Hi List, When I was young we had an old photo, which was apparently taken in South Africa. The photo was of a cabin with a verandah and 5 or 6 men dressed in colonial style clothes (not uniforms), and they had various weapons; long rifles, pistols and knives. My father told me one of the men was an Atkinson who could speak Zulu. He returned to England to act as interpreter for a Zulu chief, who was going to meet Queen Victoria. Back in England this Atkinson, because of the bad weather took ill and died. Where he was living, supposedly, I don't know but the local priest stole his medals (which included the South African Star) and the nuns took all his furniture. The photo was probably thrown out, but I never forgot it. When I started my family history research I eventually started to pursue the photo. I discovered that my grgrgrandfather Samuel Atkinson had a grandson Robert Charles Atkinson Atkinson (b.1865 Prussia, Germany). He went to South Africa late 1800s and eventually joined the Railway Pioneer Regiment during the Boer War, and was awarded the Queens South Africa Medal and 1901 clasp. I also obtained photos of the cabin, which was called Crown Reef. Robert Charles lived there for a while after the war then it became his office, as he was the chief engineer. At the time the Crown Reef gold mine was the biggest in the world. Robert Charles Atkinson didn't die in England but lived on until 1956 aged 80. Its amazing what can be found through the internet. One last myth concerns distant relations in Hull, Australia, and New Zealand. They all believe a relation was given a Stradivarius violin by Queen Victoria, so they all want to know what happened to it. My father, however, told the story that a relation in the family made violins from tea chests. A bit of a come down. Peter

For a moment there I thought I had your photo. When I was clearing out my grandmother's shed in Scunthorpe in the early nineteen eighties I found a framed photo very similar to the one you describe, except no weapons. I asked my relations if they knew anything about its subject or origin but no one could shed any light on it or even remember anyone who had been in Africa (they weren't a very adventurous lot). I kept it, as it is such a mystery. Jo Perkins On 17 Feb 2014, at 11:43, Peter Atkinson wrote: > Hi List, > > When I was young we had an old photo, which was apparently taken in South Africa. The photo was of a cabin with a verandah and 5 or 6 men dressed in colonial style clothes (not uniforms), and they had various weapons; long rifles, pistols and knives. > My father told me one of the men was an Atkinson who could speak Zulu. He returned to England to act as interpreter for a Zulu chief, who was going to meet Queen Victoria. Back in England this Atkinson, because of the bad weather took ill and died. > Where he was living, supposedly, I don't know but the local priest stole his medals (which included the South African Star) and the nuns took all his furniture. > The photo was probably thrown out, but I never forgot it. > When I started my family history research I eventually started to pursue the photo. I discovered that my grgrgrandfather Samuel Atkinson had a grandson Robert Charles Atkinson Atkinson (b.1865 Prussia, Germany). He went to South Africa late 1800s and eventually joined the Railway Pioneer Regiment during the Boer War, and was awarded the Queens South Africa Medal and 1901 clasp. > I also obtained photos of the cabin, which was called Crown Reef. Robert Charles lived there for a while after the war then it became his office, as he was the chief engineer. At the time the Crown Reef gold mine was the biggest in the world. > Robert Charles Atkinson didn't die in England but lived on until 1956 aged 80. > > Its amazing what can be found through the internet. > > One last myth concerns distant relations in Hull, Australia, and New Zealand. They all believe a relation was given a Stradivarius violin by Queen Victoria, so they all want to know what happened to it. > My father, however, told the story that a relation in the family made violins from tea chests. A bit of a come down. > > Peter > > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message