Victorian and WW I Medal Group - RSM Henry Thomas Skelly, 72nd Regiment, Seaforth Highlanders of Canada and for service with the 72nd Battalion CEF in WW I. He also served for 21 years, 3 months in 1st Battalion, The Gordon Highlanders. CEF attestation attached. On rear: "SGTS MESS 95 / RSM SKELLEY [SIC SKELLY]". These medals are in the Sergeant's Mess and are in a frame and bolted to the wall. They are swing mounted on a Seaforth tartan background in a brown frame. The medals in the frame are: India Medal with bars - Relief of Chitral 1895, Punjab Frontier, 1897-98 and Tirah (North West Frontier Operations) 1897-98; Queen's South Africa Medal (Belfast, Johannesburg, Driefontein, Paardeberg and Cape Colony); King's South Africa Medal 1901 - 1902; WW I War Medal, 1914-19, WW I Allied Victory Medal; and the British (Regular) Army Long Service Medal. 129001 RSM Henry Thomas Skelly arrived in France with the 72nd Battalion on 13 August, 1916. He was later commissioned as a lieutenant and transferred to the Canadian Corps Reinforcement Camp. (C. C. R. C.) on 16 September 1916. The 1st Gordons took part in the Chitral Expedition and then the Tirah Campaign: it was during operations on the North West Frontier in October 1897, during the storming of the Dargai Heights, that one of the regiment's most famous Victoria Crosses was earned. Piper George Findlater, despite being wounded in both legs, continued to play the bagpipes during the assault. The 2nd Battalion fought at the Battle of Elandslaagte in October 1899 and the Siege of Ladysmith in November 1899 during the Second Boer War. Meanwhile, the 1st Battalion, who arrived a little later, saw action at the Battle of Magersfontein in December 1899 and was again in action at Doornkop, where they suffered severe losses, in May 1900. The 1st Battalion returned to Crownhill Barracks, Plymouth. The India Medal (1895) was a campaign medal approved in 1896 for issue to officers and men of the British and Indian armies. The India Medal was awarded for various minor military campaigns in India, chiefly for service on the North-West Frontier during 1895 to 1902. This medal replaced the India General Service Medal (1854). The Relief of Chitral 1895 and North West Frontier Operations 1897-98 bars were awarded to the 1st Battalion, The Gordon Highlanders. The Queen's South Africa Medal is a British campaign medal which was awarded to British and Colonial military personnel, civilians employed in official capacity and war correspondents who served in the Second Boer War in South Africa. Altogether twenty-six clasps were awarded to recipients of the Queen's South Africa Medal, to indicate particular actions and campaigns of the Second Boer War. There were 26 clasps. Common clasps for the Gordons were: Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal, Elandslaagte, Driefontein, Johannesburg, South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902. The King's South Africa Medal is a British campaign medal which was awarded to all British and Colonial military personnel who served in the Second Boer War in South Africa, who were in the theatre on or after 1 January 1902 and who had completed 18 months service in the conflict prior to 1 June 1902. It was always paired with the Queen's South Africa Medal.