Hello Norma, The Royal Engineers are a corps which at the time of the Boer War were divided into companies with the designations Field, Railway or Fortress plus other specialist units. In December 1900 the following subdivisions of the RE were serving in South Africa: 5th-12th, 17th, 20th, 23rd, 26th, 29th, 31st, 37th, 38th, 42nd, 45th & 47th Companies 1st Division Telegraph Battalion A & C Troops Bridging Battalion Field Troop, 1st Field Park 1st, 2nd & 3rd Balloon Sections The Territorial Army was not formed until 1908. At the time of the Boer War there were pre-existing Militia, Yeomanry and Volunteer units which supplied troops for service in South Africa in addition to the regular troops. As the term 'Territorial' was not even coined until 1908 I rather think your grandfather served in the RE Territorials for a three year period between 1908 and the outbreak of WW1 in 1914. As to why he doesn't appear on the 1901 census I can't really say. However, I recently heard that the database for the 1901 census was subcontracted to India and the people responsible have managed to omit several hundred thousand names from the database now online. My entire paternal grandfather's family are among the 'missing'. Regards, David ----- Original Message ----- From: R&N O'Toole <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, January 26, 2003 1:01 PM Subject: [BOER-WAR] Royal Engineer Regiment - John Roberts > Hello > > I have recently subscribed to this list and hope that the knowledgable people on the list will be able to help me. > > My primary area of research is to locate the name of the Royal Engineer unit in which my grandfather John Roberts served for three years around 1901. I realize that no personnel records would survive for such a short term of service, but it would be nice to track the regiment's actions during the period. He was born in 1881 in the small market town of Padiham, Burnley District, in Eastern Lancashire. In his enrolment form for the Canadian Expeditionary Force during WW 1 he stated that he had served in the Royal Engineers for three years. The only possible reference to his prior service unit appeared in his military file as "Former Corps - Terr. 3 yrs". I have done searches at google.com; have searched the Family History Library Catalogue CD using the "find and mark" function; and have searched the on-line PRO site looking for Royal Engineer regiments. > He was not in England for the 1901 census which leads me to believe that he may have been serving in the Boer War. Also, a term of only three years service is most unusual for the time. He had no previous injuries when he joined the CEF, so was not pensioned off from the Royal Marines due to wounds. > Was a Territorial Army raised by the British to meet the increased personnel requirements of the Boer War? > What Royal Engineer units served in the Boer War? Thank you in advance for any assistance that you may be able to give. Norma O'Toole (nee Roberts) in Eastern Ontario, Canada

My Gdad has 3 medals from WW1 with his name Joseph WALKER pte York R 3-8525 can anyone tell me if this would have been his no when he joined the Army previously to this I believe he was in India and was hurt and sent home regards Wendy

Hello My apologies for an error that I made in an earlier posting today. I had noted that my grandfather had served in the Royal Engineers for three years and that there had been a note in his Canadian military file that his former unit was "Terr. 3 years". I was seeking information on Royal Engineer units that had served in the Boer War. In the last full paragraph I mistakenly wrote "was not pensioned off from the Royal Marines due to wounds" when I meant to say Royal Engineers. I also did not mention that my grandfather John ROBERTS had immigrated to Canada in 1909. He was born in 1881, so the timing of his three year service in the Royal Engineers would be in a very limited period from about 1900 to 1909. The Territorial Force was not formed until 1908. One lister who replied to my posting noted that he may have served in the RE Volunteers in 1906-1908 and then transferred to the Territorial Force in 1908-09 prior to emigration. Sorry for the misleading information. Norma O'Toole in Eastern Ontario, Canada

Hello I have recently subscribed to this list and hope that the knowledgable people on the list will be able to help me. My primary area of research is to locate the name of the Royal Engineer unit in which my grandfather John Roberts served for three years around 1901. I realize that no personnel records would survive for such a short term of service, but it would be nice to track the regiment's actions during the period. He was born in 1881 in the small market town of Padiham, Burnley District, in Eastern Lancashire. In his enrolment form for the Canadian Expeditionary Force during WW 1 he stated that he had served in the Royal Engineers for three years. The only possible reference to his prior service unit appeared in his military file as "Former Corps - Terr. 3 yrs". I have done searches at google.com; have searched the Family History Library Catalogue CD using the "find and mark" function; and have searched the on-line PRO site looking for Royal Engineer regiments. He was not in England for the 1901 census which leads me to believe that he may have been serving in the Boer War. Also, a term of only three years service is most unusual for the time. He had no previous injuries when he joined the CEF, so was not pensioned off from the Royal Marines due to wounds. Was a Territorial Army raised by the British to meet the increased personnel requirements of the Boer War? What Royal Engineer units served in the Boer War? Thank you in advance for any assistance that you may be able to give. Norma O'Toole (nee Roberts) in Eastern Ontario, Canada

Hello Sue, There are no alphabetical rolls of British soldiers who fought in the Boer War. The medal rolls are arranged by unit so knowing the unit is a pre-requisite. The attestation and service papers of regular soldiers of the Victorian period in series WO 97 at the PRO are searchable without knowing the unit but the more common the name the more possibilities are likely to be found. However, knowledge of personal details such as birthplace would help to narrow down multiple possibilities. You need to bear in mind, though, that about a third of this series relating to soldiers of the Boer War period were destroyed in an air raid in WW2 so your man's papers may not be there even if those of others with the same name are. PRO files aren't searchable via the internet and the PRO staff don't undertake research projects themselves. Anyone not in a position to make a personal visit needs to employ a researcher to do the digging on their behalf. Regards, David ----- Original Message ----- From: Sue Adamson <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, January 24, 2003 10:29 PM Subject: [BOER-WAR] Lists, Rolls or otherwise Hi All, Can l repost my query asking if anyone knows of any lists, rolls or otherwise, naming who went to the Boer War from England, or specifically Counties. l have Joseph BAINES born 1868 Uppingham Rutland. Regards Sue

Hello Mike, There is no Henney or Henny in any of the casualty references including wounded and POWs as well as killed or died. Your best bet is to check (in person or via a researcher) the Queen's South Africa Medal rolls for the King's Own Scottish Borderers which are in subseries WO 100/182 at the PRO in Kew. It sounds like your man could have died at any time up to 1912 but if he died on service his attestation and service papers would have been officially destroyed. Surviving papers for regular soldiers are in series WO 97. Regards, David ----- Original Message ----- From: NorthDevonRendle <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, January 24, 2003 9:58 PM Subject: RE: [BOER-WAR] Is there a list of men who died in the Boer War? > > Hi All, > > This is my first posting to the list. > > I wonder if David Humphrey, who offered to do look ups, could do a look-up in the book "In Memorium" for a William Henney who served as a private in the King's Own Scottish Borderers. If anyone else has any service info for William Henny in the KOSB in the Boer War, I would appreciate that as well. > > He was shown as deceased in the marriage in Devonport of his daughter in 1912 with an occupation of Private, Scotch Borderers. > > The 1st Battalion, KOSB moved to Devonport in February 1891 and were posted to South Africa in January 1901. > > Regards. > > Mike

Hi All, Can l repost my query asking if anyone knows of any lists, rolls or otherwise, naming who went to the Boer War from England, or specifically Counties. l have Joseph BAINES born 1868 Uppingham Rutland. Regards Sue ¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ Australian Dreamtime Searchers Genealogy Club http://australiadreamtimesearchers.freeservers.com/Index.html contact [email protected] contact [email protected] BAINES - Uppingham Rutland BLACKWELL - Henry Charles c 1918 - could be anywhere ADAMSON - Scotland-Australia-US LOWTH - Lincolnshire Eng. JOYCE - Galway Ireland - Victoria - Sth Australia POLLARD - Northampton - Goulburn N.S.W. Aust

Hi All, This is my first posting to the list. I wonder if David Humphrey, who offered to do look ups, could do a look-up in the book "In Memorium" for a William Henney who served as a private in the King's Own Scottish Borderers. If anyone else has any service info for William Henny in the KOSB in the Boer War, I would appreciate that as well. He was shown as deceased in the marriage in Devonport of his daughter in 1912 with an occupation of Private, Scotch Borderers. The 1st Battalion, KOSB moved to Devonport in February 1891 and were posted to South Africa in January 1901. Regards. Mike --------------------------------- With Yahoo! Mail you can get a bigger mailbox -- choose a size that fits your needs

Hi Julia You wrote recently in the BOER-WAR list: >My Grandfather referenced above fought in the Boer War and was injured in >the rectum very early stages of the war. I have written everywhere to the >different military in England, i.e. and have had no luck in finding him. He >received a pension from the injury monthly. >I have no military record of him. He was born in Australia and came to the >United States in 1903, where he remained but did not get his citizenship or >naturalization; returned to Australia in the 1930's and that is where he >remained and died there. >Can anyone help to give me any guidance as to where to search for >information of his Military Records? >Thank you. Julia Schmitz of Wickenburg, Arizona, USA Have you looked at the records of the Australian Veterans' Affairs Department held in Australian Archives? The latter has a web site that you should find easily with Google. Even if he served in a British or South African unit (rather than an Australian unit) there would be a DVA file on him if they paid his pension on behalf of the British Government. If he served in WW1 they sould also have a file on him which hopefully should mention his Boer War service. Try checking the WW1 nominal roll on the Australian War Memorial site. He's not in the Australian Boer War roll so he presumably served in a British or South African unit - probably one of the Irregular units. You'll need to establish just which one it was before you can check their medal etc rolls held by the PRO, London. Where did he live and where and exactly when did he die in Australia? If it was in a country area then there is a reasonable chance that the local newspaper will have a death notice and an obituary that could provide details of his Boer War service. Let me know if you manage to track him down. In the meantime I'll add his name to my online Oz-Boer Database and show you as the source of the above infomation. See www.pcug.org.au/~croe/oz_boer.htm. Presumably his surname was MILWARD and not PERCIVAL. Do I have your correct email address? My email client seems to have truncated it. Regards Colin ______________________________ -- Colin Roe, Torrens ACT Australia

Some time ago I was given a list of Australian Boer War veterans. It consisted of everything about the men and women who went. and when my Computer "died" and I bought this one I lost what I had on the 5 1/2" floppy disks. Can someone please tell me how I can get the list again? Also is there a list of Australians who joined up in other Countries to go to the Boer War? Marie

Does anyone have a comprehensive list of those regiments that were sieged in Ladysmith as well as all of those regiments that participated in its liberation? Thanks, Jake Smith

Jake try 'The Times History of the War in South Africa', Vol ii, pub 1909 which covers the siege of `Ladysmith and who were besieged as well as the subsequent relief of Ladysmith on 28 Feb 1900. Bryan Slim Canada >Does anyone have a comprehensive list of those regiments that were >sieged in Ladysmith as well as all of those regiments that >participated in its liberation? > >Thanks, > >Jake Smith > > >==== BOER-WAR Mailing List ==== >C J Genealogical Collections >Web Page http://freespace.virgin.net/genealogical.collections > >============================== >To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy >records, go to: >http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237

My Grandfather referenced above fought in the Boer War and was injured in the rectum very early stages of the war. I have written everywhere to the different military in England, i.e. and have had no luck in finding him. He received a pension from the injury monthly. I have no military record of him. He was born in Australia and came to the United States in 1903, where he remained but did not get his citizenship or naturalization; returned to Australia in the 1930's and that is where he remained and died there. Can anyone help to give me any guidance as to where to search for information of his Military Records? Thank you. Julia Schmitz of Wickenburg, Arizona, USA

Greetings Listers Could someone please help me to identify the uniforms of two young men from a photograph I have c 1920's (size of file is small only 69 kb JPG). Will email photo as attachment off list to any one willing to have a look. Thanks. Sharon Warr Cape Town

Dear Listers, l have one Joseph BAINES, who is on the 1871-1881 census, then disappears. How would l find out if he went to war in South Africa ?? He was born 1868 Uppingham Rutland [ l have the certificate ] and died 1956 Blaby, Leicester, Leicestershire [ have certificate ]. But absolutely nothing in between. Can anyone help please ??? Regards Sue Far North Queensland Australia Where records are few and far between ¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ Australian Dreamtime Searchers Genealogy Club http://australiadreamtimesearchers.freeservers.com/Index.html contact [email protected] contact [email protected] BAINES - Uppingham Rutland BLACKWELL - Henry Charles c 1918 - could be anywhere ADAMSON - Scotland-Australia-US LOWTH - Lincolnshire Eng. JOYCE - Galway Ireland - Victoria - Sth Australia POLLARD - Northampton - Goulburn N.S.W. Aust

Hi, Please help me sort out all this information on my g-g-grandfather Henry C.Howard b. 3 July 1859 Balsham, Cambridge, England. His parents were listed as Charles and Emma (Richardson) Howard on his death record. Henry was in the Boer War . Possibly in the King`s Royal Rifle Corps. There is a Major that retired from that unit in 1902, but his birthday is 31 July 1862. How accurate are the Army lists? This same Henry C. Howard is in the Offical Army List for 1895 to 1908. His history follows: in S. Lan. R.(lieut. from militia) 12 Nov. 1884, then Leic. R 26 Nov. 1884, then King`s R. Rifle C. 11 Mar 1885, then K.R.R.C. 9 Sep 1893, then Adjt., Volunteers 1 May 1895 - 29 July 1899, then 13 Jan 1901 Capt.(local major) K.R.R.C. 4th battalion Railway Pioneer Regiment. While doing all this he also went to Nova Scotia met, married and had a child with Kristjana Margaret Gudmundsdottir. But his child was b. 1884 in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He never became a U.S. citizen, he wanted to stay loyal to the Queen. He is listed as living in Newark, Essex County, New York in 1900 working as a gasfitter. Then get this, about 1940 he recieved a letter from England about settling an estate that had a castle on it. Because of his age 80 and lack of funds he declined the offer to inherit the castle. Of course no one remembers which castle or thought to hold onto the letter. Reliable people did read the letter, so we know this really did happen. Thank you for any information, Pat Brown [email protected] _________________________________________________________________ The new MSN 8: smart spam protection and 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail

Just a long shot to see if anyone has a record of a William Windley from Camberwell,London who served in the 2nd Battalion of the East Surreys in South Africa from 1899-1901 (Queen's SA medal-Tugela Heights, Ladysmith, Laings Nek, Transvaal, Orange Free State). He also apparently passed courses in "Cold Shoeing, Shorncliffe?, Mounted Infantry, Carriagesmiths Course, Woolwich Dockyard" Paul Windley

Assistance please Would sks kindly explain to me the exact location of this particular unit in 1903. Internet maps indicate there are at least 3 SA places using the name of Heidelberg, one each located in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and the Free State. Lost in the muddle of history. Bill

I would be VERY suspicious about that. Pat -----Original Message----- From: Janet Mills <[email protected]> To: B[email protected] <[email protected]> Date: Friday, 17 January 2003 12:29 AM Subject: [BOER-WAR] Commonwealth Medals >Hello everyone: > >Has anyone else received an email from "Geran" aka Chris Williams, an >American ex serviceman in Zimbabwe who is trying to sell medals and >paraphernalia on behalf of the local Legion members? Such an email showed >up yesterday in my inbox - it said he had picked names at random from email >lists. Said that the Legion members were trying to sell their medals to >raise money to live on. He said the older ones won't leave. He listed 544 >medals and objects which were for sale at $5 US each. > >If anyone is interested in seeing this email and list let me know, I don't >know whether it is genuine or not, I do know that politically Zimbabwe is a >"hot spot". I feel that if the veterans need help that they should get it. >I forwarded the email to the HQ of the Canadian legion, didn't know what >else I could do. I didn't see anyone else on the lists mention it, perhaps >they just regarded it as "spam". I tried to email back but it bounced. Any >ideas? > >Janet in -26C southern Ontario (with the wind chill) > > >==== BOER-WAR Mailing List ==== >C J Genealogical Collections >Web Page http://freespace.virgin.net/genealogical.collections > >============================== >To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: >http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 >

Hi Janet, Although this does not relate to the boer war, it is in response to a letter which could threaten the integrity of the list. It would seem that the email you received is a typical scam letter: 1. An american ex serviceman in Zimbabwe with that many medals and objects for sale? Whilst possible, the chances are the person is neither american nor ex serviceman. 2. That you cannot get hold of him via a return email address is suspicious as well. 3. The amount that the medals and objects are being sold for is not much and would not carry a person far, I'm sure that Legion members would put a much higher price on their commonwealth medals. Should they wish to sell them as a group, they would probably approach a coin/medal shop in Zimbabwe or ask a member of the legion to get a relative in the UK to investigate methods of sale and value of each item. 4. The white Zimbabwean community is normally quite close and they tend to look after each other. It is possible that a few might be struggling, but for a group of people to want to sell their medals (which they've kept for years) for so little and in the manner mentioned is suspicious. I'm fairly sure that they would find another way to generate income or sell something else of value. A scam letter was circulating a few months back purporting to be a person collecting money for Zimbabweans to relocate to the UK and/or bail them out of jail. Finally, could you please forward me the letter? Regards Mark van Zyl Cape Town. -----Original Message----- From: Janet Mills [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 16 January 2003 1:20 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [BOER-WAR] Commonwealth Medals Hello everyone: Has anyone else received an email from "Geran" aka Chris Williams, an American ex serviceman in Zimbabwe who is trying to sell medals and paraphernalia on behalf of the local Legion members? Such an email showed up yesterday in my inbox - it said he had picked names at random from email lists. Said that the Legion members were trying to sell their medals to raise money to live on. He said the older ones won't leave. He listed 544 medals and objects which were for sale at $5 US each. If anyone is interested in seeing this email and list let me know, I don't know whether it is genuine or not, I do know that politically Zimbabwe is a "hot spot". I feel that if the veterans need help that they should get it. I forwarded the email to the HQ of the Canadian legion, didn't know what else I could do. I didn't see anyone else on the lists mention it, perhaps they just regarded it as "spam". I tried to email back but it bounced. Any ideas? Janet in -26C southern Ontario (with the wind chill) ==== BOER-WAR Mailing List ==== C J Genealogical Collections Web Page http://freespace.virgin.net/genealogical.collections ============================== To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237