{"product_id":"6th-seaforth-highlanders-pioneer-sergeant-territorial-force-efficiency-medal","title":"6th Seaforth Highlanders PIONEER SERGEANT Territorial Force Efficiency Medal EVII","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"\u003eBritish Territorial Force Efficiency Medal (EVII) - Pioneer Sergeant James Dallas, 6th (Morayshire) Bn. Seaforth Highlanders T.F.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"\u003eTerritorial Force Efficiency Medal (EVII) - \u003cb\u003e49 PR SJT: J. DALLAS. 6\/S'FTH HDRS\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"\u003eJames Dallas\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"\u003e, also recorded in local Moray sources as \u003cb\u003eJames “Simpson” Dallas\u003c\/b\u003e, was born on \u003cb\u003e7 June 1879 at Auchtertyre, Elgin\u003c\/b\u003e, the son of \u003cb\u003eAlexander Dallas\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003eJessie Dallas (née Simpson)\u003c\/b\u003e. Census records show him growing up in the Elgin district and connected with the Simpson side of the family, which explains the local use of the by-name “Simpson.” As a boy he appears at \u003cb\u003eCrofter of Auchtertyre\u003c\/b\u003e in 1881, later at \u003cb\u003eSpring Burn\u003c\/b\u003e in 1891, and by 1901 was working as a \u003cb\u003eploughman\u003c\/b\u003e, still in the Elgin area. Later in life he is recorded as a \u003cb\u003efarmer\u003c\/b\u003e, associated with \u003cb\u003eLochypots, Miltonduff and Springburn\u003c\/b\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"\u003eDallas had a long and unusually valuable Territorial career. He first served with the \u003cb\u003e3rd Volunteer Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders\u003c\/b\u003e, beginning on \u003cb\u003e16 February 1897\u003c\/b\u003e. When the old Volunteer Force was reorganised under the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act, he passed into the new \u003cb\u003e6th Battalion (Morayshire), Seaforth Highlanders, Territorial Force\u003c\/b\u003e, his service record noting the transition from the Volunteer era into the Territorial system. By this stage he was no inexperienced recruit but a seasoned Morayshire volunteer with many years already behind him.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"\u003eHis surviving service papers show steady progress through the ranks. He served first as a \u003cb\u003ePrivate\u003c\/b\u003e, was promoted to \u003cb\u003eLance-Corporal on 18 June 1906\u003c\/b\u003e, then to \u003cb\u003eCorporal on 1 April 1908\u003c\/b\u003e, and finally to \u003cb\u003ePioneer-Sergeant on 1 April 1909\u003c\/b\u003e. That rise is telling: pioneer sergeants were trusted senior N.C.O.s, often associated with practical field duties, engineering-type work, and the discipline and instruction of men within the battalion. Dallas was clearly regarded as a capable and experienced Territorial soldier.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"\u003eHe was also an accomplished marksman. A newspaper report of the \u003cb\u003eScottish Twenty Club Shooting Competition\u003c\/b\u003e held at the Garmouth ranges records that \u003cb\u003ePioneer-Sergeant Dallas of Pluscarden\u003c\/b\u003e won the \u003cb\u003egold cross\u003c\/b\u003e, his two best scores aggregating \u003cb\u003e194\u003c\/b\u003e, ahead of a strong field. The report places him among the leading riflemen in the district and shows him competing at a high level in a period when shooting proficiency was a serious military accomplishment within Volunteer and Territorial battalions.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"\u003eHis long and efficient service was recognised with the award of the \u003cb\u003eTerritorial Force Efficiency Medal\u003c\/b\u003e, a scarce and desirable distinction in any battalion, and particularly so to a senior N.C.O. of the \u003cb\u003e6th Seaforths\u003c\/b\u003e. In Dallas’s case the award is especially notable because it bridges the old Volunteer Force and the early Territorial era, reflecting over a decade of committed part-time military service in Morayshire.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"\u003eWhen war came in August 1914, Dallas was embodied with the battalion. His record shows him serving on home duty and later with the \u003cb\u003e2nd\/6th Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders\u003c\/b\u003e, the reserve and training battalion formed to supply drafts and maintain the Territorial structure while the \u003cb\u003e1st\/6th\u003c\/b\u003e served overseas. Given his rank, seniority, and long pre-war experience, he was very likely of particular value in the training and administration of younger soldiers, though the surviving record does not spell out his exact duties in detail.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"\u003eHis Territorial service came to an end on \u003cb\u003e31 March 1916\u003c\/b\u003e, when he was discharged on the \u003cb\u003etermination of his period of engagement\u003c\/b\u003e under King’s Regulations. Unlike many younger men of the battalion, he does not appear to have gone overseas in the Great War, but his contribution should not be understated: he belonged to the generation of long-serving Volunteers and Territorials whose experience underpinned the expansion and training of the wartime battalions.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"\u003eJames Dallas died on \u003cb\u003e7 July 1966\u003c\/b\u003e, aged 87, having lived a long life rooted in the Elgin district. His story is that of a genuine old Morayshire Territorial — farmer, prize shot, senior N.C.O., and one of the comparatively few men of the \u003cb\u003e6th Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders\u003c\/b\u003e to earn the \u003cb\u003eTerritorial Force Efficiency Medal\u003c\/b\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"\u003ePLEASE NOTE: All research will be sent to the buyer via email. I am unable to provide printed copies, as I do not have access to a printer.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"\u003eAJMS Medals\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"AJMS Medals","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54435024732506,"sku":null,"price":200.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0958\/9850\/1466\/files\/20260224_153717.png?v=1784203163","url":"https:\/\/ajms-medals.com\/products\/6th-seaforth-highlanders-pioneer-sergeant-territorial-force-efficiency-medal","provider":"AJMS Medals","version":"1.0","type":"link"}