King’s Royal Rifle Corps. Portraits of a named lieutenant circa 1903

A good photographic portrait of a lieutenant in dress uniform of the King’s Royal Rifle Corps on a piece of old  stout album card measurimg 8½ x 5¼ ins. The bust length portrait, 6 x 4¾ ins, identified on the card as (Goat) Hawley who wears a Queen’s South Africa Medal with 6 clasps and the King’s South Africa Medal. This is Lieutenant Cyril Francis Hawley who was commissioned into the regiment in February 1899, promoted to captain in November 1903 and is noted in Hart’s Army List 1905 as having been awarded the QSA with six clasps. Presumably it was a little out of date. The other side of the card has a 5½ x 3¾ ins portrait of another lieutenant in tropical service dress with the medal ribbons for the same medals. Although named on the card we can only read the first name Maurice.   aug14/1

Hawley has his service recorded in Hart’s Army List 1905 : Captain Hawley served in the South African war in 1899-1902 with the 1st Battalion King’s Royal Rifles, and was present at the engagement at Talana, in the march from Dundee to Ladysmith, and during the siege of Ladysmith including the engagement at Wagon Hill; took part in the operations in Natal, March to Jume 1900, including the action at Laing’s Nek; operations in the Transvaal, east of Pretoria, July to 29th, November, including the actions at Belfast and Lydenburg; and in the operations in Transvaal, east of Pretoria 1900-2 (mentioned in despatches, Medal with six Clasps.