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Auction: 25113 - Orders, Decorations and Medals - e-Auction
Lot: 123

Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 6 clasps, Cape Colony, Paardeberg, Driefontein, Johannesburg, Wittebergen, Diamond Hill, unofficial rivets between fifth and sixth clasps (969 Pte. W. A. Semple, C.I.V.), good very fine

Note a small detachment of the Battalion served at Diamond Hill including the recipient, his appears on a supplementary roll of 33 officers and men entitled to the Diamond Hill clasp, therefore scarce.

William Arthur Semple was born in Hendon, Middlesex in 1870. Initially a clerk, and later a butcher, by occupation, he joined the 1st Battalion, City of London Rifle Volunteers in 1896 and served with the No. 1 Company, Mounted Infantry, City Imperial Volunteers during the Boer War. His name appears on the list of the men who first formed the Regiment, suggesting he was a member of the first draft.

This unit was raised as a Volunteer Force from the guilds of the City of London under the patronage of the Mayor of the City of London, Alfred James Newton. The mounted infantry company performed well under fire, notably at Jacobsdal where they received special mention from Lord Roberts. Semple returned to Britian and settled in Littleover, Derbyshire where he died on 16 July 1953; sold together with copied research including two photographs of the recipient.

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Estimate

Starting price
£170