Boer War and First World War Medal Group - Sergeant Alexander MacIntosh, Scottish Horse
Queen’s South Africa Medal, 2 clasps, South Africa 1901, Transvaal, (Renamed) – 37426 PTE. A. G MACKINTOSH SCOTTISH HORSE
British War Medal – 2045 PTE. A. MAC INTOSH SCO. H.
Victory Medal – 2045 PTE. A. MAC INTOSH SCO. H.
Territorial Force War Medal –2045 PTE. A. MAC INTOSH SCO. H.
Mounted as worn.
A genuinely cracking Highland soldier’s group spanning the Boer War and the Great War, with a particularly desirable Territorial award. MacIntosh was a Scottish Horse man in both conflicts, later serving overseas in Egypt/Palestine with mounted formations, transferring to the 13th Battalion, The Black Watch (Royal Highlanders), and finishing his war service with the Royal Engineers Signals.
The standout here is the Territorial Force War Medal – one of only 12 awarded to the Scottish Horse (a notably scarce regiment for the T.F.W.M.), making this an exceptionally rare component and the centrepiece of the group.
The Queen’s South Africa Medal is neatly renamed, and the reason is fully explainable from his paperwork. The medal roll notes his original QSA was issued in 1905 to his address in Kingussie. However, a letter within his service record states that his original QSA had been given to his sister, and after her death in 1918 it could not be found or traced; he asked whether he could obtain another by paying for it, noting that he already had his two Great War medals, and also wishing to claim both the Territorial Efficiency Medal (awarded but never claimed during his time with the 4th Seaforths) and the Territorial Force War Medal. This neatly accounts for why the group now includes a replacement/renamed QSA: the original disappeared over a century ago, and while a replacement was sought, it appears he either never received an official replacement (or it did not remain with the medals), resulting in this tidy renamed example being acquired to complete his entitlement.
Service highlights (from extensive papers – 70+ pages available online):
- Enlisted Cameron Highlanders Volunteer Battalion – February 1901 (Kingussie).
- Joined Scottish Horse – November 1901 (Inverness).
- Boer War service: 256 days in South Africa.
- Discharged at Aldershot – September 1902.
- Returned home and rejoined the Camerons Volunteer Battalion (Kingussie); discharged 1908 as Sergeant.
- Joined 4th Seaforth Highlanders (Dingwall) – 1908–1912.
- Attached to The Black Watch for training purposes – 1911–1912.
- Joined Scottish Horse – September 1914.
- Joined regiment in Cairo – February 1916.
- Transferred to 13th Black Watch – March 1917.
- Royal Engineers Signals – 1917–1919, specifically Royal Engineers (T.F.) Signal Squadron, Imperial Mounted Division.
- A colourful wartime footnote: in June 1918 he was in trouble for being in Jerusalem without a pass, including using someone else’s pass to visit a brothel.
- Left Egypt for Malta – 4 June 1919.
- Post-war: Signal Sergeant, 4th Camerons – June 1920 to 1922.
Overall, this is a fantastic, well-told group with real narrative depth: Boer War Scottish Horse service, a rare Scottish Horse T.F.W.M., varied WW1 service across Scottish Horse / Black Watch / Royal Engineers Signals, and unusually informative surviving documentation that explains the renamed QSA and his attempts to recover missing entitlements.
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AJMS Medals