The Beaconsfield Siege Medal

[archie777]

Beaconsfield (formerly known as Du Toit’s Pan) is nowadays a suburb of Kimberley. At the time of the Boer War however, Beaconsfield was a separate borough from Kimberley and was only amalgamated with the latter as the City of Kimberley in 1912.

Much to the indignation of its inhabitants, Kekewich originally excluded Beaconsfield from his plans for the defence but faced by a very strong and indignant protest, he was forced to provide for the defence of that place, though independently of the main defensive enclosure. 

The Beaconsfield Siege Medal was commissioned in 1900 by the Mayor of Beaconsfield, Capt. C.A. Blackbeard, probably at the same time that the Mayor of Kimberley, Mr. H.A. Olivier, commissioned the Kimberley Medal.

 

Some 1.500 medals were struck in white metal but it would seem that the silver issue was limited to 9 pieces. 

 

The white metal medals, presented to school children of all races on 23 October 1901, were pierced at 12 o’clock and suspended via two thin metal rings from a narrow red, white and blue ribbon.

 

Parents were required to fill in an application form to obtain the medal for children.

The Sterling silver medal was struck from the same dies but was fitted with a claw and ring suspension (identical to that of the Yorkshire Imperial Yeomanry Medal) with a 65mm wide, red, white and blue ribbon.

 

The names of the 9 Councillors (including the Mayor and Town Clerk), who received silver Beaconsfield medals, are recorded in the Beaconsfield Town Council Minutes of 27 November, 1900.

Some towns people expressed a belated desire to also have an example of the silver medal. The Town Clerk was therefore instructed to collect names and prepayments with the object of placing a second order if sufficient numbers were requested. The subsequent Minutes however, make no further mention of the issue and it must be assumed that no further silver examples were ordered.

Edited June 7 by archie777