Gunner J Anderton , William Buffrey , Charles King ,Drivers R Childs , D Woods , Charles Crowley N5 Battery deserters

Posts : 3458 Join date : 2021-01-04

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Natal Witness 12th October 1881

AZW medal roll details. Apart from Godridge/Goodridge none are shown as deserters

Gunner 4701 Anderton J 1879 clasp
Gunner 4771 Buffrey W 1879 clasp
Gunner 4366 King C 1879 clasp
Driver 4774 Child R 1879 clasp
Driver 5165 Woods D 1879 clasp
Driver 4763 Crowley C 1879 clasp

2/21st Regiment
Private 2342 Cashman J 1879 clasp
Private 1600 Rodgers C 1879 clasp
Private 1606 Richardson T 1879 clasp
Private 684 Cooper A 1879 clasp returned
Private 849 Day D 1879 clasp returned

94th Regiment
Corporal 65B/740 Miller J 1879 clasp
Corporal 65B/458 McCrea R 1879 clasp
Private 65B/2318 Holmes T 1879 clasp
Private 65B/ Godridge F 1879 clasp. Returned. Deserted. Restored 6/10/1925 (slightly different spelling of surname in rolls)

In the ASC I have found
C/1026 Hunt R no clasp

Hi Kate

You state " Apart from Godridge/Goodridge none are shown as deserters"

Next to his name it says " Restored 6/10/1925" what does that mean? Does it mean his medal was restored to him or something else ?

Posts : 3458 Join date : 2021-01-04

Afternoon Eddie
I don't profess to being a medal expert but this is what I know.
Medals lost as result of extingencies of the service were replaced for free, however campaign medals would not be replaced after the death of the recipient so one would assume Goodridge was stil alive in 1925.

I have found this on another site:-
Forfeiture and Restoration of Medals (1902)

General Order 104, Canada Gazette, volume 36, number 17, 25 October 1902

Every soldier who is found guilty of desertion, fraudulent enlistment, or any offence under section 17 or 18 of The Army Act, and every soldier who is sentenced to penal servitude, or to be discharge with ignominy, shall forfeit all medals and decorations (other than the Victoria Cross, which is dealt with under special regulations) of which he may be in possession, or to which he may be entitled.

Every soldier who—

(a) Is liable on confession of desertion of fraudulent enlistment, but whose trial has been dispensed with;

(b) Is discharged in consequence of incorrigible or worthless character, or expressly on account of misconduct, or on conviction by the civil power, or on being sentenced to penal servitude, or for giving a false answer on attestation;

(c) Is found guilty by a civil court of an office which if tried by court martial would be cognizable under section 17 or section 18 of The Army Act, or is sentenced by a civil court to a punishment exceeding six months imprisonment,

shall forfeit all medals (other than the Victoria Cross which is dealt with under special regulations).

A court martial may, in addition to, or without any other punishment, sentence an offender to forfeit any medal (other than the Victoria Cross which is dealt with under special regulations) which may have been granted to him; but no such forfeiture shall be awarded by the court martial when the offence such that the conviction does of itself entail a forfeiture under the articles above referred to.

When the conduct of a soldier who has earned the medal for long service and good conduct has, after the award of the medal, been such as to disqualify him from wearing the medal, he may on the recommendation of the Officer Commanding the Militia be deprived of the medal.

Any medal or decoration forfeited by a soldier under the provisions of these articles may be restored to him under regulations approved by the Governor General.

However

In August 1920 an Army Order was published which amended the Regulations as to forfeiture of medals, prior to this order medals were automatically forfeited for various offences, even though the recipients were retained in the Service. Under the new regulations, which applied to both officers and men the medals would only be forfeit if he were dismissed with disgrace from the Army. That is to say conduct so disgraceful that it involved loss of uniform would result in the loss of medals.

So one would assume Goodridge redeemed himself and applied for his SAGS medal which was then re issued.
Kate

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