So this is my latest addition to my collection. Still trying doing a lot of research but the combination seems to be very interesting. Does anyone have similar and/or information at all?
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Indian/QSA combinations - by: ianbrentnall
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Willaim Taylor Mitchell born Rossneath Scotland 1875 - by: Halldiane
Has anybody seen his name mentioned in any of the lists of soldiers who fought for the British?
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Treeton, near Rotherham - by: BereniceUK
In St. Helen's churchyard. Treeton, around 1900, was a village dependent upon Treeton Colliery; in 1901 the population was 1,969. It's about 4 miles south of Rotherham, and 5 miles east of Sheffield city centre, and just over 1 mile south-west is Orgreave, where the Battle of Orgreave took place in 1984, during the 1984/85 miners' strike.
422 Private Ernest Manship, St. John Ambulance Brigade. Died of enteric fever at Howick, Natal, on 15th September 1900, aged 19. Or did he die on 16th September 1900?
9213 Private Arthur King, 2nd Coldstream Guards. Died of enteric fever at De Aar, in the Transvaal, on 26th March 1900, aged 28.
William E. Scattergood, St. John Ambulance Brigade. Died of enteric fever on 24th May 1904, aged 27. The 1901 UK census has a William Scattergood, aged 25, living with his parents, William Sr. and Martha, and his wife Florence, at 83, Back Street, Treeton. Both Williams were born at nearby Catcliffe, and William jr. was a "colliery deputy." There didn't appear to be any other Scattergood families resident in Treeton. www.bryanspink.talktalk.net/html/treeton_census_1901.html
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Placed in a very prominent position in the churchyard, right by the footpath and road, where all the passers-by could see it.
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A big 'thank you' to volunteer1860 for bringing this memorial to our attention. www.angloboerwar.com/forum/17-memorials-...-war-memorials#19803
422 Private Ernest Manship, St. John Ambulance Brigade. Died of enteric fever at Howick, Natal, on 15th September 1900, aged 19. Or did he die on 16th September 1900?
9213 Private Arthur King, 2nd Coldstream Guards. Died of enteric fever at De Aar, in the Transvaal, on 26th March 1900, aged 28.
William E. Scattergood, St. John Ambulance Brigade. Died of enteric fever on 24th May 1904, aged 27. The 1901 UK census has a William Scattergood, aged 25, living with his parents, William Sr. and Martha, and his wife Florence, at 83, Back Street, Treeton. Both Williams were born at nearby Catcliffe, and William jr. was a "colliery deputy." There didn't appear to be any other Scattergood families resident in Treeton. www.bryanspink.talktalk.net/html/treeton_census_1901.html
Placed in a very prominent position in the churchyard, right by the footpath and road, where all the passers-by could see it.
A big 'thank you' to volunteer1860 for bringing this memorial to our attention. www.angloboerwar.com/forum/17-memorials-...-war-memorials#19803
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Corporal Edward Nockall, Middlesex Regiment - died April/May 1904 - by: BereniceUK
WOUNDED IN SOUTH AFRICA.
An inquiry has been held at Southwark concerning the death of Edward Nockall, thirty-eight, a general labourer, who was admitted to Guy's Hospital on April 29th suffering from the effects of a bullet wound received in South Africa. The wound, which had healed, had reopened, and blood poisoning followed. He died from asphyxia when suffering from lockjaw. The jury returned a verdict accordingly. Deceased was in the Duke of Cambridge's Own Regiment.
(Rhyl Record and Advertiser, Saturday 14th May 1904)
He's listed in this site's name search as 1168 Corporal E. Nockall. Buried somewhere in the London area, presumably, but where?
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Naming on QSA & KSA - by: Anthony Govender
Hi Everyone
Is this naming correct on QSA and KSA
Thanks
Anthony
Is this naming correct on QSA and KSA
Thanks
Anthony
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Surgeon John B. Wilson, at Ekowe - by: BereniceUK
In Sheffield Cathedral.
Surgeon John B. Wilson, M.D., F.R.C.S., A.M.D. Died June 2nd 1881, at Cape Coast Castle, West Coast of Africa, and was buried there, aged 33. He served in the Zulu War and was intrenched with Colonel Pearson at Ekowe.
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Surgeon John B. Wilson, M.D., F.R.C.S., A.M.D. Died June 2nd 1881, at Cape Coast Castle, West Coast of Africa, and was buried there, aged 33. He served in the Zulu War and was intrenched with Colonel Pearson at Ekowe.
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Roll of honour for Willesden, Middlesex - by: BereniceUK
While looking online for information about Edward Nockall, of Willesden, and then to see if there was an ABW memorial or roll of honour for the area, I came upon this little nugget - the ABW roll of honour for the parish of Willesden, a brass plaque, c. 24" x 18", was on display, in 1997, at Billy Frogg's Grill and Bar in Omaha, Nebraska.
"I found the following information after delving on old web pages via the
'Wayback' machine - it was posted to a mailing list in 1997!
Someone visited Omaha, Nebraska, USA, and saw an old brass plaque, about 24
x 18 inches, in bar. It was a memorial plaque to those from 'the parish of
Willesden' that served in the South African War around the turn of the
century (last century, that is!).
Among the names were three who died:
B. Doe died at Ladysmith; G.W. Fusedale died at Newcastle; F.G. Hucker died
at Pretoria.
The FUSEDALE name was the one that caught my search engine, as I'm always
on the lookout for them! I believe it's solved the mystery of where and
when my second cousin twice removed died.
The posting implied that there were more names on the plaque. I wonder: is
there anyone who lives in or near Omaha and could possibly find this plaque
and take a photo of it? Preferably a digital one, but if it was an
old-fashioned one I would happily pay for developing and postage (but let
me know first please!). I will then of course transcribe the names and post
them to the list. Apparently the plaque is in a bar called Billy Frog's -
I've checked on the web and it appears to still exist, in the 'Old Market'
area of Omaha.
Any takers?!
Regards -
Judith Gibbons
Coventry, UK"
archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/M...K/2003-09/1063394739
I'm not over in the US again until 2020, so can't go and check this out yet, but I'm going to contact the bar to see if they still have it - I wonder if they'd be prepared to sell it?
Does anyone here know anyone living in or near Omaha?
"I found the following information after delving on old web pages via the
'Wayback' machine - it was posted to a mailing list in 1997!
Someone visited Omaha, Nebraska, USA, and saw an old brass plaque, about 24
x 18 inches, in bar. It was a memorial plaque to those from 'the parish of
Willesden' that served in the South African War around the turn of the
century (last century, that is!).
Among the names were three who died:
B. Doe died at Ladysmith; G.W. Fusedale died at Newcastle; F.G. Hucker died
at Pretoria.
The FUSEDALE name was the one that caught my search engine, as I'm always
on the lookout for them! I believe it's solved the mystery of where and
when my second cousin twice removed died.
The posting implied that there were more names on the plaque. I wonder: is
there anyone who lives in or near Omaha and could possibly find this plaque
and take a photo of it? Preferably a digital one, but if it was an
old-fashioned one I would happily pay for developing and postage (but let
me know first please!). I will then of course transcribe the names and post
them to the list. Apparently the plaque is in a bar called Billy Frog's -
I've checked on the web and it appears to still exist, in the 'Old Market'
area of Omaha.
Any takers?!
Regards -
Judith Gibbons
Coventry, UK"
archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/M...K/2003-09/1063394739
I'm not over in the US again until 2020, so can't go and check this out yet, but I'm going to contact the bar to see if they still have it - I wonder if they'd be prepared to sell it?
Does anyone here know anyone living in or near Omaha?
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de Korte, Staat Hubertus Leonardus Johannes - by: De Korte descendent
de Korte, Staat Hubertus Leonardus Johannes
This is my Great Grandfather.
Mentioned p58 BreytenbachPt1h02 as Kaptein from Johannesburg.
His wife Johanna Lijdia de Korte (Nee Punt) and Daughter Geertruida Cornelia de Korte (Born 1893) were in a Concentration Camp for part of the War. Would also like to find out which camp that was....
Any more news on him?
Places?
Role?
Regards,
Arnold
(fiarn45@yahoo.co.uk)
This is my Great Grandfather.
Mentioned p58 BreytenbachPt1h02 as Kaptein from Johannesburg.
His wife Johanna Lijdia de Korte (Nee Punt) and Daughter Geertruida Cornelia de Korte (Born 1893) were in a Concentration Camp for part of the War. Would also like to find out which camp that was....
Any more news on him?
Places?
Role?
Regards,
Arnold
(fiarn45@yahoo.co.uk)
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Nebraska and the ABW - by: BereniceUK
Nebraskans Urged to Help the Boers
Nebraska newspaper readers in late 1899 were keeping abreast of the latest reports from Africa, where the Second Boer War (1899-1902), pitting the British against the descendants of Dutch settlers (Boers), was raging. Although the United States was officially neutral, there was considerable sympathy among some Americans for the small group of independent-minded farmers fighting the British empire, which seemed to parallel our own war for independence. Relief drives to aid the Boers were organized, and some even talked of sending American volunteers to Africa to join the fight against the British.
The Omaha World-Herald on December 31, 1899, announced that such an effort was underway in western Nebraska "to organize a regiment of Nebraskans to go to South Africa in behalf of the Afrikanders." The World-Herald noted that "somewhat of a sensation" had been created in Chadron by the efforts of John G. Maher and Allen G. Fisher, who "Are Summoning a Host of Nebraskans to Do Battle With Great Britain. Over Eight Hundred Sturdy Sons of Toil Said to Be Enrolled Now for the Purpose." The World-Herald said:
"A want card was placed in the daily papers of the state. . . . asking for clerks and common laborers." Applicants for the jobs were then "asked if they wanted to enlist in behalf of the Boers in their struggle for the overthrow of British rule. Those who did immediately let the fact be known to their friends, who wished to apply, and to date over 850 have enrolled their names as volunteers to the pro-Boer regiment in this state." It was planned to have all those interested go as private citizens to Africa to avoid federal interference and then organize there. The Brooklyn (New York) Daily Eagle reported on January 14, 1900, that Maher was then enroute to Chicago and New York to investigate financing for moving 1,000 "'cow punchers' and plainsmen" to South Africa to help the Boers.
Some readers may have wondered if the association of Maher (a well-known hoaxer) with the scheme indicated that it was less than serious. If so, it didn't prevent others in Nebraska and elsewhere from taking similar action. Chadron's Dawes County Journal said on January 12 that Porter J. Hand of Nebraska City was forming "a regiment of cowboys" to go to South Africa. "He [Hand] has enlisted a number of men, but is still waiting for some definite instructions. He said today: 'I believe I could enlist 2,000 men if I had a free hand in this matter. But one has to be exceedingly careful in this thing, for, you know, Uncle Samuel keeps his eye out for all matters of this kind, and I have no desire to get tangled up with the government." The Wichita [Kansas] Daily Eagle reported on February 22 that J. C. Cantrell of Indian Territory was raising "a regiment of Rough Riders to take part in the South African war on the Boer side. . . . and he has agents in different portions of the Indian territory, Oklahoma and Montana who are engaged in enlisting men for the service."
While it is true that some American volunteers fought alongside the Boers, it isn't known if any Nebraskans were among them. Maher, Fisher, and Hand were all Spanish American War veterans, which may have influenced them to consider military help for the Boers. Maher later accompanied troops under Gen. John J. Pershing to the Mexican border in 1916 in pursuit of Pancho Villa, and volunteered again in 1917 for service in World War I. After serving as the American Expeditionary Force's chief disbursing officer in France, he was honorably discharged in 1919.
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John G. Maher. From Addison E. Sheldon, Poems and Sketches of Nebraska (Lincoln, 1908).
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From the Brooklyn [New York] Daily Eagle, January 14, 1900
www.nebraskahistory.org/publish/publicat...skans_help_boers.htm
Nebraska newspaper readers in late 1899 were keeping abreast of the latest reports from Africa, where the Second Boer War (1899-1902), pitting the British against the descendants of Dutch settlers (Boers), was raging. Although the United States was officially neutral, there was considerable sympathy among some Americans for the small group of independent-minded farmers fighting the British empire, which seemed to parallel our own war for independence. Relief drives to aid the Boers were organized, and some even talked of sending American volunteers to Africa to join the fight against the British.
The Omaha World-Herald on December 31, 1899, announced that such an effort was underway in western Nebraska "to organize a regiment of Nebraskans to go to South Africa in behalf of the Afrikanders." The World-Herald noted that "somewhat of a sensation" had been created in Chadron by the efforts of John G. Maher and Allen G. Fisher, who "Are Summoning a Host of Nebraskans to Do Battle With Great Britain. Over Eight Hundred Sturdy Sons of Toil Said to Be Enrolled Now for the Purpose." The World-Herald said:
"A want card was placed in the daily papers of the state. . . . asking for clerks and common laborers." Applicants for the jobs were then "asked if they wanted to enlist in behalf of the Boers in their struggle for the overthrow of British rule. Those who did immediately let the fact be known to their friends, who wished to apply, and to date over 850 have enrolled their names as volunteers to the pro-Boer regiment in this state." It was planned to have all those interested go as private citizens to Africa to avoid federal interference and then organize there. The Brooklyn (New York) Daily Eagle reported on January 14, 1900, that Maher was then enroute to Chicago and New York to investigate financing for moving 1,000 "'cow punchers' and plainsmen" to South Africa to help the Boers.
Some readers may have wondered if the association of Maher (a well-known hoaxer) with the scheme indicated that it was less than serious. If so, it didn't prevent others in Nebraska and elsewhere from taking similar action. Chadron's Dawes County Journal said on January 12 that Porter J. Hand of Nebraska City was forming "a regiment of cowboys" to go to South Africa. "He [Hand] has enlisted a number of men, but is still waiting for some definite instructions. He said today: 'I believe I could enlist 2,000 men if I had a free hand in this matter. But one has to be exceedingly careful in this thing, for, you know, Uncle Samuel keeps his eye out for all matters of this kind, and I have no desire to get tangled up with the government." The Wichita [Kansas] Daily Eagle reported on February 22 that J. C. Cantrell of Indian Territory was raising "a regiment of Rough Riders to take part in the South African war on the Boer side. . . . and he has agents in different portions of the Indian territory, Oklahoma and Montana who are engaged in enlisting men for the service."
While it is true that some American volunteers fought alongside the Boers, it isn't known if any Nebraskans were among them. Maher, Fisher, and Hand were all Spanish American War veterans, which may have influenced them to consider military help for the Boers. Maher later accompanied troops under Gen. John J. Pershing to the Mexican border in 1916 in pursuit of Pancho Villa, and volunteered again in 1917 for service in World War I. After serving as the American Expeditionary Force's chief disbursing officer in France, he was honorably discharged in 1919.
John G. Maher. From Addison E. Sheldon, Poems and Sketches of Nebraska (Lincoln, 1908).
From the Brooklyn [New York] Daily Eagle, January 14, 1900
www.nebraskahistory.org/publish/publicat...skans_help_boers.htm
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A Captain in the Albany D.M.T. - by: Rory
I acquired a few medals today one of which was to Captain J.E. Slater, Albany D.M.T.
John Edward Slater was apparently a luminary in the Grahamstown area and a descendant of 1820 Settlers who populate the area.
The Albany D.M.T. is a bit of an unknown without much written about it. Can anyone fill in the many gaps?
Regards
Rory
John Edward Slater was apparently a luminary in the Grahamstown area and a descendant of 1820 Settlers who populate the area.
The Albany D.M.T. is a bit of an unknown without much written about it. Can anyone fill in the many gaps?
Regards
Rory
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The East Lancashire Regiment - by: BereniceUK
In St. Peter's Church, Burnley.
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TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN MEMORY OF
OFFICERS, NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS AND
MEN OF THE EAST LANCASHIRE REGIMENT WHO
LOST THEIR LIVES IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN WAR
1900-1902. THIS TABLET WAS ERECTED BY FRIENDS
OF THE REGIMENT IN EAST LANCASHIRE, 1908.
1st Battalion
Major L.L. Pile
Major H.M. Brown
Captain L. Head
Lieutenant L.O.T. Baines
Lieutenant R. Forrester
Second Lieutenant B.J. Tyndall Staines
Colour Sergeant C.E. Blake
Sergeant W. Beeson
Sergeant D. Smith
Corporal E. Carey
Corporal H. Hampton
Corporal J. Manwaring
Corporal J. Price
Lance Corporal D. Blake
Lance Corporal J. Donnelly
Lance Corporal J. Fitzgerald
Private T. Ball
Private J. Banberry
Private W. Birtwistle
Private G. Bowden
Private W. Brown
Private J. Brunton
Private P. Caldwell
Private C. Coleman
Private S. Coupe
Private W. Crane
Private J. Day
Private L. Dickenson
Private P. Dixon
Private T. Dooley
Private F. Gannon
Private T. Gormley
Private W. Gray
Private T. Green
Private W. Grainger
Private H. Hall
Private W. Heatley
Private T. Hindle
Private J. Holland
Private F. F. James
Private L. Kammerer
Private J. Kane
Private W. Kelly
Private J. Lang
Private A. Levine
Private J. Mills
Private W. Mitchell
Private C. O'Neill
Private M. O'Reilly
Private E. Padden
Private T. Parkinson
Private H. Pemberton
Private J. Pickering
Private J. Pooley
Private T. Reeves
Private W. Robinson
Private L. Rogers
Private A. Rowley
Private D. Ryan
Private S. Saunders
Private S. Savage
Private W. Shorrocks
Private W. Smith
Private G. Styles
Private J. Taylor
Private W. Tracey
Private W. Ward
Private R. Wardley
Private R. Woods
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3rd Battalion
Colour Sergeant G. Woods
Sergeant J. Lishman
Corporal W. Glaney - should read Glancey
Lance Corporal J. Lord
Private J. Bannon
Private J. Brown
Private R. Burns
Private H. Beattie
Private P. Biggins
Private T. Carney
Private J. Clarkson
Private J. Clough
Private J. H. Davis
Private J. Dixon
Private J. Eccles
Private J. Fowler
Private J. Gaskell
Private T. H. Greenwood
Private A. Green
Private P. Giblin
Private J. Hargreaves
Private J. Hargreaves
Private W. Hargreaves
Private W. Harrison
Private E. Higson
Private D. Jones
Private J. Kelly
Private J. Kenyon
Private M. Leeming
Private S. Mack
Private T. Marsh
Private J. McLoughlin
Private J. Newsome
Private W. Openshaw
Private J. Oldfield
Private M. O'Boyle
Private F. Payne
Private B. Prior
Private M. Quigley
Private J. Sisson
Private A. Smith
Private J. Smith
Private T. Smith
Private R. Stones
Private J. Thompson
Private R. Thompson
Private H. Westall
Private J. Warburton
Private E. Williams
Private W. Wilson
1st Volunteer Battalion
Private J. F. Pomfret
2nd Volunteer Battalion
Lieutenant P. S. Parker
Private F. Chew
Private J. Kershaw
Private J. Wilkinson
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TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN MEMORY OF
OFFICERS, NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS AND
MEN OF THE EAST LANCASHIRE REGIMENT WHO
LOST THEIR LIVES IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN WAR
1900-1902. THIS TABLET WAS ERECTED BY FRIENDS
OF THE REGIMENT IN EAST LANCASHIRE, 1908.
1st Battalion
Major L.L. Pile
Major H.M. Brown
Captain L. Head
Lieutenant L.O.T. Baines
Lieutenant R. Forrester
Second Lieutenant B.J. Tyndall Staines
Colour Sergeant C.E. Blake
Sergeant W. Beeson
Sergeant D. Smith
Corporal E. Carey
Corporal H. Hampton
Corporal J. Manwaring
Corporal J. Price
Lance Corporal D. Blake
Lance Corporal J. Donnelly
Lance Corporal J. Fitzgerald
Private T. Ball
Private J. Banberry
Private W. Birtwistle
Private G. Bowden
Private W. Brown
Private J. Brunton
Private P. Caldwell
Private C. Coleman
Private S. Coupe
Private W. Crane
Private J. Day
Private L. Dickenson
Private P. Dixon
Private T. Dooley
Private F. Gannon
Private T. Gormley
Private W. Gray
Private T. Green
Private W. Grainger
Private H. Hall
Private W. Heatley
Private T. Hindle
Private J. Holland
Private F. F. James
Private L. Kammerer
Private J. Kane
Private W. Kelly
Private J. Lang
Private A. Levine
Private J. Mills
Private W. Mitchell
Private C. O'Neill
Private M. O'Reilly
Private E. Padden
Private T. Parkinson
Private H. Pemberton
Private J. Pickering
Private J. Pooley
Private T. Reeves
Private W. Robinson
Private L. Rogers
Private A. Rowley
Private D. Ryan
Private S. Saunders
Private S. Savage
Private W. Shorrocks
Private W. Smith
Private G. Styles
Private J. Taylor
Private W. Tracey
Private W. Ward
Private R. Wardley
Private R. Woods
3rd Battalion
Colour Sergeant G. Woods
Sergeant J. Lishman
Corporal W. Glaney - should read Glancey
Lance Corporal J. Lord
Private J. Bannon
Private J. Brown
Private R. Burns
Private H. Beattie
Private P. Biggins
Private T. Carney
Private J. Clarkson
Private J. Clough
Private J. H. Davis
Private J. Dixon
Private J. Eccles
Private J. Fowler
Private J. Gaskell
Private T. H. Greenwood
Private A. Green
Private P. Giblin
Private J. Hargreaves
Private J. Hargreaves
Private W. Hargreaves
Private W. Harrison
Private E. Higson
Private D. Jones
Private J. Kelly
Private J. Kenyon
Private M. Leeming
Private S. Mack
Private T. Marsh
Private J. McLoughlin
Private J. Newsome
Private W. Openshaw
Private J. Oldfield
Private M. O'Boyle
Private F. Payne
Private B. Prior
Private M. Quigley
Private J. Sisson
Private A. Smith
Private J. Smith
Private T. Smith
Private R. Stones
Private J. Thompson
Private R. Thompson
Private H. Westall
Private J. Warburton
Private E. Williams
Private W. Wilson
1st Volunteer Battalion
Private J. F. Pomfret
2nd Volunteer Battalion
Lieutenant P. S. Parker
Private F. Chew
Private J. Kershaw
Private J. Wilkinson
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ILI research - by: Rory
Either I'm barking mad or there was, at one time, lists of the ILI chaps who were either wounded or died atop Spioenkop on this forum.
Please could someone put me out of my misery and point me in the right direction.
Regards
Rory
Please could someone put me out of my misery and point me in the right direction.
Regards
Rory
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QSA to 80 Pte. G.E. Bright, Imperial Light Infantry - by: Rory
I acquired an interesting QSA today - it's to 80 Pte. G.E. Bright, Imperial Light Infantry and has the clasps Tugela Heights, Relief of Ladysmith, Transvaal and Laing's Nek.
My question relates to the casualty rolls to this unit for Spioenkop. I recall seeing them somewhere but would like to know if my man was among the wounded?
Strangely his attestation papers are to George Elliott Bright but it would seem his name was also George Elliott Burton (?) as this is how he has signed the form.
I attach a photo of both the medal and the attestation paper.
Regards
Rory
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My question relates to the casualty rolls to this unit for Spioenkop. I recall seeing them somewhere but would like to know if my man was among the wounded?
Strangely his attestation papers are to George Elliott Bright but it would seem his name was also George Elliott Burton (?) as this is how he has signed the form.
I attach a photo of both the medal and the attestation paper.
Regards
Rory
↧
↧
Ernest Bazeley - a Kitchener's Horse man - by: Rory
Ernest Harold Bazeley
Private, Cape Town Highlanders
Trooper, Kitchener’s Horse – Anglo Boer War
Lieutenant, 7th Infantry (Kimberley Regiment)
Lieutenant, C.A.H.T.C. (Cape Auxiliary Horse Transport Corps) – WWI
- Queens South Africa Medal with clasps Relief of Kimberley, Paardeberg and Driefontein to 3047 Tpr. E.H. Bazeley, Kitchener’s H.
- 1914/15 Star to Lt. E.H. Bazeley, 7th Infantry
- British War Medal to Lt. E.H. Bazeley
- Victory Medal to Lt. E.H. Bazeley
Ernest Bazeley was born in Langtree, Devon on 15 December 1879 the son of Ernest Augustus Bazeley, a prosperous farmer in the district and his wife Louisa (born Rolland). According to the 1881 England census the Bazeley family lived at Week Farm where Mr Bazeley employed 3 labourers and 2 boys to work his 180 acre farm.
At home on the day the enumerator called round were the Bazeley’s with their (at that stage) only child Ernest (1) along with Mr Bazeley’s sister-in-law, D.T. MacGregor, G.M. MacGregor (![8)]( "8)")
a niece and two servants – Mary Bale and Mary Brown.
Ten years later, at the time of the 1891 England census an 11 year old Ernest was away at Boarding School – Kings College in Taunton, Somerset.
At some point after he had completed his schooling Bazeley determined that his future lay elsewhere and took ship to South Africa where he found himself on the eve of the impending war between the two Boer Republics to the north of the Cape Colony – the Orange Free State and the Transvaal – and the might of the British Empire.
This conflict erupted into open war on 11 October 1899 and initially those who lived in and around Cape Town could be forgiven if they thought that the war didn’t concern them – it was, after all, a conflict that was being fought in the northern, central and eastern extremities of the country and one which wouldn’t reach them. Those who thought this were rudely awakened to the reality of the situation when Boer Commandos began incursions into the southern and eastern Cape – virtually on Cape Town’s doorstep – and in no time at all local regiments such as the Duke of Edinburgh’s Own Volunteer Rifles and the Cape Town Highlanders were called out for service.
Bazeley belonged to the latter and, reasonably early on in the war, enrolled for service with no. 862 and the rank of Private. From the moment they were deployed the Cape Town Highlanders continued mainly with the normal boring activities of garrison duty. Detachments which had been sent to Lady Gray Bridge and Mulder’s Vlei were relieved at intervals but the regiment remained static seeing little chance of any action until 23 January 1900 when they felt the first impact of the realisation by the Imperial Authorities that the Colonial Volunteers whose services they had originally scorned were in fact sorely needed.
Captain F.H. Solomon and 43 other ranks of the CTH were singled out for the honour of forming “A” Squadron of Kitchener’s Horse, and they were all transferred to this new mounted unit – Bazeley being one of their number. The Attestation Paper he completed at Cape Town on 26 January 1900 was specially modified for the purpose and read, “Oath to be taken by Volunteer belonging to Cape Town Highlanders on enrolment for Special Service in Kitchener’s Horse.” Bazeley, having signed the attestation paper, was assigned the rank of Trooper and no. 3047.
Kitchener's Horse was employed in the operations undertaken by Lord Roberts in February 1900 for the relief of Kimberley and in his advance to Bloemfontein. On 9th February the Mounted Infantry Division, under Colonel Hannay, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, left Orange River station. After some fighting, the Division reached Ramadam on the 12th, where Lord Roberts was concentrating his army; but the bulk of Kitchener's Horse had preceded the rest of the Mounted Infantry, and had joined General French before midnight on the 11th.
At 2 a.m. on the 12th they set out with French for Dekiel's Drift, on the Riet. The next day French, who had crossed the Riet River on the 12th, left a squadron of Kitchener's Horse at Blaauwbosch Pan, about eight miles north-east of Dekiel's Drift, on the Riet, in order to protect the wells until the infantry, who were following, should arrive. Unfortunately the infantry took a different course, and instead of them a large force of Boers turned up, who attacked the squadron and compelled their surrender after they had made a very creditable defence in a farmhouse for two days.
Another squadron was part of the slender escort of the convoy which was lost on the Riet on the 13th. The convoy is said to have been seven miles long, and the escort, left to see it over a most difficult drift with Boers all round, was 300 strong. The escort was not captured. Notwithstanding this bad luck, the corps did excellent work before Bloemfontein was reached. About one half of the regiment was with Colonel Hannay when Cronje was discovered to be trekking across the front of the Vlth Division on 15th February, and they took part in the pursuit and the other operations which led to his capture.
At Paardeberg Kitchener proceeded to order his infantry and mounted troops into a series of uncoordinated frontal assaults against the Boer laager. This was despite the fact that the cost of frontal assaults against entrenched Boers had been demonstrated time and again the preceding months. It was no different this time. The British were shot down in droves. It is thought that not a single British soldier got within 200 yards of the Boer lines. By nightfall on 18 February, some 24 officers and 279 men were killed and 59 officers and 847 men wounded. Judged by British casualties it was the most severe reverse of the war and became known as Bloody Sunday.
Kelly-Kenny had warned Kitchener not to leave "Kitchener's Kopje" undefended. Possession of the kopje was essential to guard the south-east of the British position and prevent Cronjé's escape. But Kitchener, in his zeal for an all-out attack, had left the kopje defended by only a handful of "Kitchener's Horse" of which Bazeley was one. De Wet was therefore able to take the kopje with little resistance. The strategic picture had now changed dramatically. De Wet could now make the British position on the south east bank of the Modder untenable, and the Boers now commanded a swathe of front stretching from the north east right through to the south east. As darkness fell, Kitchener ordered his troops to dig in where they were. Few received these orders and fewer still obeyed them. Desperately thirsty and exhausted, the surviving British trickled back into camp. It was only after Cronje had been trapped and unable to move his forces that he surrendered on 27 February with 4000 men.
On 7th March Kitchener’s Horse were engaged at Poplar-Grove. Five officers and five non-commissioned officers and men gained mention in the despatch of 31st March for good work on the way to Bloemfontein. According to the official statement, the strength of the corps when it entered Bloemfontein on 13th March was 26 officers, 402 men, 270 horses, and 2 maxims.
About the beginning of March Kitchener's Horse had been, along with the 6th and 8th Regiments of Regular Mounted Infantry, the City Imperial Volunteers Mounted Infantry, Nesbitt's Horse, and the New South Wales Mounted Infantry, put into the 2nd Brigade of Mounted Infantry under Colonel P W J Le Gallais, 8th Hussars. The regiment fought with Le Gallais and General Tucker at the battle of Karee Siding on 29th March 1900, and they were attached to Ian Hamilton's force, which, towards the end of April, set out first to clear Thabanchu and thereafter take part in the northern advance, during which the regiment, along with the 2nd Mounted Infantry Regulars and Lovat's Scouts, was in the 6th corps under Colonel Legge.
Winston Churchill, in his 'Ian Hamilton's March' relates that on 26th April Kitchener's Horse and a company of regular mounted infantry were told to hold a kopje near Thabanchu for the night, but about dusk they were ordered to retire. This the Boers tried to prevent, attacking the force with great determination: however, the attack was driven off, and the little body got into camp during the night.
On the 30th, at the battle of Houtnek, the regiment, with great boldness and skill, seized Thoba Mountain, and it was during the enemy's attempt to regain this commanding position that a party of about 12 Gordon Highlanders and 13 of Kitchener's Horse under Captain Towse of the Gordons made the famous stand and bayonet charge. 5 men of Kitchener's Horse were killed, and Captains Ritchie and Cheyne and 8 men were wounded at Houtnek.
In his telegram of 2nd May Lord Roberts remarked: "Kitchener's Horse is spoken of in terms of praise". On 4th May Ian Hamilton was again engaged, "and succeeded in preventing a junction of two Boer forces by a well-executed movement of some of the Household Cavalry, 12th Lancers, and Kitchener's Horse, who charged a body of the enemy and inflicted serious loss. They fled leaving their dead on the field, and their wounded to be attended by our doctors" The 'Standard' correspondent drew attention to the good work of the regiment at the crossing of the Zand River on 10th May.
The regiment was present at Ian Hamilton's other actions on the way to Pretoria and at Diamond Hill (11th and 12th June 1900). They started as a portion of Hunter's force designed to surround Prinsloo, but like Roberts' Horse were detached to pursue De Wet. On 24th July the regiment lost 9 men wounded at Stinkhoutboom, but about the same date they captured 5 of De Wet's waggons. When De Wet left the Reitzburg Hills Kitchener's Horse again crossed to the north of the Vaal and operated under Ridley, Hart, Clements, and other commanders in the district west of Johannesburg and Pretoria.
Bazeley took his leave of the regiment on 10 November 1900. According to the nominal roll he was destined for England but this cannot be verified. He certainly played no further part in the war and was awarded his Queens Medal with clasps Relief of Kimberley, Paardeberg and Driefontein off the Kitchener’s Horse roll.
The war over and back in his civilian employment Bazeley next penned a letter from his home, “Devon Villa” in Claremont, Cape Town to the Surveyor General of Natal in Pietermaritzburg on 19 August 1902 which read,
“Dear Sir
I have the honour to apply for any information you can give me regarding the terms and conditions upon which crown lands are obtainable in the Colony of Natal – including the recent annexations of Zululand.
The purpose for which I would require a tract of country is for horse and cattle ranching – any particulars as to the suitability of certain districts for this purpose would greatly oblige.
Yours faithfully
E. Harold Bazeley”
Whether known to him or not the Secretary for Agriculture was approached by the Secretary to the Native Affairs Department in Cape Town on the very same day of which he was the subject. In a memorandum entitled “Proposed appointment of Mr E.H. Bazeley as Clerk in the Office of the Resident Magistrate, Matatiele” the Secretary wrote:-
“Sir
I am directed to inform you that it is proposed to appoint Mr E.H. Bazeley, Second Clerk on the establishment of the Resident Magistrate, Matatiele, and I shall be glad to learn when his services can be spared. I am to add that it is desired that he should take up the appointment at as early a date as possible.”
Confusingly, on an Office of the Surveyor General, Cape Town’s letterhead (Bazeley was employed by them), a reply was penned on 28 August 1902 which read thus,
“I reply to your letter relative to the proposed transfer of Mr E.H. Bazeley to the Native Affairs Department, I have the honour to inform you that although I regret losing his services I shall be in a position to allow him to leave this office at the end of the current month.”
Following a request by his new employer for a record of service one was provided which showed that Bazeley had entered the employ of the Surveyor General on 13 July 1901 on a salary of £100 per annum. This had been increased to £120 p.a. from 13 January 1902 followed by a further increase to £135 with effect from 13 July 1902. The flurry of correspondence now a thing of a past Bazeley commenced employment in the very rural setting of Matatiele on the border between the Cape Colony and Natal.
Quite how long he remained there for is unknown but Bazeley, possessed with restless spirit, wound his way to the other side of the country where, on 7 October 1908 he wrote to the Department of Agriculture in Natal from Pokwani, British Bechuanaland, Cape, South Africa:-
Dear Sir
As I have recently heard encouraging reports with regard to the sugar growing industry that has recently sprung up in Zululand, in the lands opened up by the Natal Government – would you kindly forward me all particulars you can with regard to the same.
1. Terms and Conditions of taking up land for sugar planting
2. Does the Government give any assistance in the way of erecting Co-operative or Government factories, Mills, plants etc.?
3. Labour – what are the difficulties?
4. What capital is needed to make a fair start? Would a man with from £500 to £800 have a fair chance?
In fact any information likely to be useful to a stranger – as I am enquiring on behalf of my brother now at home from Burma. I shall be grateful for any assistance in this regard.
Believe me yours faithfully etc. etc.”
(The brother referred to was Rolland Bazeley who went rather to Canada instead and was Killed in Action in World War I)
The Surveyor General was tasked with replying to Bazeley “as you are able to reply to this letter.”
All now went quiet on the Bazeley front but this temporary silence was to be shattered by the advent of the Great War which erupted onto the world stage on 4 August 1914. Bazeley wasted no time in enlisting and was commissioned into the 2nd Battalion of the Kimberley Regiment as a Transport Lieutenant. Providing his next of kin as his father of Colyton, Devon he commenced service on 6 October 1914. The Kimberley Regiment played an important part in the conquest of German South West Africa and Bazeley, as Transport officer, would have been pivotal to their success in a conflict where the elements were as much the enemy as the enemy themselves. Vast tracts of desert had to be traversed in hot pursuit of a fleeing foe and keeping up with the advancing troops must have presented a mammoth logistical challenge to him and his comrades.
The German surrender came on 9 July 1915 and Bazeley was released, services no longer required, on 13 August 1915. He now faced a dilemma – at the age of 35 he could be forgiven for calling it a day and going home but here was a man who had fought at Paardeberg, Poplar Grove and various other places and he was no quitter.
On 21 March 1917 at Kimberley, he completed the Attestation forms for the South African Expeditionary Forces. Providing his address as “Woodlands” Ottery St. Mary, Devonshire, England (his father’s abode) he claimed to be a Farmer by profession and still unmarried. He also confirmed prior service in the Boer War, German South West and the Rebellion (an internal revolt which had to be put down before any other campaign could be commenced).
Physically he was 5 feet 9 inches in height with a fresh complexion, black hair and brown eyes. He had no distinctive marks about his person and was well developed physically with good eyesight. Having been found Fit for Duty he was assigned no. H.T. 296 with the Cape Auxiliary Horse Transport Company as a European Driver – this speaks volumes about the man – having been an Officer he was prepared to accept any rank so as to play his part. Mercifully he was promoted to Sergeant with No. 1 Company on the same day.
But who were the C.A.H.T.C.? According to Buchan’s S.A. Forces in France:-
In February 1917 the Union of South Africa Government was asked by the War Office to raise eight companies of Cape Coloured drivers for service with the Army Service Corps in France. Towards the end of February Lt. Col. J.D. Anderson was asked to take command and to arrange for the recruiting and organization of the eight companies. Kimberley was selected as the most convenient centre for mobilization.
At the beginning the amount of clerical work was very heavy but by the middle of April 1 500 men were ready to leave for overseas. On the arrival of the first detachment in France on 23 May 1917, the Director of Transport decided that the contingent should release for other service, and take the place of, the Army Service Corps personnel, forming the following companies:-
No. 5 Auxiliary Horse Transport Company, A.S.C., stationed at Boulogne.
No. 2 Auxiliary Horse Transport Company, A.S.C., stationed at Havre.
No. 2 Auxiliary Horse Transport Company, A.S.C., stationed at Havre.
No. 8 Auxiliary Horse Transport Company, A.S.C., stationed at Rouen.
No. 10 Auxiliary Horse Transport Company, A.S.C., stationed at Rouen.
No. 11 Auxiliary Horse Transport Company, A.S.C., stationed at Rouen.
Arrangements were also made to have a Base Depot at Havre.
Although the men did very excellent work at the Base Posts, there was a strong argument in favour of them being moved to Divisional Trains or Army Auxiliary Horse Transport Companies actually working in the army areas. It was, however, recommended that they remain where they were. The work of the 1st (Bazeley’s), 3rd and 5th Companies consisted of conveying ammunition and supplies to the firing lines, and transporting metal for the new roads which had to be constructed as the armies advanced.
Of the other companies which were employed on the lines of communication, numbers 2, 5, 8 and 22 Companies were employed at the docks, the bulk of the work conveying munitions and supplies to the various distribution centres. The work was hard, the hours long, and the drivers much exposed to weather conditions.
Numbers 10 and 11 Companies were designated as “Forest Companies” and were employed almost entirely in hauling logs from the place where they were felled to dumping centres. In a report on the work in the forests in France, Lord Lovat, the Director of Forests, wrote that, without prejudice to other units, he wished to remark on the work done by the Horse Transport Companies manned by South African (Cape coloured) personnel, who had shown throughout both practical knowledge of the work and patriotic devotion to duty.
On 20 April 1917 Bazeley boarded H.M.T. “Euripides” at Cape Town bound for England. Having arrived at Folkestone he was sent to France disembarking at Bolougne on 23 May 1917 where he was attached to No. 11 Company. On 1 December 1917 he was returned to the Depot “for probation for commission”. This resulted in him being commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant with No. 10 Company with effect from 29 January 1918. This was, as can be seen above, a “Forest” Company. With the odd spot of leave thrown in Bazeley was to remain in alternately England and France until after the war was over – only being repatriated late in 1919 when, on 13 October 1919 he disembarked at Cape Town ex S.S. “Grantully Castle” where he had been Ships Adjutant whilst on board. He relinquished his commission on the same day.
Safely back in South Africa he found that he had another battle on his hands – one of a different kind but one which, I would venture to suggest, affected many thousands of fighting men in the war. What was the problem? Simply put Bazeley had fallen in love overseas and had married a French lady – not in itself a crime but a poser when it came down to matters legal.
On Tuesday, 2 December 1919 he appeared in the Cape Supreme Court in an Ex Parte Application regarding his Nuptial Contract. In petitioning the court he and his wife, Germaine Yvonne Bazeley (born Constantin) stated that:-
1. At the time of my marriage which took place at Havre in France on 14 December 1918 I was on active service.
2. That before such marriage, and whilst in France, I wrote to a Solicitor in London to whom I had been referred by the High Commissioner as being familiar with South African Law and enquired the steps I should take in order to execute an ante nuptial contract.
3. That your petitioners (he and his wife) arrived in South Africa on 13 October 1919 and was informed that because I was domiciled in South Africa at the time of my marriage it was necessary to execute an Ante Nuptial contract in order to exclude community of property.
After a long legal argument it was agreed by the courts that an Ante Nuptial Contract could be drawn up which would be recognised by the South African legal system and the problem was no more.
After a long and eventful life Ernest Harold Bazeley passed away in the Settler’s Hospital, Grahamstown on 24 September 1967 at the age of 87 years and 9 months. His residence at the time of his death was Stone’s Hill in Grahamstown. He was survived by his only child – Dr Rolland Robert Bazeley.
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Private, Cape Town Highlanders
Trooper, Kitchener’s Horse – Anglo Boer War
Lieutenant, 7th Infantry (Kimberley Regiment)
Lieutenant, C.A.H.T.C. (Cape Auxiliary Horse Transport Corps) – WWI
- Queens South Africa Medal with clasps Relief of Kimberley, Paardeberg and Driefontein to 3047 Tpr. E.H. Bazeley, Kitchener’s H.
- 1914/15 Star to Lt. E.H. Bazeley, 7th Infantry
- British War Medal to Lt. E.H. Bazeley
- Victory Medal to Lt. E.H. Bazeley
Ernest Bazeley was born in Langtree, Devon on 15 December 1879 the son of Ernest Augustus Bazeley, a prosperous farmer in the district and his wife Louisa (born Rolland). According to the 1881 England census the Bazeley family lived at Week Farm where Mr Bazeley employed 3 labourers and 2 boys to work his 180 acre farm.
At home on the day the enumerator called round were the Bazeley’s with their (at that stage) only child Ernest (1) along with Mr Bazeley’s sister-in-law, D.T. MacGregor, G.M. MacGregor (
a niece and two servants – Mary Bale and Mary Brown.Ten years later, at the time of the 1891 England census an 11 year old Ernest was away at Boarding School – Kings College in Taunton, Somerset.
At some point after he had completed his schooling Bazeley determined that his future lay elsewhere and took ship to South Africa where he found himself on the eve of the impending war between the two Boer Republics to the north of the Cape Colony – the Orange Free State and the Transvaal – and the might of the British Empire.
This conflict erupted into open war on 11 October 1899 and initially those who lived in and around Cape Town could be forgiven if they thought that the war didn’t concern them – it was, after all, a conflict that was being fought in the northern, central and eastern extremities of the country and one which wouldn’t reach them. Those who thought this were rudely awakened to the reality of the situation when Boer Commandos began incursions into the southern and eastern Cape – virtually on Cape Town’s doorstep – and in no time at all local regiments such as the Duke of Edinburgh’s Own Volunteer Rifles and the Cape Town Highlanders were called out for service.
Bazeley belonged to the latter and, reasonably early on in the war, enrolled for service with no. 862 and the rank of Private. From the moment they were deployed the Cape Town Highlanders continued mainly with the normal boring activities of garrison duty. Detachments which had been sent to Lady Gray Bridge and Mulder’s Vlei were relieved at intervals but the regiment remained static seeing little chance of any action until 23 January 1900 when they felt the first impact of the realisation by the Imperial Authorities that the Colonial Volunteers whose services they had originally scorned were in fact sorely needed.
Captain F.H. Solomon and 43 other ranks of the CTH were singled out for the honour of forming “A” Squadron of Kitchener’s Horse, and they were all transferred to this new mounted unit – Bazeley being one of their number. The Attestation Paper he completed at Cape Town on 26 January 1900 was specially modified for the purpose and read, “Oath to be taken by Volunteer belonging to Cape Town Highlanders on enrolment for Special Service in Kitchener’s Horse.” Bazeley, having signed the attestation paper, was assigned the rank of Trooper and no. 3047.
Kitchener's Horse was employed in the operations undertaken by Lord Roberts in February 1900 for the relief of Kimberley and in his advance to Bloemfontein. On 9th February the Mounted Infantry Division, under Colonel Hannay, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, left Orange River station. After some fighting, the Division reached Ramadam on the 12th, where Lord Roberts was concentrating his army; but the bulk of Kitchener's Horse had preceded the rest of the Mounted Infantry, and had joined General French before midnight on the 11th.
At 2 a.m. on the 12th they set out with French for Dekiel's Drift, on the Riet. The next day French, who had crossed the Riet River on the 12th, left a squadron of Kitchener's Horse at Blaauwbosch Pan, about eight miles north-east of Dekiel's Drift, on the Riet, in order to protect the wells until the infantry, who were following, should arrive. Unfortunately the infantry took a different course, and instead of them a large force of Boers turned up, who attacked the squadron and compelled their surrender after they had made a very creditable defence in a farmhouse for two days.
Another squadron was part of the slender escort of the convoy which was lost on the Riet on the 13th. The convoy is said to have been seven miles long, and the escort, left to see it over a most difficult drift with Boers all round, was 300 strong. The escort was not captured. Notwithstanding this bad luck, the corps did excellent work before Bloemfontein was reached. About one half of the regiment was with Colonel Hannay when Cronje was discovered to be trekking across the front of the Vlth Division on 15th February, and they took part in the pursuit and the other operations which led to his capture.
At Paardeberg Kitchener proceeded to order his infantry and mounted troops into a series of uncoordinated frontal assaults against the Boer laager. This was despite the fact that the cost of frontal assaults against entrenched Boers had been demonstrated time and again the preceding months. It was no different this time. The British were shot down in droves. It is thought that not a single British soldier got within 200 yards of the Boer lines. By nightfall on 18 February, some 24 officers and 279 men were killed and 59 officers and 847 men wounded. Judged by British casualties it was the most severe reverse of the war and became known as Bloody Sunday.
Kelly-Kenny had warned Kitchener not to leave "Kitchener's Kopje" undefended. Possession of the kopje was essential to guard the south-east of the British position and prevent Cronjé's escape. But Kitchener, in his zeal for an all-out attack, had left the kopje defended by only a handful of "Kitchener's Horse" of which Bazeley was one. De Wet was therefore able to take the kopje with little resistance. The strategic picture had now changed dramatically. De Wet could now make the British position on the south east bank of the Modder untenable, and the Boers now commanded a swathe of front stretching from the north east right through to the south east. As darkness fell, Kitchener ordered his troops to dig in where they were. Few received these orders and fewer still obeyed them. Desperately thirsty and exhausted, the surviving British trickled back into camp. It was only after Cronje had been trapped and unable to move his forces that he surrendered on 27 February with 4000 men.
On 7th March Kitchener’s Horse were engaged at Poplar-Grove. Five officers and five non-commissioned officers and men gained mention in the despatch of 31st March for good work on the way to Bloemfontein. According to the official statement, the strength of the corps when it entered Bloemfontein on 13th March was 26 officers, 402 men, 270 horses, and 2 maxims.
About the beginning of March Kitchener's Horse had been, along with the 6th and 8th Regiments of Regular Mounted Infantry, the City Imperial Volunteers Mounted Infantry, Nesbitt's Horse, and the New South Wales Mounted Infantry, put into the 2nd Brigade of Mounted Infantry under Colonel P W J Le Gallais, 8th Hussars. The regiment fought with Le Gallais and General Tucker at the battle of Karee Siding on 29th March 1900, and they were attached to Ian Hamilton's force, which, towards the end of April, set out first to clear Thabanchu and thereafter take part in the northern advance, during which the regiment, along with the 2nd Mounted Infantry Regulars and Lovat's Scouts, was in the 6th corps under Colonel Legge.
Winston Churchill, in his 'Ian Hamilton's March' relates that on 26th April Kitchener's Horse and a company of regular mounted infantry were told to hold a kopje near Thabanchu for the night, but about dusk they were ordered to retire. This the Boers tried to prevent, attacking the force with great determination: however, the attack was driven off, and the little body got into camp during the night.
On the 30th, at the battle of Houtnek, the regiment, with great boldness and skill, seized Thoba Mountain, and it was during the enemy's attempt to regain this commanding position that a party of about 12 Gordon Highlanders and 13 of Kitchener's Horse under Captain Towse of the Gordons made the famous stand and bayonet charge. 5 men of Kitchener's Horse were killed, and Captains Ritchie and Cheyne and 8 men were wounded at Houtnek.
In his telegram of 2nd May Lord Roberts remarked: "Kitchener's Horse is spoken of in terms of praise". On 4th May Ian Hamilton was again engaged, "and succeeded in preventing a junction of two Boer forces by a well-executed movement of some of the Household Cavalry, 12th Lancers, and Kitchener's Horse, who charged a body of the enemy and inflicted serious loss. They fled leaving their dead on the field, and their wounded to be attended by our doctors" The 'Standard' correspondent drew attention to the good work of the regiment at the crossing of the Zand River on 10th May.
The regiment was present at Ian Hamilton's other actions on the way to Pretoria and at Diamond Hill (11th and 12th June 1900). They started as a portion of Hunter's force designed to surround Prinsloo, but like Roberts' Horse were detached to pursue De Wet. On 24th July the regiment lost 9 men wounded at Stinkhoutboom, but about the same date they captured 5 of De Wet's waggons. When De Wet left the Reitzburg Hills Kitchener's Horse again crossed to the north of the Vaal and operated under Ridley, Hart, Clements, and other commanders in the district west of Johannesburg and Pretoria.
Bazeley took his leave of the regiment on 10 November 1900. According to the nominal roll he was destined for England but this cannot be verified. He certainly played no further part in the war and was awarded his Queens Medal with clasps Relief of Kimberley, Paardeberg and Driefontein off the Kitchener’s Horse roll.
The war over and back in his civilian employment Bazeley next penned a letter from his home, “Devon Villa” in Claremont, Cape Town to the Surveyor General of Natal in Pietermaritzburg on 19 August 1902 which read,
“Dear Sir
I have the honour to apply for any information you can give me regarding the terms and conditions upon which crown lands are obtainable in the Colony of Natal – including the recent annexations of Zululand.
The purpose for which I would require a tract of country is for horse and cattle ranching – any particulars as to the suitability of certain districts for this purpose would greatly oblige.
Yours faithfully
E. Harold Bazeley”
Whether known to him or not the Secretary for Agriculture was approached by the Secretary to the Native Affairs Department in Cape Town on the very same day of which he was the subject. In a memorandum entitled “Proposed appointment of Mr E.H. Bazeley as Clerk in the Office of the Resident Magistrate, Matatiele” the Secretary wrote:-
“Sir
I am directed to inform you that it is proposed to appoint Mr E.H. Bazeley, Second Clerk on the establishment of the Resident Magistrate, Matatiele, and I shall be glad to learn when his services can be spared. I am to add that it is desired that he should take up the appointment at as early a date as possible.”
Confusingly, on an Office of the Surveyor General, Cape Town’s letterhead (Bazeley was employed by them), a reply was penned on 28 August 1902 which read thus,
“I reply to your letter relative to the proposed transfer of Mr E.H. Bazeley to the Native Affairs Department, I have the honour to inform you that although I regret losing his services I shall be in a position to allow him to leave this office at the end of the current month.”
Following a request by his new employer for a record of service one was provided which showed that Bazeley had entered the employ of the Surveyor General on 13 July 1901 on a salary of £100 per annum. This had been increased to £120 p.a. from 13 January 1902 followed by a further increase to £135 with effect from 13 July 1902. The flurry of correspondence now a thing of a past Bazeley commenced employment in the very rural setting of Matatiele on the border between the Cape Colony and Natal.
Quite how long he remained there for is unknown but Bazeley, possessed with restless spirit, wound his way to the other side of the country where, on 7 October 1908 he wrote to the Department of Agriculture in Natal from Pokwani, British Bechuanaland, Cape, South Africa:-
Dear Sir
As I have recently heard encouraging reports with regard to the sugar growing industry that has recently sprung up in Zululand, in the lands opened up by the Natal Government – would you kindly forward me all particulars you can with regard to the same.
1. Terms and Conditions of taking up land for sugar planting
2. Does the Government give any assistance in the way of erecting Co-operative or Government factories, Mills, plants etc.?
3. Labour – what are the difficulties?
4. What capital is needed to make a fair start? Would a man with from £500 to £800 have a fair chance?
In fact any information likely to be useful to a stranger – as I am enquiring on behalf of my brother now at home from Burma. I shall be grateful for any assistance in this regard.
Believe me yours faithfully etc. etc.”
(The brother referred to was Rolland Bazeley who went rather to Canada instead and was Killed in Action in World War I)
The Surveyor General was tasked with replying to Bazeley “as you are able to reply to this letter.”
All now went quiet on the Bazeley front but this temporary silence was to be shattered by the advent of the Great War which erupted onto the world stage on 4 August 1914. Bazeley wasted no time in enlisting and was commissioned into the 2nd Battalion of the Kimberley Regiment as a Transport Lieutenant. Providing his next of kin as his father of Colyton, Devon he commenced service on 6 October 1914. The Kimberley Regiment played an important part in the conquest of German South West Africa and Bazeley, as Transport officer, would have been pivotal to their success in a conflict where the elements were as much the enemy as the enemy themselves. Vast tracts of desert had to be traversed in hot pursuit of a fleeing foe and keeping up with the advancing troops must have presented a mammoth logistical challenge to him and his comrades.
The German surrender came on 9 July 1915 and Bazeley was released, services no longer required, on 13 August 1915. He now faced a dilemma – at the age of 35 he could be forgiven for calling it a day and going home but here was a man who had fought at Paardeberg, Poplar Grove and various other places and he was no quitter.
On 21 March 1917 at Kimberley, he completed the Attestation forms for the South African Expeditionary Forces. Providing his address as “Woodlands” Ottery St. Mary, Devonshire, England (his father’s abode) he claimed to be a Farmer by profession and still unmarried. He also confirmed prior service in the Boer War, German South West and the Rebellion (an internal revolt which had to be put down before any other campaign could be commenced).
Physically he was 5 feet 9 inches in height with a fresh complexion, black hair and brown eyes. He had no distinctive marks about his person and was well developed physically with good eyesight. Having been found Fit for Duty he was assigned no. H.T. 296 with the Cape Auxiliary Horse Transport Company as a European Driver – this speaks volumes about the man – having been an Officer he was prepared to accept any rank so as to play his part. Mercifully he was promoted to Sergeant with No. 1 Company on the same day.
But who were the C.A.H.T.C.? According to Buchan’s S.A. Forces in France:-
In February 1917 the Union of South Africa Government was asked by the War Office to raise eight companies of Cape Coloured drivers for service with the Army Service Corps in France. Towards the end of February Lt. Col. J.D. Anderson was asked to take command and to arrange for the recruiting and organization of the eight companies. Kimberley was selected as the most convenient centre for mobilization.
At the beginning the amount of clerical work was very heavy but by the middle of April 1 500 men were ready to leave for overseas. On the arrival of the first detachment in France on 23 May 1917, the Director of Transport decided that the contingent should release for other service, and take the place of, the Army Service Corps personnel, forming the following companies:-
No. 5 Auxiliary Horse Transport Company, A.S.C., stationed at Boulogne.
No. 2 Auxiliary Horse Transport Company, A.S.C., stationed at Havre.
No. 2 Auxiliary Horse Transport Company, A.S.C., stationed at Havre.
No. 8 Auxiliary Horse Transport Company, A.S.C., stationed at Rouen.
No. 10 Auxiliary Horse Transport Company, A.S.C., stationed at Rouen.
No. 11 Auxiliary Horse Transport Company, A.S.C., stationed at Rouen.
Arrangements were also made to have a Base Depot at Havre.
Although the men did very excellent work at the Base Posts, there was a strong argument in favour of them being moved to Divisional Trains or Army Auxiliary Horse Transport Companies actually working in the army areas. It was, however, recommended that they remain where they were. The work of the 1st (Bazeley’s), 3rd and 5th Companies consisted of conveying ammunition and supplies to the firing lines, and transporting metal for the new roads which had to be constructed as the armies advanced.
Of the other companies which were employed on the lines of communication, numbers 2, 5, 8 and 22 Companies were employed at the docks, the bulk of the work conveying munitions and supplies to the various distribution centres. The work was hard, the hours long, and the drivers much exposed to weather conditions.
Numbers 10 and 11 Companies were designated as “Forest Companies” and were employed almost entirely in hauling logs from the place where they were felled to dumping centres. In a report on the work in the forests in France, Lord Lovat, the Director of Forests, wrote that, without prejudice to other units, he wished to remark on the work done by the Horse Transport Companies manned by South African (Cape coloured) personnel, who had shown throughout both practical knowledge of the work and patriotic devotion to duty.
On 20 April 1917 Bazeley boarded H.M.T. “Euripides” at Cape Town bound for England. Having arrived at Folkestone he was sent to France disembarking at Bolougne on 23 May 1917 where he was attached to No. 11 Company. On 1 December 1917 he was returned to the Depot “for probation for commission”. This resulted in him being commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant with No. 10 Company with effect from 29 January 1918. This was, as can be seen above, a “Forest” Company. With the odd spot of leave thrown in Bazeley was to remain in alternately England and France until after the war was over – only being repatriated late in 1919 when, on 13 October 1919 he disembarked at Cape Town ex S.S. “Grantully Castle” where he had been Ships Adjutant whilst on board. He relinquished his commission on the same day.
Safely back in South Africa he found that he had another battle on his hands – one of a different kind but one which, I would venture to suggest, affected many thousands of fighting men in the war. What was the problem? Simply put Bazeley had fallen in love overseas and had married a French lady – not in itself a crime but a poser when it came down to matters legal.
On Tuesday, 2 December 1919 he appeared in the Cape Supreme Court in an Ex Parte Application regarding his Nuptial Contract. In petitioning the court he and his wife, Germaine Yvonne Bazeley (born Constantin) stated that:-
1. At the time of my marriage which took place at Havre in France on 14 December 1918 I was on active service.
2. That before such marriage, and whilst in France, I wrote to a Solicitor in London to whom I had been referred by the High Commissioner as being familiar with South African Law and enquired the steps I should take in order to execute an ante nuptial contract.
3. That your petitioners (he and his wife) arrived in South Africa on 13 October 1919 and was informed that because I was domiciled in South Africa at the time of my marriage it was necessary to execute an Ante Nuptial contract in order to exclude community of property.
After a long legal argument it was agreed by the courts that an Ante Nuptial Contract could be drawn up which would be recognised by the South African legal system and the problem was no more.
After a long and eventful life Ernest Harold Bazeley passed away in the Settler’s Hospital, Grahamstown on 24 September 1967 at the age of 87 years and 9 months. His residence at the time of his death was Stone’s Hill in Grahamstown. He was survived by his only child – Dr Rolland Robert Bazeley.
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EDWARD McKENZIE McINTOSH - CAPE POLICE - by: QSAMIKE
Good Morning Everyone:
As the first posting in this thread I would like to show this group that has just been reunited (as described in previous post)......
100 SERGEANT
EDWARD McKENZIE McINTOSH
CAPE POLICE
CAPE OF GOOD HOPE GENERAL SERVICE MEDAL - BECHUANALAND
QUEEN'S SOUTH AFRICA MEDAL - DEFENCE OF KIMBERLY / ORANGE FREE STATE
KING'S SOUT AFRICA MEDAL - SOUTH AFRICA 1901 / SOUTH AFRICA 1902
Mike
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As the first posting in this thread I would like to show this group that has just been reunited (as described in previous post)......
100 SERGEANT
EDWARD McKENZIE McINTOSH
CAPE POLICE
CAPE OF GOOD HOPE GENERAL SERVICE MEDAL - BECHUANALAND
QUEEN'S SOUTH AFRICA MEDAL - DEFENCE OF KIMBERLY / ORANGE FREE STATE
KING'S SOUT AFRICA MEDAL - SOUTH AFRICA 1901 / SOUTH AFRICA 1902
Mike
↧
Private John Stafford, Railway Pioneer Regiment - died 4.4.1901 - by: BereniceUK
In St Wilfrid's churchyard, Mobberley, Cheshire.
1789 Private John Stafford, 3rd Railway Pioneer Regiment. Died of dysentery at Johannesburg on 4th April 1901, aged 34. Son of George and Margaret Stafford.
Was Bolton Stafford possibly serving in either the Army or Navy at the time of his death?
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1789 Private John Stafford, 3rd Railway Pioneer Regiment. Died of dysentery at Johannesburg on 4th April 1901, aged 34. Son of George and Margaret Stafford.
Was Bolton Stafford possibly serving in either the Army or Navy at the time of his death?
↧
Medal to an Interpreter - by: QSAMIKE
Good Evening Everyone.......
Thought this might be of some interest to someone........
From our favorite auction site.......
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Rare Orig South Africa Medal 1879 V.O.U. Rider Interpreter Etc Native Levies
Buy It Now
Mike
Thought this might be of some interest to someone........
From our favorite auction site.......
Mike
↧
↧
SOUTH AFRICAN CONSTABULARY - by: Aud
Hello All
We are busy with our forthcoming SAC book (which has of course been forthcoming for several years!!).
On 6 July 1901, we have 2 men killed in action and two men taken prisoner during an action near Modder River.
One of the men is recorded as KIA at Lough Dearing and the other KIA and 2 POW say Lough Dearg.
Whenever I try to Google these names, I end up in Ireland!
Can anyone help with this spelling? I have also seen it spelt Loughdeerg.
Thanks
Audrey
Rhino Research
South Africa
We are busy with our forthcoming SAC book (which has of course been forthcoming for several years!!).
On 6 July 1901, we have 2 men killed in action and two men taken prisoner during an action near Modder River.
One of the men is recorded as KIA at Lough Dearing and the other KIA and 2 POW say Lough Dearg.
Whenever I try to Google these names, I end up in Ireland!
Can anyone help with this spelling? I have also seen it spelt Loughdeerg.
Thanks
Audrey
Rhino Research
South Africa
↧
Men of the Birkenhead - by: djb
The Birkenhead was a steam frigate launched 30 December 1845. She was wrecked while transporting troops to Algoa Bay on 26 Feb 1852. Due to a lack of lifeboats, only 193 of the estimated 643 people on board survived.
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'The wreck of the Birkenhead' by Thomas Hemy
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'The wreck of the Birkenhead' by Charles Dixon
'The wreck of the Birkenhead' by Thomas Hemy
'The wreck of the Birkenhead' by Charles Dixon
↧
"Did any of these lamps come back?""Not one." - by: Rory
Frederick Stockman
Trooper, Prince of Wales Light Horse – Anglo Boer War
Trooper, British South Africa Police
- Queens South Africa Medal with clasps Cape Colony, Orange Free State and South Africa 1901 to 31463 Tpr. F. Stockman, P OF W LT HORSE
Very little of the antecedents of Fred Stockman are known – his Attestation form for service with the Prince of Wales Light Horse, completed in Durban on 19 February 1901 tells us that he was single, 28 years of age (thus implying that he was born in 1873) and a Russian by birth. His profession or calling was that of a Seaman.
It can be supposed that Stockman was a sailor aboard one of the many vessels plying their trade around the southern coast of Africa. Durban was a popular and bustling port and had, for someone with an adventurous spirit, the added attraction at the turn of the previous century, of being a landing place for the thousands of British troops being sent to South Africa to take the fight to the wily Paul Kruger and his Orange Free State ally in what was to become known as the Anglo Boer War.
This war had been raging since October 1899 with seemingly no end in sight despite the capture of the capitals of both Boer territories – the Boers just didn’t seem to get the message that enough was enough and that they should go back to their farms.
Instead, with the conventional side of the fighting a thing of the past, they embarked on a guerrilla-type operation where small and highly mobile commandoes would harass the British lines of communication, disrupting isolated pockets of troops and generally making life difficult for everyone concerned. (On the British side at least)
It was into this phase of the conflict that Stockman stepped. Quite why he decided to join the P.O.W.L.H. is unknown as this was, primarily, a Cape-raised unit. Assigned no. 31463 he took to the field for the sum of 5/- per day having signed an undertaking that his Arms, Horse and Equipment remained the property of the State on the termination of his services.
In his despatch of 8th March 1901 Lord Kitchener dealt with the entry of the Boer General De Wet into the Cape Colony in the beginning of February, the pursuit by British columns, and his subsequent expulsion. Lord Kitchener mentioned that the Prince of Wales's Light Horse, then recently raised at Cape Town, and 'G' Battery RHA, had been put under Colonel Bethune, and had assembled at Naauwpoort. The Prince of Wales's Light Horse was engaged near Colesberg about 12th February. So it was that Stockman, soon after joining, was sent to the Cape.
When De Wet moved west from the Colesberg district, Bethune's force also crossed the De Aar line, and the pursuit was continued through Britstown, and afterwards in a northerly direction to the Hopetown district. In this pursuit all De Wet's waggons, his guns, and most of his ammunition were taken. The hard riding involved a terrible strain on the pursuing columns, horses falling daily by the score.
The despatch of 8th May mentioned that Colonel Bethune's brigade "left Orange River on 1st March, and two days later attacked and dispersed a body of about 1000 Boers at Open Baar. The brigade moved north-east, and reached the Modder River, near Abraham's Kraal, on the 8th. On this date the Boers attacked an empty convoy returning from Colonel Bethune's column to Bloemfontein. The escort held its own, and being reinforced by a detachment of the Prince of Wales's Light Horse, drove off the enemy".
Colonel Bethune's Brigade now moved to the northeast of the Orange River Colony, where, under the general direction of Major General Elliot, they and numerous other columns took part in many operations. During March and April the corps suffered casualties on several occasions. On 31st March Lieutenant C F Berry was killed. The despatch of 8th July shows the Prince of Wales's Light Horse to have been 500 strong shortly before that date.
Stockman wasn’t long in uniform – he took his discharge after three months on 19 May 1901 but was soon to reappear in the British South Africa Police with who he served from 28 January 1902 until 7 April 1902 at which point he must have decided that his African odyssey was now at and end.
For his troubles a Queens Medal was issued to him off the Prince of Wales roll on 2 September 1905 but Stockman wasn’t destined to ever receive or wear this medal. He had passed away under horrific circumstances a year before in a Coal Mine explosion in Harwick, Pennsylvania on 25 January 1904.
The Harwick Mine disaster went down in the history books as one of the most calamitous to ever strike the American nation. The Courier, Connellsville, Pennsylvania edition of January 26, 1904 told the story under the banner
Over 100 Victims Make Up Dead List of the Explosion in Harwick Mine
Cheswick, Pa., Jan. 26. -- By an explosion in the Harwick mine of the Allegheny Coal Company, 16 miles from Pittsburg. Western Pennsylvania promises to add one of the greatest tragedies of years to the already long list of mine fatalities. Even the officials of the Allegheny Coal Company, the owners of the mine, do not know at this time the number of men still entombed in the chambers of the mine 220 feet below the surface, but a conservative estimate places the number at 184.
Even General Manager George Schuetz of the coal company, who is in charge of the mine, gives little hope that many of the men will be brought to the surface. The first ray of hope that any of the men had escaped the tremendous concussion of the explosion came at six o'clock last night when Adolph Gunia was brought to the surface still living.
From all that can be gathered at this hour between 180 and 190 men are lying dead in the headings and passageways of the Harwick mine of the Allegheny Coal Company. Cage after cage has gone down into the mine and come up again but the only miner of all those that went down to work has been brought to the surface. The rescued miner is Adolph Gunia, and is still in a semi-conscious condition at the temporary hospital at the rude schoolhouse on the hillside above the mine.
In addition to the miners who were at work when the explosion occurred, it is now believed by practically all of the men of the rescue party who have come up the 220 foot vertical shaft for a warming and a breathing spell, that Selwyn M. Taylor, the Pittsburg mining engineer who plotted the mine and who was the first to reach the bottom after the explosion, is now among the list of dead.
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The explosion occurred at 8:20 in the forenoon and the first warning was the sudden rumble underground, then a sheet of flame followed up the deep shaft. Both mine cages were hurled through the tipple, 20 feet above the landing stage and the three men on the tipple were thrown to the ground. A mule was hurled high above the shaft and fell dead on the ground. The injured men were taken at once to Pittsburg.
The rumble of the explosion and the crash at the pit mouth startled the little village and the wives and children of the men below rushed to the scene of the disaster. There was no way to get into the deep workings. The cages that let the men into the mines and brought them out again when the days work was done were both demolished.
All day long there was a jam about the mouth of the pit and there were calls for assistance and for surgical aid from the men in charge of the mine, but it was not until 4 o'clock in the afternoon that the first attempt at rescue was made. This was a failure, as the two men who volunteered were driven back by the foul air.
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Shortly after 5 o'clock, Selwyn M. Taylor and one of his assistants signalled for the engineer to lower them into the shaft. Taylor is still down there. Three times efforts have been made to reach him, but so far without avail. Thomas Wood, one of the first of the rescue party hauled to the surface, told his story of his trip through the mine. He said:
"I was with Taylor and we clambered over three or four falls. Taylor laid out the mine and seemed to know the way. There was one man alive at the foot of the shaft. He was sent up and then we took the mule path into the south level. We saw two men who were alive and notified those back of us and then went on. We passed the third, fourth and fifth headings and then through an overdrift into the air shaft. I began to feel dizzy and sick and then I saw Taylor stagger and fall. His lantern fell. We tried to lift him up, but could not carry him, and I made my own way to safety."
F. W. Cunningham, the mine inspector of the Fourteenth district, reached Harwick at 7:30 p.m. He said:
"I went to Greensburg to inspect a mine and when I reached home I found a bunch of telegrams telling me of this disaster. The mine was inspected, I think, about the 1st of December. There was some gas in it then, but I never considered the mine dangerous."
The last inspection plank hanging on the nail in the mine company's office is dated July 17, 1903, but it is evident that a later report has been torn off. Among the rescue party now in the mine, in addition to Inspector Cunningham, and Jack McCann, Bob North, Robert Carney, Henry Becker, Robert Gibson and William Walkenerst. An additional party of 20 has just gone down.
Three of the rescuers, Becker, Smith and Walkenerst, when they returned to the surface declared that all in the mine outside of the rescue party are dead, including Taylor, the engineer.
Manager Schuetz has telegraphed to Chief Mine Inspector Roderick at Harrisburg as follows: "Two outside men dead of injuries. But one brought out of shaft who is still living. Rescuing party in mine, including Mine Inspector Cunningham, who will advise later."
H. F. Hutchinson, who gave out the lamps to the miners before they went to work in the pit, said:
"At 7:15 o'clock, the time when everyone is supposed to be at work at the mine, I had given out between 180 and 190 lamps. That was one lamp to a man."
"Did any of these lamps come back?"
"Not one."
There is a light in every cottage in the little hamlet above the pit mouth. There is still a crowd about the mouth of the shaft but it will probably be hours before the full extent of the catastrophe is known.
The first attempt at rescue was made at 1 o'clock by Robert North and Jack McCann, one of the engineers employed by the company, who tried to get into the mine by way of the stairs through the air shaft. They managed to grope their way some distance but were finally driven back by the foul air.
The main shaft into the mine, 220 feet deep, was made by a loss by the explosion, which hurled both cages, one of which was within 30 feet of the bottom of the shaft, through the tipple, 30 feet above the surface.
Shortly after 5 o'clock a temporary rigging had been put in place over the mouth of the main shaft and a small bucket capable of carrying three men fastened to the tackle. The first try with the new rig was made by Selwyn M. Taylor, the mining engineer, who had been summoned from Pittsburg, and an assistant J. M. Rayburn.
A crowd of anxious men and women were gathered at the pit mouth as the two men were lowered into the black shaft on the work of rescue. Slowly the rope on the big drums of the engine began to unroll and the two engineers disappeared.
Still there was no sound from the depths below except the occasional shout from the men in the bucket to stop while they tested the air. Then the cage reached the bottom. There was a silence of full 40 minutes and then came the summons to haul up slowly. When the cage reached the top Rayburn was there and with him was Adolph Gunia, still alive, but gasping for breath and evidently seriously injured.
Again the cage went down into the darkness, and this time it carried with it E. Taylor, an assistant of Selwyn M. Taylor, and also Robert North and J. McCann, who had made the first attempt.
There was also a call for volunteers to aid in the work of rescue and a call for hammers, nails and brattice cloths to enable the rescuers to brattice up the headings so that they can grope their way back to where the men were at work.
So Stockman, whose remains were never recovered, had survived the Boer War to perish in a far-away place. His Attestation papers carried the following message scrawled across the page:
"Killed in a coal mine explosion at Harwick, PA, USA 25/1/04 - Administrator of Estate Mr. E.A. Arthur, Attorney at Law, 314 Frick Building, Pittsburg, PA., U.S.A."
Fred Stockman was no more and one can only wonder who remained to cherish his memory.
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Trooper, Prince of Wales Light Horse – Anglo Boer War
Trooper, British South Africa Police
- Queens South Africa Medal with clasps Cape Colony, Orange Free State and South Africa 1901 to 31463 Tpr. F. Stockman, P OF W LT HORSE
Very little of the antecedents of Fred Stockman are known – his Attestation form for service with the Prince of Wales Light Horse, completed in Durban on 19 February 1901 tells us that he was single, 28 years of age (thus implying that he was born in 1873) and a Russian by birth. His profession or calling was that of a Seaman.
It can be supposed that Stockman was a sailor aboard one of the many vessels plying their trade around the southern coast of Africa. Durban was a popular and bustling port and had, for someone with an adventurous spirit, the added attraction at the turn of the previous century, of being a landing place for the thousands of British troops being sent to South Africa to take the fight to the wily Paul Kruger and his Orange Free State ally in what was to become known as the Anglo Boer War.
This war had been raging since October 1899 with seemingly no end in sight despite the capture of the capitals of both Boer territories – the Boers just didn’t seem to get the message that enough was enough and that they should go back to their farms.
Instead, with the conventional side of the fighting a thing of the past, they embarked on a guerrilla-type operation where small and highly mobile commandoes would harass the British lines of communication, disrupting isolated pockets of troops and generally making life difficult for everyone concerned. (On the British side at least)
It was into this phase of the conflict that Stockman stepped. Quite why he decided to join the P.O.W.L.H. is unknown as this was, primarily, a Cape-raised unit. Assigned no. 31463 he took to the field for the sum of 5/- per day having signed an undertaking that his Arms, Horse and Equipment remained the property of the State on the termination of his services.
In his despatch of 8th March 1901 Lord Kitchener dealt with the entry of the Boer General De Wet into the Cape Colony in the beginning of February, the pursuit by British columns, and his subsequent expulsion. Lord Kitchener mentioned that the Prince of Wales's Light Horse, then recently raised at Cape Town, and 'G' Battery RHA, had been put under Colonel Bethune, and had assembled at Naauwpoort. The Prince of Wales's Light Horse was engaged near Colesberg about 12th February. So it was that Stockman, soon after joining, was sent to the Cape.
When De Wet moved west from the Colesberg district, Bethune's force also crossed the De Aar line, and the pursuit was continued through Britstown, and afterwards in a northerly direction to the Hopetown district. In this pursuit all De Wet's waggons, his guns, and most of his ammunition were taken. The hard riding involved a terrible strain on the pursuing columns, horses falling daily by the score.
The despatch of 8th May mentioned that Colonel Bethune's brigade "left Orange River on 1st March, and two days later attacked and dispersed a body of about 1000 Boers at Open Baar. The brigade moved north-east, and reached the Modder River, near Abraham's Kraal, on the 8th. On this date the Boers attacked an empty convoy returning from Colonel Bethune's column to Bloemfontein. The escort held its own, and being reinforced by a detachment of the Prince of Wales's Light Horse, drove off the enemy".
Colonel Bethune's Brigade now moved to the northeast of the Orange River Colony, where, under the general direction of Major General Elliot, they and numerous other columns took part in many operations. During March and April the corps suffered casualties on several occasions. On 31st March Lieutenant C F Berry was killed. The despatch of 8th July shows the Prince of Wales's Light Horse to have been 500 strong shortly before that date.
Stockman wasn’t long in uniform – he took his discharge after three months on 19 May 1901 but was soon to reappear in the British South Africa Police with who he served from 28 January 1902 until 7 April 1902 at which point he must have decided that his African odyssey was now at and end.
For his troubles a Queens Medal was issued to him off the Prince of Wales roll on 2 September 1905 but Stockman wasn’t destined to ever receive or wear this medal. He had passed away under horrific circumstances a year before in a Coal Mine explosion in Harwick, Pennsylvania on 25 January 1904.
The Harwick Mine disaster went down in the history books as one of the most calamitous to ever strike the American nation. The Courier, Connellsville, Pennsylvania edition of January 26, 1904 told the story under the banner
Over 100 Victims Make Up Dead List of the Explosion in Harwick Mine
Cheswick, Pa., Jan. 26. -- By an explosion in the Harwick mine of the Allegheny Coal Company, 16 miles from Pittsburg. Western Pennsylvania promises to add one of the greatest tragedies of years to the already long list of mine fatalities. Even the officials of the Allegheny Coal Company, the owners of the mine, do not know at this time the number of men still entombed in the chambers of the mine 220 feet below the surface, but a conservative estimate places the number at 184.
Even General Manager George Schuetz of the coal company, who is in charge of the mine, gives little hope that many of the men will be brought to the surface. The first ray of hope that any of the men had escaped the tremendous concussion of the explosion came at six o'clock last night when Adolph Gunia was brought to the surface still living.
From all that can be gathered at this hour between 180 and 190 men are lying dead in the headings and passageways of the Harwick mine of the Allegheny Coal Company. Cage after cage has gone down into the mine and come up again but the only miner of all those that went down to work has been brought to the surface. The rescued miner is Adolph Gunia, and is still in a semi-conscious condition at the temporary hospital at the rude schoolhouse on the hillside above the mine.
In addition to the miners who were at work when the explosion occurred, it is now believed by practically all of the men of the rescue party who have come up the 220 foot vertical shaft for a warming and a breathing spell, that Selwyn M. Taylor, the Pittsburg mining engineer who plotted the mine and who was the first to reach the bottom after the explosion, is now among the list of dead.
The explosion occurred at 8:20 in the forenoon and the first warning was the sudden rumble underground, then a sheet of flame followed up the deep shaft. Both mine cages were hurled through the tipple, 20 feet above the landing stage and the three men on the tipple were thrown to the ground. A mule was hurled high above the shaft and fell dead on the ground. The injured men were taken at once to Pittsburg.
The rumble of the explosion and the crash at the pit mouth startled the little village and the wives and children of the men below rushed to the scene of the disaster. There was no way to get into the deep workings. The cages that let the men into the mines and brought them out again when the days work was done were both demolished.
All day long there was a jam about the mouth of the pit and there were calls for assistance and for surgical aid from the men in charge of the mine, but it was not until 4 o'clock in the afternoon that the first attempt at rescue was made. This was a failure, as the two men who volunteered were driven back by the foul air.
Shortly after 5 o'clock, Selwyn M. Taylor and one of his assistants signalled for the engineer to lower them into the shaft. Taylor is still down there. Three times efforts have been made to reach him, but so far without avail. Thomas Wood, one of the first of the rescue party hauled to the surface, told his story of his trip through the mine. He said:
"I was with Taylor and we clambered over three or four falls. Taylor laid out the mine and seemed to know the way. There was one man alive at the foot of the shaft. He was sent up and then we took the mule path into the south level. We saw two men who were alive and notified those back of us and then went on. We passed the third, fourth and fifth headings and then through an overdrift into the air shaft. I began to feel dizzy and sick and then I saw Taylor stagger and fall. His lantern fell. We tried to lift him up, but could not carry him, and I made my own way to safety."
F. W. Cunningham, the mine inspector of the Fourteenth district, reached Harwick at 7:30 p.m. He said:
"I went to Greensburg to inspect a mine and when I reached home I found a bunch of telegrams telling me of this disaster. The mine was inspected, I think, about the 1st of December. There was some gas in it then, but I never considered the mine dangerous."
The last inspection plank hanging on the nail in the mine company's office is dated July 17, 1903, but it is evident that a later report has been torn off. Among the rescue party now in the mine, in addition to Inspector Cunningham, and Jack McCann, Bob North, Robert Carney, Henry Becker, Robert Gibson and William Walkenerst. An additional party of 20 has just gone down.
Three of the rescuers, Becker, Smith and Walkenerst, when they returned to the surface declared that all in the mine outside of the rescue party are dead, including Taylor, the engineer.
Manager Schuetz has telegraphed to Chief Mine Inspector Roderick at Harrisburg as follows: "Two outside men dead of injuries. But one brought out of shaft who is still living. Rescuing party in mine, including Mine Inspector Cunningham, who will advise later."
H. F. Hutchinson, who gave out the lamps to the miners before they went to work in the pit, said:
"At 7:15 o'clock, the time when everyone is supposed to be at work at the mine, I had given out between 180 and 190 lamps. That was one lamp to a man."
"Did any of these lamps come back?"
"Not one."
There is a light in every cottage in the little hamlet above the pit mouth. There is still a crowd about the mouth of the shaft but it will probably be hours before the full extent of the catastrophe is known.
The first attempt at rescue was made at 1 o'clock by Robert North and Jack McCann, one of the engineers employed by the company, who tried to get into the mine by way of the stairs through the air shaft. They managed to grope their way some distance but were finally driven back by the foul air.
The main shaft into the mine, 220 feet deep, was made by a loss by the explosion, which hurled both cages, one of which was within 30 feet of the bottom of the shaft, through the tipple, 30 feet above the surface.
Shortly after 5 o'clock a temporary rigging had been put in place over the mouth of the main shaft and a small bucket capable of carrying three men fastened to the tackle. The first try with the new rig was made by Selwyn M. Taylor, the mining engineer, who had been summoned from Pittsburg, and an assistant J. M. Rayburn.
A crowd of anxious men and women were gathered at the pit mouth as the two men were lowered into the black shaft on the work of rescue. Slowly the rope on the big drums of the engine began to unroll and the two engineers disappeared.
Still there was no sound from the depths below except the occasional shout from the men in the bucket to stop while they tested the air. Then the cage reached the bottom. There was a silence of full 40 minutes and then came the summons to haul up slowly. When the cage reached the top Rayburn was there and with him was Adolph Gunia, still alive, but gasping for breath and evidently seriously injured.
Again the cage went down into the darkness, and this time it carried with it E. Taylor, an assistant of Selwyn M. Taylor, and also Robert North and J. McCann, who had made the first attempt.
There was also a call for volunteers to aid in the work of rescue and a call for hammers, nails and brattice cloths to enable the rescuers to brattice up the headings so that they can grope their way back to where the men were at work.
So Stockman, whose remains were never recovered, had survived the Boer War to perish in a far-away place. His Attestation papers carried the following message scrawled across the page:
"Killed in a coal mine explosion at Harwick, PA, USA 25/1/04 - Administrator of Estate Mr. E.A. Arthur, Attorney at Law, 314 Frick Building, Pittsburg, PA., U.S.A."
Fred Stockman was no more and one can only wonder who remained to cherish his memory.
↧