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.

11th Hussars: a rare QSA?

Whenever I read the words "rare QSA", I ask "How do they know?"; "they" usually being a dealer.

I may be too cynical, but there is much about the QSA for which is there is no hard evidence, no facts and figures upon which to judge such a statement. Most dealers never cite a source for what is an inducement to the buyer to purchase the medal now, "fools rush in......."

As I create The Register of the Anglo-Boer War I am building up the data upon which we can answer with a great degree of certainty that a QSA is truly rare based upon a host of factors; unit, sub-unit, clasps, rank and if you want surname, place of origin, casualty details; anything you fancy really.

This article was prompted by the offer for purchase of the QSA group to Pte 4208 AE Eltringham 11th Hussars, described as a "rare QSA" and "QSA possibly unique to regiment with this clasp combination.". No sources cited, most dealers are experienced so they may be correct, but it could be Dealer X just hasn't seen as many QSAs to the 11th Hussars as another dealer.

The only way to certify such statements is to look at the facts. Published information states between 108 (National Army Museum and British Empire),  110 (angloboerwar.com), 114 (North East Medals)  and 315 (DNW) men served in the war. The 11th Hussars did not serve in the war as a unit, they were stationed in Egypt, therefore it is likely not many men served and those that did would be attached to other units. Most of these sources quoted are just looking at the medal roll for the 11th Hussars itself, the detachment sent to Natal that became besieged in Ladysmith. The medal rolls show five officers and 99 men (104 in total) served in the Defence of Ladysmith attached to a variety of units; 5th Lancers, 5th Dragoon Guards, 18th Hussars, 19th Hussars and Army Veterinary Department. What most ignore that DNW alludes to with its figure of 315 is that many more 11th Hussars serving in South Africa are found on other unit rolls. 

How many men of the 11th Hussars served in South Africa? The Register shows 304 (18 officers and 286 men), about 40% of a typical cavalry regiment, which is a large number for a unit that did not go overseas. However, not all of these men were serving with the regiment in Egypt in 1899. An analysis of the service numbers and enlistments dates shows that 178 men had served between 5 years and 11 years 11 months; these men had served the minimum term of five years and were eligible to go on the reserve. Eleven men had served 12 years or more. Ninety-seven men had served 5 years or less, the majority of these (80) served in the Defence of Ladysmith. The contingent besieged in Ladysmith would have mostly come from the regiment in Egypt. Therefore the vast majority of the 11th Hussars who served were reservists called up in England and allotted to other units serving in at the front.

The men of the 11th Hussars served with a total of 34 units including a number of colonial units. DNW stated that most were attached to the "5th Lancers and 8th Hussars." The figures do not bear this out:

Attached Units (largest contingents):

• Remounts:                  145
• 6th Dragoon Guards:   70
• 5th Dragoon Guards:   49
• 5th Lancers:                 21
• 19th Hussars:               20
• 18th Hussars:               14
• 8th Hussars:                 14

Many served in both the 6th Dragoon Guards and the Remounts.

The number of 11th Hussars that served in South Africa is three times greater than widely believed, but how many medals are named to the 11th Hussars, how rare is that QSA?

When men served on attachment it is not always obvious which unit is on the QSA. Looking at medals on the market for the 11th Hussars it appears that "11th Hussars" is on all QSAs except for the men who served with the 6th Dragoon Guards and 19th Hussars (Defence of Ladysmith clasp).

Attached Remounts only: Ptes 2992 Stannard, 3088 Warne, 2971 Ainsworth
Attached AVD: Sgt 3627 J McElhinney 
Attached 5th Dragoon Guards: Pte 3451 J Moore 
Attached 5th Lancers: Pte 2639 WAL Lewis 

Pte 3239 CA Cook, 11th Hussar reservist, served with the 6th Dragoon Guards and the Remounts. His QSA and KSA are named to the "6th Dragoon Guards". However, a number of men are not on the 6th Dragoon Guards roll, but are marked as "attached 6th Dragoon Guards" on the Remounts roll. Their medals may be named 11th Hussars and not 6th Dragoon Guards like Cook's medals.

Pte 4231 J Wood, 11th Hussar reservist, served with the 19th Hussars in the defence of Ladysmith. His QSA is named to the 19th Hussars and his KSA is named to the 11th Hussars.

This straw poll would seem to indicate that the majority about 250 of QSAs issued to the 11th Hussars are named "11th Hussars". In the scheme of things 250 is a small number of QSAs, but not rare as such; frequency of 11th Hussars medals on the market is a different consideration, they do not appear often.

What then of Pte Eltringham's clasp combination of  "Johannesburg,Diamond Hill,CC,OFS", is that unique? Yes, it is and only two others have that combination with other clasps.

This research has shown that significant numbers of men from cavalry regiments served with the Remounts. What needs to be established is how many of these men are not on the regimental rolls, and are "new" as such increasing the numbers served as we have seen for the 11th Hussars.

Searching for missing medals? The Register can help you

All collectors of medals and many families searching for their ancestor's medals will be looking for a missing medal (or medals) to make a group whole again. Effecting a reunite is a holy grail, and generally takes luck more than anything.

The internet and databases are improving the chances of a re-unite. The internet makes it possible to advertise for a re-unite using forums and message boards, databases allow records of medals offered for sale to be kept. 

The trick is now to unite the two to actively join the seeker with the seller. The Register makes this possible. The Register now shows records of QSAs and KSAs and other medals that have been offered for sale. There are over 24,900 records of medals for sale from auctions, medal dealers and also medals in a private collection, so at least you know the medal exists. I also go through old sale catalogues from the last 50 years adding information to The Register. Amongst these records I have seen many possible reunites - see the long list below.

Just this weekend records in The Register allowed me to contact a family researcher seeking a QSA to reunite with his great-grandfather's Distinguished Conduct Medal - QMS 1261 T Hogan, King's Royal Rifle Corps . The QSA had appeared on a dealer's list. The family researcher had originally posted a request on the British Medals Forum in 2013.

Harnessing the power of The Register is easy:

• Buy the record of the man or woman (The Register holds records for nurses) you are interested in.
• Email me and I will add the details to this page for anyone in the world to see 
• Done! 
• Simply wait for an email from The Register telling you the record has been updated.  
• Once purchased there is no further cost, you will always be eligible for update emails. Just remember to keep your email address updated with The Register.

The Register is the only automated re-unite register actively linking searcher and seller. It is cheaper than other medal trackers and also gives you actual information about the recipient. Try it!

Re-unites noted so far:

* Nursing Sister MB Alexander, Scottish Hospital: QSA and KSA with Scottish National Red Cross Hospital and St. Andrew’s Ambulance Association Tribute Medal 1900
* Sgt-Mjr H Arnold, Australian Horse: DCM and QSA with Gunnedah and District Boer War Tribute Medal
* Lt JA Baillie, Steinaecker's Horse: DSO,QSA,Coronation 1902 with Victory Medal
* L-Cpl R Belsey 4338, 9th Lancers: MM (in a museum) with QSA,KSA,Victory Medal
* Cpl HL Byas, British South Africa Police: British War Medal with 1914-15 Star
* Pte H Clarke 5075, 6th Dragoons: QSA with KSA
* Pte G Clayden 477, Rifle Brigade: QSA with KSA
* Scout W Coles 10057, French's Scouts: QSA with KSA
* Pte FW Collins 3761, Middlesex Regiment: QSA with 1914-15 Star trio
* Pte J Cunniff 2022, Scots Guards: QSA with KSA
* Gnr HJ Davis 59257, RHA: QSA, KSA with LSGC
* Cpl A Grainger 2454, Buffs: IGS with QSA
* Pte J Gun 4384, Seaforths: Queen's Sudan with IGS and Khedive's Sudan
* Pte C Haines 4344, South Wales Borderers: QSA with KSA
* AB RJ Harris, HMS Magicienne: QSA with African General Service
* QMS 1261 T Hogan, KRRC: QSA with DCM and Militia LSGC
* Major AL Howard, Canadian Scouts: DSO and QSA with Northwest Canada medal (locally engraved)
* Cpl E Ibbotson 8226, RE: QSA with MC, DCM, 1914-15 Star
* Gnr H Jackman 85631, RFA: QSA with LSGC and Coronation 1911
* Duffadar DM Khan 1706, 18th Bengal Lancers: QSA with Order of British India
* Pte J King 3152, 19th Hussars: QSA with KSA
* Lt-Col CVB Kuper, RA: QSA with 1914-15 Star trio
* Trpr ID Mackenzie 520,  Rhodesian Regiment: QSA with BSAC
.............. and there are more.

Of course the record of medals sold works the other way: identifying splits which I blogged earlier.

Research Puzzles: FL Hide

Research Puzzles are blogs showing examples of research where some of the usual pieces are missing, like service papers or a medal roll entry.

Shoeing-Smith 3112 FL Hide 14th Hussars died of enteric fever at Fort Napier, Pietermaritzburg, Natal on 27th February 1900. He appears in the casualty roll, there are no service papers as expected for a casualty, no entry in Soldier's Effects. Surprisingly no entry has been traced in the medal rolls.

The key to unlocking the history of Shoeing-Smith Hide is his memorial plaque. The best source for memorials is The Register. Hide's life has been commemorated buy his regiment who erected a plaque for each of their casualties of the War.

Thanks to Christ Church, Seaside for opening the church.

The memorial tells us his first name, "Frank" and with this and the location of the memorial, Christ Church, Seaside, Eastbourne, East Sussex you can begin genealogical research.

Frank Leopold Hide was born in 1875 in Christchurch parish, Eastbourne to Samuel and Sarah. He was the third of 11 children. Frank enlisted into the 14th Hussars in late 1891/early 1892. In the army he learnt the trade of shoeing-smith. He served in the Anglo-Boer War in Natal with the Natal Field Force. The lack of a medal roll entry is unusual for a soldier. The cavalry rolls have been databased are on The Register. His omission from these rolls and his trade of shoeing-smith indicate that he served with the Remount Department in Natal. There are separate rolls for the Remount Department, these have only been fully databased by Ancestry whose index is highly suspect. A manual search of the Remount Department rolls have failed to find an entry for Hide. Hopefully one day his QSA will surface.

Four brothers of Frank served in the military, one Sidney Hide died during WW1 wounded at Gallipoli with the Collingwood Battalion Royal Naval Division.

If you have any Research Puzzles you need help with - please email me.