LANCE CORPORAL D. ANDREW, 5TH ROYAL IRISH LANCERS. India General Service Medal 1895, 1 cla

LANCE CORPORAL D. ANDREW, 5TH ROYAL IRISH LANCERS. India General Service Medal 1895, 1 clasp, Punjab Frontier 1897-98 (a slightly later issue, officially impressed in the style usually seen on Queens and Kings South Africa Medals: 4052 Lce. CORPl. D. ANDREW 5th. R.I. LANCERS). Good Very Fine.

With 4 pages of photocopied service papers, photocopied IGS and QSA rolls and Boer War Casualty Roll.

David James Andrew, born Perth, Scotland, enlisted into the 5th Lancers on 21st March 1892 at Queenstown (now Cobh), county Cork, Ireland. At time of enlistment he was 21 years and 6 months old and gave his trade as that of valet. Andrew was promoted and demoted on a number of occasions, his highest rank attained being Lance Sergeant, 4/12/1896, but by the time he was eventually discharged, on 31/1/1903, he had once again been reduced to Private.

Although Andrew saw service in India during the period of the Punjab Frontier campaign of 1897-98, he is not on the roll for the medal and clasp for that campaign (copy of roll listing the 14 officers and men of the regiment entitled accompanies medal). Andrew subsequently saw service with the 5th Lancers in South Africa during the Boer War and was severely wounded at Ladysmith on 17th November 1899 (casualty roll spells surname as Andrews, but initial and regimental number are the same). The regimental history records Corporal Andrews (sic) as having been shot in the thigh on this date. Andrew was entitled to a QSA with clasps Elandslaagte, Defence of Ladysmith, Transvaal and South Africa 1901. However, this medal was forfeit as a result of his having been convicted under Section 18 of the Army Act, his medal also being forfeit under Article 1255 of the Royal Warrant.

Part 1 of the Army Act, Section 18 states that Every soldier who commits any of the following offences that is to say, (1) Malingers, or feigns or produces disease or infirmity or (2) willfully maims or injures himself or any other soldier, whether at the instance of such other soldier or not, with intent thereby to render himself or such other soldier unfit for service, or causes himself to be maimed or injured by any person, with intent thereby to render himself unfit for service or (3) is willfully guilty of any misconduct, or willfully disobeys, whether in hospital or otherwise any orders, by means of which misconduct or disobedience he produces or aggravates disease or infirmity, or delays it’s cure or (4) steals or embezzles or receives, knowing them to be stolen or embezzled, any money or goods the property of a comrade or of an officer, or any money or goods belonging to any regimental mess or band, or to any regimental institution, or any public money or goods or (5) is guilty of any other offence of a fraudulent nature not before in this Act particularly specified, or of any other disgraceful conduct of a cruel, indecent, or unnatural kind, shall on conviction by court-martial be liable to suffer imprisonment, or such less punishment as in this Act mentioned

Service papers confirm that Andrew was actually tried and convicted of theft, being sentenced to 1 year imprisonment on 21/9/1901 (the unexpired portion of his sentence being remitted almost a year later, on 19/7/1902). Service papers also confirm QSA and its forfeiture, but make no mention of the award of an IGS 1895 Medal.

I suspect that Andrew, after being discharged in 1903, made a late claim for the IGS 1894 Medal with Punjab Frontier 1897-98 clasp, and that this was granted because only his QSA would have been forfeit as a result of his conduct during that campaign. Alternatively, he may have re-enlisted during WW1, when recruits who had previously forfeited campaign medals had them restored on re-enlisting.

Medal and clasp rare to 5th Royal Irish Lancers (British Battles and Medals states only 14 men from the regiment present, as listed on original roll). An interesting medal, worthy of further research