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Dear fellow collectors

A few days ago I bought this medal and need your help as I fear it may not be authentic. It's hand engraved and reads 4716 Pte. W. LEAHY. Gren. Gds. After searching for "4716" on this very interesting forum I found a match but with another name? I also found out that privates rarely had their medals hand engraved so now I'm nervous that my medal may be a fake?

Kr Thomas

Hello Thomas......

He is listed in Find My Past with the number 4716.......

Name W

Last name Leah

Service number(s) 4716

Rank Private

Regiment Grenadier Guards

Units Unit: 2 Grenadier Guards Battalion, Rank: Private, Number: 4716

Casualty units: Grenadier Guards

Casualty details: Wounded on 01 May 1900 at Thaba Nchu (Official casualty roll location: Thaba 'nchu)


Mike

Thomas
Some QSAs to private soldiers were indeed engraved instead of impressed. I have a couple of examples - although impressed medals are more common.
The activities of 2GG around the time your man was WiA were covered in Stirling's "Our Regiments in South Africa". He says that they arrived at Cape Town about 11041900 and were part of the VIII Div. That Div. was in support of Hamilton's and Colville's Divs; and operated a long way from the railway. Transport was hard to get and the Div. was "the Starving VIIIth".Stirling comments that the work was not of the glory-begetting sort -but they did it faithfully with a minimum of grumbling.
Pte Leah and two of his comrades were recorded as being wounded on the day and at the location Mike gave you. Possibly an affair of outposts.
Good luck with your collection
IL.

Dear Linney and Mike, thanks for bringing my Christmas mood to a whole new level. The information you gave me is absolutely fantastic. I didn't know that it was possible to get so many details from a medal, I wonder why I didn't start collecting these before.

Thanks again guys for your time, looking forward to spending the coming holidays here.

Kr Thomas

William Leahy, a 20 year old labourer from Roath Cardiff was serving in the Militia, the Royal Monmouth Engineers when he joined the Army on the 5th of February 1894 at Cardiff, he joined the Grenadier Guards in London two days later.
Rather interestingly, he was well over six feet tall, so a perfect catch or the Grenadiers.
He transferred to the Army Reserve on the 5th of February 1897, but, was recalled to the colours on the 20th of December 1899, he was posted to the 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards and served in South Africa from the 18th of March 1900 until the 25th of June 1902.
"Wounded in Action" as already mentioned, he earned a well deserved QSA and KSA pair, he transferred back to the Reserve, but, chose to extend his service and was discharged on the 13th of February 1910.
He gave his Father, Micheal Leahy, as his next of kin, at 44 Milton Street Cardiff.

Thomas Bendixen wrote: Dear fellow collectors

A few days ago I bought this medal and need your help as I fear it may not be authentic. It's hand engraved and reads 4716 Pte. W. LEAHY. Gren. Gds. After searching for "4716" on this very interesting forum I found a match but with another name? I also found out that privates rarely had their medals hand engraved so now I'm nervous that my medal may be a fake?

Kr Thomas

Wow, i'm truly amazed of this forum and its members so generously sharing their time and knowledge. Thanks a lot Frank for the additional information, it's really appreciated, now I just need to find his KSA!

I have put this book on top of my Christmas wish list "British Battles and Medals", by Hayward, Birch, and Bishop"

Kr. Thomas