BOER WAR & WW1 MEDAL GROUP WOUNDED LADYSMITH EX SEAMAN JOHNS DEVONSHIRE & WEST YORKSHIRE REGIMENT

Boer War & WW1 British Army medal group of 4 to C. Johns, who served in both the Royal Navy and Army, was wounded at Ladysmith and served in France from 1914 during the Great War.

Queen's South Africa Medal 1899-1902, with 6 bars, TUGELA HEIGHTS, ORANGE FREE STATE, RELIEF OF LADYSMITH, TRANSVAAL, LAINGS NEK, SOUTH AFRICA 1901. Impressed named 2721 PTE C.JOHNS, DEVON: REGT; with Ghost dates, polished to left edge of face; 1914 Star, impressed named (Numbers obscured as medal is sewn down) PTE C.JOHNS. 1/W.YORK:R, with clasp; War and Victory Medals, impressed named 9306 SJT. C.JOHNS. W.YORK.R. Court mounted.

Comes with original Royal Navy Service papers; discharge certificate - West Riding RHA; 2 x discharge certificates - 5th Royal Garrison Regiment; 2 x Devonshire Regiment; 3 x Labour Corps and copies of medal rolls, medal index cards, enlistment papers. 

Charles Johns was born in Millbrook, Cornwall on the 24/3/1870. After that his date of birth changed each time he enlisted. He enlisted in the Royal Navy on the 14/9/1888. Service number 146412 and served on the H.M.S. Agincourt, HMS Aurora in 1889. Enlisted in the Devonshire Regiment on the 27/9/1889, with his date of birth as July 1871. He states his previous service as being with the 4th Devon Regiment and as having previously been rejected from enlistment as “Under chest development”. Regimental number 2721. He served: 1st Battalion Home 25/9/89-27/1/91. Egypt 28/1/91-28/12/91. India 29/1/91-14/2/97. Passed a course ‘Mounted Infantry’ 1892. Home 15/2/97-19/10/99. Recalled to Army Service 7/10/1899. 2nd Battalion South Africa 20/10/99-19/4/01. Home 20/4/01-30/4/02. Johns C 2721 Private 2nd Bn. Wounded at Ladysmith. 23 Feb 1900. Source: Natal Field Force Casualty Roll, page 61, line 6 Devonshire Regiment. QSA Medal roll remarks invalided 27/03/1901. On returning to England, he enlisted in the 5th Royal Garrison Regiment. Regimental number 5117 13/5/02 (The Royal Garrison Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1901 and disbanded in 1908), to which he served 3 years in Canada with the 5th Bn, this being the last British unit to serve on garrison duties in Canada. Transferred to the Royal Berkshire Regiment 3/11/05 in Halifax (Canada). Enlisted in the West Riding Royal Horse Artillery as a Gunner14/10/08 Regimental number 161. He served until October 1912. On the 28/8/1914 he enlisted in the Special Reserve with a Regimental number of 3/9306 posted to the 3rd Battalion West Yorkshire Regt. 4/6/16. Posted to the 20th Notts and Derby Regiment.14/5/17 28th Coy Labour Corps. Discharged 14/5/18 No longer physically fit for war service. Home 28/8/14 -11/11/14. France 12/11/14-20/11/15. Home 21/11/15-9/6/16. France 20/6/16-24/10/17. Home 25/10/17-14/5/18. Re enlisted labour Corps 29/5/19. Home to 19/6/19. France 20/6/19-20/10/19. Home 30/10/19-23/12/19. Discharged ‘no longer physically fit’. Regimental number 695286.