About the product

BSAC Medal, Defence of Kimberley Trio

British South Africa Company Medal, for Mashonaland 1897, Queen’s South Africa, bar Defence of Kimberley, Kimberley’ Siege Star, with top brooch bar, Corpl D.R. Hartley, Kimberley Town Guards and M.M.P.

Out of stock

SKU: J6282 Category:
Origin: United Kingdom
Nearly Extremely Fine

Description

British South Africa Company Medal, for Mashonaland 1897, Queen’s South Africa, bar Defence of Kimberley, Kimberley’ Siege Star, with top brooch bar and ‘a’ date hallmark, Corpl D.R. Hartley, Kimberley Town Guards and M.M.P.

 

BSA Company named: Tpr D. Hartley “D” Troop M.M.P.
QSA named: Corpl: D. R. Hartley, Kimberley Town Gd.

 

Medals in superb barely worn condition, mounted for display on a board and tied down.

 

Originally a member of D Troop of the Mashonaland Mounted Police during the 1897 conflict, he was besieged at Kimberley during the Anglo Boer War where he served as a member of “Otto’s Kopje Scouts”.

 

David Robert Hartley, was born on 11th June 1868 in Imvani, Queenstown, Eastern Cape, South Africa. He was a descendant of an original “1820 Settler”, his father had been born on Morning Farm, Tarka District in 1832, whose father, William John Hartley born 1796 in Mansfield, had made the journey to South Africa with Carlton’s Party on the Albury, which set off from Liverpool on 13th February 1820.

 

Shortly before his death was the 50th Anniversary Reunion of the Siege at Kimberley.
There is a photograph of the veterans in the excellent book: Kimberley Siege Account and Medal Roll by David Biggins. As a local still in Kimberley, living at Parson’s Lane, it is likely he would not have missed the occasion, but he is not identified on the annotated photo but a number of the men could not be identified so it’s possible he was there.

 

He lived to the age of 82, mostly in Kimberley where he died at 5 Parsons Lane, Kimberley “The River Diggings” on 14th September 1950, listing his occupation as a retired “Diamond Digger”. He was buried in the West End Cemetery, Kimberley.

 

We last sold these medals about 34 years ago during February 1986.