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Auction: 17001 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 192

(x) 'I took a rifle from one of the men, and was standing up to take a steady aim at a Boer behind a heap not fifty yards away, when from another heap still closer a man fired and got me plump in the right shoulder. The rifle dropped with a thud, "Take the bally gun and shoot," I said, and turning back made straight for Faulkner, who held my pony three hundred yards to the rear.

As I went the pain was very great. I thought my arm had been shot clean off and was only hanging by a few threads of my khaki jacket. I seemed to be carrying in my left arm an enormous heavy holster. The fingers were twitching and dancing, and seemed to be far away. I caught them, and said goodbye to them affectionately. I realised that in this steeplechase of war I had come down at the first fence. When I reached Faulkner, he got his field-dressing at once, and tied it up as tight as he could pull at the shoulder joint. I was feeling very giddy.

A doctor turned up almost immediately, a jolly good doctor too. He put me under the cover of an ant-heap, and disregarding all cover himself, cut off my jacket and shirt and dressed my wound. Just after this the order was given to retire, and they retired, leaving Doctor Hardy, his orderly, Private Jose, 18th Hussars, and me … '

Major F. M. Crum of the 1st K.R.R.C. Mounted Infantry Company describes the moment he took a bullet at the battle of Talana; his Memoirs of a Rifleman Scout, refer.

An exceptional Boer War mounted infantry and Western Front sniper officer's group of five awarded to Major F. M. Crum, King's Royal Rifle Corps, who was severely wounded and taken P.O.W. at Talana in October 1899: the bad penny turned up again in France in July 1915, when a shell fragment hit him in the jaw

His experiences at Talana - and his subsequent ordeal as a severely wounded prisoner - are described at length in his Memoirs of a Rifleman Scout: the recipient of a bollocking from General Symonds at the outset of the battle, he had many near squeaks before being dropped by the bullet wound to his shoulder: his liberation was finally enacted under the auspices of Winston Churchill in June 1900

Queen's South Africa 1899-1902, 4 clasps, Cape Colony, Talana, Orange Free State, Transvaal (Capt. F. M. Crum, K.R.R.C.); King's South Africa 1901-02, 2 clasps, South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902 (Major F. M. Crum, K.R.R.C.); 1914-15 Star (Major F. M. Crum, K.R. Rif. C.); British War and Victory Medals, M.I.D. oak leaf (Major F. M. Crum), together with an oval cap badge of Eton College school corps, one or two minor edge bruises to the Boer War pair, otherwise generally very fine or better (7)

Frederick Maurice Crum was born at Over Tabley, Cheshire, on 31 October 1872, the son of William Graham Crum. Educated at Eton and the R.M.C. Sandhurst, he was commissioned in the King's Royal Rifle Corps in February 1893.

Posted to the 1st Battalion, he was embarked for India, where he was advanced to Lieutenant in July 1895. He did not however see active service with the Chitral Relief Force, being retained at the Rifle Depot in Peshawar.

In December 1896, the battalion was embarked for South Africa, where Crum joined the newly formed 1st K.R.R.C. Mounted Infantry Company in May 1899.

Talana: wounds, captivity and Winston Churchill to the rescue

As cited above, Crum was severely wounded in the right shoulder and taken P.O.W. at the battle of Talana on 20 October 1899: such was the serious nature of his wound that, following his liberation at the hands of Winston Churchill, he was not discharged to duty until September 1900.

These memorable events are described in vivid detail in his Memoirs of a Rifleman Scout. Having come under shell fire early in the action, he galloped to General Symonds to obtain orders: he was told to join a maxim gun team, accompanied by some Dublin Fusiliers and a party of the 18th Hussars, the General adding, 'go quietly and don't gallop!'

His serious wound aside, Crum seems to have led a charmed life in the early stages of the battle, or certainly according to his Memoirs of a Rifleman Scout:

'A shell whistled past between us and struck the bank of the stream close to us. I had hardly time to say "By Jove!" when another, and then a third fell, all so close that one felt it was a question of inches.'

Luckily they were not of the shrapnel variety.

After collecting his wound, he passed the evening of the battle at a farm, where 'the Boer family did nothing but stare at us' and his wound began to bleed again. Then ensued a painful journey in a cart to another farm where a place was found for him on the floor of an outhouse. Painfully aware of the serious nature of his wounds, Crum orchestrated his admission to a Swedish Mission civil hospital, a move that saved him the loss of his arm. By early November he was beginning to rally, only to be struck down by a fever: running a temperature of 105, he could neither sleep or breathe freely.

In December, he was moved to Pretoria, where he was united with numerous officer prisoners. The food was abysmal and the head gaoler moved around at night, counting heads to check that no-one had escaped:

'The hundred officers presented a weird sight, and it was no wonder that people passing on the opposite side of the road used to stop and have a good stare at us. Once could imagine, when they stopped and talked to the Zarps, that they were asking if we really were officers, Colonels, Majors, subalterns and magistrates. Some no doubt, in better times, were very particular as to their personal appearance, but were now to be seen with long hair and shaggy beards, dressed in all sorts of ready-made, badly fitting, cheap Pretoria suitings. A scarf or muffler was more fashionable than a collar and tie, and a helmet usually gave the finishing touch to the get-up, for the authorities would not allow any hat which might help towards escape' (ibid).

At length, in early June 1900, as British forces closed on Pretoria, Crum and his comrades resolved to stand firm if the Boers attempted to transport them away from liberation. Indeed they disarmed their 'Hollander' Commandant and Sub. Commandant and threatened them with the noose if they co-operated with the Boer force stationed nearby. On the night of the 4th, Crum cut a hole in the wire perimeter and told a Hollander guard not to interfere if he made dash for it. But succour was at hand, for on the morning of the 5th, large bodies of men were seen to the west. Crum takes up the story:

'At 9 a.m., two men in felt hats and khaki with a civilian galloped up. Even till they were a hundred yards off I feared they might be Boers. Then they took off their hats and waved them. There was a yell, and we all rushed through the gate. They were Marlborough and Winston Churchill, and we were free!'

Back in harness: leadership and dash - mentioned in despatches

Crum finally returned to duty with 1st K.R.R.C. Mounted Infantry Company in October 1900 and was advanced to Captain in January 1901.

It was in the latter month that he played a prominent part in saving Kitchener's train from falling into Boer hands at Middelburg on the 23rd: Galloping over 600 yards of rough exposed ground he reached the advance train: 'I told the officer in command that there were fully 300 Boers about and asked him to get both trains back as quickly as possible, saying that I would do to keep them off' (ibid).

In October 1901, he took command of No. 1 Company in the newly formed 25th Battalion of Mounted Infantry, part of Colonel Benson's famous column in the Eastern Transvaal.

He was subsequently present in the hotly contested action at Bakenlaagte on 'Gun Hill' on 30 October 1901, on which date he once again distinguished himself: he took command of the one remaining 15-pounder gun, as '1000 of the finest Boers in the country' charged the rear guard. In fact Crum and his detachment held out for seven hours before retiring under cover of darkness, reluctantly leaving behind five wounded men who could not be moved.

But it was for an attack on an enemy convoy on 21 December that he won a mention in despatches, the relevant text in the London Gazette of 25 April 1902 citing his leadership and dash on the same occasion. That 'mention' stemmed from a report written by Colonel C. Mackenzie:

'The O.C. Column congratulates all concerned on the operations of 21st inst., resulting in the capture of the Standerton Convoy. The 25th M.I., under Major Eustace, and particularly Captain Crum's Company, contributed in a marked way to the day's success. To the fact of moving with stripped saddles, though it entailed hardships for two days, it was due that over 30 miles were covered, after a 30-mile march, in only five hours. Total bag: 23 Boers, 20 wagons, 20 carts (and others destroyed), 2,000 cattle, 1,000 sheep, and many good ponies.'

The evening of his success, Crum noted, 'It came on to rain, with a plague of mosquitoes and sand flies.' Such are the hazards of soldering on the veldt. He was invalided to England in February 1902 and received the Brevet of Major.

A stint of duty in Malta having followed, Crum transferred to the 2nd Battalion, K.R.R.C. in India, where, in 1909, he took up appointment as Assistant Commandant of the Mounted Infantry School at Poona in India. In the following year, however, owing to ill-health, he was placed on half-pay and thence on the Retired List.

Western Front: Sniping Officer - another wound - Battalion C.O.

Recalled on the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914, Crum joined the 8th Battalion, K.R.R.C., and went to France as Battalion Scout and Sniping Officer. He was hit in the jaw by a shell fragment on 7 July 1915, when German artillery 'suddenly planted four shells near us. It was all very sudden, and I could hardly believe a splinter had hit me. We soon patched it up, and on arrival at Headquarters the doctor put two stitches in and bandaged it' (ibid).

On 30 July, Crum and his comrades fell victim to the enemy's first use of 'liquid fire', an attack that reduced their brigade's strength from 4,000 to 720 men. Himself emerging unscathed from the experience, he assumed temporary command of the Battalion at the year's end. He had another spell in command in early-to-mid 1916 and was mentioned in despatches (London Gazette 15 June 1916, refers).

In May-June 1916, Crum ran a Brigade Sniping School at Acq, following which he rejoined the 8th Battalion for a short tour of duty. In July, he joined General Skinner's staff, to run the Brigade's snipers and intelligence; such was his reputation in the former field that he was ordered to G.H.Q. to oversee five schools of sniping, and he published an official manual Scouting, Sniping and Observation at the end of his appointment in late 1917. He was mentioned in despatches (London Gazette 21 December 1917, refers).

Returning to England owing to ill-health, Crum was invalided out of the Army in November 1918.

D.L., J.P. and Head Scout in Scotland: 'a fearless leader'

He became senior scout in Scotland, where his services were considered exceptional by Baden-Powell. He was rewarded with the movement's 'Silver Wolf' award.

Appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for the county of Stirling in March 1933 and a J.P. in 1936, he died at Kenmuir, Rosneth, Dumbartonshire, on 8 October 1955, aged 83 years. His regimental obituary described him as a 'fearless leader, modest and calm', a pioneer 'who was always looking forward, always giving a lead and calling on others to lead.'

Towards the end of his life he published Memoirs of a Rifleman Scout in four parts (Learmonth & Son, Stirling, 1949-51), and earlier With the Mounted Infantry in South Africa (MacMillan & Bowes, Cambridge, 1903) and The Question of Mounted Infantry - By a Rifleman (1909). The first of these publications, in particular, forms the basis of the above biographical entry, together with additional references contained in an accompanying file of copied research.


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