A Collection of Queen’s South Africa Medals to Colonial Units

Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 3 clasps, Cape Colony, South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902 (Lieut: F. A. Bowers. 1/Namq’ld B.S.) extremely fine, scarce to unit £240-280

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, A Collection of Queen’s South Africa Medals to Colonial Units.

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F. A. Bowers served as a Lieutenant with the 1st Namaqualand Border Scouts during the Boer War. The unit, about 360 strong and officered by 3 captains and 17 lieutenants, was almost wholly recruited from half-castes. It was said of them that "they were an excellent force, which did a great deal of hard patrol work under Colonel White, and had several stiff brushes with the enemy. They were conspicuous for consistently refusing to surrender when surrounded, as patrols were at times. They would keep up a fight till dark, and although half of them were killed the survivors of the party would escape. They made wonderful marches without water in their desert country". The work of the regiment was very similar to that of the Border Scouts. The corps was employed in their own district in 1901 and 1902. In March 1902 a detachment saw action at Garies, and they formed part of the garrison of O’okiep when that town was besieged in April 1902.