S W Harris

Harris was born in Australia on 27th Dec 1872 and joined the army first as a cavalryman in the Royal Dragoons. On 2nd April 1892 he transferred to the Grenadier Guards and was with them in the Sudan when they went up the Nile and fought at Omdurman on 2nd Sep 1898. He wrote a diary of his experience which was published in the Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research Vol 78 published in Spring 2000. He became Orderly Room Sergeant in the Guards, but in 1902 he transferred to the Royal Irish Regiment, becoming RSM of the 1st Battalion. He was promoted to Lieutenant (Quartermaster) in 1910 and Captain (QM) in 1917. In 1919 he was a Major (QM) and MBE. His duties were confined to the regimental depot in WW1 and after the war he was second in command at the Royal Hibernian Military School in Ireland. His last appointment was at the School of Education at Shorncliffe in Kent, retiring in 1928. He was a big-game hunter and some of his trophies still exist. He was also an excellent cricketer. He died on 15th Oct 1962 and is buried at Wittersham in Kent. The photo shows him c1912 in the dress uniform of the Royal Irish Regiment with the rank of Lieutenant. He has three medals, two of which he received for the Nile Expedition: The Queen's and the Khedive's Sudan Medal with a clasp for Khartoum.