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)

Hello Barbara, The Johannesburg clasp on the Queen's South Africa Medal (QSA) covered the march on and capture of the city in May 1900. With a few notable exceptions this didn't involve too much hard fighting. Paardeberg (February 1900) and Driefontein (March 1900) were hard fought battles particularly for certain units. The abbreviation 'Dr.' will signify Driver rather than Doctor. This was a rank particularly associated with the artillery but could also apply to other corps. An artillery driver was responsible for the horses and limbers rather than firing the guns and the rank was equivalent to an infantry private. If you let me know the full medal, clasp and naming details I can point you in the right direction for further research. If your man was in the artillery the QSA is likely to include the battery in the naming which will enable his service to be pinpointed more precisely. Regards, David ----- Original Message ----- From: Barbara Winterton <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, January 12, 2003 3:27 PM Subject: [BOER-WAR] Dr L READING > My husband's family have medals for the above gentleman indicating he served > in the Boer War serving at Johannesburg, Paarberg and DelFontaine amongst > other places (please excuse spelling!) I am trying to fit him into the > family and think he was Laurence READING born about 1874 in Leicester. This > man is not showing on the 1901 census so I can only assume he was in South > Africa at the time. > Can anyone help me to trace this man or tell me how to find out about him? > > TIA > Barbara

Hi Bryan, Casualty lists were published in national and local newspapers although most next of kin would have been individually advised by the War Office provided they were traceable. The average age of a recruit was 18-19 so the name and address of his next of kin entered on his attestation papers would normally have been his father. If he served for a number of years these details might well have changed and I have copies of papers where the details of the father or mother were subsequently amended to a wife or a brother or sister. It was the responsibility of the soldier to advise the authorities of any change in these details (although the next of kin might advise a change of address if the man was on overseas service) but no doubt some men neglected to do so. Sometimes different details are on a man's discharge papers 12 or more years after enlistment without any interim amendments noted on his service papers. Regards, David ----- Original Message ----- From: Bryan SLIM <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, January 11, 2003 11:48 PM Subject: [BOER-WAR] Casualties notification > How did relatives in England, or elsewhere, find out about casualties > in the Boer war- killed and injured? > > Would I be correct in assuming that many attestations then did not > include next of kin or address for either the professional army or > volunteers? > > My wife's great uncle was killed at Helvetia when his remaining > relative, a sister and then married, would have been at least three > addresses removed from when he enlisted ten years before. The > regimental HQ was about 150 miles away. How did she find out to pass > it on as family history? Newspaper? > > > > Bryan Slim

My husband's family have medals for the above gentleman indicating he served in the Boer War serving at Johannesburg, Paarberg and DelFontaine amongst other places (please excuse spelling!) I am trying to fit him into the family and think he was Laurence READING born about 1874 in Leicester. This man is not showing on the 1901 census so I can only assume he was in South Africa at the time. Can anyone help me to trace this man or tell me how to find out about him? TIA Barbara I transcribe for FreeBMD on: http://freebmd.rootsweb.com Mike & Barbara Winterton Le Bourg 22570 St Gelven France ++33 (0)2 96 36 97 31

How did relatives in England, or elsewhere, find out about casualties in the Boer war- killed and injured? Would I be correct in assuming that many attestations then did not include next of kin or address for either the professional army or volunteers? My wife's great uncle was killed at Helvetia when his remaining relative, a sister and then married, would have been at least three addresses removed from when he enlisted ten years before. The regimental HQ was about 150 miles away. How did she find out to pass it on as family history? Newspaper? Bryan Slim

G'day Have been reading the List for some months with interest and now I have enough information to ask a question. My family tree research has led me to JOSEPH THOMAS, born 1875 (according to the 1891 Census) in Vron, Wrexham, Denbighsire, North Wales. "He never came back from the Boer War" my grandmother used to say. He would have enlisted in Wrexham. That is all the information I have on him. I do not know which regiment he would have enlisted in, although the Royal Welsh had a strong presence in Wrexham for many years (there was a garrison there). "Not coming back" could of course mean he settled there after the War (although unlikely). Irrespective of whether he was killed, died of wounds, died of disease or 'emigrated', and accepting that Thomas in Wales is as common a surname as its possible to have, I would appreciate any advice as to where I go next to find out some more details about my great uncle. Thanks in anticipation GARY HOPWOOD NEW ZEALAND

This appeared in the Obituaries of the Daily Telegraph and I thought the background might be interesting to members of this list. Goodbye Dolly Gray is still in print here in the UK . Regards Deirdré Snook Rayne Kruger (Filed: 09/01/2003) Rayne Kruger, who has died aged 80, abandoned a successful career as a writer to become a property developer and business partner for more than 30 years of his wife, the restaurateur Prue Leith; he then devoted his last years to completing a long-delayed history of China. Kruger's first novel, Tanker (1952), was based on his experience as a steward aboard a merchant ship during the Second World War, and earned praised from the man of letters S P B Mais for its youthful portrayal of life at sea. He gave further evidence of his originality in The Spectacle (1953), a gripping crime story in which a murderer, found not guilty at his trial, confesses, and thereby casts doubt on the processes of justice. During the next few years, Kruger's fluid pen produced Young Villain With Wings, an account of the brilliant forger poet Thomas Chatterton set against a rollicking Hogarthian background; My Name Is Celia, a romance set in post-war Berlin; An Even Keel, a boardroom thriller; and Ferguson, another thriller. All were noted for their realistic use of material and skilful plotting. So it was natural for the South African-born Kruger to choose the Boer War for a work of non-fiction. He returned to Johannesburg to interview survivors and consult written records for Goodbye Dolly Gray (1959). The first modern one-volume distillation of existing knowledge, it concentrated on the campaigning while being mindful of the political consequences for all concerned. Among reviewers, Professor A J P Taylor carped a little; but the book became a best-seller, and has been in print ever since. Kruger's next book, The Devil's Discus (1964), was an inquiry into the mysterious death of the 20-year-old King of Thailand just after the Second World War. The Thai government banned it; a local publishing company which produced an illegal edition was burned to the ground; and Kruger found himself barred from returning to the country. But by now he had found surer ways of providing for his family. Charles Rayne Kruger was born on January 29 1922 at Queenstown, in the Eastern Cape, to an unmarried 17-year-old daughter of a British officer who had served in the Boer War. Rayne's father had disappeared, so his mother married Victor Kruger, a Johannesburg estate agent. The boy took his stepfather's surname, and went to Jeppe High School. But the stepfather periodically went bankrupt; on one occasion bailiffs started removing young Rayne's set of Dickens, until he informed them that, as he was a writer, the books constituted the tools of his trade. Kruger went to Witwatersrand University, but was sent down after borrowing and losing some farmers' donkeys. He then became an articled clerk in a Johannesburg law firm. Since his eyesight was too poor for the armed forces, he worked as a steward on a merchant ship for a time. He returned to qualify as a lawyer, and started to make up for any lack of excitement by devoting his spare time to a theatrical company led by the West End actress Nan Munro and her partner Margaret Inglis. It was while he was playing Professor Higgins to Munro's Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion that they fell in love - although she was a widow, 16 years his senior, with three children. After the couple came to England, where they married, Kruger found a job as a newsreader with the BBC World Service, and saw his play The Green Box, about a woman who disguised her sex to serve as a doctor in the Boer War, briefly performed at the Chepstow Theatre in London. It was not a success, but he started to write in earnest. For a time Kruger retreated to the chilly keep of Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland, where he once sat up all night in the hope of spotting the ghost of a pink lady. He also dabbled in occasional journalism; the Sunday Dispatch published his long feature on Albert Schweitzer's mission station in Gabon, in which Kruger described Schweitzer's simplistic approach to medicine and his autocratic regime, with hymn-singing after dinner. But with three children to support, and later (after his divorce and marriage to Prue Leith) a son and an adopted Cambodian daughter, Kruger joined two South African friends in forming a property company, Sohox. They built an office at the corner of Brick Street and Soho Square, went on to develop a block of flats overlooking Regent's Park, and then bought land at Wimbledon. But it was while working on a project in Kensington that he started to help Prue Leith to open a restaurant in a house they had bought. Kruger had demonstrated a shrewd business instinct when he went into partnership with the journalist Sir David English to produce one of the first free newspapers, the Orpington News Shopper. As chairman and financial director of his wife's enterprise he had no time for management jargon, saying that a target was merely the profit you could make, and the budget how little you could spend. Insisting on archaic single-entry book-keeping, which showed at a glance what was spent on various items each week, he ensured that the company steadily grew with the help of trustworthy managers. Prue Leith's name was associated with sophisticated modern cookery, but at home her husband never failed to celebrate the virtues of bread and butter; exotic foods were welcome only if he had been introduced to them as a child by his mother. He did not enjoy wine, preferring to drink blended whisky diluted with plenty of water; and, although he liked his wife to go to parties, Kruger preferred to entertain at home, where he could slip upstairs to his study if bored. He had nursed a contract to write a one-volume history of China for so long that he returned his advance to the publishers. But, after Prue Leith sold their business in 1995, Kruger restarted work on the book in earnest. He completed it, but his original publisher was no longer interested in All Under Heaven, and he was looking for a new one when he died on December 21.

Hello Judith, The Welsh (later Welch) Regiment was represented in the Boer War, principally by the 1st Battalion which was heavily involved in the operations to relieve Kimberley and particularly at the battles of Paardeberg and Driefontein and continued to serve in SA until the end of the war. The 3rd (Militia) Battalion also went to SA but served in a less prominent role. If your grandfather was a reservist I think it most likely he served in the 1st Battalion. You could check, or have a researcher check, for his name on the Queen's South Africa Medal Rolls at the PRO. The Welsh Regiment are in subseries WO 100/190. Regards, David ----- Original Message ----- From: jk hats <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2003 7:57 PM Subject: [BOER-WAR] Welch regiment > > > Hi, could anyone tell me please if the Welch Regiment was involved in the > Boer War. Rumour has it that my grandfather, who was a reservist with the > regiment at the time, was sent to Africa, but I can't find any info as to > where exactly he was at that time. > Many thanks > Judith

Hello Alan, Your best bet is to check, or have a researcher do it for you, the Queen's South Africa Medal Rolls at the PRO. These are arranged by battalion and those of the South Staffs are in subseries WO 100/188. If your man served in the Boer War with the South Staffs his medal entitlement will be recorded. If this is successful you could then check if his attestation and service papers are among those which survive in series WO 07. Regards, David ----- Original Message ----- From: Alan Smith <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2003 2:44 PM Subject: [BOER-WAR] Tracing relative -advice please > I understant that a relative fought in the Boer War in the South Staffs Regiment and would like to verify this if possible. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I might proceed. > Thanks in advance > Alan

Hi, could anyone tell me please if the Welch Regiment was involved in the Boer War. Rumour has it that my grandfather, who was a reservist with the regiment at the time, was sent to Africa, but I can't find any info as to where exactly he was at that time. Many thanks Judith _________________________________________________________________ STOP MORE SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail

Hello Wendy, The 1914 Star, often called the Mons Star, was awarded to British and Empire armed forces who served in France & Flanders between 5 August and 22 November 1914. Those under fire or within range of enemy artillery during that period later received a sew-on clasp bearing these dates although these often became detached or lost. Anyone who received the star also received the silver British War Medal and bronze Allied Victory Medal. I assume these are the other two medals to which you refer. 3-8525 was his army number although the prefix may denote that he was a reservist called up for the war or carry some other significance. The regiment has been abbreviated to York. R. or similar on the star but it is actually the Yorkshire Regiment, sometimes called the Green Howards. It was based in Richmond and Middlesbrough was within its main recruiting area. If he served in the Boer War he would have been awarded the Queen's (QSA), and possibly also the King's South Africa Medal (KSA). The nearest thing to a list of men who served in the Boer War are the QSA rolls which are at the PRO. These are arranged not just by regiment but by battalion and the Yorkshire Regiment rolls are in subseries WO 100/178. However, I have a copy of "With the Green Howards in South Africa 1899-1902" which mainly covers the 1st Battalion which was most heavily involved. In the list of NCOs is included 2367 Sgt-Major J. Walker of the 1st Battalion whose QSA clasp entitlement was Relief of Kimberley, Paardeberg, Driefontein, Johannesburg, Diamond Hill & Belfast. He also received the KSA with clasps South Africa 1901 & South Africa 1902. J. Walker is not an uncommon name so he may or may not be your grandfather. You could try to obtain copies of his attestation and service papers in series WO 97 at the PRO. Not all of these have survived but if they are there they will include sufficient personal infomation to enable you to be sure one way or the other. Regards, David ----- Original Message ----- From: Wendy Woodhouse <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, January 07, 2003 11:31 AM Subject: [BOER-WAR] York.R Mons Star > Hi I am trying to find my Gdad Joseph WALKER born MIDDLESBROUGH 1873 I have > just been sent a photo of his 3 Medals one being the Mons Star engraved with > his name and the no 3-8525 could someone please tell me if this is his army > no. I believe he joined the army very young and was in India I would be most > grateful for any help in finding him. Are there any Army list for the York > Regiment in the Boer War Thanks for any help Wendy

I understant that a relative fought in the Boer War in the South Staffs Regiment and would like to verify this if possible. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I might proceed. Thanks in advance Alan

Hi I am trying to find my Gdad Joseph WALKER born MIDDLESBROUGH 1873 I have just been sent a photo of his 3 Medals one being the Mons Star engraved with his name and the no 3-8525 could someone please tell me if this is his army no. I believe he joined the army very young and was in India I would be most grateful for any help in finding him. Are there any Army list for the York Regiment in the Boer War Thanks for any help Wendy

Hello Terry, By personal record I assume that you mean the attestation and service papers which are in series WO 97 (regular soldiers) and WO 96 (militia) at the PRO. The problem is that up to one third of these papers were destroyed in an air raid in WW2 so it looks likely that your grandfather's papers were among these. If your man also served in WW1 his original papers may be included in the WW1 series WO 363 or WO 364. You might want to verify whether your researcher also checked in these. Regards, David ----- Original Message ----- From: Terence Whelan <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, January 05, 2003 2:01 PM Subject: [BOER-WAR] Boer War I have Army Form E 606 15Oct 1902 Pte.Richard Whelan No 5107 4Th Batt King`s Liverpool Regiment Gratuity Earned £7-15-31/2 Less Pre-Pay 3- 0- 0 Memorial Fund 1 -0 Balance 4- 14-31/2 After research I obtained medal lists WO 100/172dated 30 May 1902 Signed by Lt Col W.H.Hand Commanding Off. The King`s L`Pool Reg. Polfontein Transvaal S/Africa awarding Queen`s South Africa Medal and Clasps for Cape Colony and Transvaal. My problem is that the personal record for my G/father could not be found by the researcher. Are there any clues as to where I can obtain them? His brother James also served inthe South Lancashire Reg. Thanks for any information Terry Whelan for my G/father could not be found by the researcher

Hello Christine, There were only two full battalions of the South Lancs which served in South Africa. The1st Battalion (regulars) arrived in South Africa just before Christmas 1899 and served in the campaign to relieve Ladysmith, two of the eight companies being in action at Spion Kop. The 1st served throughout the war. The 3rd Battalion (Militia) arrived in 1900 and some were converted to Mounted Infantry while others mainly served as garrison troops, on lines of communications or on blockhouse duties. Your grandfather could have served in either battalion. Although the clasps on his Queen's South Africa Medal (QSA) don't disclose his specific service they indicate that he was a later arrival. The Transvaal clasp denotes general service in Transvaal although the absence of a Cape Colony clasp suggests he arrived in SA via Durban. After June 1900 Natal was no longer considered to be a war zone and the Natal clasp was not issued for subsequent service there. The SA 1901 & 1902 clasps indicate that he served less than 18 months in SA up to the end of the war on 31/5/1902. If he had served 18 months or more he would also have received the King's South Africa Medal (KSA) with the date clasps on that and just Transvaal on his QSA. It seems likely that he arrived some time in 1901 and served until the end of the war although he could have arrived in late 1900 and returned to the UK in early 1902. He would have volunteered for service in the army and been attested into the South Lancs. Men didn't necessarily join their local regiments although they generally had some degree of choice. Although he was originally from Essex perhaps he was living or working in the Lancashire/Cheshire area when he enlisted. He must have lived locally if he was in the 3rd Battalion as the Militia was a locally recruited part time organisation only called out in time of emergency. He may have had a friend or relative in the regiment. The casualty list shows 5679 Pte. S. Knowles 3/South Lancs died of disease at Naauwpoort (now Noupoort in the Eastern Cape) 22/4/1900. Perhaps he was a relative. You could get a researcher to check for his attestation and service papers in series WO 97 for regular soldiers and WO 96 for Militia. Not all these have survived, however, as a proportion were destroyed in an air raid in WW2. Regards, David ----- Original Message ----- From: Chris & Ron <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, January 05, 2003 2:33 AM Subject: [BOER-WAR] South Lancashire Regiment > Happy New Year to the List > > I am a new subscriber to the list , and am looking for some help fro the > experts that I know are out there . > My grand father was Leonard Thomas knowles who originated from Stanford Le > Hope in Essex, born 1882. > according to a diary that he kept he went to the Boer war with the South > Lancashire Regiment as a Sgt number 6037.He has 1901 bar, 1902 bar also the > Transvaal clasp and the silver Queen Victoria medal > > What I am hoping to find out is how he would have become attached to the > South Lancs Regiment? > What was their involment in the Transvaal > What is the significance of the 2 bars. > > He was married in the Kolar Gold Fields in 1908 and led quite a > distinguished career with the police force until he retired in 1948 and > returned to Gravesend in Kent until he passed away in 1956. > Unfortunately like a lot of family history this was not spoken about and i > am trying to bring my family history together for my daughters, so they may > have interesting reading in latter years. > > Any help would be most appreciated. > Cheers from Christine in Australia

I have Army Form E 606 15Oct 1902 Pte.Richard Whelan No 5107 4Th Batt King`s Liverpool Regiment Gratuity Earned £7-15-31/2 Less Pre-Pay 3- 0- 0 Memorial Fund 1 -0 Balance 4- 14-31/2 After research I obtained medal lists WO 100/172dated 30 May 1902 Signed by Lt Col W.H.Hand Commanding Off. The King`s L`Pool Reg. Polfontein Transvaal S/Africa awarding Queen`s South Africa Medal and Clasps for Cape Colony and Transvaal. My problem is that the personal record for my G/father could not be found by the researcher. Are there any clues as to where I can obtain them? His brother James also served inthe South Lancashire Reg. Thanks for any information Terry Whelan for my G/father could not be found by the researcher

Happy New Year to the List I am a new subscriber to the list , and am looking for some help fro the experts that I know are out there . My grand father was Leonard Thomas knowles who originated from Stanford Le Hope in Essex, born 1882. according to a diary that he kept he went to the Boer war with the South Lancashire Regiment as a Sgt number 6037.He has 1901 bar, 1902 bar also the Transvaal clasp and the silver Queen Victoria medal What I am hoping to find out is how he would have become attached to the South Lancs Regiment? What was their involment in the Transvaal What is the significance of the 2 bars. He was married in the Kolar Gold Fields in 1908 and led quite a distinguished career with the police force until he retired in 1948 and returned to Gravesend in Kent until he passed away in 1956. Unfortunately like a lot of family history this was not spoken about and i am trying to bring my family history together for my daughters, so they may have interesting reading in latter years. Any help would be most appreciated. Cheers from Christine in Australia

Hello Bob, The only man of either name in the casualty list is Pte. H. Lippett of the Shropshire Light Infantry who was killed in a railway accident. He would seem not to be your man. Some civilians in military employment are included in the casualty list but I'm sure others are not. It's difficult to offer any other advice as you would need to know the unit he was attached to before being able to make further enquiries, for example via the medal rolls. Regards, David ----- Original Message ----- From: Robert Alan Rudd <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, January 02, 2003 12:07 AM Subject: [BOER-WAR] Casualties Database - Help Please > I have been trying for some days to access this database in the hope of finding out if a relative, one Albert William Lippett or Lippitt from Birmingham UK died in this war as is reputed in the family. He is said to have died of enteric fever. He was a tailor and it is not known if he served in the forces or was a civilian. > > Unfortunately the database seems not to be accessible. Could SKS advise or help please. > > Bob Rudd in Sunny NSW Australia.

I have been trying for some days to access this database in the hope of finding out if a relative, one Albert William Lippett or Lippitt from Birmingham UK died in this war as is reputed in the family. He is said to have died of enteric fever. He was a tailor and it is not known if he served in the forces or was a civilian. Unfortunately the database seems not to be accessible. Could SKS advise or help please. Bob Rudd in Sunny NSW Australia.

Hi there, There is a possibility that my maternal GGrandfather may have served in the Boer War, there is some family tradition that suggests this and this has been (somewhat) supported by his apparant non-appearance in the 1901 census. His full name is Charles Edward SHELLARD and he was born in St Pancras, London in 1878. Also looking for his brother, Frederick, born 1886 - although he would only have been 15 in 1901 he is also not at home on the census date. If anyone can help and offer me any evidence or point me in the direction of where I could find such evidence I'd be very grateful Wendy ===== www.thoughtcafe.co.uk The Thought Café "A quiet little corner of the internet to come and chat about reading & writing. Pour yourself a cup of coffee, put your feet up and come join us" [email protected] See my photo album at photos.yahoo.com/indychick_uk See my family tree at www.wendyandjon.dsl.pipex.com/Famtree/wc_toc.htm __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Everything you'll ever need on one web page from News and Sport to Email and Music Charts http://uk.my.yahoo.com