Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A small series of original Boer War “on active service” letters written by Midshipman Hon. I. L. A. Carnegie, Royal Navy, who was twice mentioned in despatches for his command of a Naval Brigade gun in the defence of Ladysmith, comprising a letter addressed to his brother, Douglas, the envelope with assorted postmarks and dates 30.10.1899 to 27.11.1899, in which he reveals that he is about to go ashore (‘ ... I am just off to the front. I don’t like to tell mother but in case I do get shot Asst. Eng. Shirwell, H.M.S. Powerful, is looking out for my gear ... We are going up tonight in armoured trains and I believe we are going through to Ladysmith. The Boers have cut off the wires and we may have to fight our way through ... I am off in half an hour, Goodbye ...’); letters to his mother (4), the envelopes all addressed to ‘The Dow. Countess of Northesk, 6 Hans Crescent, London S.W.’ and with assorted postmarks, including ‘Ladysmith, Natal’ and ‘Simonstown’, and differing dates in March 1900, the contents often of an interesting nature, including accounts of coming under fire (e.g. letter written at ‘Caesar’s Camp, Friday Feb. 23rd Feb.’ in which he states, ‘I am in command of a 12-pounder 12-cwt. gun and am detached from the rest of the Navy who are on the other side of the town. I have travelled about a good deal with my gun on this hill and Wagon Hill which is next to it and have always been near to Buller’s people when they have tried to come in. I came here three days ago to stop the Boers working on the river. We cannot quite make out what they are doing but it looks like the beginning of a bridge or a dam. They cannot show their noses there now as we give them a few shells when we see them work. It is rather fun as the Boer 6-inch “Long Tom” is only 5000 yards from here, which is quite a short distance for him and he fires at us when we fire, so we have to be very quick getting under cover, but we are quite safe as he has hit the gun pit several times and cannot make any impression as there is quite 15 feet of earth and sandbags and stones between us and him ... ’); another letter to a friend, Lewin, without envelope, dated at ‘Wagon Hill, 14th Feb. 1900’; and an old handwritten copy of a letter sent to a Mr. Rawnesley, this having been dated at ‘The Lady Helen Battery, Caesar’s Camp, Jan. 17th 00’, and describing his first experience of enemy shellfire (‘ ... We arrived at Ladysmith about 10 a.m. on Monday and were greeted by three 6-inch 94-pound shells which came over one after another and landed about 200 yards from us ...’), the whole contained in an old envelope with outer ink inscription, ‘Ian’s letters from South Africa 1899 & 1900’, generally in good condition, rare and interesting (7) £200-300

The Hon. Ian Ludovic Andrew Carnegie, a younger son of the 9th Earl of Northesk, served with distinction as a Midshipman in H.M.S. Powerful’s Naval Brigade at the defence of Ladysmith, where he was wounded. He was mentioned in Sir George White’s despatch of 2 December 1899 and in Captain Lambton’s despatch of 11 January 1900, the latter stating, ‘Mr. Carnegie has had charge of a 12 pr. gun at Caesar’s Camp since Nov. 27th 1899, which he has fought successfully under, at times, a hot fire’. Carnegie was duly recommended for early promotion, gaining advancement to Sub. Lieutenant in January 1901 and to Lieutenant in July 1902, and he received his Queen’s South Africa Medal, with ‘Defence of Ladysmith’ clasp, from the hands of the King.