Queen's South Africa Medal South Africa Medal, indicating the actions and campaigns of the Second Boer War, the maximum awarded to any one recipient being nine. They were authorised in Army Order 94, April 1902, as amended. The clasps fall into three groups: Battle, State and Date clasps.<br> Battle clasps:<br> Awarded for specific actions and campaigns. Recipients could not be awarded both the "DEFENCE" and "RELIEF" clasps for Mafeking, Kimberley or Ladysmith.<br> State clasps:<br> For service within a state, where no Battle clasp was awarded for a specific action within that state. The "CAPE COLONY" and "NATAL" clasps were not awarded together, with "CAPE
Second Boer War invasion of the Cape Colony and Colony of Natal between October 1899 and January 1900. With speed and surprise, the Boer drove quickly towards the British garrison at Ladysmith and the smaller ones at Mafeking and Kimberley. The quick Boer mobilisation resulted in early military successes against scattered British forces. Sir George Stuart White, commanding the British division at Ladysmith, had unwisely allowed Major-General Penn Symons to throw a brigade forward to the coal-mining town of Dundee (also reported as Glencoe), which was surrounded by hills. This became the site of the first engagement of the war, the Battle of