For sale is Queens South Africa Medal with 3 clasps CAPE COLONY, TRANSVAAL, SOUTH AFRICA 1902, impressed named 302 TPR A.P. GILES. AUS. COM. H. It comes with copy enlistment paper, medal roll extract from A-Z Database and copy family picture and newspaper article.

Alfred Percival Giles was born on 4/6/1882 in Parkside, Adelaide, South Australia. By 1895 the family were living in Randwick. Sydney.

He enlisted into ‘D’ Company. 1st Australian Commonwealth Horse on 14/1/1902 giving the false age of 21 years and 7 months when in fact he was 19. The enlistment age was 21.

From Lt Col P L Murray's 1911 'Official Records of the Australian Military Contingents to the War in South Africa.:

CONSTITUTED "D" Company of the 1st Battalion, Australian Commonwealth Horse, consisting of three companies New South Wales, one Queensland, and one Tasmanian.

The Queensland officers of regimental staff were Lieut.-Colonel J. S. Lyster, commanding battalion, and Captain J. Gillies, Army Medical Corps. The company was short of one officer, in consequence of the resignation of a subaltern before embarkation.

Many of the N.O.O.'s and men had served in previous Contingents.

Departure and Return.

The company left Brisbane 26th January, 1902 ; Sydney (with New South Wales Contingent), 18th February, 1902 ; with 7 officers, and 116 others ; 124 horses. Of these, 1 officer resigned, 2 privates died, 1 officer 37 others were struck off in South Africa ; 5 officers, 77 others returned.

Service.

By rail from Brisbane, 26th January, 1902 ; embarked on transport Custodian (Sydney), 18th February, 1902. With Colonel De Lisle's, also Colonel Williams' Column. Took part in driving operations in Western Transvaal, in the former officer's Column, which formed part of a force consisting of 13 columns under Lieut.-General Sir Ian Hamilton. (Vide 1st Australian Commonwealth Horse,

New South Wales).

Extract from Field Order.

" Devondale, Transvaal, 12th May, 1902. " The following telegram has been received from General Sir Ian Hamilton,

K.C.B., D.S.O. :—

" ' The following is the general result of recent operations.—Killed, 1 ; prisoners, 354 ; rifles, 212 ; horses, 326 ; mules, 95 ; donkeys, 20 ; wagons, 175 ; Cape carts, 61 ; cattle, 3,500 ; sheep, 13,000 ; small arm ammunition, 6,340 ; trek oxen, 106. Amongst prisoners is Jan de la Rey, elder brother of General.' " Since telegraphing this information to Pretoria, General Ian Hamilton has received the following telegram from Lord Kitchener :

" ' Capital result. Tell troops I highly appreciate their exertions and consider result very satisfactory. We have now since Methuen's mishap taken 860 out of De la Rey's forces.' " As there is a considerable proportion of new troops in the command, the General Officer Commanding Mobile

Columns, W.T., thinks that Column Commanders would do well to explain to them that the General Officer Commander-inChief is not in the habit of bestowing indiscriminate praise ; and that, on the contrary, the compliment which has been paid this force is a very rare occurrence."

The Company embarked at Durban on 11th July, 1902, in transport Drayton Grange ; touched at Albany, 30th July ; Melbourne, 7th August ; Sydney, 10th ;Brisbane, 13th. Disbanded on 19th August, 1902.

He was charged for using obscene language and being drunk in 1903!  He died on 30/9/1954 in Daceyville, New South Wales.