Description

Boer War medals to Captain Algernon Charles Corbetta, one of only 125 men of the unit who served in the Ceylon Mounted Infantry in South Africa. During WW1 he served in Salonika as a Captain with the 6th Royal Dublin Fusiliers, later transferring to the Royal Air Force in 1918.

Queen’s South Africa Medal, 1899, with two clasps CAPE COLONY, DRIEFONTEIN, impressed named 369 TRPR: A CORBETTA.CEYLON M.I.; CEYLON PLANTERS RIFLE CORPS silver shooting medal, unnamed and blank to the rear with maker’s mark. Court mounted for display.; Ceylon Mounted Rifles badge (possibly cross belt) approximately 63mm diameter, two retaining lugs to the rear, makers marked HOBSON and SONS, LONDON. They come with extracts service papers, M.I.C., medal rolls and newspaper articles.

Captain Algernon Charles Corbetta was born on 16/3/1875 in Norwich, Norfolk, England. On the outbreak of the Boer war, he was residing in Ceylon (possibly emigrated 1896) and working for the Maturatta Group tea planters. He served in the Boer War with the Ceylon Mounted Infantry (1st Contingent) which consisted of 125 men, serving from February 1900 – 1901. He qualified for the QSA and clasps Cape Colony and Driefontein. He returned to Ceylon post war and moved on to manage rubber plantations in North Borneo in 1911 and 1913 appears in several newspaper articles. His RAF service papers record his address 1914 – 15 as Kuala Lumpur, Malaya, being a tea and rubber planter. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant on 16/4/1915 and posted to the Norfolk Regiment. His MIC records the 2nd Battalion (who were in Mesopotamia) whilst his RAF papers record the 3rd Battalion (Home service U.K.). He landed in Salonika in October 1915 and was seconded to the 6th Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers as a Temporary Captain in command of a Company (as per newspaper article) at the start of 1916. He appears on a hospital book dated 15/7/1916 as being attached to 6th Royal Dublin Fusiliers with 10 months in the field and 1 year 5 months service. He was later posted to the 3rd and later 1st Garrison Battalion Royal Irish Regiment attached RAF. He transferred to the Royal Air Force on 1/7/1918 – 10/7/1919 (Middle East) posted to 3 Cdt Wing. At the end of the war, he was posted to HQ Middle East until 7/1/1919 and then to England being transferred to the unemployed list in June 1919. Post war he emigrated to Broome, Western Australia on 7/11/1922. He was employed by the Swan Brewing Company (Perth) as a senior clerk prior to his death after a long illness in 1931. No doubt due to his war service during which he acquired malaria.