A Boer War and WWI group of 5 medals to Sergeant Walter Ashton, Manchester Regiment.
Queen's South Africa Medal 1899-1902 with 3 clasps :
- Cape Colony
- Transvaal
- Witterbergen
King's South Africa Medal 1901-02 with 2 clasps :
- South Africa 1901
- South Africa 1902
WW1 medals:
- 1914-15 Star
- British War medal
- Victory Medal
The Victory Medal is renamed in engraved capitals - see below.
Walter Ashton was born in Gower, Swansea, Glamorgan in 1881.
He served with the 1st Battalion Manchester Regiment during the 2nd Boer War.
Ashton first saw service in Cape Colony, joining the battalion’s advance through the northern Cape–Orange River border region during the early 1900 operations. He subsequently moved into the Orange Free State and took part in the Wittebergen campaign of July 1900, a major effort to encircle the Boer commander Christian de Wet in the mountain passes around Slabbert’s Nek and Fouriesburg. Following this, Ashton served in both the Orange River Colony and the Transvaal, where the battalion was employed in a wide range of duties including blockhouse-line defence, mounted patrols, convoy escort, and anti-guerilla sweeps during 1901–1902.
He then transferred to the 5th battalion, before moving to the Army Reserves.
For WW1, he rejoined up as a Private in the 3rd Manchester Regiment within the BEF on 24th August 1914. This was a Reserve Regiment re-training and re-equipping reservists, within which he quickly rose to Duty Sergeant on transport duties.
He was then transferred to the 1st Battalion, Manchester Regiment, on the 25th March 1915, who were in dire need of reinforcements after their heavy losses in Mons, Marne and Ypres. With the 1st battalion he would likely have seen service in the 2nd Battle of Ypres (April-May 1915), Festubert (May 1915), Loos (Late 1915). The battalion was then transferred to the Expeditionary Force in Mesopotamia, leaving France on 10th December 1915. They saw action in the Battle of Dujaila (March 1916), the advance culminating in the capture of Baghdad (March 1917) and Egypt & Palestine in the Megiddo offensive (September 1918)
His Medal card notes "V. M, Recd (1743 KR) 8149 / adr" which indicates an enlisted men not claiming their medals, either because they have gone to the old address or recorded address of the next of kin.
This could explain the renamed Victory Medal, which completes the entitlement.
He was demobilised on the 20th April 1919 in Jerusalem.
The 1921 census lists him as a boarder at 115 Nedham Street, Leicester and working for Leicester Lead Works Ltd.
