Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 3 clasps, Cape Colony, Transvaal, South Africa 1902 (5044 Tpr. W. J. Barker, N.Z.M.R. 8th Cont.), very fine £120-160

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Barrett J. Carr Collection of Boer War Medals.

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William John Barker, who was born in Wanganui in May 1871, attested for the 8th Contingent and was embarked in the S.S. Surrey in February 1902. He subsequently served variously in Cape Colony and the Transvaal, and sustained a serious rupture after falling from his horse at Vaal Bank in May 1902. As a consequence he was recommended for a small pension for life - a recommendation turned down by the Pensions Board, Wellington, even though Barker was still in need of treatment when finally invalided in February 1903.

He subsequently found work as a horse breaker, from which employment he enlisted in January 1915. Appointed a Trooper in the Mounted Infantry, he served in the Samoan Relief Force in March-June 1915 but was discharged in the latter month. As a consequence, his sole medal entitlement was the British War Medal 1914-20; sold with copied research and roll confirmation - he was sent his ‘Cape Colony’ clasp in 1907.