The Bernard Harris Collection of Medals to the 1st Regiment, South African Infantry

Bernard Harris

Bernard was born in rural Wiltshire in December 1942 (his mother having evacuated from Woolwich shortly before his birth), and first started collecting medals in the 1980s, initially to men from the area in which he lived. However, after reading a book about the South African Infantry at Delville Wood during the Great War, he became hooked on the subject. As an active member of the Kent Branch of the Orders and Medals Research Society (O.M.R.S.) for many years, he regularly gave talks on the South Africans at Deville Wood, and was always keen to share information and assist fellow collectors with their research.

Bernard was greatly assisted with his research by his wife Lesley, and together they visited virtually all of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemeteries on the Western Front in which members of the South African Infantry are buried. Indeed, such was the dedication that Bernard brought to his task that he was able to write to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission on a number of occasions informing them of errors on headstones, and had the subsequent joy on future visits of seeing that these errors had been corrected. He also researched Bailey’s Sharpshooters and found that three of their fallen were not listed on any memorial; their names now appear as addendum panel on the Thiepval Memorial. Even his letter to the Commission regarding an electrified cow fence blocking the entrance of Pond Farm Cemetery was also addressed!

Over the years Bernard built up a significant medal collection, covering the South African soldiers who served in both the Boer War and Great War, with a particular focus on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Regiments, South African Infantry. Following his passing in 2020, his family have now decided that the time is right to offer Bernard's medal collection for sale at auction, hoping that each medal will find a good home amongst fellow collectors. What follows are his medals to the 1st Regiment, South African Infantry, and what is quickly apparent is the very high number of casualties amongst the men whose medals are in the collection, with the vast majority either being killed or wounded. Those to the other Regiments will follow in future Noonans auctions.