PRIVATE P. CREEGAN, 4TH (DUBLIN CITY MILITIA) BATTALION, ROYAL DUBLIN FUSILIERS, ATTACHED 2ND BATTALION ROYAL DUBLIN FUSILIERS. Two: Queen's South Africa Medal, 5 clasps, Cape Colony, Tugela Heights, Orange Free State, Relief of Ladysmith, Transvaal (officially impressed: 2337 Pte. P. CREEGAN. RL. DUBLIN FUS:) King's South Africa Medal, 2 clasps (officially impressed: 2337 Pte. P. CREEGAN. RL: DUBLIN FUS:). Few small scattered edge bruises, otherwise Good Very Fine to Almost Extremely Fine, and a rare, possibly unique, QSA and KSA pair to the 4th Dublins.
Group accompanied by copied QSA Medal rolls (2), confirming QSA and clasps, copied details from Colonel George Jackson Haye's "History of the Militia" re the services of the 4th Dublins in South Africa and extract 1911 census.
One of the medal rolls recording the award of a QSA to Creegan notes that, although he was entitled to the South Africa 1901 clasp, he was not entitled to the South Afria 1902 clasp, and as a result not entitled to the King's South Africa Medal, this roll also noting that Creegan returned to England, time expired, 4/12/1901. However, Creegan's KSA is correctly, officially named and appears entirely as issued. The medal therefore possibly an individual late claim, perhaps awarded because Creegan did not return home after being discharged time expired and instead remained on in South Africa and saw further service with the 4th Dublins, men from that battalion who did not see service attached to the 2nd Dublins remaining on in South Africa and being awaraded the South Africa 1902 clasp, or with another unit that qualified for the SA02 clasp. Creegan's KSA thus perhaps worthy of further research in this regard.
A rare, possibly unique Boer War pair to the Dublin City Militia, only 125 men seeing service attached to the 2nd Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers in South Africa (124 QSA's awarded, one medal forfeited). The medal roll for Creegan's South Africa 1901 clasp indicates that none of the men from the 4th Dublins attached to the 2nd Battalion on that roll were entitled to a KSA. Creegan's KSA, presumably a late issue, and therefore possibly unique to the 4th Dublins.
Although the 4th Dublins sailed for South Africa as a unit, once in South Africa the battalion was broken up and saw service in various locations, taking part in blockhouse duties and guarding refugee camps in the Cape Colony and Orange Free State, the majority of the men receiving only one or more of the clasps Cape Colony, Orange Free State and South Africa 1902. The 125 men from the battalion who saw service attached to the 2nd Dublins with the Natal Field Force were the only members of the Dublin City Militia to qualify for one or more of the clasps Tugela Heights, Relief of Ladysmith and Transvaal.
There is only one P. Creegan listed as being resident in Dublin in the 1911 census, a 39 year old general labourer recorded as being a boarder in a house in Raheny village, Howth, County Dublin, perhaps the recipient of this pair of medals.
