The excessively rare South Africa Boer War Naval Brigade. Naval King’s South Africa Medal recipient and long service group awarded to Chief Writer R. H. Edge, Royal Navy. A native of Portsea, Hampshire, Edge saw extensive service in the navy between May 1878 and May 1903, receiving his long service medal whilst with the corvette Bacchante in June 1888. With the outbreak of the Boer War he joined the cruiser Doris, and saw service ashore with the Naval Brigade in the Cape Colony. One of Doris’s QF 4.7 inch guns was in action at the Battle of Magersfontein on 11 December 1899, and was known as Joe Chamberlain. Edge present on operations in South Africa with the turret ship Monarch during September to October 1900, and having then returned home with Doris in April 1901, found himself returning to South Africa aboard the cruiser Gibraltar, and serving on further operations there with both Monarch and Gibraltar. As such Edge became one of only 31 recipient’s of the King’s South Africa Medal to the Royal Navy. On his leaving the service he was appointed the Pensioned Writer 1st Class to the Office of the Admiralty Superintendent of Contract Built Ships with both the Tyne and Thames Districts.
Group of 3: Queen’s South Africa Medal 1899-1902, 1 Clasp: Cape Colony; (R. H. EDGE, CH: WR: H.M.D. DORIS); King’s South Africa Medal 1901-1902, 2 Clasps: South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902; (CHIEF WRITER R. EDGE, R.N.); Royal Navy Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, Victoria narrow suspension; (R. H. EDGE, WRITER 1st CL. H.M.S. BACCHANTE), all medals officially impressed.
Condition: Extremely Fine.
Robert Henry Edge was born on 8 January 1867 in Portsea. Hampshire, and joined the Royal Navy as a Writer 3rd Class (Portsmouth No.105513) with Duke of Wellington from 10 May 1878. Shortly afterwards he was posted to the battleship Triump, seeing service aboard her between May 1878 and October 1882, during which period she was the flagship in the Pacific. On 21 November 1881, while Triumph was off Chile, an explosion occurred caused by a drying compound called “xerotine siccative”, also called a patent drier. Three men were killed and seven were wounded. She was relieved by Swiftsure in 1882.
Edge was advanced to Writer 2nd Class whilst with Vernon on 9 May 1883, and saw service with the training ship Briton from September to October 1886, and the sloop Penguin from October to November 1886. He was advanced to Writer 1st Class whilst aboard the corvette Bacchante on 7 May 1888, having been aboard her since November 1886, and which time she was with the Reserve Fleet. Edge was still with Bacchant when he was awarded the Royal Navy Long Service and Good Conduct Medal on 9 June 1888, however on the occasion of his promotion to Chief Writer on 1 July 1889, he was with Asia, the flagship at Portsmouth.
After service with Orontes between August 1891 and May 1892 he saw service with Serapis between May 1892 and May 1893 and was with the cruiser Barham from May 1893 to June 1896. Around the time of the outbreak of the Boer War, he joined the cruiser Doris in September 1899, she being the flagship of Vice-Admiral Sir Robert Harris, the Commander-in-Chief of the Cape of Good Hope Station. At least one of Doris's QF 4.7-inch (120 mm) guns was mounted on an improvised field carriage and used as a field gun with the Naval Brigade on active service in South Africa. It was in action at the Battle of Magersfontein on 11 December 1899, and was known as Joe Chamberlain.
Whilst in South Africa Edge is shown as having transferred for a period to the turret ship Monarch from 11 September to 4 October 1900, when he rejoined Doris.
Doris was paid off at Devonport in May 1901, when, to honour her crew, the men of the other ships in the harbour spontaneously manned yards and sides and gave a salute. Edge had however been posted to the cruiser Gibraltar from 14 April 1901, and then sailed with her for South Africa on her being appointed the flagship at Cape Town where she arrived in September 1901, and just prior to this Edge had transferred back to Monarch on 31 August 1901, thus seeing further service during the Boer War. Rejoining Gibraltar at the Cape in March 1902, he saw further service with her until June 1902 when he transferred to the cruiser Forte, before rejoining Gibraltar in September 1902. Edge sailed for home aboard Monarch in December 1902.
In all some 222 ‘Cape Colony’ clasps were awarded to men from Doris out of the 718 Queen’s South Africa Medals awarded to the ship. In all, according to the book ‘British Battles and Medals’, 31 King’s South Africa Medal’s would be awarded to the Royal Navy, of whom 18 saw service aboard Doris.
Edge ultimately saw shore service with Duke of Wellington between January 1903 and 29 May 1903 when he was pensioned from service. According to his service records he was then appointed to the position of Pensioned Writer 1st Class to the Office of the Admiralty Superintendent of Contract Built Ships with both the Tyne and Thames Districts. He held this position from 14 July 1904 onwards.
