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Auction: 7012 - Orders, Decorations, Medals & Militaria
Lot: 141

The Extremely Rare Two Clasp Undated Reverse British South Africa Company´s Medal to Trooper R.C. ´Jock´ Smith, British South Africa Company Police British South Africa Company´s Medal 1890-97, undated reverse, two clasps, Mashonaland 1890, Rhodesia 1896 (Tpr. Smith, R.C. - B.S.A.C.P.), nearly extremely fine, with named illuminated certificate, ´In recognition of the service rendered to the Empire, this certificate is presented to him on the occasion of the Fortieth Anniversary of the Occupation of Mashonaland, 12th September, 1930, at which he was present´, and a typed copy of The Reminiscences of Trooper Richard Carruthers Smith ´D´ Troop, British South Africa Company in Matabeleland Estimate £ 800-1,200 527 Trooper Richard Bell Carruthers-Smith (1871-1957), born Moffat, Scotland; went to Canada, 1888, where he spent two years farming with his elder brother; after a brief stay back in Scotland he heard of Rhodes´ venture and went to South Africa where he joined the British South Africa Company´s Police in Kimberely, 1890; posted for training at Macloutsie, and served as a member of ´D´ Troop under Captain E.C. Chamley-Turner; ´D´ Troop garrisoned Fort Tuli when the Pioneer Corps set out for Mashonaland, July 1890; moved with ´D´ Troop to Fort Victoria struggling against heavy rains and flooded rivers en-route, December 1890; marched on to Fort Charter, ´arriving early in February, 1891, with 84 men out of 100 down with fever and riding on the wagons´ (Men Who Made Rhodesia, refers), Smith gives further insight into their sorry state, ´Most of us had lost our kit in the Lundi.... My boots were finished as were my socks, and I had been barefooted for sometime´ (Smith´s Memoirs refer); once arrived he and three others volunteered to be dispatch-riders and were sent to a post-station called Makowrie, 40 miles from Fort Victoria, ´Two men were always supposed to be on duty at the station in case a dispatch came by, and it would only be a matter of ten minutes or so before we were on the road..... If I were taking the dispatch, I generally started on horseback; on arriving at the road, however, I dismounted, fixed my overcoat and rifle on the saddle and jogged along, barefooted, behind the old crock..... On the other route into Victoria, I always had two little rivers to swim´ (Smith´s Memoirs refer); discharged 22.12.1891 and went to Salisbury, where he was in charge of ´D´ Troop soda-water factory, before shortly gaining employment with the Mashonaland Agency Ltd at Fern Spruit; he stayed with the latter to look after the Company´s interest during the Matabele War; Smith moved to Bulawayo, 1894; he returned to the UK for a holiday in 1896, ´but as soon as he heard of the outbreak of the Matabele Rebellion, booked his passage back to South Africa. He travelled in the same ship as General Sir Frederick Carrington and his staff, and on arrival in Bulawayo joined Grey´s Scouts, which later reached Salisbury by forced marches. With this unit he served in the patrol commanded by Captain the Honourable Charles White, Chief Commissioner of Police, which rode to the relief of the settlers invested by rebels at Hartley Hill in July, 1896 (Men Who Made Rhodesia, refers); moved to America 1898 and became a partner with Major Fred Burnham in the Klondyke gold rush; returned to Rhodesia with his family, 1903; Smith was given the Freedom of the City of Salisbury, where he hoisted the flag at the Occupation Day Ceremony in Cecil Square, 12.9.1955.

Sold for
£1,800