Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, no clasp (H. H. Paris.) toned, extremely fine and rare £600-700

Ex Spink Boer War Anniversary sale, October 1999.

Herbert Henry Paris was postmaster and telegraph officer at Dundee, Natal, from January 1898, and afterwards acting postmaster at Ladysmith from August 1902.

In a contemporary magazine Review of the Week is an article entitled “Unofficial Heroes”, by Hamish Henry: ‘Figure to yourself that postmaster at Dundee, who was suddenly plucked from the sale of postage stamps to play the part of hero. He was a man indispensable, the connecting link between a field force in extreme danger and its supports at Ladysmith. Again and again he faced the shells from the enemy’s guns in order to get the anxious messages over the wires to General White. Yet... he does not dwell on the danger. His pride... is centred in the fact that he did his duty. He did not panic on finding he and his men had been abandoned. Cooly he collected cash and stamps. There is the simple hero in action.’

Sold with detailed research including Gordon Everson’s article on Mr Paris entitled “The Simple Man”, which gives his eye-witness account of the battlefield after the action at Talana.