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Auction: 21003 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 56

An important 'Defence of Mafeking' Queen's South Africa Medal awarded to Mr G. N. H. Whales, Mafeking Town Guard, who edited and issued his 'Special Siege Slip' editions of the Mafeking Mail throughout those famous days, being lucky to have been meeting with the Press Censor when a Boer shell smashed his office, one of two occasions when his office was shelled

Queen's South Africa 1899-1902, 1 clasp, Defence of Mafeking (G. N. H. Whales. Mafeking Town Gd:), one or two edge bruises, very fine

George Nathaniel Henry Whales was born in 1851 and was the publisher and editor of the Mafeking Mail, who put out his Special Siege Slips throughout the Siege, with the note on the top:

'Issued Daily, Shells Permitting.'

Dr Robin Pelteret has written:

'In Mafeking, there was to exist a fragile peace between the publisher and editor of the Mafeking Mail Special Siege Slip, G. N. H. Whales, and the military authorities. Whales was somewhat acerbic of tongue. He once publicly thanked the press censor for saving his life, a Boer shell having destroyed his editorial chair whilst he was submitting his newspaper copy for military scrutiny elsewhere in the village. He was to be briefly imprisoned on one occasion for publishing querulous criticism on the conduct of the siege and the restrictions on the availability of news. In protest, he was known to publish empty columns (No. 47) and indeed cancelled one whole edition (No.45) as visible disregard and mute testimony to the censor's liberal use of a blue pencil.'

That 94lb shell which smashed his office was the second to have penetrated it, with his first comment being '...that the slip would not be issued tonight.' (A diary of the Siege, refers)

Whales also wrote for the Daily Mail and Daily Chronicle during the Siege and served the Town Guard. He died on 11 June 1932.

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Sold for
£3,000

Starting price
£1100