Hello all, I am new to the Boer War list and am hoping that someone can give me some advice to help me in the search for my maternal grandfather, Thomas RALPH. I know very little about his early life. My earliest definite source for him is his first marriage in Liverpool in 1899. My elderly uncle remembered that his father had served in both the Boer War and First World War. As I live in Canada, I paid 2 different and reputable researchers to look for medal roll entries and service papers for him in both these conflicts. The first researcher, Chris Baker, located the medal card for a Pvt. Thomas Ralph, no. 8464, of the Kings Liverpool Regiment in France from 1915. No service records could be found, however. The second researcher, Jonathan Collins, located entries on the QSA Medal Roll for Pvt. Thomas Ralph, no. 2832 in the 4th (Militia) Battalion, The Liverpool Regiment. He was awarded the medal with bars for Cape Colony, Transvaal and South Africa 1902. Jonathan then went on to search WO97/5739 & 6354 (Regular Army 1900 to 1913 discharge) and WO96/194 (Militia Service Records Liverpool Regt 1880 to 1908). Once again, no service papers could be found. I realize that the records of many solders who served in both the Boer War and WW1 were stored together, and that 60% of these were destoyed during the bombing in WW2. My question is: are there anything other wartime records in the National Archives or elsewhere that might provide me with some simple biographical information such as a date or place of birth? I'm thinking maybe pension records? Were all of these soldiers entitled to an army pension or other benefits after demobilization? I have been unable to trace either Thomas or his father, (also named Thomas - a coachbuilder) prior to 1899 in any of the censuses. I have an approximate birthdate of 1881, based on marriage and death certificates. The same elderly uncle who remembered his father serving in the army also thinks he was brought up "in care." From what I can tell, he lived his whole life in Liverpool - or at least from 1899 until he died in 1953. I apologize for the length of this message! Thanks for your patience, and I appreciate any and all suggestions on how to break through this brickwall. Karen in Ontario _________________________________________________________________ MSN® Calendar keeps you organized and takes the effort out of scheduling get-togethers. http://join.msn.com/?pgmarket=en-ca&page=byoa/prem&xAPID=1994&DI=1034&SU=http://hotmail.com/enca&HL=Market_MSNIS_Taglines Start enjoying all the benefits of MSN® Premium right now and get the first two months FREE*.