Orders, Decorations and Medals

South Africa 1877-79, 1 clasp, 1877-8 (Capt. H. A. Harrisson, 1-24th Foot) official correction to last four letters of surname and battalion number ‘1-’, toned, nearly extremely fine and rare £600-700

Henry Albert Harrisson was born at Tolethorpe Hall, Stamford, County Rutland, on 10 April 1841. He was appointed Ensign in the 24th Foot on 1 April 1859; Lieutenant, 29 July 1861; Captain, 8 March 1867; Major, 7 July 1880; Hon. Lieutenant-Colonel Retired, 7 July 1880. He served in South Africa from March 1874 until October 1879, including the Kaffir War of 1877-78, for the duration of which he was in command of ‘H’ Company, 1/24th Foot, on detachment at St John’s River.

The official correction to Harrisson’s medal is obviously as a result of the unusual spelling with a double ‘S’, the only one in the Army Lists of that period. His name is consistently miss-spelt by Mackinnon & Shadbolt in The South African Campaign of 1879, by Norman Holme in The Noble 24th, and in the published medal rolls.