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Picture courtesy of Spink

QSA (4) Cape Colony, Johannesburg, Diamond Hill, Wittebergen (Capt. A. W. Brush. 1/Rl. Irish: Rgt.);
KSA (2) (Cpt. A. W. Brush. Rl. Irish. Rgt.)

MID London Gazette 10 September 1901.

Aplyn Waring Brush was born on 27 December 1870, he joined the Royal Irish Regiment from the Militia on 9 September 1893, promoted to Lieutenant on 7 April 1896 and to Captain on 8 July 1900 prior to being sent to South Africa. Once in South Africa he was originally employed with the Mounted Infantry on operations in the Transvaal between 30 November 1900 - September 1901 and again between October 1901 - March 1902 and was further employed on operations in Cape Colony between February 1901 - March 1901 and again between September - October 1901. Confirmed on the roll for both medals, his entry for the King's South Africa dated 3 July 1903 has him down as Half pay.

The Royal Irish at Diamond Hill.

The company also took part in the battle of Diamond Hill, and fought their way from Heidelberg to the Brandwater Basin. At Naauwpoort Nek Corporal Hogan was blown to pieces by a shell. At the end of August they were sent to help a small force of militia and volunteers in the Doornberg Range near Winburg, who were surrounded by a larger force of Boers. In this operation Capt Smyth was badly injured in a fall and was hospitalised. The company was commanded by Captain Brush and now reduced to 30 men.

Picture courtesy of Noonan's

CBE )Military, 1st type);
QSA (3) Transvaal, South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902, unofficial rivets between state and date clasps (Capt. W. E. S. Burch. R. Irish. Rgt:) engraved naming;
BWM (Major W. E. S. Burch. R.F.C.);
[ VM ]

Together with flattened named card box of issue

Together with the recipient’s daughter’s Victory Medal (D. M. Burch. V.A.D.)

CBE London Gazette 10 October 1919: ‘In recognition of distinguished services rendered in connection with the War.’

William Edwards Scarth Burch was born in Sheffield in 1863 and was commissioned Lieutenant in the 1st Battalion, Duke of Cambridge’s Own Middlesex Regiment on 7 July 1886. Proceeding to India to join the 2nd Battalion on 8 September 1886, he transferred as Captain to the 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment on 31 July 1895, and was appointed Adjutant, 1st Punjab Volunteer Rifle Corps. He served in South Africa during the Boer War from June 1901 to May 1902. Promoted Major on 19 February 1905, he served as a Recruiting Staff Officer from August 1906 to August 1910, and retired on 13 August 1910.

Burch was appointed Assistant to the Officer in Charge of Records, Royal Flying Corps, on 24 June 1912, making him an original officer of the RFC, albeit a retired one at the time. He served with the Royal Flying Corps during the Great War on the Western Front from 22 to 28 September 1916 and was promoted Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel on 1 January 1917. He was appointed Officer in Charge of Records on 2 August 1917, with the rank of temporary Colonel, before being appointed a Staff Officer at the Air Ministry on 25 February 1918. Confirmed in the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, Administrative Branch, Royal Air Force, on 7 November 1918, for his services during the Great War he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

Post-War, Burch served as Secretary of the Royal Air Force Memorial Fund (later renamed the R.A.F. Benevolent Fund), and was present at the unveiling of the Royal Air Force Memorial by H.R.H. the Prince of Wales on 16 July 1923. He died at Eastbourne, Sussex, in 1940.

Dorothy M. Burch, daughter of the above, served with the Voluntary Aid Detachment.

Picture courtesy of Spink

DSO GV;
MC GV;
QSA (3) Cape Colony, Wittebergen, Belfast (Lieut H. Anderson 1/Rl. Irish Regt.);
KSA (2) (Lt. H. Anderson. Rl. Irish Rgt.);
1914-15 Star (Capt. H. Anderson. R. Ir. Regt.);
British War and Victory Medals with MID (Major H. Anderson.);
Egypt, Kingdom, Order of the Nile, 4th Class breast Badge, silver-gilt, silver and enamel, by Lattes

DSO London Gazette 26 July 1918: 'For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He was sent to take a hill with two companies. In advancing they were exposed to heavy machine-gun fire, causing some wavering. He showed complete disregard of danger, and by his fine example encouraged his men and took his objective.'
MC London Gazette 4 June 1917.
MID London Gazette 29 March 1917.
Egypt, Order of the Nile 4th Class London Gazette 19 January 1920.

Horace Anderson was born at Streatham on 22 July 1878 and joined the Militia prior to being commissioned Second Lieutenant with the Royal Irish Regiment on 20 December 1899. Posted to South Africa he entered the war in South Africa seeing Operations in the Orange Free State from March to May 1900. Anderson then served in operations in the Orange River Colony between May and August 1900, including the actions at Bethlehem on 6-7 July and in Wittebergen from 1-29 July.

The unit was then transferred to in the Transvaal, east of Pretoria from August 1900, seeing the actions at Belfast from 26-27 August and at Lydenberg between 5-8 September. Advanced Lieutenant on 28 October 1900 he was further involved in operations in Cape Colony, south of Orange River in 1900 as well as operations in the Transvaal from 30 November 1900- April 1901 and December 1901 until 31 May 1902.

Resigning his commission on 8 June 1910, he returned to colours on the outbreak of the Great War. Initially stationed with the 4th Battalion he was promoted Captain into the 3rd Battalion on 25 November 1914. Anderson entered the war in France in March 1915 and suffered a gunshot wound to the skull on 8 July, later being released from hospital on 18 July 1915.

Having been acting in the rank of Major since at least 1918 Anderson was confirmed in the role in 1921. He applied for his medals on 31 January 1922 and they were to be originally sent to the Glendower Hotel, South Kensington, London but then to the Hong Kong, Shanghai Bank, Gracechurch Street, London.

Sold with the following archive:

(i)
Warrant for the Distinguished Service Order.

(ii)
A copy of the Statutes of the Distinguished Service Order.

(iii)
Mention in Despatches Certificate.

(iv)
Warrant for the award of the Egyptian Order of the Nile.

(v)
A standard note from General Allenby dated 26 September 1918 thanking everyone involved in the total destruction of the Viith and Viiith Turkish Armies.