harry

Mervyn

Greetings

My guess, considering the location and the dates, is that this was a Rhodesia Native Regiment Colour.

I certainly hope it is, as then it is a real discovery.

Harry

Gentlemen

Anybody researching the 1950s Cyprus Campaign will be interested in this news item: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/persona...-mans-land.html

Harry

Gentlemen

If anyone is interested in the campaign awards of the late 1890s have a look at:

http://youroldbooksandmaps.co.uk/navy-and-...-1895-1896.html

There is a lot of good background material here and some very good images.

Harry

Bob's photo in Post 111 sums up for me more than anything why we are floundering around in our overseas theatres these days.

There you see lightly-equipped soldiers leaping off a vehicle with the agility and determination to get amongst the miscreants and take effective action. That's how it was done.

Recently I saw news footage of a British unit that called in an airstrike because one sniper with a standard AK rifle fired at the British base!

After a decent interval heavily-laden British infantry lumbered out of the base on foot, weighed down by protective armour, helmets and massive packs. The enemy was long gone.

For months at a time up on the hill I would live off my mens' rations - chapattis, rice, dal, tinned fish, cheese & meatballs, and dates. Donkeys carried the rations up from the nearest airstrip.

Now our overseas theatres are dependent on massive road convoys of luxury food that apparently is needed today. These convoys, besides being ridiculously expensive to operate, themselves attract attacks and more casualties are incurred from roadside IEDs.

We have lost our military agility, both mentally and physically.

Thank you for showing these images of how it used to be.

Harry

Irish

Here are some notes that I posted on Great War Forum:

The 40^th Pathans was a single-battalion regiment with its depot in the northwest Punjab at Sialkot, the former winter capital of the state of Kashmir. The regiment was composed of 1 company of Orakzais, a half company of Afridis and a half-company of Yusufzais, 1 company of Punjabi Musulmans and 1 company of Dogras. The regiment was linked with the 33^rd and 46^th Punjabis.

The dress uniform was drab coloured with emerald green facings. This was a lively regiment attracting attention wherever it went and being nicknamed the "Forty Thieves" (Major "Ali Baba" Graves of the 42^nd Gurkhas had raised the unit at Peshin, Quetta as the only all-Pathan regiment in the Indian Army, but the 1901 linked-battalion system destroyed that unique identity). The stirring regimental march : "Zakhmi Dill", played on srinai (reed pipes) and dhols (drums), was a favourite on band nights along the North-West Frontier, especially when the verses were sung.

In August 1914 the 40^th Pathans was in Hong Kong, but after Lord Kitchener remarked that there was a job to be done by such a fine body of men on the Western Front the regiment was ordered to France. Embarking in Kowloon on 26^th February 1915 on SS Basilan the regiment disembarked at Marseille on 1^st April and marched through the town with its Pukhtan band-musicians playing the Marseillaise.

After inspections by the Indian Corps Commander Sir James Willcocks and by Sir John French the regiment experienced gas attacks and spotter aircraft for the first time during the 2^nd Battle of Ypres. After the battle half the regiment was gone, (Killed in Action 24 including the CO, Died of Wounds 10, Missing in Action 11, Wounded in Action 295).

During August and September the regiment was in the trenches near Neuve Chappelle, taking more casualties, but was not committed during the Battle of Loos. In the December 1915 withdrawal of the Indian Infantry Divisions from France the regiment embarked on the 14^th at Marseille on HMT Arcadian for an "unknown destination".

The destination was Kilindini where the regiment disembarked on 9^th January 1916. On that day Wavell's Arab Rifles were ambushed at Mwele Mdogo, just southwest of Mombasa, losing 30 men killed including Wavell. The 40^th Pathans sent two companies immediately to Mwele Mdogo, retaining the two other companies in the defence plan for Mombasa. However the Mwele Mdogo ambush was the last threatening action that the Schutztruppe made on the British East Africa coast and the 40^th Pathans was then employed on Line of Communication duties before being placed in the 2^nd East African Brigade of 1^st Division and allocated to Centre Column.

The 40^th Pathans would soon be operating alongside the 2^nd Bn the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment during the capture of Dar Es Salaam.

The 40^th Pathans would leave behind over 100 dead in East Africa.

I suggest that you obtain a copy of High Noon of Empire - the diary of Lt Col Henry Tyndall 1895-1915 edited by B.A. 'Jimmy' James. Published in 2007 by Pen & Sword. ISBN 978 1 84415 546 0.

This is the only account of the regiment in East Africa that I have found.

Harry

Rick & Arthur

I got my answers and posted an article titled "Bronkhorst Spruit" under Harry's Africa in:

http://www.kaiserscross.com/188001/209401.html

Thank you

Harry

Blanche St John Bellairs excellent history: The Transvaal War 1880 - 1881 states in the footnote on page 89 that Sergeants Bradley, Maistre and Pears of the 94th Regiment all received distinguished-service medals.

Does she mean that these three were amongst the 20 recipients of the DCM in this campaign?

(Interestingly in the London Gazette of 3 May 1881 Maj Gen Evelyn Wood recommends Private Murray, 92nd Highlanders for a Distinguished Service Medal, but I cannot find trace of such a medal in use in 1881.)

Can any Gentleman advise, please.