Great Britain: Boer War: Gentleman in Kharki Plaque

Form:

Rectangular

By:

H. Grueber, London

Date:

1900

Ref:

Hern: 562; Hibbard: Frontispiece; Laidlaw: 0044;

Variations:

Size	Metal	Mass	Value
57.5 mm x 39.0 mm	Silver	44.0 gm
57.6 mm x 39.0 mm	White Metal	23.6 gm	$120

Edge:

Plain. Thickness of white metal medal 4.2 mm.

Obverse:

Full figure of a British soldier with rifle at the ready standing on rocky ground, helmet lying at his feet, head bandaged. To the left: “1899- / 1900”. To the right, a sprig of laurel. Above, within quotes: “A GENTLEMAN / IN / KHARKI”. Signed above the truncation line: “H. GRUEBER (left) LONDON (right)” In the exergue: “TRANSVAAL WAR”.

Reverse:

Text only. The first line: “THE ABSENT-MINDED BEGGAR”. The last line: “RUDYARD KIPLING”. Between, in uppercase letters, the complete Kipling poem of four verses with twelve lines per verse.

Notes:

The image of the British soldier on this medal is from the drawing by Richard Caton Woodville known as the “Gentleman in Kharki” and can be seen on a multitude of memorabilia from the period.

The poet Rudyard Kipling voiced the ethos of the British Empire at the time. The first verse of the poem on this medal reads:

WHEN you've shouted "Rule Britannia," when you've sung "God save the Queen,"
When you've finished killing Kruger with your mouth,
Will you kindly drop a shilling in my little tambourine
For a gentleman in kharki ordered South?
He's an absent-minded beggar, and his weaknesses are great -
But we and Paul must take him as we find him -
He is out on active service, wiping something off a slate
And he's left a lot of little things behind him!
Duke's son - cook's son - son of a hundred kings
(Fifty thousand horse and foot going to Table Bay!)
Each of 'em doing his country's work (and who's to look after their things?)
Pass the hat for your credit's sake, and pay - pay - pay!