Brett Hendey

Mervyn, thanks for the mention of my family connection with the Natal Mounted Police and the Zulu War. My great grandfather, Albert Elkington, was amongst the earliest recruits (No. 18) into the Natal Mounted Police after the unit was formed in 1874. He left the NMP in 1876 to become the Gaoler at Msinga, an outpost near the Zululand border about 25 km from Rorke's Drift. After the Battles of Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift on 22 January 1879, there was panic amongst the inhabitants on the Natal side of the Buffalo River. A British supply convoy had halted at Msinga and it was decided to improve the defences of the settlement to create a place of safety for the district's inhabitants. The Msinga Gaol was emptied of prisoners and it was fortified. Since Gaoler Elkington no longer had prisoners to guard, the Magistrate, Henry Francis Fynn, allowed him and his pregnant wife, Annie Sarah, to leave and seek refuge in Ladysmith. A week after the Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift battles, their first child, a son, was born. A further family link with Isandlwana was the escape from the battlefield by Trooper Charles Lennox Stretch of the Buffalo Border Guard, who was the elder brother of Annie Sarah Elkington. In the 1880's Albert Elkington became a transport rider carrying goods by wagon between the port of Durban in Natal and the Johannesburg goldfields in the Transvaal. The family eventually settled in Vryheid, Transvaal, where their eighth and last child, a daughter, was born in 1895. This daughter died during the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902, when the family also lost their Vryheid property. A postscript about the Elkington son born during the Zulu War came with his enlistment for service in the South African Infantry Brigade, which was fighting in France and Flanders during World War I. After the heavy losses suffered by South Africa during the Somme battles of 1916, a wave of patriotic fervour led to these losses being replaced by men like the 38-year-old Albert Henry Charles Elkington. He was to die of wounds in Flanders on 21 September 1917 during the Battle of Menin Road, which was part of the 3rd Ypres offensive. (I will post a picture of relics of 'young' Albert in a more appropriate place.) A few years later, in 1921, the patriarch Albert Elkington also died, but his redoubtable wife, Annie Sarah Elkington (nee Stretch) lived for another 20 years, finally dying aged 83 in 1941. Regards Brett

I had previously seen only a photo of the plaque, but I now have it at hand. It is 14 cm in diameter and it weighs 1.5 kg, so it is a substantial object. The reverse is plain, with no sign of the method of fixing to another surface. It still has earth adhering to it, but a greenish tinge shows through on the metal suggesting copper in involved. The previous owner of the house where the plaque was found evidently served in the RAF during and after WWII. He died recently and had no local relatives. I will try to find out more about him but I suspect that, if there was a link between him and the plaque, the story died with him. I wonder if the ?negro slave breaking his bonds depicted on the HMS Hawkins' emblem has something to do with the RN's fight against slave traders? Perhaps there was an earlier HMS Hawkins that was so engaged. Regards Brett

A resident of Winston Park near Durban has dug up a metal plaque in his garden and wonders if it is of any interest to collectors and, if so, what is its value?

Hi Leigh I have a friend with the surname Mapp and, since Florence Mary might represent a twig on his family tree, I have passed on copies of your postings to him. I will let you know if anything transpires. The Natal branch of the Mapp tree until recently owned the farm on which the Boer War Spioenkop battlefield is located. It is still one of the unspoiled and most atmospheric battlefields in Natal. Regards Brett

I have the medals awarded to Lieutenant-Colonel Bertram Robert Brewin MC, together with a great deal of copied paperwork, including a copy of his WWI diary, the original of which is in the National Archives. In his abbreviated biography I have recorded the following: Commanding Officer (Acting Lieutenant-Colonel), 27th Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers (Tyneside Irish) (34th Division), 26/4/1917. As a result of intemperance, he was relieved of command on 18/6/1917. Reverted to Captain (ex 6th West Riding Regiment) 0n 20/6/1917. Brewin was awarded the MC while serving in the 1st Battalion, Gloucester Regiment, at Passchendaele on 10/11/1917. Most of his military service (1890 - 1902 & 1914 - 1920) was in units other than the Northumberland Fusiliers, so it isn't relevant to the subject of this thread. If anyone is interested in receiving a 3-page copy of his abbreviated biography, please pm me giving your e-mail address. Regards Brett

Hi William An astounding collection! The S A Military History Museum staff must be very envious! I hope that one day you will get public and official recognition for making this priceless collection of part of South Africa's military history. Regards Brett

Many thanks Norman. Cheers Brett

Hi Chris & Norman Thanks for your comments. I hope that one day we find out where the full size medals are housed. I also hope that they are all together in a safe place. Brett

In an earlier post I wrote that I would add a photo of the miniature medals of the first OC of 2 Squadron, SAAF, in Korea. Also, Arthur listed the 2 Squadron Korean War veterans who subsequently reached general rank in the South African military. To this can be added the name of another man who reached high rank. He was: Air Vice Marshall John Howe Howe left the SAAF after the Korean War, perhaps because of the 'Afrikanerisation' of the SA military, and joined the RAF in 1954. He has since retired and a few years ago he was living in Norwich, England. Brett

Steve A fantastic group. Thanks for showing it. There must be many South African collectors who are very envious. Regards Brett

An amazing collection! Because of your posts and comments made by Mike, I had some idea of the content of your collection, but I completely underestimated it. Congratulations. Regards Brett

It is an unusual combination of medals. Single issue War Medals are uncommon; it means no service outside South Africa. A researcher might be able to track down papers, but without a service number and unit it would be extremely difficult. The roll for the SA War Service Medal is lost, so there is no chance of identifying Scott that way. Regards Brett

Hi Norman Yes I do. If you send me a pm with your address I will post a copy to you. Regards Brett

A roll for the South African regular forces (police, volunteer regiments etc) that attended the 1902 Coronation was published many years ago by Mac Bisset. It lists 255 names. However, there was another much larger contingent from South Africa that was made up of men from irregular units that had been raised during the Boer War (e.g. Bethune's Mounted Infantry, Damant's Horse, Imperial Light Horse, Kitchener's Fighting Scouts, Railway Pioneer Regiment). This roll is in the National Archives at Kew (WO127-23). Regards Brett

Thanks for another very helpful reply. It would be great to have at least one genuine Chinese medal in my collection, but my financial resources are very limited and I would rather spend my money on genuine 'western' awards, which are less likely to be faked. Having said that, a militaria dealer friend was recently offered a fake Queen's Korea Medal (British) to the Gloucester Regiment. It was such a poor fake that it should have fooled no-one, but in fact the vendor had been taken in. Regards Brett PS I am amazed by the wealth and variety of knowledge possessed by members of this forum.

Thank you both for your input. Although the medal I have is a fake (and a poor one at that) I will keep it in my Korean War collection as I am not likely to ever find a genuine replacement. It is a great pity that the Chinese medal market has been spoiled in this way. Regards Brett

Hi Tony I agree with Peter about a clerical error being the most likely reason for the clasp combination on your medal. I think a QSA with three "battle" clasps is more desirable (and hence more valuable) than a medal with one "battle" clasp and two "state" clasps. In other words, I would pay more for a QSA with the clasps Elandslaagte, Defence of Ladysmith & Belfast than one with Elandslaagte, Orange Free State & Transvaal clasps. If the clasps on your medal were fraudulently changed, it has decreased rather than increased the value of the medal, which rather defeats the object of a fraud, hence favouring the "clerical error" option. According to the roll, your man was entitled to three "battle" clasps on his medal and perhaps it should be valued that way, rather than with its present clasp combination, although I am sure that some collectors would disagree. I think opinion would also be divided as to whether you should replace the OFS & Tvl clasps with DoL and Belfast ones. The 2009 Medal Yearbook values Elandslaagte QSA's to the British Army at 350 - 400 gbp, which I think is a low estimate. Regards Brett

Hi Tony David Biggins' (2004) authoritative book on the Battle of Elandslaagte includes details of Neal on the Devonshire Regiment medal roll as follows: 4413 Pte Neal, H 3 bars Elandslaagte, Defence of Ladysmith, Belfast. Notes: QSA (3) inc OFS & Tr excl DofL & Belf Glen 91 So it looks as though Neal's medal was sold in 1991 by Glendennings with the clasps as you have them. Devonshire Regiment QSA's most commonly have the Elandslaagte/Defence of Ladysmith/Belfast clasp combination, but there are a few that have the Elandslaagte/OFS/Transvaal combination. Neal may in fact have been entitled to the former combination, but the latter was issued in error. Regards Brett

A picture showing the misplaced stars on the Chinese flag. Note also there is no white on the North Korean flag.

A picture of the pin:

Here is a picture of the medal's reverse:

Thank you Chris and Ed for your comments. I have had another detailed look at the medal, comparing it with Hendrik's photo. The medal itself is solid and well made, although the suspender is of thin metal, the ribbon is of cheap material, and the pin, although similar in manufacture to Hendrik's, is small and short. The colours are not enamelled, but are painted instead. Another very curious difference is with the positioning of the four small stars on the Chinese flag on the right margin of the medal. They have become 'misplaced' and are not in an arc as they should be. The overall impression is, therefore, of a cheaper medal, which is what one would expect of a fake. However, I wonder if the medals handed out to the early Chinese contingents going to Korea were of good quality, whereas later, as the war progressed and the numbers of Chinese troops increased, cheaper medals of poorer quality were distributed. I realise that this is clutching at straws, but the medal does seem to be 'old' and I wonder if medals were faked in Mao's time? It seems to be a very 'capitalist' thing to do and, thus, something of which Mao would have disapproved. I will try posting some more pics of the medal later today. Regards Brett

Thank you, Hendrik, that is very helpful. The medal I have certainly looks old, but I suppose that it could have been made recently and then artificially aged. I wonder how long the Chinese have been faking medals like this? Regards Brett

Hi Ed & Hendrik Thank you for your replies, which together solve the problem of the medal's identity. It must be a copy or fake of the Laoxi Province Medal. Apart from the blank reverse, the fake medal has no white enamel representing the sea around Korea and there are other small differences. It cost only about US$7, so its no great loss. I will keep it as a curiosity. Hendrik, do you know when the Laoxi Province Medal was issued and to whom it was awarded? Regards Brett

A result of my current interest in the Korean War was the purchase of the medal shown below. It was tentatively identified as Chinese by the vendor, but it might also be North Korean, since it shows an undivided Korean Peninsula that was probably the wishful thinking behind the 1950 invasion of South Korea. The reverse of the medal is blank and there is a tiny pin for hanging it.