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Auction: 20040 - Stamps and Covers of Southern Africa
Lot: 189

Cape of Good Hope
Kaffraria 1846-58, The Letters of Colour Sergeant Thomas Golding Serving with the Royal Warwicks and later the Cape Mounted Regiment of Riflemen
The collection of soldier's letters from Golding during his service time in British Kaffraria and giving a soldier's view of the wars and troubles in South Africa at this time
Thirty four items in total with seventeen being properly drawn up complete letters signed by his Commanding Officers at the time, the correspondence commences with the earliest (7.10.46) from Cape Town with fine "soldiers & seamans/4/by ship" handstamp commenting "by Algoa Bay there to trim the Kaffirs & trim them we will as close as ever they were in this world for we will spare none", letter only (10.11.46) commenting that they are at Buffalo River to take the resignation of the Kaffirs, letter only (27.6.47) "I will give you an account of the attack upon Black Drift by Caffirs", complete letter (2 .9.48) on lithograph headed paper of Table Mountain, the last letter signed by Col. Michel, Golding having resigned from the regiment and become a policeman, a post he soon gave up and went to Algoa Bay where he failed to find work. With Sarah and his baby son he went to Uitenhage where he opened a school. He later accepted Col. Somerset's invitation to rejoin the army with rank of Trooper Sergeant in the Cape Mounted Riflemen, 1849-50 three complete items from Grahams Town, one with octagonal-framed "46" and two with oval-framed "general post office/Crown/cape town" handstamp and each with handstruck "2", one with "The Dutch Boers are all but in open Rebellion on the other side of the Vaal River", letter only (20.12.50) with mention of the slaughter of his troops in the Amatola Mountains, many losses on both sides, and passing the dead of the 45th. Regiment "murdered that morning", two letters from Grahams Town (7.2.51) one giving more details of the defeat on 2 December and the death of John Payne at Wolf's Pass, the other with mention of the attack on Fort Beaufort by the Rebel Chief Hermanus, two complete letters (16.5.51) from King Williams Town Camp with reference to "chasing the enemy for 8 nights and 9 days over a country covered with bush rocks and Rivers", letter (20.5.51) from Camp banks of the Buffalo advising that the mail had been captured by the enemy with only one person and his wife escaping, and other gruesome details after having gone out to recover the mail, complete letter (12.6.51) containing a report of the Christmas Day Massacre and complete letter (1.12.51) from Keishama Hoek, both these signed by Lt. Col. George Napier, letter only (10.4.52) advising of the death of his son (a further OHMS letter also doing so), letter only (15.4.52) including "had one man shot thro the heart, my own horse wounded & a ball complete thro the top of my Cap", and "the enemy fight with such desperation", complete letter (1.11.52) signed by Capt. Salis, letter (14/7/52) giving notice of his wife's death, letter only (29.10.53) after he had been court martialled and reduced from the rank having not made up his account, and four later complete letters from which some philatelic moron has removed the triangular adhesives
The correspondence is accompanied by an 1845 letter from Golding in Coventry to his father-in-law asking for his blessing on his marriage that day, and two copies of the 1974 monograph on the correspondence written by Robson Lowe
A magnificent opportunity to acquire this wonderful correspondence intact. Photo

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Sold for
£15,000

Starting price
£5500