VV_April Web 21-compressed

Village Voice April/May 2021
THE STORY OF
QUEEN VICTORIA'S
SCARF...
What's the link between a scarf, Queen
Victoria, The Horse and Jockey, and the
church of St Margaret?
Back in the 1980’s I was looking through a box
of old family photographs with my father when
I noticed an old sepia photograph of a scarf.
“What’s that?” I asked. “Oh that’s Uncle Tom’s
scarf hanging on your Nan’s washing line” my
father replied. “I wonder what happened to
that?”. The story that he relayed intrigued me
and so my quest began.
My Great Uncle Tom Ferrett was born in
September 1863 in the hamlet of Holybourne,
near Alton, in Hampshire. The family were
from humble beginnings and his father worked
on the land in common with many folk in rural
Hampshire. Up until the industrial revolution it
would normally have been expected for children
to grow up following in their father’s footsteps.
But during the mid to late 1800’s big changes
were afoot. With the advent of the newly
constructed railway network, young men could
now travel further afield to find work and make
their way in life, with the possibility of better
pay and working conditions. And so it was that
at the age of 17, Tom left the family home and
went to work for the London and South Western
Railway Company. His job as an engine cleaner
was not perhaps the most glamorous of
occupations but he had at least left home and
was making his own way in life, living as a
lodger in a house in Windsor. Six years pass
and Tom is now understandably looking to the
future and engine cleaning is perhaps not what
it was cracked up to be!
What might a young man turn to in the late
1800’s that would give him the opportunity of a
steady wage and the chance to see the world?
Yes – he enlists with the Royal West Surrey
Regiment in August 1886 at the age of 20 years
11 months. He signed up as a ‘stableman’,
initially for ‘short service’ but then extended this
to a term of 21 years. He became a career
soldier, ready and prepared to serve his Queen
and country. Beginning as a Private, he rose
through the ranks to finally become Colour
Sergeant Tom Ferrett. During this time, of
course, Queen Victoria was on the throne until
early 1901 being succeeded by Edward V11.
A brief summary of Tom’s career shows that
he served in East India, followed by two tours
of South Africa between 1899 and 1904, which
of course included the period covering the Boer
War, and it is here that I began to find some
answers. Tom served as a Colour Sergeant
directly under General Hildyard throughout the
Boer War and received the Kings South Africa
Medal with clasps for Tugela Heights, Relief of
Ladysmith, as well as the Battle of Colenso. He
was mentioned in dispatches for acts of bravery
by Lord Roberts and was awarded the DCM
(Distinguished Conduct Medal) in 1902.
In 1900 Queen Victoria presented Lord
Roberts with 8 woollen scarves, all hand
crocheted by Her Majesty, and with ‘VR’
embroidered in one corner. These were to be
presented to “the most distinguished private
soldiers serving in the South African Campaign”
and as you will have already guessed, our Tom
was one of the proud recipients. On the off
chance I wrote to the military museum of the
Royal West Surrey Regiment to see if they had
any detailed information on these 8 scarves.
Their reply took me by surprise. “We’ve got
your Great Uncle Tom’s Scarf – would you like
to come along and see it?” Well yes !! We went
to the museum where it was carefully taken
from its glass case and my father and I were
allowed to hold it. The campaign medals are not
held by the museum (whereabouts remain
unknown) and I later discovered that the DCM
was sold at auction to a private collector in
1985.
Tom was discharged from the army due to ill
www.pennandtylersgreen.org.uk