Research Puzzles: "Odd" casualties from war memorials

War memorials are a great source of information and supplement the official casualty rolls, they can provide first names, biographical details, exact cause of death and a clue as to where a man came from.

However, there are names on war memorials that just don't make sense, they are casualties but just cannot be found in the usual sources. I will write about three examples that I recently resolved as they reveal interesting stories and illustrate the need to "keep digging".

After the war the Royal Artillery erected a large memorial on The Mall in London - just down the road from Buckingham Palace. On the plaques arranged by battery are the names of all the gunners who died during the war. There are two that, until, recently were a mystery: Lts FC Fox and GTW Webb. Neither man in the official casualty roll nor in the November 1899 Army List which implies they weren't serving officers during the war, why then are they on the memorial?

FC Fox:
On the casualty rolls there is an entry for a Trooper Francis Charles Fox, Border Mounted Rifles, the only similar record to Lt FC Fox RA; what if any is the connection. This research was resolved quickly by contacting the Library of the Royal Artillery. There records show Lt FC Fox was killed while serving as Captain with the Border Mounted Rifles. He was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1869 and resigned his commission in 1879. When he was killed at Caesar's Camp on January 6th, 1900 he was quite old for a trooper, fifty perhaps? I double checked his rank with a Border Mounted Rifles collector in South Africa and he was not a captain. Exactly how his name was added to the RA memorial is not known, but he had not served with the regiment for 20 years on his death. There must be other ex-gunners killed in the war who are not included. There is certainly a story to be uncovered on what Fox did between 1879 and 1900.

GTW Webb:
The Register, being an agglomeration of records from many sources, had a record for a GT (George Theodosius) Wynne-Webb, 2nd Lt RGA and Trooper Steinaecker's Horse who died May 28th, 1901 at Pietermaritzburg, previously a prisoner released June 6th, 1900 at Waterval. This last record comes from The Times and is not in the official casualty roll, he is described as "attached" to the RGA. Obviously there is a great similarity between GTW Webb and GT Wynne-Webb, but what is the connection between the two records?

A name like "George Theodosius Wynne-Webb" is ripe for internet searching, and so it proved. GTW Webb was born in 1876, educated at Merchant Taylors. He was first commissioned into the Royal Marines in 1894, resigned at his own request in 1895. His service record (ADM196/62/304) refers to "confidential reports". He then joined a militia unit, the Royal Jersey Artillery from which he was commissioned into the RGA in 1897. He left the RGA in July 1899, circumstances unknown. Almost immediately he sailed for southern Africa and on the outbreak of war was in or near Ladysmith where he became attached to the 10th mountain battery RGA. The Digest of Service for the battery describes him as "Mr Webb", hence The Times describing him as "attached". How this relationship came about is not known, perhaps he had pals in the battery who invited him along. Whatever the nature of the relationship "Mr Webb" accompanied the battery into battle on "Mournful Monday" and was captured in the ensuing debacle on October 30th, 1899. On his release from POW camp Mr Webb did not re-join the battery but instead turns up in Utrecht, eastern Transvaal employed at the customs office. On May 9th, 1901 he enlists with Steinaecker's Horse as Trooper 3783 but dies three weeks later of pneumonia. The connections that saw him attached as a civilian to the 10th mountain battery RGA persist after his death, his name is included on the RA memorial despite him not being a serving officer at the time of his death and his brief, and perhaps chequered, career when he was commissioned. As ever, "worthy of further research" - see this blog.

QM & Hon Captain EJ Piper:
The third example is Quartermaster & Honorary Captain EJ Piper 1st volunteer battalion King's Shropshire Light Infantry (KSLI). He is named on the Devonshire county memorial in Exeter Cathedral, but not the (KSLI) memorial in Shrewsbury which implies Piper did not die on active service with the KSLI. On the medal roll there is a record for a Lieutenant & Quartermaster EJ Piper 5th bn Imperial Yeomanry (IY), roll marked "deceased". His name is not in the official casualty rolls suggesting he died in the UK, but what are the connection between a man from Devon, the IY and the KSLI?

With no first names and a surname like 'Piper' there is not much to search on. Fortunately FindmyPast have uploaded a huge archive of British newspapers which are treasure trove for researchers. Experimenting with different first names "Edwin Piper" drew a direct hit. His obituary was published in the Western Times (Devon) on December 21st, 1900, and full obituary it is too.

Edwin Piper was born about 1841 in (or about) Exeter. He served for 30 years with the volunteers, the last 16 with the 1st vb KSLI and as Supply and Transport Officer, Welsh Border Brigade. On the otubreak of war he was offered the role of Supply and Transport Officer for the 5th bn Imperial Yeomanry, one company of which came from Shropshire. In South Africa he fell ill with dysentery and enteric and was invalided home. He had two operations in July, but never recovered. He left a widow and six children. He was a deacon in the United Methodist Free Church, Albert St.

I will continue to work through the "odd" casualties on war memorials, one that I am working on know is Lt SP Knowles, formerly 2nd Life Guards. So far I cannot find any likely casualties with which to work on; one day all will be revealed.

International History Conference 2014 - Talana

In October 2014 Meurig presented a paper on war memorials at the
International History Conference: From the Anglo-Boer War to the Great War at Talana Museum, Dundee, Kwazulu-Natal October 2014. Research for this paper has added 200 memorials to The Register - with more to come.

The proceedings of the Conference can be downloaded here. 

Research Puzzles: NL Hawkyard

Another example of conflicting casualty information but this one is plain weird as the two pieces of information are wildly different. Norman Lewis Hawkyard served as Trooper 26371 Commander-in-Chief’s Bodygaurd (he had previous service with the Cape Mounted Rifles, discharged “worthless character” and as a Corporal Herschel Native Police).

The South African Field Force casualty roll shows he died of disease at Charlestown, Natal on May 6^th, 1901. The Times (surname spelt Hawkeyard) confirms this adding that he succumbed to enteric fever. The medal roll and the nominal roll (WO127) show very clearly that he was killed in action at Aliwal North, Cape Colony on May 6^th, 1901. Which is correct? The two locations are a seven hour drive apart, so the location and cause really are in conflict.

To resolve this we have one other source to consult: In Memoriam (Steve Watt, University of Natal, 2000). This is a marvellous reference work showing the burial location of thousands of Anglo-Boer War fatalities. The entry for Hawkyard show he is buried in Newcastle, Natal just 45 minutes away from Charlestown. With this evidence it is more likely Hawkyard died in Natal rather than the Cape Colony, and he succumbed to disease. There was no fighting in this part of Natal in May 1901 (or in Aliwal North for that matter). Where does the killed in action information come from? It is impossible to tell.

Hawkyard’s QSA medal is currently for sale with LiverpoolMedals, who may have acquired it from eBay where it was offered for sale in December 2015. Worryingly Liverpool Medals choose to state that Hawkyard was killed in action and ignore the died of disease stated in the casualty roll. I did write to them with this information, which they have ignored. The premium for a killed in action is higher than that for a died of disease. 

Caveat Emptor!

The Last Post - a major revision

The Last Post was compiled in 1903 by Mildred Dooner to commemorate the officers who died during the Anglo-Boer War. These officers “died heroic deaths” and it was her aim that their memory should not “fade into oblivion”. Dooner, the daughter of Colonel WT Dooner, compiled her information from a variety of sources; casualty lists, memorials and correspondence. Dooner recognises her list may not be entirely accurate. There has been no revision to The Last Post until now using the updated casualty roll in The Register.

Dooner also included two appendices one for nurses and the other for war correspondents. Nurses are an obvious choice and were beloved by the officers and men, it was the nurses who endeavoured to keep the sick and wounded alive. The war correspondent is a somewhat odd choice as these men (and one woman) merely reported the war, they did not fight or help the sick and wounded. Indeed many officers did not like war correspondents, they resented their quest for information and many thought their reports biased and unhelpful. Although some senior officers manipulated the press. However, this information exists nowhere else, modern day researchers must be thankful to Dooner for this anomaly.

To revise Dooner I have checked every entry in her book against the casualty rolls and a variety of other sources but primarily the medal rolls, war memorials and The Times newspaper.  I have verified 1,159 entries, these include 14 war correspondents and 10 nurses. Unfortunately a number of errors and inaccuracies have crept in. 

There are three duplicate entries: Betty/Kemmis-Betty, Birch/Burch, Chapman/Clapham. Dooner has included four officers who died after the war but not from related illness or wounds. Another, FE Hancock, was not apparently serving when he died of enteric fever in 1902. The Official Casualty Roll shows him as a civilian and the medal roll indicate he was entitled to the “South Africa 1902” clasp. It is not clear if Hancock was serving the military in a civilian capacity. Dooner does include one civilian, Mr F Chapman, a farmer, was a guide to the British forces attacking Willow Grange (23-11-1899) when he was shot dead. Two men were not commissioned officers when they were killed, G Falcon and A Spencer (Cape Medical Staff Corps) and there is no indication they were about to be commissioned. The unit for Lt AG Warren is incorrect, he was in the Cape Police not the Cape Mounted Rifles.

For the vast majority Dooner has given the exact cause of death, “enteric” instead of “disease” as often seen in the Official Casualty Roll. However, for some the exact cause is not shown which may be to protect the sensibilities of the family. Lt HG Berghuys, Kitchener’s Horse “died of wounds..in Feb., 1901”, in fact he was murdered by Trooper F Carpenter in a row over leave in November 1900. Trooper Carpenter was executed. Four officers committed suicide (as per Official Casualty Roll), others died of self-inflicted wounds. Cpt MMD Morrison according to Dooner died of asthma, the Official Casualty Roll shows “Died of wounds Revolver, self inflicted”.

There is one man listed who I cannot trace in any source as a fatal casualty: Captain EB Muller, Kaffrarian Rifles killed at Ramathlabana 31-03-1900 with Colonel Plumer’s column during the relief of Mafeking. There was a Captain EB Muller, Kaffrarian Rifles who survived the war, he was not involved in the relief of Mafeking neither were the Kaffrarian Rifles. Then there is the case of Lt WBM Carruthers, Canadian Mounted Rifles. Carruthers was widely reported as being killed at Brakspruit March, 3^rd 1901, naturally Dooner picked this up and included him in The Last Post. Carruthers was not killed in the war, but died in 1910 from tuberculosis apparently contracted on service in South Africa.

As to the omissions from the The Last Post I have traced 22 officers, one war correspondent and 20 nurses who died in South Africa during the war. Of the 22 officers 16 are from colonial units, a group Dooner admitted having difficulty finding information about. I have also included in this group Captain HH Morant, Bushveldt Carbineers, who was executed by the British for murdering Boer civilians. Dooner may have deliberately left him out. The additional war correspondent turns out to be the most interesting WH Mackay. Mackay, from Scotland, was a newspaper editor in Pretoria and Reuters agent at the outbreak of war. He remained in Pretoria and handled the telegraph communications between Winston Churchill when he was a prisoner and his mother, Lady Randolph Churchill. Mackay is also credited with breaking the news of the relief of Mafeking to Britain. News of the relief reached Pretoria on the same day, May 17^th, Mackay bribed an engine driver to take his despatch to Lourenco Marques in Portuguese East Africa where it was sent on reaching Britain the next day. He died suddenly in Pretoria in July 1900. I have traced information on his death to a notice in the Dundee Evening Post, July 21^st. Mackay is on the War Correspondents memorial in St Paul's Cathedral, London and on the War Correspondents medal roll, but is not shown as deceased. A further 25 officers and two nurses died outside of South Africa or after the war in South Africa.

Other revisions to Dooner include adding first names, correcting minor errors in the biographical information, and these records also have medal entitlements, memorials and gazetteer information. Biographical information has been added where possible to the "new" records. Having revised Dooner the numbers of officer, nurse and war correspondent fatalities directly attributable to the war can now be stated as:

Officers: 1,187 (plus 25 died outside South Africa or after the war in South Africa)

War Correspondents: 14

Nurses: 30 (plus two died after the war)

Dooner has been re-printed in book form and electronically (for free), one version can be found here. Dooner's text has also been included uncritically on various websites which will only serve to mislead the unwary.