QSA to 5227 BANDSMAN J BOYD HLI

Queens South Africa medal, Modder river and Wittebergen. Correctly impressed 5227 BDSMN. J. BOYD. 1^ST HIGH. LT. INFY

Condition GVF (Ghost dates)Boyd was born around the end of 1875, beginning of 1876, in Edinburgh.  He enlisted into the Highland Light Infantry on 5 April 1894, aged 18: he was a grocer by trade.  After about a year in Aldershot, he was posted to Malta on 9 February1895, where he would serve for three and a half years.  In July 1898, he was deployed to Crete for six months as part of the occupation force, returning to England in December.  On 8 August 1898, he became a bandsman.

In 1896 a rebellion against Ottoman rule erupted on the island of Crete, also called Candia in Italian. The Graeco-Ottoman War of 1897 followed; Greek troops landed on Crete.  The Protecting Powers (Britain, Russia and Italy) imposed a blockade on Crete (1897) and, following Ottoman approval, established control.  Fighting on Crete ceased.  The last Ottoman forces withdrew in November 1898, and the island was given autonomous status within the Ottoman Empire.  The Protecting Powers then landed 3000 troops and divided Crete into four zones; one for each power.

On 23 October 1899, Boyd arrived in South Africa and would remain on active service for nearly three years.  His battalion formed part of the Highland Brigade along with a number of other Scottish regiments and he fought at the battle of Modder River (a battle honour for the Highland Light Infantry).

Battle of the Modder River was fought on 28 November 1899, in the North West of Cape Colony, on the border with the Orange Free State, when 8000 British troops faced an estimated equal number of Boers.  With little or no reconnaissance conducted the British advanced from Klokfontein to the river, where the Boers were manning entrenched defences (the British force was en-route to relieve the besieged town of Kimberley).  The British were held, but eventually managed to cross the river in places.  Running out of ammunition and water the British paused, the Boers then slipped away during the night, allowing the British to cross unopposed the following day.

 In April 1900, Boyd good conduct pay was raised to two pence a day and in September 1902, he returned to Britain.  He was awarded the Queen’s South Africa Medal with clasps ‘Modder River’ and ‘Wittebergen’ and the King’s South Africa Medal with clasps ‘1901’ and ‘1902’ (confirmed on medal rolls).

The clasp ‘Wittebergen’ was awarded to those troops that were deployed inside a line drawn from Harrismith to Bethlehem, to Senekal and to Clocolan, along the Basuto border and back to Harrismith, between 1-29 July 1900.

Having been granted 42 days leave, he was transferred to the Army Reserve on 7 November 1902, and discharged from the Army on 4 April 1906, having completed his 12 years of service.