More than a quarter of a century ago I became the self-appointed unpaid historian of the Cairncross family in South Africa.
With much labour, during the course of which the reading of commercial and telephone directories became a habit, I eventually traced all the male descendants of the three Cairncross brothers who came to this country from Scotland in 1817 with the Benjamin Moodie expedition.
When preparing the results of my researches for private circulation among members of the family, I drew up a list of those who had seen active service, and found there were several dozen of them.
I also devoted some time reading the military history of the British Empire, with a view to obtaining the necessary background to the otherwise dry and uninteresting details of the family history. This, of course, involved special reference to Southern Africa.
It was at this moment that I met Mr. Donald Forsyth, genial banker at George, and a keen numismatist, whose main numismatic interest was war medals. He showed me his collection; we discussed medals; he gave me some, and he lent me books on the subject - "bait," as he subsequently called it. Being prepared and conditioned by my recent course of reading, I swallowed the bait, hook, line and sinker, and decided to make a collection of my own. The question was "what to collect?" Experience in philately and other hobbies had taught me the drawbacks of general collecting and the benefits of specialising. One Friday evening, while discussing the matte:- with Mr. Forsyth, I said "A Cairncross family group of medals would be a fine addition to my Cairncrossiana - letters and documents, books and photographs, collected over a period of many years."
He agreed, and I produced my active service list enthusiastically, making a note of the medals earned. But gradually my enthusiasm waned, and finally I said, "It is a hopeless proposition. No one will be willing to hand over his or her medals. I shall only meet with rebuff." With that I closed the subject.
On the following Monday morning a relation, Mrs. Elaine Marais, and her husband passed through George from Paarl to East London, and called on me en route. As they left, the lady opened her handbag and produced a small box, which she handed to me with the remark, “As you are interested in the Cairncrosses, I thought you would like to have this." I opened the box and was both delighted and amazed to find a Queen's South African medal inscribed "J. C. Cairncross." So the Fates refuted my conclusion of the previous Friday, providing me with yet another proof of the old saying, “It is often the seemingly impossible that happens. Never give in."
Stimulated afresh by this acquisition, I lost no time in broadcasting an appeal to the members of the family. The response was gratifying. Where my most sanguine expectations had placed the total of individuals who would react favourably at no more than half a dozen, within a year I had no fewer than thirty-six medals from eleven Cairncrosses. Admittedly the relationship in some cases is somewhat distant - in the case of A.C.C. for instance, I have to say "his great-grandfather was the grandfather of my great-grandfather," - but I have documentary proof to show we are all descended from William Cairncross, born in Scotland in 1759. And lest anyone find that remark about the great-grandfathers somewhat difficult to unravel, there is, in brief, our family tree in a frame above the medals.
Of the 64 medals, all except 2 are originals. The two exceptions are those of Sylvia Cairncross, the originals (the British War Medal, 1914-18 and the Victory Medal) having been stolen in the Far East in 1926. All except four are officially named, the exceptions being the aforementioned two, the Pretoria Municipal Medal (1914-18), mid the South African medal for War Service (1939-45). In respect of the latter the official certificate is held. Two other medals requiring special mention are the British War Medal (1j33-40), and the Africa Service Medal of Lilian Dorothy Cairncross. This lady married Albert Early in 1947, and net medals were inadvertently inscribed with the name Early, the name Cairncross having been added later. A marriage certificate to substantiate this is held, together with copies of various documents in Government archives, offices of the Master of the Supreme Court, public libraries, which establish the relationships set out in the family tree. There is also a photograph of each medal recipient. (Collecting these photographs was in itself a major undertaking.)
In 1957 the Africana Museum, Johannesburg, staged an exhibition of war medals to celebrate the acquisition of the first Victoria Cross to be earned in South Africa - that of Major Moore at Draaibosch in 1877 and at the request of the museum the Cairncross group was included in the exhibition. At that time the collection was smaller than it is now, but as a result of the publication by the museum of a comprehensive catalogue of all the medals exhibited, it became apparent that the Cairncross group, which incidentally attracted some attention from the South African press, was probably the largest in the world. This, of course, does not mean that no other family earned so many medals, but merely that no individual is in possession of family collection of equal or greater size, and restricted to one surname.
The medals cover five wars: the Matabele Rising of 1896, the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902, the Great War of 1914-18, the World War of 1939-45 and the Korean War (1952). During the Anglo-Boer War, fourteen Cairncrosses participated, seven with the British forces and seven with the Boers. Unfortunately, of the seven Boer fighters only one qualified for the medal. One had the distinction of fighting on both sides, first with the Boer forces investing Mafeking and subsequently, after capture, with the British. He of course received only the British medal. One of the seven was adjutant to General Prinsloo. He escaped through the Golden Gate with several hundred other Boers when General Prinsloo and the remainder of his army were captured in the Brandwacht Basin.
One of the medals in the group is the Anglo-Boere Ooriog, 1899-1902, awarded to those who fought in the Boer forces. This medal is to Charles Cairncross, a lieutenant in the Johannesburg Staatsartilerie, and then 53 years of age. He was captured by the British in 1900 was his own son, and among the British forces was his son Archibald, serving with the British South African Police. Father and son actually met on the battlefield. This Archibald had other noteworthy experiences. He was among the British troops who relieved Mafeking in May 1900, taking some Boer prisoners of war, of whom two were cousins of Archibald, William and John Cairncross, burgers of the Transvaal Republic. But the most amazing experience which befell Archibald was that within the space of half a dozen months he was personal body-guard (with others) to both the leading South African personalities of last century - President Kruger and Cecil Rhodes.
In 1895, at the age of 20, Archibald went up to Pretoria from the Cape and joined the Pretoria Staatsartillerie, being drafted shortly afterwards to the Presidents personal guard. He tells the story of falling asleep at his Post one night and being wakened by the President himself, who offered him the choice of immediate punishment or Court Martial. Archibald chose the former and the President gripped his biceps for a second with his hands; but such was the President’s strength that for several days Archibald was hardly able to use his arms. Immediately after the Jameson Raid, in January, 1896, Archibald and other recruits whose loyalty was suspect, were summarily dismissed, and he made his way to Bulawayo, arriving there just in time to enlist in the Matabeleland Mounted Police, for service against the Matabele. The war ended after Mr Rhodes had conferred with the Matabele chiefs in the Motopos; and on one occasion during the interviews Archibald was a member of Mr. Rhodes bodyguard. No other instance is known to me of anyone serving as bodyguard to both these great personalities.
The rarest medal in the group is that issued by the Government of South Africa for the Korean War, 1952. The recipient, Michael Cairncross also received the American Air Medal. He was second officer of the Dakota which crashed on Kilimanjaro in 1955, when all on board the air liner were killed.
Another medal not often seen is the Colonial Officers’ Auxiliary Forces Decoration, King Edward VII, conferred on Major T. W. Cairncross of the Cape Town Highlanders in 1908. He served from 1886 to 1911, and was the first Officer of the regiment to earn a decoration for continuous service. He had seen previous service, for in 1865 he joined the 1st Lanark Volunteers, leaving the following year to serve in His Imperial Ottoman Majesty's navy on board the Candia, built as an American blockade runner, which had been purchased by the Turkish government for the purpose of putting down piracy. On this duty Major Cairncross served for some time on the east coast of the Adriatic, the Gulf of Salonica, and other gulfs in the Aegean Sea.
Subsidiary groups also occur within the main group. Thus, my uncle Herbert served in the Anglo-Boer War, one of his sons in the Great War, and three sons and a daughter in the World War. This Herbert's uncle served in the Anglo-Boer War, his son in the Great War and the World War, and his daughter in the Great War. There are five cases of father and son serving, one of husband and wife, and several of brothers and sisters.
These 64 medals were collected over a period of little more than ten years, i.e., from November, 1952, to May, 1963. The lady who donated the first one also donated one of the last, after years of persistent angling on my part. In another case it took eight years before the holder could be induced to part with the medal. Several were obtained direct from the Adjutant-General, in those cases where the recipients were deceased or were too indifferent to apply themselves. The Anglo-Boere Oorlog medal (18P91902) of Charles Cairncross, who died in 1928, was issued in 1955 -53 years after the event; and the British War medal (1914-18) of Thomas Cairncross, who died in 1918, was issued in 1956. The great majority of these medals, however, were willingly and freely donated. The collection is not yet complete. Several medals to South African Cairncrosses remain to be added. One of these is the Royal Red Cross, conferred on Mary Cairncross for nursing service during the Anglo-Boer War. The At the present moment the prospects of obtaining these fear medals are not at all bright, but I continue to harbour hope.
A list of the 64 medals, with ranks and units, together with the Cairncross genealogy and medal roll, is appended. Click here to see it.
Herald George 8/63
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