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Good Afternoon Everyone......

Here is my latest acquisition for your viewing......

Mike

1489 SANSOM, A.

REG. NO.: 4099
RANK: PRIVATE
REGT: 2nd DERBYSHIRE REGIMENT, MOUNTED INFANTRY (aka – MALTA MOUNTED INFANTRY
BARS: CAPE COLONY, WITTEBERGEN

REMARKS / HISTORY:

1) India General Service Medal 1895 - 1902 Bars: Punjab Frontier 1897 - 98 / Tirah 1897 - 98 (4099 PTE. A. SANSOME, 2D BN. DERBY REGT.)
2) I.G.S. Medal confirmed on medal roll page 346
3) Q.S.A. Medal confirmed on medal roll, 1st Malta Co., 9th Mounted Infantry.
4) Private Sansome died of disease at Winburg on 17th March 1901.
5) He had previously served on the North West Frontier of India 1897 - 1898, present at the actions at Dargai and Kasrapa.
6) The clasp for Wittebergen was only awarded to 113 NCO's and men of the 1st Battalion who were left behind under Captain Radford & Lieutenant Popham when the battalion marched from Reitz to Heilbron in July 1900.

THE PUNJAB FRONTIER / TIRAH EXPEDITION

The expedition was to invade Tirah from Kohat via the Sampagha and Arhanga passes whilst being supported by flanking columns from Peshawar and the Kurram. The force was very large, containing 12 British battalions and 24 Indian/Gurkha battalions. The 2nd battalion Derbyshires were part of the 1st Division and were commanded by Colonel Dowse. The Dorset and the Northampton battalions suffered from cholera during the journey to the north-west and were confined to camp for 10 days. The Derbyshires fared better, avoiding the outbreak, but they did suffer from sore feet. Lockhart made it clear to the Orakzai and Afridi tribesmen that he was advancing through their territory and they were not to impede him. He planned an advance over the Chagru Kotal on the 20th October. Sappers tried to improve the road but were harassed by Afridis firing from the Dargai Heights. They could not be dislodged with artillery so the 2nd division was sent up to clear them on the 18th. This first assault was achieved quickly and the Heights were captured but there was not enough water up there and the position had to be abandoned.

Many questioned the decision to withdraw and were proved right because the tribesmen regained possession of the defences soon afterwards. It was decided to scale the Heights again on the 20th, this time the Derbys were brought in from the 1st Division to help. The Gurkhas were to lead the attack with the Dorsets in support and the Derbys in reserve. The Gurkhas bravely rushed at the defences but, having suffered 71 casualties, were pinned down. Next, the Dorsets tried to cover the open ground but were cut down. Three companies of the Derbys then made the attempt but they were having to go through a narrow space which was easy for the Afridi marksmen to aim at. During this attack, Lt Pennell won his VC.

A mass of men from all three regiments was hiding behind a ledge and unable to go forward or back. The commander of this action, Major-General Yeatman Biggs ordered a further attempt led by the Gordon Highlanders and the 3rd Sikhs. The rest of the Derbyshire battalion, with Gurkhas, was to be in support, and the Dorsets in reserve. The attack was to be preceded by an artillery barrage. When this ceased the determined Gordons swept forward taking many casualties but causing great concern amongst the tribesmen. The Derbys and Dorsets, at first, gave covering fire but were so inspired that they joined the attack. The men from the first attack who had been pinned down for hours could hardly believe their luck that their ordeal was soon to end. The final yards were almost easy as the tribesmen had started to run away. The commander of the Gordons survived the advance and seeing that the Heights were won, ordered Sergeant Cursley of the Derbys to use his signal flag to inform the Divisional commanders that Dargai was cleared. The regiment had lost one officer and 3 men killed, 8 wounded.

With the Dargai Heights safely under British control, the Field Force could advance with relatively limited resistance before the main column. By October 29th they had taken the ridge overlooking the Sampagha Pass. Two days later the Arhanga Pass was secured. This allowed the British to begin taking punitive actions against the tribes beyond these passes. Villages were burnt, crops destroyed and weapons were confiscated. It seemed as if the Field Force was achieving its objective. Despite the fact that the main column was making good headway, it was the baggage trains and foraging parties that were having a harder time. These and smaller groups of soldiers who had been broken up for the punitive actions against the tribesmen presented much more manageable targets for the tribesmen. These weaker targets could be on the receiving end of ambush, long-range fire and opportunistic raids at any time, day or night. There was a constant stream of small scale skirmishes and if the British concentrated forces to deal with a suspected strong point, the tribesmen would disperse before the British could track them down. This was guerilla warfare in some of the world's most inhospitable terrain. To make matters worse, the tribesmen had acquired breech-loading rifles on a large scale for the first time on the frontier and so the ranges and effectiveness of the fire was more deadly than anything that the British had experienced before. Concentrations of troops had to be dispersed and mountain tactics re-evaluated and redefined.


MALTA MOUNTED INFANTRY

At the end of December, 1899, Captain W. R. Marshall of the 2nd Battalion, (Derby) Sherwood Foresters was given orders to purchase ponies and take the needed steps to form a Mounted Infantry School. At the outbreak of the war the 1st and 2nd Battalions, (Derby) Sherwood Foresters were stationed in Malta and the 1st Battalion was immediately sent to South Africa. The 2nd Battalion remained in Malta along with the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment and Lancashire Fusiliers the latter three providing volunteers for the 1st Malta Company and the 2nd Battalion (Derby) Sherwood Foresters provided volunteers for the 2nd Malta Company of Mounted Infantry.

All ranks of the 2nd Battalion were greatly disappointed to find that they were not going to proceed home to England after a prolonged four of Foreign Service and still more because their battalion was not going to take part in the South African Campaign that was just starting. However, if it was to be denied the opportunity to serve as a battalion , many officers and men were sent to South Africa to serve in various sections and companies of Mounted Infantry that were organized in Malta.

The Derbyshires were not only to train in Malta at the new MI school, but two months after its formation, about the middle of February 1900, orders were received for No. 1 Malta Company Mounted Infantry Battalion was to sail in the Pavonia, which left Malta on the 20th. The Company was under the command of Captain J.E. Pine-Coffin of the L.N.L.R. And composed of men from Royal Warwickshire Regiment, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment and Lancashire Fusiliers plus a mixed section from the 2nd Battalion Sherwood Foresters under the command of Lieut. H. K. Attfield.

Capt. Pine-Coffin was a man who kept records of events and of how the title Malta Mounted Infantry had originated. The following is from his diary.

“Cape Town, March 20th. Pavonia arrived and the M.I. Was ordered to proceed to East London. The Pay Office at Cape Town decided to christen us “the Malta M.I.” - Hence our name”, and the result of this appears to have been that the authorities laboured for some time under the impression that the Company was composed of Maltese: and when later on the Company was ordered to join the Colonial Division then forming under General Brabant for the relief of Wepner, that commander expressed to his regret to Capt. Pine-Coffin that the only languages he knew were English and Dutch!”

Glad to see they arrived safely Mike, always nice to see those two letters, MI, on an infantry QSA.

An excellent addition to your collection, Mike. Congratulations!

Regards
Brett