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William served with the Plymouth Division, Royal Marines, 51st Company. In 1874, while serving on board the HMS Active, William participated in the Second Anglo-Ashanti War against the Ashanti African nation in the Gold Coast of Africa. The records show that William L Lord served on board the HMS Active with the 51st (Plymouth) Company between the 21st of January and the 4th of February 1874. Contrary to family legend, it appears he was not awarded the "Coomassie" [properly spelt Kumasi] clasp during the two month campaign. The clasp was awarded to all those present at the battle of Amoaful on the 21st of January and the actions between there and Kumasi, including the capture and burning of the capital on February 4th, 1874. According to The Ashanti Ring – Sir Garnet Wolseley’s Campaigns (1870-1882) by Leigh Maxwell, most Royal Naval and Royal Marine forces were used to garrison the villages and towns along the route to Kumasi. It is most likely that William Lewis Lord was used in this fashion.
William's obituary also states that he was a veteran of the Zulu War, but a search of the Royal Marine records were unsuccessful. Most likely, this was an exaggeration or misstatement. As this war was not until 1877-1879, it is possible for William to have participated, yet highly unlikely.
90th
Posts : 10482 Join date : 2009-04-07 Age : 66 Location : Melbourne, Australia
Subject: William Lewis Lord Sun Oct 03, 2010 8:19 am
hi Dave . If the birthdate is correct April 1851 there is no doubt he could have served in the zulu war . The Royal Marines were sent to South Africa but by the time they arrived the war was over . So they , I think were sent back to England ?. Happy to be corrected . . cheers 90th.
1879graves
Posts : 3205 Join date : 2009-03-03 Location : Devon
Subject: Re: William Lewis Lord Sun Oct 03, 2010 10:18 am
Hi all
William Lewis Lord is not listed on the medal roll.
Reading the article, it states the following:-
"At the time of his third daughter's birth, Edythe Agnes Lord, on February 18th, 1878, the family was living at 329 Front Street East in Toronto and William was employed as a porter." Which means he had left the Marines by 1878.