the only such award made to a New Zealander in the Boer War, on 1 July 1901 by George, Prince of Wales, who was in South Africa on a visit. This event took place even before the award was officially announced in The London Gazette. At the time of the presentation of the VC, the back of the suspender bar and reverse face of the medal itself was not engraved with his name, rank, unit and date of the action that resulted in the award, in a departure from normal practice; Hardham presumably arranged the engraving himself later. The Rough Riders spent the final weeks of their service in South Africa in operations to the north of Klerksdorp, patrolling and denying the Boer commandos food. They were also involved in the capture of a convoy of Koos de la Rey's commando in March 1901. The contingent left for New Zealand in June 1901 and Hardham was discharged two months later. He volunteered to serve again in South Africa, this time with the Ninth Contingent and was commissioned as a lieutenant in February 1902. Soon after the Ninth Contingent's arrival in South Africa in late April, Hardham and over 50 other New Zealand mounted riflemen, serving in South Africa, were sent to England to join up with the official New Zealand party attending the coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra and participated in a parade of colonial troops in London on 1 July 1902. Civilian life Hardham returned to civilian life after his visit to London and continued to serve with the Naval Artillery. In 1910, having attained the rank of sergeant and served as a volunteer in the militia for 16 years, he was awarded the Long and Efficient Service Medal. In addition to his work as a blacksmith, he also increasingly became involved in rugby administration; in 1908 he commenced a six-year term on the committee of the Wellington Rugby Football Union. First World War On the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, Hardham volunteered for the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF), being raised for service overseas. Appointed as a captain in the Wellington Mounted Rifles (WMR), he was second in command of its 2nd Squadron. Travelling on the troopship Arawa, he embarked with the main body of the NZEF for the Middle East in October 1914. His regiment was part of the New Zealand