Orders, Decorations and Medals

A Boer War D.C.M. group of five awarded to Captain W. Shipley, Welsh Guards, late Coldstream Guards

Distinguished Conduct Medal, E.VII.R. (7663 Q.M. Serjt., 1st Coldstream Gds.); Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 6 clasps, Belmont, Modder River, Driefontein, Johannesburg, Diamond Hill, Belfast (7663 Q.M. Sejt., Cldstm. Gds.); King’s South Africa 1901-02, 2 clasps (7663 Qr.-Mr.-Sjt., Coldstream Guards); Army L.S. & G.C., E.VII.R. (7663 Sjt. Mjr., Cldstm. Gds.); Army Meritorious Service Medal, G.VI.R., 1st issue (Sjt. Maj., D.C.M., C. Gds.) mounted as worn, edge bruising and contact marks, nearly very fine and better (7) £2500-2800

D.C.M. London Gazette 31 October 1902.

M.I.D. London Gazette 10 September 1901; 29 July 1902.

Quartermaster W. Shipley, Coldstream Guards, served in the Second Boer War, taking part in the advance on Kimberley, including the actions at Belmont and Modder River; operations in the Orange Free State, including the action at Driefontein; operations in the Transvaal, including the actions near Johannesburg and at Diamond Hill; and operations to the east of Pretoria, including the action at Belfast. For his distinguished service, he was twice mentioned in despatches, awarded the D.C.M. by Army Order 10 of 1903, awarded the Queen’s medal with six clasps and the King’s medal with two.

In April 1904 he was appointed a Sergeant-Major in the Coldstream Guards. In September 1906 he was posted to the Royal Hibernian School where he was to be employed for four years regular service and over nine years pensioned service. Shipley was discharged from the Army in December 1910 but with the onset of the Great War he was appointed to the 2nd (Reserve) Battalion Welsh Guards as a Quartermaster and Lieutenant on 5 August 1915. On 5 August 1918 he was promoted to Captain and served until demobilised in February 1920. After the war he returned to the Royal Hibernian School but when the institution closed in 1924, moves were made to award Shipley with the M.B.E. but in the event, he was not so awarded. Following on from his service with the Military School he served sixteen years as Superintendent at Queen Alexandra’s Court, Wimbledon - the Officer’s Branch of the S.S.& A.F.A., retiring in 1944 at the age of 70. Together with a Royal Hibernian Military School and a Coldstream Guards cap badge; a photograph of the recipient in uniform inscribed ‘W. Shipley, Captain, Welsh Guards, 1915-1920’. With copied gazette extracts for the two Boer War ‘mentions’ and copied service papers and other research. His papers refer to him being ‘mentioned’ for a third time during the Great War.