Description
China Medal 1900, Bar Relief of Pekin, 1267 Sapper Raghunadan No 3 Company Queen’s Own Sappers and Miners. Officially Engraved in running script: “1267 Sapper Raghunadan No 3 Coy Q.O. Mad: S&M.”
Scarce to this unit, they all fought in the campaign to Relieve Pekin. According to the surviving medal roll of the unit’s 4 British Men, consisting of 2 Lieutenants and 2 Sergeants on attachment from the Royal Engineers, all earning the Medal with Relief of Pekin Clasp.
They embarked on 13th July 1900, and Disembarked at Taku on 7th August 1900 for service in the war. Here is the full services of the regiment during the Campaign as written by Sandes in his book, note when he says “Peiping” this was the correct way to say Beijing or what was previously Pekin or Peking during 1948.
“After the 4th Company, the next Sapper unit to reach China in 1900 was the 3rd Company, Madras S. & M., under Tulloch. This unit left Bangalore on July 6th, embarked at Calcutta on the 13th, arrived at Taku on August 6th, and, moving up-country by river and rail, appeared in Tientsin on August 8th, three days after the Bengal Sappers. Like the 4th Company, it was employed at first on the Tientsin defenses, but on August 16th, it proceeded up the Paiho to strengthen the works at Peitsang, Hosiwu, and other posts on the line of communication.
One half-company reached Peiping on August 27th while the other remained for a time at Tungchow to repair the road. The Peiping half-company moved with a small force to seize and fortify the railway junction at Fengtai and remained there until September 7th, when it returned to the capital.
The whole unit was then employed in preparing winter quarters for the troops, Tulloch being appointed Garrison Engineer, Tartar City, and Henderson being given the celestial title of “Garrison Engineer of the Temple of Heaven!” Tulloch and Garstin, with half the company, marched on October 12th with a column of 3,500 British, French, German, and Italian troops towards the important town of Pao-Ting-Fu, on the railway about 100 miles southwest of Peiping, while a detachment of Bombay Sappers advanced with another column from Tientsin.
No opposition was encountered. The Madras Sappers blew up two temples at Pao-Ting-Fu and destroyed two more temples and three villages on their return journey. The 3rd Company left Peiping on November 8th, 1900, and entrained at Tientsin for Sinho. There they embarked for Shanghai, which they reached on the 23rd. They were in garrison at Shanghai until April 1901 when they moved to Wei-Hai-Wei, and two months later returned to India.”
A despatch after the campaign records: “No 3 Company Madras Sappers and Miners, under Captain J.A.S. Tulloch, Royal Engineers, took part in the March to Paotingfu, and throughout have fully maintained their reputation.”
