Description
Cape of Good Hope General Service Medal, bar Bechuanaland, 327 Native Private Josiah Sdinana, Cape Police. Scarce surviving example to a “Native Policeman”.
Officially engraved: “327 Nat. Pte. Josiah Sdinana C. Pol.”
Confirmed on the medal roll. Good preserved condition.
131 Medals were issued to Native Privates from the Cape Police, as well as 49 to Native Detectives, very few have surfaced, making some of the few medals issued to Black South Africans.
Awarded for the Bechuanaland Campaign between 24th December 1896 to 30th July 1897.
In D.R. Forsyth’s book, The Cape GSM Medal Roll, he writes that on 9th July 1900, the Commissioner of the Cape Police forwarded 1048 names of men who were entitled to the medal, however in the end only 578 were granted the award.
He then notes that about the peculiarity of how few medals have surfaced to men like Native Private Sdinana, writing that 180 men, comprised of 49 Native Detectives and 131 Native Troops, like Josiah Sdinana, were granted the medal, he adds:
“Despite the fact that 180 medals were awarded to the non-White members of the Cape Police District 1 and other non-White combatants also received the Medal (vide Willowvale Native Contingent), I know of but 2 of the medals to non-Whites – one to No 1039 Native Private Patela and of another in the hands of a Prominent Cape Town Collector – what could have happened to the rest?”
Since writing his roll in 1975 only a few new examples have surfaced, the mentioned Pte Patela medal was sold in Nobles during 2014, and only a few other new examples have appeared for sale, we have noted over the years that including this medal only about 9 Privates and 2 Detectives have been sold publicly, a small percentage of the proposed total awards.
