The rare 6-clasp Boer War medal to Jemadar Yusaf Ali Khan, 33rd Queen’s Own Light Cavalry (late 3rd Bombay Cavalry), one of Lord Roberts’ Indian Orderlies on the Army Head Quarters Staff in South Africa

Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 6 clasps, Cape Colony, Paardeberg, Driefontein, Johannesburg, Diamond Hill, Belfast (2366 Dafr: Yusaf Ali Khan, Head-Qr: Staff) edge bruising and contact marks, otherwise nearly very fine and extremely rare £600-700

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Brian Ritchie Collection of H.E.I.C. and British India Medals.

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Silver medals to Indian recipients with ‘battle’ clasps are extremely rare, possibly as few as 32 issued and fewer still with 6 clasps.

Daffadar Yusaf Ali Khan, 3rd Bombay Cavalry, appears on the medal roll of the Army Head Quarters Staff together with five others, four cavalry and one infantry, but his regiment is incorrectly shown as the 3rd Bengal Cavalry. The roll is signed by Lieutenant-Colonel H. V. Cowan, who served as Military Secretary on the Staff and who received the same six clasps to his own medal. The other five Indians on the roll are Daffadars Desa Singh (7th Bengal Cavalry), Mirbad Shah (11th Bengal Lancers), Saleh Singh (14th Bengal Lancers), Wadhawa Singh (19th Bengal Lancers), and Drill Havildar Yaseen Baj (3rd Madras Infantry). It would seem that some of the regiments shown here are also at variance to the recipients’ actual units. For example, this last recipient actually served in the 3rd Madras Lancers and became a Jemadar in 1901 and a Ressaidar in 1907; his war service is shown as ‘South Africa 1900-01 - Orderly to F.M. Earl Roberts. Paardeberg, Driefontein, Johannesburg, Diamond Hill, Belfast - Medal with 6 clasps).

Yusaf Ali Khan, who entered the Indian Army on 2 July 1887, was promoted to Jemadar on 1 November 1903. He transferred from the 33rd Cavalry to The Governor’s Bodyguard Bombay on 1 July 1906 and was simultaneously advanced to Risaldar, and remained thus until his retirement at the end of 1919. His war service is shown in the Indian Army List of January 1919 as ‘South Africa 1900 - Medal with 6 clasps).

Refs: WO 100/296; Indian Army Lists; QSA Silver Medals to Indians - OMRS Journal Winter 1985 (Street).