Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Three: Corporal C. F. Harber, 1st South African Infantry, late 5th South African Mounted Rifles, who was killled in action in the “German Spring Offensive” on 24 March 1918

1914-15 Star (Rfm., 5th S.A.M.R.); British War and Bilingual Victory Medals (Cpl., 1st S.A.I.), with related Memorial Plaque (Christian Frederick Harber) and a Tug of War Prize Medal for a competition between South Africa and New Zealand at the Aldershot Military Fete, dated 25.8.17 and further engraved, ‘Presented to Cpl. C. F. Harber by H.M. Queen Mary’, silver, the first very fine, the others rather better (5) £200-250

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Collection of Medals to Great War Casualties formed by Tim Parsons.

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Christian Frederick Harber was born at Lydenburg in the Transvaal in November 1895 and enlisted in the 3rd S.A.I., South African Expeditonary Forces in April 1917, stating previous service in the 5th S.A.M.R. [in German South-West Africa].

Tall for the age, standing at over 6ft., and a blacksmith by trade, he was an obvious choice for the South African Tug of War Team at the Aldershot Military Fete on 25 August 1917, an event witnessed by Queen Mary.

Harber arrived in France in October 1917 and was re-posted from the 3rd to the 1st S.A.I. in February 1918. Advanced to Corporal in the following month, he was killed in action on 24 March 1918, when an entire South African Brigade was all but wiped out by the advancing Germans.

As noted in the official history, even enemy accounts of the fighting this day comment on the extreme gallantry of their South African foes, one German historian stating that ‘during the afternoon the 357th and 237th Reserve Regiments captured Marrieres Wood and the hill at Prez Farm, in spite of the heroic and desperate defence of the almost completely destroyed South African Brigade.’ Certainly the trenches were found to be full of dead from bayonet and hand-grenade wounds, prompting another German historian to observe that no better proof of ‘bitter hand to hand fighting’ existed.

Harber is commemorated on the Pozieres Memorial; photographs of the relevant panel are included.