Hi Edie The SAC were recruited by the Colonial Office rather than the War Office. Lord Milner believed 6,000 men would be sufficient but Lord Roberts believed 10,000 were needed and this figure was accepted provided the War Office covered the cost of the additional 4,000 men. The Proclamation creating the force included a provision that the Constabulary would serve "as a military force in times of war." This produced a hybrid civil-military force, neither fish nor fowl. Officers were appointed and could be dismissed by the High Commissioner. Generally discipline was enforced under the South African Constabulary Regulations although the men were also subject to court martial for serious offences while serving as a military force. NCO ranks were similar to military ranks but had some differences in title and badges, e.g. a warrant officer was called a superintendent in the SAC. The were approximately 1,500 Canadians so they were far from forming a majority of the force. The Canadians were mostly in "A", "C" and "E" Divisions. One Canadian troop in "E" Division was disbanded for mutinous conduct. "B" Division in the northern Transvaal, commanded by Colonel Sam Steele, a former officer of the North-West Mounted Police, had few Canadians during the war but had a number transferred in shortly after hostilities ended because of problems in the other divisions. ----- Original Message ----- From: "E Lenzen" <elenzen@telus.net> To: <BOER-WAR-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, December 03, 2005 5:16 PM Subject: [BOER-WAR] South African Constabulary > Thanks to all who responded to my request for information about the SAC. > I'll look for the book "No colours no drums". > > > > I'm presuming that the Canadian experience in the SAC would be the same as > that for Scottish recruits to the SAC. On the surface it appears that > the > Canadians formed the majority of the SAC. > > > > Edie "on the rox" > > > > > > ==== BOER-WAR Mailing List ==== > Getting Started on Boer War Research? > http://freespace.virgin.net/anglers.rest/BWInfo.htm > > ============================== > View and search Historical Newspapers. Read about your ancestors, find > marriage announcements and more. Learn more: > http://www.ancestry.com/s13969/rd.ashx > >