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Auction: 24002 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 72

Sold by Order of a Direct Descendant

A rare ‘raised dates’ Queen’s South Africa Medal awarded to Private A. J. Preston, Lord Strathcona’s Horse

Queen's South Africa 1899-1902, no clasp (610 Pte A. J. Preston, Ld. Strathcona's H:), dated reverse, inverted apostrophe as normal, very fine and extremely rare

Approximately 62 medals with the 'Raised Date' reverse were issued, mostly (58) to men of Lord Strathcona’s Horse. At the time, the Medals were issued without clasps, with the clasps subsequently being sent to Canada to be attached to the Medals privately, with the 'South Africa 1901' clasp being sent later.

Arthur John Preston was born at Southampton, England in 1872, the son of The Rev. J. D'Arcy Preston. Having gone out to Canada as a Rancher, he enlisted at Calgary on 21 April 1900. In January 1900, shortly after the outbreak of the Boer War, Lord Strathcona offered to raise and equip a mounted regiment in Canada at his own expense for service in South Africa, to be recruited primarily from the North West Mounted Police and the cowboys of Western Canada. They arrived in Cape Town Regiment on 10 April 1900. Moving east up the coast to Durban in the Natal, they joined the 3rd Mounted Brigade in June 1900 and took part in General Buller’s pursuit of the Boers into the Transvaal. They subsequently saw action along the Vaal River and south into the Orange Free State before leaving the front line on 15 January 1901. They embarked at Cape Town on 20 January 1901, and arrived in London on 14 February, where they were met for the first time by their patron. They were accorded a Royal welcome, and 418 of the force were presented with their Medals by King Edward VII.

Arriving back in Canada on 9 March 1901, the force was disbanded. Preston was released at Ottawa in May 1902. He wrote to the authorities to enquire as to how the '...bars or clasps are to be obtained, as when the Regiment was in London only the bare Medal was given.'

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Sold for
£9,000

Starting price
£4000