rorkesdriftvc.com :: View topic - Sergeant M C Keane

Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2012 3:00 pm

The Zulu War medal to Colour-Sergeant M. C. Keane, Staff Clerk to Colonel John Crealock, who was the only member of the General Staff to be killed at Isandhlwana and whose remains were recently discovered and identified

South Africa 1877-79, 1 clasp, 1879 (Staff Clerk M. C. Keane. Genl. Staff) pawnbroker�s marks in obverse fields, polished, otherwise nearly very fine and extremely rare �6000-8000
Footnote
Colour-Sergeant M. C. Keane was killed in action at Isandhlwana on 22 January 1879. He was serving as Staff Clerk to Colonel John Crealock, Military Secretary to Lord Chelmsford, commanding the forces in Zululand, and was the only member of the General Staff to be killed at Isandhlwana.

In 2009 his remains were supposedly discovered and identified by means of a General Staff Corps button found close to the skeleton. Archaeologists found it during excavations being carried out by Amafa, the heritage organisation responsible for the protection of the historic battlefield. Amafa spokesman Mr Konigkramer said the finding had helped historians build up a clear picture of what had happened to the young Colour-Sergeant during the bloody battle, in which 1,350 British troops were slaughtered by 22,000 Zulu warriors. Mr Konigkramer said: �Keane was not a front-line soldier and was likely one of the last to abandon camp at Isandlwana when it was obvious the Zulu were overwhelming it. He was staff clerk to Colonel John Crealock, military secretary to Lord Chelmsford, commander of the British invasion of Zululand. He was probably on horseback which would explain his body being found some way down the Fugitives Trail along which survivors fled towards the uMzinyathi river and the safety of Natal. He was probably speared by a warrior in the part of the Zulu army which had snaked behind Isandlwana mountain to trap the fugitives. His body was found alone which is unusual.� He added: �If the button had come from the uniform of a soldier of the 24th Regiment, he could never have been identified as hundreds of them died at Isandlwana and are among the 1,300 men buried there.�

http://www.dnw.co.uk/medals/auctions/rostrumauctions/auctioncatalogue/lotdetail.lasso?auction=Medals+28+Mar+12&I'd=1694&lot=122
Whether you believe the remains are those of Keane is another matter.

As an aside, I wonder what makes Mr Konigkramer think that Keane was one of the last to leave the camp?

Peter

Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2012 9:48 pm

I've no particular reason to believe these theorizations to be inaccurate beyond an acquired skepticism, but I also imagine quite a few buttons got separated from their respective uniforms during the chaos on the Fugitives Trail in 1879 and in the 130 plus years since. In a modern court of law, if a 133 year old button were to be submitted as irrefutable evidence to identify a nearby skeleton, it would be thrown out amid loud and valid cries of "Objection, your honor. Circumstantial!"

I hate to be obtuse, but are/were campaign medals typically awarded after the war to KIA's and delivered to family? Specifically, isn't it odd that an 1879 bar would be given for a soldier who died in January of that year?

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2012 8:45 am

The bar is NOT odd at all. The Army Order No 103 states '1879' bar was to be given those in action in Zululand from 11 January (the day Lord Chelmsford crossed the Buffulo River) to 1 September 1879. The British, by tradition, do not highlight defeats, so that is why the year was chosen for bar rather than the name of the battle. Yes, medals were depatched to next of kin in the case of those who died on the campaign.

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2012 10:22 am

Who has actually said that his remains were discovered and identified?

Unless there has been some new and official confirmation the 'identity' was conjectural and based upon "the sort of evidence that wouldn't hang a fox".

As I recall, a button found in the ground.

G

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2012 1:32 pm

Thanks for the clarification, Martin. Am I correct in assuming that a generic campaign medal with one specific bar was awarded to a serviceman for his first campaign and then bars would be added for subsequent campaigns?

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2012 2:36 pm

Are we confusing bar and clasp here? Or can the two terms be used for the same thing sometimes?

Peter W, Saw & Gallo: Yes, we not only have were recently discovered and identified but - how wonderful - we now possess a clear picture of what happened to the young [sic] Colour Sergeant ...

Who actually churns out these press releases? And is it no-one's job to sift out the tripe before they're made public?

Peter

P.S. Have the bones been decently re-interred by now? Have they traced a confirmed - that is, incontrovertibly linked - relative of Col Sgt Keane, as had been hinted a couple of years ago?

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2012 3:06 pm

Some weeks ago I was digging in the artichoke bed in my garden in France. To my surprise, I turned up a round metal button embossed with the word "BRUTUS".

It did not take long to work out that it came off a pair of jeans.

Of course, had I been in Kwa Zulu Natal, I should immediately have begun an archaeological dig to seek the immediatel nearby grave site of one of the conspirators who had plotted to kill Julius Caesar....DNA testing anybody in the local bistro who looked a bit Italian, just in case they were relatives.

Instead, I returned to digging there a few days later and found an old tin marked 'Gauloise'. Now Asterix and I are planning on having lunch with Elvis next Tuesday to discuss the options. Too much of the Cahors vin noir perhaps?

But, there could be a film or book contract in this....

G

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2012 4:18 pm

Galloglas

I don't think the topic was meant to activate the button issue again, more, perhaps, the how, the why and the when, this individual, if indeed him, ended up where he was found, apparently alone.

Didn't I read that the area where the bones were located was away from the main Fugitives' Trail, being more to the west ?

Coll

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2012 4:39 pm

Am I correct in assuming that a generic campaign medal with one specific bar was awarded to a serviceman for his first campaign and then bars would be added for subsequent campaigns?

Normally yes, in the case of the South Africa Medal 1877-79, no. The SA medal was issued at the end of the conflict and covered all campaigns in the period. Hence the variety of clasps issued - 1877, 1877-8, 1877-8-9, 1878-9 and 1879.

Men could only be awarded one clasp and there are numerous examples of men receiving the wrong clasp, getting a medal with a clasp to which they were not entitled and vice versa. There are unofficial examples of men mounting a second clasp.

Interestingly, in respect of Keane's medal, the medal roll states "no trace of issue."

Peter

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2012 5:35 pm

Coll,

Good fellow and bon oeuf that you undoubtedly are, please do recognise a much less than serious post when it looms into sight.

However, if a 'Durnford' button should turn up near the haricot vert patch then I shall PM you directly....

G

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2012 5:56 pm

Galloglas

Yes, I 'do recognise a much less than serious post', as I write a few myself - that is Mr. Hyde does, not Dr. Jekyll. Smile

A 'Durnford' button ? - got one, though it is switched off, hence me not saying his name as often. Wink

Coll

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2012 6:04 pm

Coll,

I was reminded the other day of the old chestnut that no matter how dreadful Mister Hyde really was we might at least reasonably expect that his hand writing would be better than Doctor Jekyll's.

G

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2012 11:00 pm

Peter W

One or two questions on this medal:-

What are pawnbroker's marks? I can understand owners of medals pawning them from time to time - I noted that Jones VC did in my recent post under his name. But why did pawnbrokers mark them - if they did? Are pawnbrokers' marks common on medals, in your experience?

Presumably reputable auctioneers have their experts verify the authenticity of the medal before offering it for sale. I'm sure they do. No doubt they would very quickly have come across the note lacking a trace of its issue. As they would undoubtedly expect collectors also to come across this very pertinent annotation, would they not usually make a point of further investigation than usual, or at least perhaps allude to the fact that they are aware of this and therefore offer an explanatory word in their catalogue entry? Or not?

With all the publicity attending the name of the recipient of this medal only two years ago and the possibility (although much more has been claimed) of the discovery of his remains, are the auctioneers likely to have concentrated on its provenance a little more than usual, given the prospect of an unexpected premium, and perhaps aware that AMAFA are combing the world for a living relative? Or not?

Would they co-operate with any enquiries in this respect from AMAFA, who - unless they have it all sewn up now with Keane's living relatives - must be hopping up and down with excitement at the prospect of investigating the provenance of this item?

Finally, would I be the most cynical individual on this forum if I even thought of raising an eyebrow at, firstly, the highly publicised discovery of remains at Isandlwana, followed later by the claim of positive identification, followed by the appearance on the market of the campaign medal to the very man whose remains are claimed to have been found - particularly as there was no contemporary trace officially of its issue?

Would caveat emptor apply just a little more strongly in this case? Or not? Or should I be made to repeat Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense until a more charitable mood overtakes me?

Peter

Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2012 9:16 am

Could "a put up job" be the phrase that we are looking for here?

G

Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2012 9:42 am

Peter

Pawnbroker's marks vary enormously. Most are a series of three or four letters or numerals, sometimes separated by a slash, and appearing either on the obverse (front), reverse (rear) or rim. Nicks to the rim can also be considered to be pawnbroker's marks, but may also have been used to test the silver content of the medal. I should add that such marks are seen occasionally on predominantly silver Victorian medals - I'm not aware of marks on bronze medals (which have no scrap value) or higher value gallantry medals.

The medal roll is notorious for its errors but is always a useful starting point. What I deduce from that comment is that there was no immediate next of kin to claim the medal on Keane's behalf at the time of issue. This claim might have been made months or years later. It's a moot point whether the auctioneers should have included this fact in the description.

As an Isandlwana casualty, Keane's medal has a substantial value. DNW is a highly reputable auction house and the medal would have been inspected by several senior members of staff. Although I haven't viewed the medal I believe it is 100% correct.

A correspondent on another forum thought he recalled Keane's medal being sold 20+ years ago. I don't believe the sale of the medal now is related to the discovery of the bones. I think the bones add to the interest in the medal, I don't believe they add to the value.

Peter