Pte Henry Slade 895 - KIA - Isandhlwana

Hello everyone, im on the trail of my great great great uncles medal. He was in the 2nd battalion. I believe the date bar is 1877-8-9.

Ive found it was for sale in 1993, but the trail has gone dead there.

I was wondering, if anybody here has it? or knows a dealer where they frequently come up for sale? as it belongs in the family!

I hope somebody can help me

Best Regards to you all

James Millership

Hi james-millership

I am unable to help with regards to the whereabouts of his medal,
You are correct, his medal was sold in 1993 for £1100.00

The only other info I have, but you will know this,

He was killed in action at the Battle of Isandhlwana on 22nd January 1879. He attested on 19th November 1876. Served in ‘D’ Company. No trace of a claim for his effects. Medal and Clasp ‘1877-8-9’ issued on 29th August 1882 to his next of kin . His regimental service number was 25B/895.

Not sure if you have already tried. But it might be worth contacting DIX. Noonan who sold the medal. They might be able to tell your the location of the medal.

Here's a link. http://www.dnw.co.uk/medals/company/contactus.lasso

Thank you both for your replys gentlemen. I contacted DNW as soon as I found out they had their hands on the medal all those years ago, they have no record of who it was sold to, as records back then werent computerised. I still think they have the records on paper, but theyre just protecting their client, which is understanable.

I wouldnt even know where to begin looking? Its horrible knowing his medal is out there somewhere, it should be with the family! Im only 21, and the fact that im quite in touch with something that happened so long ago, is quite rare in a person of my age I think. Most people my age just drink and mug old people. Anyway haha Im getting off topic here.

If anybody ever see's the medal for sale, anywhere, no matter how much it is, id appreciate it so much if one of you could contact me and let me know.

My grandad always thought the medal was lost all these years, and as he doesnt have a computer, if it wasnt for me doing a bit of research, he would never have known. I want him to see it.

Best Regards to you all!

James Millership

hi james .
I wish you good luck in your endevour to track down your families medal , I can guess what sort of
price you would be looking at , best guess 7,500 - 9,000 quid . And that price would be if the medal
is sold sooner than later , as the longer its owned the more the price will rise in the future .
cheers 90th.

Thank you 90th! I wouldnt be able to afford it anyway which is such a shame.

Id hang the family member who got rid of it, I really would.

His effects werent even claimed by our family, I wonder why this was? Anyone have any clues or ideas?

James Millership

James.
I am going to the convent garden antiques fair on Monday where there is a Medal Dealer. I will ask him if he can point us in the right direction.

Ah wow! Thank you! This should hopefully get the ball rolling as they say! If I wasnt working sunday night till monday morning I would go also.

I shall inform my family. I thought I was doing quite well when I started looking by myself, but I failed.

James Millership

I don’t think you have failed. I have seen your posts on other website. So you are getting peoples attention.

Quote :

You said “My grandad always thought the medal was lost all these years, and as he doesnt have a computer, if it wasnt for me doing a bit of research, he would never have known. I want him to see it.”

With this in mind, most of the members on this forum will do their best to help you.

Thank you for the kind words, but I do feel I have failed.

Even if I could just get in contact with the owner, just so we could all see it, that would be something.

The fact it has survived should be enough, as anything over the years could have happened to it.

Id love to travel to SA to the battlefield itself, get a small memorial and engrave his name, number and unit on it, but this ofcourse is a fantasy, as money doesnt grow on tree's.

James Millership

Hi James,

Be patient young man, you have been sucessful in tracing your line so far, but history that took 130 years in the making, often refuses to be uncovered in a hurry. The ancestors who watch your efforts like to tease you with a little bit here and a little bit there, just to keep your interest. If somethings worth having, its worth waiting for. Your patience will be repaid with the information you are looking for, I'm sure of that.

Cheers
Bookworm.

James. I think you done amazingly. The fact that you’re doing this for someone special in your life, is prove enough that you haven’t fail. Like Admin says. I don’t think there isn’t one of us that’s is not looking for a lead that can help you find Pte Henry Slade 895 medal.


G.

Hi james .
I think you are doing a wonderful job in trying to track down the medal , I think you said you are 21 ?
Well I dont know of many 21 year olds who would even contemplate this course of action, you should
and most likely are being thought of in a very positive manner by your family members , this may sound
corny , but as you are only 21 , you most certainly have time on your side . One day you will go to sth africa
and stand at Isandlwana and you will have a myriad of thoughts going through your mind , can I ask , How
old is your grandfather ?. It would be a real treat if he can actually view the medal . Never give up , keep
striving and remain positive , as they say , " IT WONT HAPPEN OVERNIGHT , BUT IT WILL HAPPEN ".
cheers 90th.

ps, Many on here will try and help to keep you informed.

90th wrote:

Hi james .
I think you are doing a wonderful job in trying to track down the medal , I think you said you are 21 ?
Well I dont know of many 21 year olds who would even contemplate this course of action, you should
and most likely are being thought of in a very positive manner by your family members , this may sound
corny , but as you are only 21 , you most certainly have time on your side . One day you will go to sth africa
and stand at Isandlwana and you will have a myriad of thoughts going through your mind , can I ask , How
old is your grandfather ?. It would be a real treat if he can actually view the medal . Never give up , keep
striving and remain positive , as they say , " IT WONT HAPPEN OVERNIGHT , BUT IT WILL HAPPEN ".
cheers 90th.

ps, Many on here will try and help to keep you informed.

Thank you 90th! I am 21 indeed. I think my family are happy with me doing this, my grandad more than most I would imagine.
I do have alot of time on my side indeed, but as im still fairly young, im also impatient haha!
:) I am planning to go there hopefully within the next few years, but who knows. It would be perfect if he could see it. The look on his face when I told him id found out the medal still existed was superb on its own, but for him and everyone else to see it, would just be simply superb!

I thank anyone who passes on any information to me, if they ever hear about it up for sale or auction

James Millership

James,

Yes, it is very possible to find this medal. I've been a serious collector of British medals for over 25 years and have owned close to 10 Isandlwana casualty medals in my collecting career.

One thing I can confirm in watching the trends over the years is that the same medals do re-surface from time to time. The challenge is being there when it next comes up for sale; here's what I would recommend:

You will need to involve yourself in the medal collecting community - a good start would be by joining the 'British Medals Forum'. This BMF will give you a front row seat to the daily goings on in the British Medal world. There are many collectors in there who collect, like myself to Isandlwana, and are watching the dealers sites very closely for any new ones coming on the market. (There's actually a chap I know who has been tracking the sale of every Isandlwana casualty medal for over 30 years).

When an Isandlwana medal comes up it is widely known, and usually discussed quite a bit on the forum. They do actually come up fairly often, but are sold at staggeringly high prices - better start saving up now. My last one cost me close to 8000 GBP...thats a lot of pocket change. (I'm working on another at the moment to the 2/24th - now these are very rare as there were only 150+ killed in the battle, and dont come to market very often at all.)

Also at the BMF is a complete listing of links to all known dealer web sites, which will be a good place to check on a regular basis.

As information there is currently only one Isandlwana casualty medal on the market named to Drummer Thomas Reardon 1/24th with at price tag of 7900+ GBP.

Good luck.

Hi. Mons. Could you post a link to this medal forum. It sounds interesting.

Here you go,

http://www.britishmedalforum.com/

Mons. Thanks for the link.

Hello again James,

In answer to your interest in the Slade medal on the British Medals Forum - a collector has added a photo (see below) of the medal in question. I thought I would take the liberty of posting the photo here too, as it may be of interest to members. Sadly its not the sharpest photo...but its certainly better then nothing.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

So there it is! The South Africa Service Medal to Pte. Slade on extreme left.

Mons14. This is what the forum is all about. Great work. It might be worth dropping James a PM

Thank you very much for posting that picture! Thats superb!!
Im still very much on the trail. I still cant actually believe we dont know where it is, I mean, surely someone (if they had access to the internet) would post it somewhere that they own it. I serioulsy wonder who has it. There must be a reason for them being quiet about it

James. The first step has been completed, thanks to Mons14. You now know the medal is a live and well. We are now on the second stage, finding the location of the medal. But you can see how hard forum members are working to help you achieve your goal. Well done to everyone involved.

People who are helping are doing a fantastic job! I am suprised its got this much attention, I know people dont pay the youngsters much attention in this field, so im really grateful to you all!

Third step, hang the family member who sold it :lol!:

No but seriously, thank you very much, you dont know what this means to me and my family!

Don't forget James In return you must pass the history of the Zulu War to your kids and their, kids -kids.

Great news everyone. :lol:

james-millership wrote:

Thank you very much for posting that picture! Thats superb!!
Im still very much on the trail. I still cant actually believe we dont know where it is, I mean, surely someone (if they had access to the internet) would post it somewhere that they own it. I serioulsy wonder who has it. There must be a reason for them being quiet about it

Hi James,

A lot of collectors are fairly quiet about what things they own, as the values of these kinds of collections can be very very high. An Isandlwana casualty medal is both a medal with its obvious historical value but don’t forget it’s also a very expensive and significant financial investment in the order of some 8000 – 9000 GBP. Unless a collector is actively interested in selling such an item, I would suggest that most will not advertise their holdings.

Another reason not to advertise such high-value items is a real fear of late night visitors if you know what I mean.

My own Isandlwana casualty medals are stored at the bank for this reason.

I can guarantee, having been in this market for many years that the medal will surface again one day. Because it’s a high value item its likely that one of the top end auction houses like Spink or DNW will handle its sale.

Keep your eyes open – and keep saving your pennies.

Unitl then at least you have a photo of it, in the flesh to show your family.

Regards,

Mons14

hi mons14.
Excellent work you should be commended .

james.
I agree with mons14 , people who have such valuable items aren"t going to list their wherabouts ,
I have many zulu war medals and had them researched , but I certainly wouldnt be listing them
anywhere on the net. As mons14 has said , it will be offered for sale one day as no-one lives
forever . If you put your head down and bum up , start putting some spare cash away for a
rainy day you will be surprised how much you will save . The day will come when you may be
able to buy it back. Certainly not in the short term but think " BIG PICTURE ". As you are only
21 you have plenty of time .
:lol:

cheers 90th.

Hello all!

I was just wondering, do you often hear of medals being reunited with the family? From any period I mean.
I understand people wont really want to put the whereabouts of their medals allover the internet, I didnt think of it like that to be honest
It makes sense really, the person who might have it could even be watching this thread, and all the other threads ive made, but doesnt want to risk anything bad happening, not that it would, but ofcourse they dont know that.
I hope whoever has it, is enjoying it as much as I would

Any more on Pte Henry Slade anyone.

Im guessing not my friend

Dixons have a nice example at the moment at £6950 very reasonable
http://www.dixonsmedals.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=1011489

That is a nice example indeed

Im suprised someone hasnt snapped that up already, I thought once they came on the market they were gone instantly?

Nope!,obviously money is a bit tight, this was in the Gazette two weeks ago. Its noted as EF (extremely fine)

There is the Ondourman chargers too, £3000 good price, they have been on a while too.

Especially as its so close to christmas, I guess people have to prioritize things a bit. Well I hope that medal goes to a good home!

Or even better... to the family :lol!:

Are there any other people on this forum with relatives in the Zulu war?

James
I am hoping Colin Feilding will be joining, Colins a good friend of mine his families medals are out of my reach John Williams (Feilding) VC.

You ought to join the Ubutu group, they are a freindly bunch of decendants, Sandra Barker is the secretary. http://www.zuluwar-usuthu.com/

If you get in touch tell her I have recomended the group.

Neil, what a superb website! Im going to email her now, what do I say? I didnt realise there was a place like this. This is awesome!

I will definatly say you recommended me to the group!

Re: Medal to T. WALSH for sale at Dixons:

This is a photo of the medal to Walsh as it appeared when in the collection of a friend.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Interestingly it appears that the decrotive suspender seen at the top end of the ribbon is no longer with the medal? Or at least this is the way it appears, as Dixons makes no mention of it in their description.

These suspenders were very popular for a short time in the latter years of the Victorian era. It is likely the one pictured above was added by Pte. Walsh's next of kin - sadly it looks as if it's been removed.

Rest in peace Henry Slade

He doe's with all his mates.

Anyone seen his medal for sale yet?

Hello James. Not seen you for a while. No nothing yet my friend.

I know, I pretty much gave up until someone asked me the other day how the hunt was going. Just thought id enquire :)

I do like this forum anyway

James M

Hi James. Good to see ur still alive. We have been keeping eye open for the medal. So keep checking in in-case someone comes up with something..

James. Good to see you again.

HI James. Have you received any further information on the medal since we last saw you.

S.D

Ive heard or seen nothing since the last time I enquired about his medal, someones still got it stored in a bank somewhere!

Im really suprised nobody knows where its gone. Im sure the owner would come forward if I said I was going to offer them the going rate for the medal.

Anyone any guesses as to a price on Henry Slades medal?

G company 2/24th

James M

Hi James. The problem is the owner may wish to remain anonymous for various reasons. We know that medals from those that fought at Isandlwana sell for thousands of pounds. I'm afraid it’s going to be the waiting game; it’s just a case of when it will come to light again. I know it must be frustrating, but I think I speak for everyone on the forum we are still looking for information that may lead you to the medal.

S.D

Thanks for those reassuring words Saul! I just really hope I get some news soon. I am still doing my own searching aswell, I havnt left it to others. The response ive had has been tremendous, and im thankful to every scrap of information ive had so far, and a picture of it!!!

Im going to go to bed and watch Zulu Dawn.

Nite all

James M

hi james.
There have recently been a couple of medals sold that were awarded to Isandlwana casualties , the price off the top
of my head between 7,000 - 8.000 pounds . If you go to the Geneolgy link on the forum I am sure they were
discussed and also pictured .
cheers 90th.