45 Regiment of Foot and the Kaffir wars

[jc26red]

Hi all,

I already knew my ggrandfather had served  in the 45th regiment of foot from the census returns and have at last managed to get hold of his Chelsea pension records thanks to FindMyPast.

James Bishop Sergeant, reg no 1686
His army service with the 45th reg ran from 26 April 1839 - 19 Nov 1862 (21 years 3 days not counting his poor behaviour  )

It appears he was stationed on the Cape of Good Hope for 16 years and was awarded a Kaffir medal.  I know he was in Dublin in 1842 so probably only  in SA for the later Kaffir wars.

Can anyone help point me to find some more information on the the time spent in the army, not necessarily personal to him but regimental details. And maybe a link to see what a Kaffir medal looked like

thanks

ps Just been looking at the army resources at the top of the board.... can anyone see if he is listed on the 1861 or 1862 army list please?
James was a private till April 1856 when he was promoted to Corp'l then he was promoted to Sergeant January 1862

[km1971]

In reverse order, Army Lists only list officers, so he will not be listed. The 45th Foot left Cork for the Cape in February 1843 and returned to Preston in Jun 1859.

There is a good link to the wars - http://wapedia.mobi/en/Xhosa_Wars#5. The 45th Foot were involved in the 7th and 8th wars. These are the numbers used by the Dutch settlers. We know them as the 2nd and 3rd Kaffir Wars - the 1st was in 1834-45 (ie their 6th) – although in South Africa I believe it is more pc to call them the 3rd, 4th and 5th British Frontier Wars.

The medal was only proposed after the 8th/3rd /5th war and is called the South Africa 1853 medal. But could be awarded for earlier campaigns. The design is the same as the one for the later ‘Zulu’ War except for the date 1853 in the exergue - http://www.liverpoolmedals.com/South-Africa-1853-R8966.html

I have a medal roll and he is listed as a Private and only entitled to the medal for the 1850-1853 campaign. Here is a reprint - http://www.naval-military-press.com/south-africa-the-1853-medal..html

If you have his record it should say when he left for South Africa.

Ken

[jc26red]

hi Ken,

I don't have his service record, only the Chelsea Pension record.  There are 4 pages to the record. First page is the one which outlines when he joined and his request for discharge and a few signatures, character and conduct etc. and the fact he spent 16 years on the Cape of Good Hope.
The next page lists dates of service, including the deductions for going AWOL from when the regiment was in Ireland Dec 1841. He returned fto Ireland for his punishment in 1842. It also gives his promotion dates. No mention of postings
3rd page is discharge date and signature of commander
4 page gives a personal description and some brief notes on letters going back and forth regarding the pension rights

[RoseCrystal]

Hi I think I might be able to help, is it the 45th Regiment of foot which later became, the 1st Battalion of the Sherwood Foresters?

My Great Great Grandfather Matthew Cowley Served in this Regiment from 1840 to 1860.

I have a four page documentation of where he went and promotions ect, I found a copy on find my past but already had photocopies of the records a few years back which a researcher obtained so I did not get any further though it did say what medals he had 

I found writing to the Sherwood Foresters Museum helpful! They do not have Service Records but do have a data base of information from that people have submitted. Its how I managed to get a lead 

I was told to look up a book called   "History of the 45th Regiment by Colonel P. H Dalbiac", it says Daldic in its edge"  It covers the period from 1741 through to 1881.

I could not get hold of this book except to ask at the local library but this was a few years back , and it was only allowed to be photocopied, so my hubby kindly did this for me, because of my health.

I hope this is of some help and the Museum is always looking out for photographs if your lucky to have one to put on their honour roll.

They did not charge at the time for research but welcomed donations which I gave, I hope you can get further with your research
Best wishes Rose

[rathmore]

www.forces-war-records.co.uk

if you then come down the page and click on medals you should be able to see the medal

also bishop on the records on this site

[ShaunJ]

He was with the depot company at Parkhurst in 1861 http://search.findmypast.co.uk/record?id=gbm%2fsolidx%2f00146768&highlights=%22%22

[jc26red]

Goodness this is an old post.

Thank you Rathmore and ShaunJ for your interest and the links, I have added them to James Bishop's military records. 

Its great to see records being released online.

many thanks,

Jenny

[Lady Kitty23]

My great grandfather john ellis  too served in the 45th regiment of foot, in south Africa I am looking for the birth details of his son James, who i think was born in Capetown in about 1847  also his brother Samuel who was born in south america when the battalion was in montevideo  i dont know much about what John did in South Africa. they worked very hard there