Fantastic and rare Boer War, WW1 & WW2 Medal Quintet with original papers for Qartermaster Sergeant JAMES ALEXANDER CLADON COX, a Cook in the Royal Army Medical Corps who was Mentioned in Dispatches in WW1 and was also a Civil Defence Warden in WW2.
The medal set contains :
Queen's South Africa Medal 1899-1902 with 4 clasps :
- Cape Colony
- Orange Free State
- South Africa 1901
- South Africa 1902
WW1 medals:
- 1914 Mons Star
- Victory Medal with MID oak leaf
- George V Army Long Service & Good Conduct medal (awarded 1919 as a Staff Sergeant)
- WW2 Defence medal
The set also contains his following original documents :
- Boer War Small Book dated 1900
- 2nd Class certificate of Education dated 3rd Nov 1902
- a letter written by him on YMCA paper dated 27th Aug 1918
- MID certificate dated 16th Mar 1919
- Warrant Officer Class 2 certificate dated 26th Sept 1919
- Character Certificate dated 4th Dec 1921
- Discharge Certificate dated 5 Dec 1921
- a number of 1920s employment related letters / references etc
- WW2 Civil Defence enrollment slip dated 14th Nov 1941
There are also copies of a number of items of research and a photocopied photo of James whilst a cook.
JAMES (JIMMIE) ALEXANDER CLADON COX (14735, 7245031)
He was born in Islington in London and hle originally enlisted at the age of 19 on 5th Dec 1900 at London.
He embarked for Africa on 26th June 1901 and served there until 15th July 1901
He obtained a 'Certificate of High Class Cooking' on 22nd June 1910.
His Service date for WW1 is recorded as 25th Aug 1914 qualifying him for the Mons Star. As a cook he was unlikely to be under active fire at this point such that he did not qualify for the Mons Star clasp (although note that he was recognised for bravery later in the war)
His Small Book lists his appointments as :
- 3rd Class Orderly - 4th April 1901
- Lance Cpl - 10th Nov 1903
- Corporal - 29th Oct 1904
- Lance Sergeant - 1st Apr 1911
- Sergeant - 16th July 1913
He was admitted to No. 39 General Hospital on 18th Jan 1917 for "Melancholia" and transferred to a sick convoy onboard the hospital ship HMHS Glenart Castle on 17th Feb 1917.
Note that the Glenart Castle was later sunk by torpedoes from a German U-boat on the 26th Feb 1918, with the loss of more than 160 people onboard including 8 nurses.
The Gazette date for his MID was 8th July 1919.
Note : He would also have been awarded a WW1 War medal but the whereabouts of this medal is unknown.
