Author Topic: Records from the 2nd Anglo Boer war?  (Read 5283 times)

Offline Elliebean54

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Records from the 2nd Anglo Boer war?
« on: Saturday 19 May 18 22:06 BST (UK) »
I'm not sure if this is the right place to post, I know there's a military section but that seems to be mostly resources rather than questions. Moderators are welcome to move it if it's in the wrong place.

In terms of online information I'm struggling to find anything of value relating to this period. I know a lot of original records must have been destroyed, and when I try and do searches everything is (understandably) swamped by information from WWI and WW2.

I'm trying to find out any information about my GGF.

His name was Arthur Moore and he was born in Camerton, Somerset in 1871,

In the 1891 census he is at Aldershot and a Private in The Battalion The Cameronians Scottish Rifles. He seems to have left at some point because he's not recorded as a soldier on his marriage certificate in 1897, but a general labourer.

He then reappears as a Private in the Cameronians 2nd Battalion Scottish Rifles in the 2nd Anglo Boer war and is killed in action at Spion Kop on 24th January 1900.

I have found his name on the list of casualties, and seen it engraved on the British Memorial on the battlefield (in photographs - I've never been)

I also have his service number - 3134 - but I'm not sure if that would have changed if he served at two different times so don't know how much use that is.

I don't really know where to start for the best sources of information or any surviving records, so any advice would be gratefully received.




Offline Girl Guide

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Re: Records from the 2nd Anglo Boer war?
« Reply #1 on: Saturday 19 May 18 22:40 BST (UK) »
This looks like your Arthur:-

https://search.findmypast.co.uk/record?id=GBM/BW/016138

The record set is the Anglo Boer War Records 1899 to 1902.
Ashford: Somerset, London
England: Devon, London, New Zealand
Holdway: Wiltshire
Hooper: Bristol, Somerset
Knowling: Devon, London
Southcott: Devon, China
Strong: Wiltshire
Watson: Cambridgeshire
White: Bristol
Windo - Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire

Offline Elliebean54

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Re: Records from the 2nd Anglo Boer war?
« Reply #2 on: Saturday 19 May 18 22:58 BST (UK) »
This looks like your Arthur:-

https://search.findmypast.co.uk/record?id=GBM/BW/016138

The record set is the Anglo Boer War Records 1899 to 1902.

Thanks for your reply

Unfortunately that link is behind a paywall so I can't see it's contents

Offline Girl Guide

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Re: Records from the 2nd Anglo Boer war?
« Reply #3 on: Saturday 19 May 18 23:17 BST (UK) »
There aren't any images so you would see anything much anyway.  This is what the link was supposed to have shown you:-

First name(s)   A
Last name:   Moore
Service number:   3134
Rank:   Private
Regiment:   2 Battalion The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
Other regiments/units:   Unit: 2 Battalion The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), Rank: Private, Number: 3134
Memorials:   St Mary's. Plaque Scottish Rifles, Hamilton, Strathclyde, Scotland
Biography   -
Event detail:   Killed on 24/01/1900 at Spion Kop
Event unit:   2 Battalion The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
Event source:   NFF
Country:   Great Britain
Record set:   Anglo-Boer War Records 1899-1902
Category:   Military, armed forces & conflict
Subcategory:   Boer Wars
Collections from   Great Britain, UK None

Ashford: Somerset, London
England: Devon, London, New Zealand
Holdway: Wiltshire
Hooper: Bristol, Somerset
Knowling: Devon, London
Southcott: Devon, China
Strong: Wiltshire
Watson: Cambridgeshire
White: Bristol
Windo - Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire


Offline Girl Guide

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Re: Records from the 2nd Anglo Boer war?
« Reply #4 on: Saturday 19 May 18 23:25 BST (UK) »
Have you visited the National Archives website at all?

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/

You could contact them and ask about Anglo Boer War records. 
Ashford: Somerset, London
England: Devon, London, New Zealand
Holdway: Wiltshire
Hooper: Bristol, Somerset
Knowling: Devon, London
Southcott: Devon, China
Strong: Wiltshire
Watson: Cambridgeshire
White: Bristol
Windo - Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire

Online BumbleB

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Re: Records from the 2nd Anglo Boer war?
« Reply #5 on: Sunday 20 May 18 07:40 BST (UK) »
Here is a photo of the memorial at Spion Kop.  We visited in 2010 and I tried to take photographs of all the memorials there.

Transcriptions and NBI are merely finding aids.  They are NOT a substitute for original record entries.
Remember - "They'll be found when they want to be found" !!!
If you don't ask the question, you won't get an answer.
He/she who never made a mistake, never made anything.
Archbell - anywhere, any date
Kendall - WRY
Milner - WRY
Appleyard - WRY

Online BumbleB

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Re: Records from the 2nd Anglo Boer war?
« Reply #6 on: Sunday 20 May 18 08:59 BST (UK) »
And this is a more general view of Spion Kop.

Transcriptions and NBI are merely finding aids.  They are NOT a substitute for original record entries.
Remember - "They'll be found when they want to be found" !!!
If you don't ask the question, you won't get an answer.
He/she who never made a mistake, never made anything.
Archbell - anywhere, any date
Kendall - WRY
Milner - WRY
Appleyard - WRY

Online BumbleB

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Re: Records from the 2nd Anglo Boer war?
« Reply #7 on: Sunday 20 May 18 09:12 BST (UK) »
This might be of use


Added:  Have you tried to contact the Regimental Museum?

http://www.cameronians.org/

Transcriptions and NBI are merely finding aids.  They are NOT a substitute for original record entries.
Remember - "They'll be found when they want to be found" !!!
If you don't ask the question, you won't get an answer.
He/she who never made a mistake, never made anything.
Archbell - anywhere, any date
Kendall - WRY
Milner - WRY
Appleyard - WRY

Offline Elliebean54

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Re: Records from the 2nd Anglo Boer war?
« Reply #8 on: Sunday 20 May 18 16:15 BST (UK) »
There aren't any images so you would see anything much anyway.  This is what the link was supposed to have shown you:-

First name(s)   A
Last name:   Moore
Service number:   3134
Rank:   Private
Regiment:   2 Battalion The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
Other regiments/units:   Unit: 2 Battalion The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), Rank: Private, Number: 3134
Memorials:   St Mary's. Plaque Scottish Rifles, Hamilton, Strathclyde, Scotland
Biography   -
Event detail:   Killed on 24/01/1900 at Spion Kop
Event unit:   2 Battalion The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
Event source:   NFF
Country:   Great Britain
Record set:   Anglo-Boer War Records 1899-1902
Category:   Military, armed forces & conflict
Subcategory:   Boer Wars
Collections from   Great Britain, UK None

Thank you - that's definately him. One completely new thing it tells me is that there's a memorial plaque in Hamilton which I'm pleased about. He has no other memorial over here - I had thought about contacting the local history society to see how they would feel about something being added in the church yard in the village where he was born, raised, baptised and married. They have a war memorial but obvioously that's for WWI and WW2 casualties.

 I don't think I'll ever get out to South Africa but I would like it if someone from the family did one day so they can pay their respects where he actually fell and was buried.

Ultimately I think contacting the Regimental Museum is the only way forward to know if there's any other information out there. I tried the National Archives but the search returns that they have no records.

General googling myself is quite harrowing - unfortunately there's quite close up pictures of British dead that always come out at the top and makes me feel ill thinking I might see my grandma's face in one of them (we have no known pictures of him). Even the distant pictures of the bodies piled in the trenches for burial upset me and you can't escape them when you search online. I suppose they think it's distant enough not to matter but he was my grandma's dad and it's just too close.

BumbleB - thank you for posting the link and your pictures, it's always good to see his name remembered there.