Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A Boer War D.C.M. pair awarded to Private D. McKinnon, 6th Dragoons, for gallantly attempting to save the life of the mortally-wounded Captain Jackson by carrying him to safety amidst a hail of bullets near Rensburg on 16 December 1899

Distinguished Conduct Medal, E.VII.R. (2980 Pte. Mc.Kinnon. 6th. Dragoons.); Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 5 clasps, Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Johannesburg, Diamond Hill, Belfast (2980. Pte. D. McKinnon. 6/Drgns.) good very fine (2) £1400-1800

Provenance: J. B. Hayward, May 1979.

D.C.M. London Gazette 27 September 1901. The recommendation, extracted from ‘With the Inniskilling Dragoons’, states:

‘Late in the afternoon on the 16 December 1899 a patrol, under Captain Jackson, 7th Dragoon Guards, attached to the Inniskillings, reconnoitred towards Rensburg; they came under a heavy fire, and Captain Jackson was mortally wounded. Sergeant Broadwood and Private McKinnon gallantly stuck to him, amidst a hail of bullets, and successfully carried him in.’

David McKinnon was born in Dungannon, Co. Tyrone, Ireland, in 1870, and attested for the 6th Dragoons at Belfast on 1 April 1889. Transferring to the Reserve on 1 April 1896, he was recalled to the Colours on 9 October 1899, and served with the Regiment in South Africa from 23 October 1899 until 12 March 1902. Awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for gallantry at Rensburg on 16 December 1899, at the height of ‘Black Week’, he was finally discharged on 4 April 1902, after 13 years and 4 days’ service.