Premium pages left without account:

Auction archive: Lot number 382

A Collection of Awards for the Boer War

Estimate
£800 - £1,200
ca. US$1,071 - US$1,607
Price realised:
£1,100
ca. US$1,473
Auction archive: Lot number 382

A Collection of Awards for the Boer War

Estimate
£800 - £1,200
ca. US$1,071 - US$1,607
Price realised:
£1,100
ca. US$1,473
Beschreibung:

A Collection of Awards for the Boer War formed by Doug Jenkins Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, no clasp (H. H. Paris.) toned, extremely fine and rare £800-1200 Footnote Provenance: Spink Boer War Anniversary sale, October 1999. Herbert Henry Paris was postmaster and telegraph officer at Dundee, Natal, from January 1898, and afterwards acting postmaster at Ladysmith from August 1902. In a contemporary magazine Review of the Week is an article entitled “Unofficial Heroes”, by Hamish Henry: ‘Figure to yourself that postmaster at Dundee, who was suddenly plucked from the sale of postage stamps to play the part of hero. He was a man indispensable, the connecting link between a field force in extreme danger and its supports at Ladysmith. Again and again he faced the shells from the enemy’s guns in order to get the anxious messages over the wires to General White. Yet... he does not dwell on the danger. His pride... is centred in the fact that he did his duty. He did not panic on finding he and his men had been abandoned. Cooly he collected cash and stamps. There is the simple hero in action.’ Sold with detailed research including Gordon Everson’s article on Mr Paris entitled “The Simple Man”, which gives his eye-witness account of the battlefield after the action at Talana: ‘At the outbreak of the Boer War the Postmaster of Dundee, Natal was Mr. H.H. Paris, a Liverpudlian of some 33 years of age. Favouring winged collars and ties with knots four inches across, he was tall and a bit of a swell. Monocled, with carefully barbered curly hair, his generous moustache was neatly clipped. Educated at Liverpool College, he trained as a Telegraphist in the Liverpool Post Office where he caught the eye of the Postmaster. An opportunity arose for a Telegraphist in South Africa and Paris was offered a recommendation should he care to apply for the position in Durban Post Office. This he did successfully and spent a couple of years in Durban before being invited to take the position at Pietermaritzburg of Private Secretary to the Postmaster-General of Natal. His next step took Mr. Paris to Dundee and the position of Postmaster. After he had settled in the job he came home on leave, but he kept an eye on the political situation and returned to Dundee only weeks before the outbreak of hostilities. General Penn-Symons commanded the British forces in the district and, hoping to invest the town, the Boers arrived in strength on 19 October. In this threatening situation Paris decided to sleep in his office and early the following morning he was rudely awakened by one of his clerks to be told that the Boers had commenced operations. They could be seen crowding the hills to the east of the town and, dressing hurriedly, the Postmaster was in time to see the first enemy shells over shooting the Post Office as the Boers tried to find the range of the army camp. In a letter to his father he stated: 'From the office window we could see them [enemy shells) ploughing up the ground. Owing to bad fuses only a few of them burst. Then our artillery came out at a gallop past the Post Office and we gave them a ringing cheer ... [they] started shelling the Boer guns which [were] ... soon put out of action. Then they directed their fire on the crowded mass of Boers on the summit who could be seen running ... but time after time they returned. The shelling [lasted] seven and a half hours and how the Boers stuck to their position is a marvel.' Paris goes on to describe the battlefield of Talana: 'Peter Smith's Hill, or Talana Hill, is very steep and is covered with great stones ... [also] two stone walls ... [run] across the hill. I was near the artillery the whole of the day and saw a bugler's head blown off ... his brains and blood were diffused over his horse's flanks.' Postmaster Paris continues: 'I went over the battlefield and saw the dead and wounded. I saw General Penn-Symons brought in mortally wounded in the stomach. He was suffering intense agony and craved ch

Auction archive: Lot number 382
Auction:
Datum:
27 Sep 2017 - 28 Sep 2017
Auction house:
Dix Noonan Webb
16 Bolton St, Mayfair
London, W1J 8BQ
United Kingdom
auctions@dnw.co.uk
+44 (0)20 7016 1700
+44 (0)20 7016 1799
Beschreibung:

A Collection of Awards for the Boer War formed by Doug Jenkins Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, no clasp (H. H. Paris.) toned, extremely fine and rare £800-1200 Footnote Provenance: Spink Boer War Anniversary sale, October 1999. Herbert Henry Paris was postmaster and telegraph officer at Dundee, Natal, from January 1898, and afterwards acting postmaster at Ladysmith from August 1902. In a contemporary magazine Review of the Week is an article entitled “Unofficial Heroes”, by Hamish Henry: ‘Figure to yourself that postmaster at Dundee, who was suddenly plucked from the sale of postage stamps to play the part of hero. He was a man indispensable, the connecting link between a field force in extreme danger and its supports at Ladysmith. Again and again he faced the shells from the enemy’s guns in order to get the anxious messages over the wires to General White. Yet... he does not dwell on the danger. His pride... is centred in the fact that he did his duty. He did not panic on finding he and his men had been abandoned. Cooly he collected cash and stamps. There is the simple hero in action.’ Sold with detailed research including Gordon Everson’s article on Mr Paris entitled “The Simple Man”, which gives his eye-witness account of the battlefield after the action at Talana: ‘At the outbreak of the Boer War the Postmaster of Dundee, Natal was Mr. H.H. Paris, a Liverpudlian of some 33 years of age. Favouring winged collars and ties with knots four inches across, he was tall and a bit of a swell. Monocled, with carefully barbered curly hair, his generous moustache was neatly clipped. Educated at Liverpool College, he trained as a Telegraphist in the Liverpool Post Office where he caught the eye of the Postmaster. An opportunity arose for a Telegraphist in South Africa and Paris was offered a recommendation should he care to apply for the position in Durban Post Office. This he did successfully and spent a couple of years in Durban before being invited to take the position at Pietermaritzburg of Private Secretary to the Postmaster-General of Natal. His next step took Mr. Paris to Dundee and the position of Postmaster. After he had settled in the job he came home on leave, but he kept an eye on the political situation and returned to Dundee only weeks before the outbreak of hostilities. General Penn-Symons commanded the British forces in the district and, hoping to invest the town, the Boers arrived in strength on 19 October. In this threatening situation Paris decided to sleep in his office and early the following morning he was rudely awakened by one of his clerks to be told that the Boers had commenced operations. They could be seen crowding the hills to the east of the town and, dressing hurriedly, the Postmaster was in time to see the first enemy shells over shooting the Post Office as the Boers tried to find the range of the army camp. In a letter to his father he stated: 'From the office window we could see them [enemy shells) ploughing up the ground. Owing to bad fuses only a few of them burst. Then our artillery came out at a gallop past the Post Office and we gave them a ringing cheer ... [they] started shelling the Boer guns which [were] ... soon put out of action. Then they directed their fire on the crowded mass of Boers on the summit who could be seen running ... but time after time they returned. The shelling [lasted] seven and a half hours and how the Boers stuck to their position is a marvel.' Paris goes on to describe the battlefield of Talana: 'Peter Smith's Hill, or Talana Hill, is very steep and is covered with great stones ... [also] two stone walls ... [run] across the hill. I was near the artillery the whole of the day and saw a bugler's head blown off ... his brains and blood were diffused over his horse's flanks.' Postmaster Paris continues: 'I went over the battlefield and saw the dead and wounded. I saw General Penn-Symons brought in mortally wounded in the stomach. He was suffering intense agony and craved ch

Auction archive: Lot number 382
Auction:
Datum:
27 Sep 2017 - 28 Sep 2017
Auction house:
Dix Noonan Webb
16 Bolton St, Mayfair
London, W1J 8BQ
United Kingdom
auctions@dnw.co.uk
+44 (0)20 7016 1700
+44 (0)20 7016 1799
Try LotSearch

Try LotSearch and its premium features for 7 days - without any costs!

  • Search lots and bid
  • Price database and artist analysis
  • Alerts for your searches
Create an alert now!

Be notified automatically about new items in upcoming auctions.

Create an alert