Description
Queen’s South Africa Medal, bar Cape Colony, W. F. Beamish, Ordinary Seamen, HMS Monarch, present with the Naval Brigade ashore during the Boer War.
Entitlement confirmed on the medal roll, Officially impressed: “W. F. Beamish Ord. H.M.S. Monarch.” Some edge knicks through wearing.
HMS Monarch earned 1091 medals in total for the war, with 812 of them being entitled to a no bar medal, with around 268 taking part in the services ashore and earning various combinations of service bars, out of those about 43 earned this entitlement of the single bar Cape Colony.
William Francis Beamish, grew up on the seaside of the very south of England, having grown up in Hampshire and later Poole where his father worked as a Shipping Clerk. He naturally joined the Navy at the young age of 16, he passed through a few training ships before turning 18. Once he did he was ready for his first real ship posting, which would turn out to be HMS Monarch, he joined right as the ship was setting sail for South Africa, he would then become part of the crew to go ashore as part of the “Naval Brigade” accompanying the ships cannons.
Having survived the war he continued his service all the way until WW1, he was a Leading Seamen and soon after Petty Officer on HMS Princess Royal, being engaged at the early Naval battles of Heligoland Bight on 28th August 1914, followed by the Battle of Dogger Bank on 23rd January 1915, during this action the Princess Royal hit SMS Derfflinger once, and hit SMS Blucher at least twice, including the shot that would cripple her.
Following this he was passed off to some depot ships back home on 18th May 1915, he later got his wish to rejoin a seagoing ship as noted on his papers reading: “NL 7547 of 7th Dec 1915, Approves of this man being posted to Plymouth Depot to be join a seagoing ship.”
He spent a year and a half at sea with HMS Glasgow from 18th January 1916 until 22nd May 1917, when the ship was stationed in the Mediterranean to take part in the hunt for the notorious disguised raider SMS Moewe (Mowe) which had been causing a great nuisance in sinking almost 40 Allied Ships during the war.
Having returned home in May 1917 he was invalided and shore pensioned on 11th October 1917, he held the rank of Petty Officer and had served over 19 years. He died not long afterwards on 12th September 1920, in Glamorgan, Wales.
William Francis Beamish was born in St Agathas, Dublin, Ireland on 18th August 1881 to William Beamish, an Irish Shipping Clerk and Anna from Evershot, Dorset.
As a young boy he moved to England and his father worked in Hampshire and settled in Poole, Dorset by the time of the 1891 Census.
Having grown up by the seaside, William Attested for service with the Royal Navy at Portsmouth as a Boy 2nd Class on HMS Boscawen, 17th June 1898 aged 16. It was a Boys training Ship at the time based in Portland and he is noted as earning a gratuity on enlistment for raising in early 1898.
He had only just become of age and was posted as an Ordinary Seamen during his short stay from May to August 1899 on HMS Vernon, when the joined the crew of HMS Monarch on 4th November 1899 form HMS Duke of Wellington I for War Service.
He was detached with the Naval Brigade of the ship to go ashore with the ship’s guns and fight along side the Army.
HMS Monarch was his first real ship posting as a fresh faced 18 year old who had spent the last year on a few training ships.
He saw the following ships service during the Boer War Period:
HMS Monarch, 4th November 1899 – 31st December 1899
HMS tartar, 1st January 1901 – 19th September 1901
HMS Duke of Wellington I – 20th September 1901 – 26th October 1901
HMS Excellent 27th October 1901- 11th October 1902.
HMS Duke of Wellington – 12th October 1902 – 31st October 1902.
HMS Australia, 1st November 1902 – 6th February 1903.
