The significant Officer’s South Africa Medal 1877-1879 awarded to Lieutenant J.H. Thomson, M Battery, 6th Brigade, Royal Artillery who saw service in command of the mounted gunners in Captain Yeatman-Biggs’ expedition in search of the king in August 1879. A keen astronomer, Thomson would be selected to observe the transit of Venus at Barbados in 1882. He would be posted to the Royal Horse Artillery in 1885 with whom he would serve in Egypt for nearly two years. He would be promoted Captain in January 1887 and served as Secretary to the War Office Committee on Explosives from 1888-1891, subsequently becoming H.M.’s Chief Inspector of Explosives heavily involved with experimentation of smokeless gunpowders and introduction of ‘cordite’. In 1901 he would conferred with the Order of Leopold by the Belgium Government and would be appointed a Companion of the Bath on 28th June 1907 having previously spent time in India as a consulting engineer for electrical transmission schemes.
South Africa Medal 1877-1879, 1 Clasp: 1879; (LIEUT. J.H. THOMSON. 6TH BDE. R.A.)
Condition: Nearly Extremely Fine
Along with an excellent copy of photo of Thompson in Royal Horse Artillery full dress uniform wearing the medal.
Jocelyn Home Thomson was born in Oxford, 31st August 1859, the son of the Right Honourable and Most Reverend William Thomson, Archbishop of York. He was educated at Eton and entered the Royal Artillery in 1878, proceeding with M Battery, 6th Brigade, to South Africa in March 1879. Lieutenant Thomson would command the mounted gunners in Captain Yeatman-Biggs’ expedition in search of the King in August 1879. It proceeded up the coast as far as St. Lucia Bay, which it crossed but gleaning no tidings of the object of its pursuit, it made its way to Ulundi, which it reached on the 29th of the month. It would appear that had the coast not been thus patrolled, the King would have made for the thick forests in the neighbourhood of St. Lucia, as he had, in fact, travelled a considerable distance down the Umvolosi when he heard of the approach of the party.
Interestingly M/6 was the Battery, The Prince Imperial was attached to on arrival in South Africa.
After the Zulu War, Thomson was selected by the Royal Society to observe the transit of Venus at Barbados in 1882, and was posted to the Royal Horse Artillery in 1885, with whom he served in Egypt for nearly two years. He was promoted Captain in January 1887 and served as Secretary to the War Office Committee on Explosives from 1888-1891. In that year he undertook a special mission to Canada in connection with Cordite and two years later was appointed Inspector of Explosives, subsequently becoming H.M.’s Chief Inspector of Explosives, heavily involved with experimentation of smokeless gunpowders and introduction of ‘cordite’ a name penned by him. In 1901 the Belgian government conferred upon him the Order of Leopold.
From 1900 to 1902 Thomson by official leave acted as consulting engineer in connection with the undertaking for transmitting electrical power from the Cauvery Falls to the Mysore gold fields. Afterwards he acted in a similar capacity to the Jhelum Valley electrical transmission scheme. In each his efforts met with signal success.
Thomson displayed versatile gifts in mechanical invention. Among useful apparatus which he devised were a mercury vacuum pump, a petroleum testing appliance, and a ‘position’ or ‘range-finder’. For the last named he received a grant of 500 from the war department.
Thomson was subsequently appointed Companion of the Bath 28th June 1907, he would sadly commit suicide after a nervous breakdown on 13th February 1908.