Name/Title
1899-1902 - 2nd Boer War Medal named to 1st Prince of Wales Regiment Fusiliers (CGG) Private Samuel Upton 7708 - E Company Royal Canadian Regiment (Paardeberg, Cape Colony, Driefontein & Johannesburg).Scope and Content
*** For Museum archive records only - Part of the Lieutenant Michael A. Hayes-Rivet (MHR) Trust Collection ***
1899-1902 - 2nd Boer War - A Canadian Queen's South Africa Medal named and officially impressed to ''7708 PTE. SAMUEL UPTON, R: CANDN: REGT'' with 4 Battle Clasps (Paardeberg, Cape Colony, Driefontein & Johannesburg).
ABOUT THE CGG SOLDIER
Private Samuel Upton was born in Limerick, Ireland on 27th of January 1864 and lived in Montreal with his wife and five children when he joined the 1st Prince of Wales Regiment Fusiliers (CGG) in 1898. He was one of 32 active CGG members at the time (and 40 CGG members) to volunteered to join the Canadian Contingent as part of E Company, 2nd Special Service Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment in South Africa. He participated in the major Battles of Praadeberg and Driefontein. He was presented his Queen's South Africa Medal in Montreal in November 1901 by HRH Prince of Wales (Future HM King Edward VII) and lived the rest of his life in Montreal. He passed away in 1905.
“DEATH OF THE LATE MR. SAMUEL UPTON: Survived the Boer War but Fell Victim to Meningitis. Mr. Samuel Upton, a well -known commercial traveler - died' yesterday, after a short illness. He was son of the late Edward Upton, and was born In Ireland about forty years ago, and came to Montreal with his parents in 1873. After leaving school he entered the office of the late William Evans, seedsman, and at the early age of 19 years he was "on the road" for his employer, whom he represented until the latter went out of business. He then commenced travelling for Messrs. Wm. Ewing (A CGG officer) and served them up the time of his death. In 1895 he visited California during the great depression, and in his endeavors to get back to civilization crossed the California desert on foot. He accompanied the first Canadian contingent to South Africa, where during the Boer war he took part in the Battie Paardeberg. He had the distinction of never being absent from a single parade, and he was never throughout the campaign.” - The Montreal Star May 4, 1905
ABOUT THE 2nd BOER WAR (1899-1902)
The South African War (1899-1902) or, as it is also known, the Boer War, marked Canada's first official dispatch of troops to an overseas war.
In 1899, fighting erupted between Great Britain and two small republics in South Africa. The two republics, settled by Boers, descendants of the region's first Dutch immigrants, were not expected to survive for long against the world's greatest power. Pro-Empire Canadians nevertheless urged their government to help. The war, they argued, pitted British freedom, justice, and civilization against Boer backwardness.
While many English Canadians supported Britain's cause in South Africa, most French-Canadians and many recent immigrants from countries other than Britain wondered why Canada should fight in a war halfway around the world. Concerned with maintaining national stability and political popularity, Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier did not want to commit his government. Yet the bonds of Empire were strong and public pressure mounted. As a compromise, Laurier agreed to send a battalion of volunteers to South Africa.
Over the next three years, more than 7,000 Canadians, including 12 women nurses, served overseas. They would fight in key battles from Paardeberg to Leliefontein. The Boers inflicted heavy losses on the British but were defeated in several key engagements. Refusing to surrender, the Boers turned to a guerrilla war of ambush and retreat. In this second phase of fighting, Canadians participated in numerous small actions. Grueling mounted patrols sought to bring the enemy to battle, and harsh conditions ensured that all soldiers struggled against disease and snipers' bullets.
Imperial forces attempted to deny the Boers the food, water and lodging afforded by sympathetic farmers. Britain’s grim strategy took the war to the civilian population. Canadian troops burned Boer houses and farms and moved civilians to internment camps. In these filthy camps, an estimated 28,000 prisoners died of disease, most of them women, children, and black workers. Civilian deaths provoked outrage in Britain and in Canada. This harsh strategy eventually defeated the Boers.
Of the Canadians who served in South Africa, 267 were killed and are listed in the Books of Remembrance.
ABOUT THE BATTLE OF PRAADEBERG
The Battle of Paardeberg ("Horse Mountain", 18–27 February 1900) was a major battle during the Second Anglo-Boer War. It was fought near Paardeberg Drift on the banks of the Modder River in the Orange Free State near Kimberley (now in Letsemeng Local Municipality, Free State). The Battle of Paardeberg was the first major British success in the South African War since "Black Week," 10-15 December 1899. Faced by a reorganized British offensive directed at their capitals, the Afrikaners made a stand at Paardeberg, a point on the Modder River some 130 km from Bloemfontein. Canada's 1st contingent fought first at Paardeberg Drift on 18 February 1900 where, after hours under fire in the scorching sun, they were ordered to make a suicidal assault. Their second engagement took place on February 27, 3 km from the Drift. The Canadians, attacking before dawn, faced withering Afrikaner rifle fire. Although the regiment was ordered to retreat, 2 companies from the Maritimes, who failed to hear or heed the order, maintained their position and returned the fire. Shortly thereafter Gen Piet Cronje and almost 4000 exhausted Afrikaners surrendered. The battle for Paardeberg cost Canada 31 men; another 92 were wounded.Created By
Lieutenant Michael Hayes-Rivet, retired.Create Date
September 8, 2025Updated By
Lieutenant Michael Hayes-Rivet, retired.Update Date
July 15, 2026
