who was Mentioned in Despatches for service in Africa in 1897.
Ashanti Star 1896, unnamed as issued
East and West Africa Medal 1887 -1900, clasp 1897-98, correctly engraved ' Capt & A/Insptr. H. W. Hawtrey. 4/ R. Muns. Fus.
| Estimate: | £2,000 - £4,000 |
| Hammer price: | £3,200 |
Queens South Africa Medal 1899-1902; Cape Colony, Wepener, Witterbergen and Belfast, correctly engraved ' Capt. M. W. Hawtrey Brabant's Horse'
Kings South Africa Medal 1901-02, bars South Africa 1901 & South Africa 1902, correctly engraved 'Capt. M. W. Hawtrey. Rl. Mun Fus.
Court mounted as worn. Sold with a matching miniature set.
Condition NEF
Montague William Hawtrey was born in Stoke Damerel, Devon, on the 12th of March 1870, the son of Ralph de Beauvoir Hawtrey and Mary Whitney Hawtrey.
Hawtrey was educated at St Mark's School in Windsor, which had been founded in 1845 by his relative, the Revd Steven Hawtrey. On the 15th of December 1888, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Munster Fusiliers, joining the 4th Bn. He was reappointed to Lieutenant on the 25th of November 1892.
In 1894, he was attached to the Sierra Leone Frontier Force and, in 1896, took part in the Ashanti Expedition, for which he was awarded the Ashanti Star.
Captain Hawtrey was attached to the Gold Coast Constabulary in West Africa from June 1897 to August 1897. He served as an Assistant Inspector in a civil and military capacity in the Mamprusi region. Capt Hawtrey was awarded the East and West Africa Medal and Mentioned in Despatches for his service. The roll confirms the medal was to be named to the Royal Munster Fusiliers.
On the 20th of December 1899, Captain Hawtrey was appointed a Lieutenant in 2nd Brabant's Horse. He transferred to the ASC on the 16th of November 1900 and served with them until the 31st of August 1901. Finally, there was a service period with the Infantry (Munster's) from the 7th of September 1901 until the 3rd of January 1902.
Captain Hawtrey earned the QSA and bars with Brabant's Horse. The roll for the Kings South Africa Medal states the KSA should be and was issued as a Captain in the Munster Fusiliers.
Montague sadly died in Odumase, Ashanti, on the 19th of September 1904 of Blackwater Fever, having worked there as a travelling commissioner from May 1902.
Most certainly a unique group the Royal Munster Fusiliers.
