Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A Boer War ‘Defence of Natal 1901’ D.S.O. group of six awarded to Lieutenant-Colonel B. P. Lefroy, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, late Royal Dublin Fusiliers, for his gallantry in the fierce close-quarter night fight with Botha’s Commandos on the summit of Mount Itala, where he killed Commandant Potgieter, one of the ablest Boer Field Officers.

A mentor of the future Field Marshal B. L. Montgomery, Lefroy was mortally wounded leading the 2nd Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment during their attack on the Hulluch Quarries and St. Elie on the first day of the Loos Offensive, 25 September 1915, and died two days later

Distinguished Service Order, V.R., silver-gilt and enamel, with integral top riband bar; Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 5 clasps, Tugela Heights, Orange Free State, Relief of Ladysmith, Transvaal, Laing’s Nek (Lieut. B. P. Lefroy, D.S.O., Rl. Dub. Fus.) engraved naming; 1914 Star, with clasp (Capt. B. P. Lefroy, R. War. R.); British War and Victory Medals, with M.I.D. oak leaves (Lt. Col. B. P. Lefroy); France, Third Republic, Legion of Honour, Chevalier’s breast badge, silver, silver-gilt, and enamel, the Great War campaign medals later issues, minor enamel damage to the first, otherwise good very fine (6) £8,000-£12,000

Dix Noonan Webb, May 2015.

D.S.O. London Gazette 11 October 1901:
‘For gallantry in the defence of Forts Prospect and Itala.’

M.I.D. London Gazettes 3 December 1901; 17 September 1914; 14 January 1915; and 31 May 1915.

Bertram Perceval Lefroy was born in South Kensington, London, on 18 May 1878, the second son of Thomas Charles Perceval and Isabella Napier Lefroy. His family, originally large landowners around Cambrai, had been driven out of France in 1569 and mostly settled in Ireland. Educated at Harrow (1892-96) and the R.M.C. Sandhurst, he was commissioned in the Royal Dublin Fusiliers on 7 May 1898, and promoted Lieutenant on 10 May 1899.

Defence of Itala - ‘Popping Off’ with his Revolver and Killing Commandant Potgieter
Ordered to South Africa with the 1st Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers, Lefroy was present at operations in Natal between December 1899 and June 1900, including the invasion of the Orange Free State, the Relief of Ladysmith, and the action at Laing’s Nek (6 to 9 June). He joined 5th Battalion Mounted Infantry in August 1900. 5th MI was on operations in the Transvaal east of Pretoria until February 1901, when it was switched to the Zululand frontier of Natal.

The South African Military History Society Journal, Vol 2 No 1 - June 1971, ITALA - MONUMENT TO VALOUR refers: ‘Twice in less than 23 years, Natal was saved from invasion by the gallant stands made by two small, vastly outnumbered detachments of British soldiers. The first was at Rorke's Drift in 1879 and the second at Mount Itala in 1901.’
Early in September 1901, Louis Botha, Commandant General of the Boer Republican Forces, started gathering the biggest raiding Commando of the guerilla war. Over 2,000 tough, fighting men set out across the cold, rain-swept springtime veld to begin the second Boer invasion of the Colony of Natal. Botha's ambitious plan was to enter Northern Natal, disrupt and degrade British control, then penetrate Cape Colony and ultimately join up with Smuts, who had already succeeded in getting into the Cape with his small force. British columns sent to catch the Commandos got bogged down in the quagmires that passed for roads. Botha, with no wheeled transport, could manoeuvre with ease. Using pack animals to carry his supplies, he averaged 10 miles a day, whilst the British could barely travel three.
By 24 September, Botha had reached the Transvaal frontier. From his look-out on Babanango Kop, the rolling green hills of Zululand stretched south to the horizon. To his right he could clearly see Isandhlwana, where nearly 1,500 British troops had been massacred by Cetewayo's impis 22 years earlier. To his front lay Mount Itala, a commanding height, eight miles to the South. The route he planned to take was guarded by two small British military garrisons, at Itala and Fort Prospect, 14 miles apart. Botha wanted stores, fresh horses and, above all, easy victories. His spies reported that the two outposts were weakly fortified and undermanned, so he prepared to attack.
For over a year, Natal had been peaceful. Six months earlier, a detachment of 400 men from the 5th Mounted Infantry had been posted to Nkandhla as a frontier guard. Their Commanding Officer was Major Chapman, also of the Dublin Fusiliers. At 38 he was Botha's junior by three months, campaign-hardened like his men, with nearly two years of arduous veld warfare experience. Unlike many of his fellow-officers of that period, Chapman was astute, wide awake and extremely capable.
Early in September, Chapman decided to move forward to a new post at the foot of Mount Itala, almost at the apex of the Transvaal's southern enclave. The treeless summit of Itala, over 4,800 feet high, slopes gently down to its base in the east, 1400 feet below, along a ridge over a mile in length. This ridge terminates in a narrow, steep spur at the bottom, vital ground which concealing the outpost site below from the summit. Initially it appeared to be a weak position, but in fact it was not, provided the defenders were well led and courageous.
On 23 September, Chapman had learnt that he was in the path of Botha's southern thrust, and his able corps of scouts kept him informed of the ever-increasing danger. He must fight if attacked, but only great skill and courage could save his small garrison of 300 at Itala. The men worked feverishly with spades and picks, digging mutually supporting trenches about 4.5 feet deep, skilfully sited in the trees at the wooded outpost site. On the north side, a natural rock wall put the defenders on a platform overlooking all approaches. The Achilles heel of the position, the rock spur above the camp, was sangared (stone-walled) right across, and a machine-gun set up to fire upwards to Itala summit. Fort Prospect nearby had 68 men manning trenches within barbed-wire protection.
At dusk on 25 September Major Chapman sent 80 men under Lieutenants Lefroy and Kane to the summit of Itala. In modern terms his concept was to establish a fighting patrol, positioned in ambush along the most likely route of enemy attack, to give warning to the main body and to disrupt the Boer assault. Their move to the top of the mountain was unnoticed by the Boers. Crouching cold and stiff amongst the rocks at the summit, the small British detachment watched and silently waited. Full moon was two nights away and the clear sky was moonlit from dusk to near dawn. Towards midnight sounds of approaching Boers could be heard. Soon a large body of men approaching could clearly be seen. At 100 yards the first British volley crashed out, catching and annihilating the leading group of attackers. After an exchange of fire, the surviving Boers pulled back to regroup.
An account of Lefroy’s experiences that night appears in After Pretoria: The Guerilla War, by H. W. Wilson: ‘The summit of Itala mountain was a mile from the camp, bare and flat, and by no means a good position. It was not fortified in any way, and the troops despatched to occupy it had no other shelter than that afforded by rocks and boulders ... As the night advanced the enemy arrived and made dispositions for the assault. To the west of Itala, Christian Botha and Commandant Scholtz with 800 men drew up; to the south-west Opperman with 500; to the north Potgieter with 600. Yet another detachment 200 strong seized the point on the Itala ridge, to the east of the fort ... the total strength of the Boers in the vicinity was 2,600, against 400 British.
The enemy, after a momentary repulse, came on in overwhelming force, and though the soldiers fought magnificently, they were speedily overborne by sheer weight of numbers. Lefroy shot Commandant Potgieter with his revolver in the desperate mêlée that ensued. 14 men succeeded in making their way through the Boers and escaped to the south side of the mountain. The greater part of the little detachment, however, was killed, wounded, or captured. About two a.m. a message reached the main body to the effect that the outpost had been rushed by 500 Boers and annihilated.’

The following is an extract from a letter to his family written by Lieutenant Lefroy while he was lying wounded after Itala (he had been wounded in four places, the stomach, arm, leg and chin. two of his injuries only just escaped being fatal): ‘When we heard that we were going to be attacked at Itala, I was sent right up to the top of the Itala Hill with about 90 men, to try and hold it, and prevent the Boers from attacking the camp from that direction. At about 2 p.m., on 26 September, they attacked my post five or six hundred strong. It was fairly dark, and the ground was covered with little rocks, which made it very hard to distinguish people. We kept up a heavy fire on both sides. They worked right round our right, and then rushed the position. It was a very plucky rush, but as they were about five to one, we couldn’t keep them out, and it ended in a sort of grand mêlée.
I have a vivid recollection of popping off my revolver with Boers all round me, and then I got too full of lead to continue the operation. They took about 37 prisoners and held the position all day. We people with bullets in us had to lie all day on our backs in the sun, and we didn’t get down again till 3 a.m. next morning, when the people in the camp, finding the Boers had cleared out, sent for us. It was bitterly cold during the night and there was a damp mist. The camp held out splendidly all night and day, until the Boers didn’t think it worthwhile losing any more men. There were about 1,500 Boers, and about 300 of us, so we didn’t do so badly.’

The end of the affair
By first light (around 6 a.m.), all firing had died down and the attack seemed to have paused. Dr. Fielding, the British Medical Officer, decided that he must go to the summit to attend to the wounded up there. He, an orderly and two bearers left the sangars on the spur carrying a flag of truce. When he reached a wide hollow 600 yards up the ridge, he found a large body of Boers about to resume the attack. Dr Fielding was allowed to go on as soon as Commandant Opperman appeared. Fielding's work that day saved many lives, on both sides.
Almost immediately the Boer attack restarted. The machine gun on the spur was hopelessly jammed and the battle became Lee-Metford against Lee-Metford, for the Boers were nearly all equipped with captured rifles. The Burghers, with the edge on marksmanship, were at an advantage. The ground became covered with a shower of broken branches and chopped leaves, the screams and groans of stricken men and the unprotected horses filled the air; dust and earth flew in all directions. No cover could withstand this inferno, and men fell thick and fast, yet each attack melted away under the galling crossfire of the defenders.
Louis Botha, realising the importance of the sangared spur, ordered that it be taken at all costs. This was an almost impossible task, for 600 yards of open ground had to be crossed to reach it. The troops behind the sangars were no mean shots and disrupted each new attack before it got too far. By late afternoon, after 17 hours of heavy attack, both sides were exhausted. Major Chapman's force had taken a fearful toll on the attacking Commando, at a cost of nearly half his remaining men, including 81 killed and seriously wounded. The troops, bleary-eyed, with hands burned, shoulders raw and faces scorched, their ammunition nearly exhausted, could hardly withstand another concerted attack. Chapman himself, shot through the right leg, waited and listened as the Boer fire slackened and died away. After an hour he sent out scouts who returned with the news that Botha's men were withdrawing.
Chapman decided to fall back to Nkandhla. Leaving a small, unarmed party to assist with the wounded, he pulled out at 9pm and, completely exhausted, he and his men limped into Nkandhla at 4 am on 27 September. At Itala, the British losses were 22 killed and 59 wounded. Their artillery fired 63 shells, and the troops 70,040 rounds of rifle ammunition. The true fury of this fight can be gauged by comparison with the key battle of the Zulu war, where 2,000 British troops fired 66,400 rounds. 128 dead Boers were buried at Itala, and 21 others at the laager site at Gelykwater, making a total of 149 dead. These included two of Botha's best Commandants, Scholtz and Potgieter (shot by Lefroy’s revolver). At Prospect, 40 Burghers were buried. There were estimated to be about 280 wounded.
The British defence was considered one of the most brilliant affairs in the war, the attacking force being about four times the number of the defenders, and the Boer loss larger in proportion than in almost any other action. Botha's advance had been checked, his casualties were severe and his ammunition almost exhausted. But he was not the type of man to lose heart and was able shortly afterwards to capture a convoy of 30 British supply wagons. He cleverly outwitted every single column and blockhouse line to get his men back to the Transvaal.
Lord Kitchener himself sent in Lieutenant Lefroy's name for the D.S.O. and for his promotion to Captain a year after his epic fight on 2 August 1902. However, the promotion involved a transfer to 3rd Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, which was disbanded due to post-war military cutbacks. This caused Captain Lefroy a serious loss of seniority.

The Royal Warwickshires - Montgomery of Alamein’s Mentor
Having served in England, in Gibraltar and back in South Africa, Lefroy attended Staff College from 1911 to 1912. Field Marshal Montgomery of Alamein - then a young subaltern in the Royal Warwickshires - later wrote: ‘The Battalion returned to England in 1913 and an officer of our 2nd Battalion was posted to it who had just completed the two-year course at the Staff College at Camberley. His name was Captain Lefroy. He was a bachelor and I used to have long talks with him about the Army and what was wrong with it, and especially how one could get to real grips with the military art. He was interested at once, and helped me tremendously with advice about what books to read and how to study. I think it was Lefroy who first showed me the path to tread and encouraged my youthful ambition. He was killed later in the 1914-18 War and was a great loss to me and the Army.’

When Lefroy departed to take up a new post at the War Office in April 1914, he had sown the seeds of a deep and lasting ambition in his young protégé.

The Great War - Battalion C.O., mortally wounded at Loos
At the outbreak of the Great War, Lefroy went out to France in August 1914 on the staff of the First Division. After seven months, he returned to England to serve on the staff of the 26th Division at Warminster until July 1915, when he went out again to command the 2nd Battalion Warwickshire Regiment. Lefroy was three times Mentioned in Despatches and received the Legion of Honour. He was made Brevet Major in the King's Birthday Honours List, 1915; Major on 8 August the same year; and Lieutenant Colonel on 1 September. At 37 years old, he was one of the youngest battalion commanders in the Army.

The regimental history states: ‘On 25 September came the battle of Loos. The 2nd Battalion went over the top at 6.30 in the morning. In the face of terrific fire they reached the first line of trenches to find that the wire was not cut. Private Arthur Vickers on his own initiative and with the utmost bravery ran forward in front of his company, and standing up in broad daylight under heavy fire cut two gaps in the wire. His gallant action contributed largely to the success of the assault, and was justly rewarded with the Victoria Cross, the first that had been won by a soldier of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment.

Continuing to advance through the Quarries the Battalion carried the second line also without much difficulty, but on reaching St. Elie at 9.30 were checked. Nevertheless they held on till dusk, when owing to the retirement of the 9th Division on their right they were compelled to fall back. When the Battalion was mustered at midnight there were present no officers and only 140 men. Lieutenant-Colonel Lefroy and two of his officers had been mortally wounded, seven other officers were killed, seven were wounded and one was a prisoner. Of the men 64 were killed, 171 wounded and 273 missing.’

As confirmed in a letter of condolence sent to his mother by Captain Hyde, his Quartermaster, Lefroy personally led the attack at Loos. He was much beloved by his men. Captain Hyde wrote: ‘General Landon told me a few days before that he was coming to take Command. To those who knew him, the news seemed too good to be true. Though we have lost him, his name will live in the Regimental records for all time, as the colonel who so gallantly led the Battalion into action on September 25 1915.’

Lefroy was mortally wounded that day and evacuated to a Field Ambulance where he died two days later on 27 September. The dying message he left for his men was made a Battalion Order: ‘Tell them my last thoughts are with them. I pray that their bravery in the hour of severe testing may win them through to success. Would to God I had been spared to serve and lead them a little longer. But as it is I trust that the men of the Warwickshire Regiment will pull together, work together and uphold the credit, the good name and the traditions that the Regiment has so nobly won. May God's blessing rest on them in their hour of danger or peace, and may the heroic self-sacrifice of their officers, non-commissioned officers and men who have fallen inspire them to deeds of unfaltering and unfailing bravery.’

As stated in Harrow Memorials of the Great War, Lefroy managed to send his old school house a final message: ‘Play up!’ The Colonel was buried in Fouquieres Churchyard Extension, near Bethune, France. His obituarist noted that 54 members of his family were also serving, and that he was the fourth to be killed.

Sold with copied research, including the recipient’s Medal Index Card that confirms that only one set of Great War campaign medals was ever issued in the recipient’s name, an official late claim made by the family in 1941.