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TRACING ANGLO-BOER WAR ANCESTORS
by Rosemary Dixon-Smith

A frequently-asked question from family historians worldwide is "How do I find out more about my ancestor who fought in the Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902?" The aim of this article is to give some guidelines for such research. It's a large topic, and what is offered here makes no claim to being all-inclusive.

Firstly, it's important to distinguish between ancestors who died in this conflict, and those who served in it but survived. With some exceptions, there is generally a better chance of discovering more about casualties.

In the Anglo-Boer War context, it should be remembered that of approximately 22 000 British and Colonial troops who died, only about 6 000 were killed in action. Diseases such as enteric, particularly during the sieges which characterized this war, claimed a far larger proportion, around 18 000. Over 22 000 were wounded. A few deaths (and injuries) were as a result of accidents such as drownings or falls.

The next priority is to decide which of the groups below relates to your ancestor:

1. Was he a member of a British Imperial regiment?
2. Did he serve in a Colonial unit, either raised locally in SA or from other parts of the Empire such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada etc?
3. Was he fighting on the Boer side as a member of a burgher commando?

For the purposes of this article, the first two groups will be considered.

Statistics on the number of men serving on the British side vary. The Times History of the War in South Africa Vol VI gives the following breakdown:

Original garrison 9 940

Regulars 256 340

Other than Regulars from Britain 109 048

Volunteers - Ceylon and India 535

Colonies 30 333

South Africans 52 414

Total 458 610

Whether these figures are 100% accurate or not (and The Times History differs in some respects from other sources), they do give an indication of the task which lies ahead of any family historian hoping to find details about one particular individual. At the start of the war, there were about 10 000 British troops in the Cape and Natal. Before the delivery of President Kruger's ultimatum, Britain dispatched reinforcements of another 10 000, about 6 000 British officers and men being sent from India. Before the end of the war was in sight, 450 000 to 500 000 men were in the field.

If he was among the British Imperial forces, your ancestor could have been in the Regular army (Cavalry, Artillery, Infantry, Staff etc) or a Reservist (civilians who could be called upon to serve). He may have been a member of the Militia - reinforcements attached to Regular battalions - or among the Yeomanry or Volunteers, or even the British Constabulary. Over 120 000 recruits who had no military experience whatsoever joined the British Army during the Anglo-Boer War.

If your ancestor served in the British Colonial forces, it's estimated that 16 000 came from Australia, 6 600 from New Zealand, 6 000 from Canada and over 52 000 from South Africa itself.

So, when launching into research for an individual ancestor who fought for the British, the term "needle-in-a-haystack" certainly comes to mind. However, there are a number of possible research avenues which can be followed, depending on the information you have to begin with.

An initial step may be the medal rolls, especially if the ancestor's regiment or unit is not known to you. Most men who served on the British side during the Anglo-Boer War were eligible for campaign medals - the Queen's South Africa medal and/or the King's South Africa medal. The QSA, with relevant bars, was awarded to those who served between the outbreak of war in October 1899 until 22 January 1901. The KSA, with bars for South Africa 1901 and South Africa 1902, was awarded to men serving in that later period (it was issued only in conjunction with the QSA). If you're fortunate enough to own the medal awarded to your ancestor, the unit to which he belonged will be found inscribed thereon.

Several published medal rolls are available, and it's worth checking with the South African National Military History Museum which has such rolls in its collection. Examples include D R Forsyth's Defenders of Kimberley Medal Roll, and S M Kaplan's Medal Roll of the Queen's South Africa Medal with Wepener Bar, and Medal Roll of the Queen's South Africa Medal with Bar Relief of Mafeking.
See the South African National Military History Museum's site at
http://www.militarymuseum.co.za/ or contact the curator at milmus@icon.co.za
For published medal rolls also check libraries such as Killie Campbell - the latter's online catalogue can be found at http://khozi2.nu.ac.za/kafricana.htm

If you have sufficient commitment and enthusiasm for tracking down your ancestor, you may wish to employ an experienced military history researcher to access the medal rolls held at The National Archives (TNA), Kew, UK. The QSA and KSA rolls are in WO 100/120-130,
WO 100/356 and WO 100/357. These would provide information as to the unit with which your soldier served.

Also at The National Archives, UK (and not held anywhere in SA), are Service Records - so if you decide to go the UK researcher route (or attempt the search yourself should you be in the vicinity of Kew) this is another option. Soldiers Discharge papers for the period 1882-1900 and 1900-1913 are among the documents held in WO 97 - they can be searched alphabetically by surname. (These records do not include men who died while serving.) If your man was an Officer in the British Army, his career could be traced in the Army Lists. Similarly, if he was in the Imperial Yeomanry, raised in 1899, try the Army Lists, and some nominal rolls for the Imperial Yeomanry are held in WO 108 and WO 129. Much more exists at TNA than is there is space to mention here; search their online catalogue. Comprehensive lists of casualties are in WO 108.

A list of local forces serving in South Africa on the British side and whose records (Nominal Rolls and Enrolment Forms) are held by TNA, Kew, can be found under the Anglo-Boer War section on this site.

While on the UK end of things, if your ancestor was with a British Regiment, don't neglect regimental museums as a source of information. A useful reference work for such addresses is the Family & Local History Handbook published in UK www.genealogical.co.uk or do a search on Google for the regiment you require. Official regimental histories can be helpful.

The Anglo-Boer War Museum is currently compiling a computerized database of casualties, both Boer and British, but in the interim offer a look-up service and can be contacted at museum@anglo-boer.co.za

At http://surreygenealogist.com/sgdatabase.htm a roll of Natal Field Force Casualties can be found, covering 11,188 casualties of the first part of the Anglo-Boer War, 20 October 1898-26 October 1900. Searchable by surname.

This is a very useful site, it also carries:

Casualties of the Zulu and Basuto Wars 1877-1879 1,559 casualties from the book by I T Tavender (ISBN 0-903754-24X)

South Africa 1853 Medal Roll 10,958 recipients of this medal from the book by G R Everson (ISBN 0-906304-024)

Anglo-Boer war casualties taken from the SANDF Roll of Honour can be accessed at http://www.justdone.co.za/ROH/
Search on surname and up will come initials, rank, corps and unit. Should you wish to add a Dedication to and a Story about the individual (if he is definitely yours!), there is a facility to do so.

A complete list of those who served in the Imperial Yeomanry, Lovats Scouts and Scottish Horse can by searched by surname at http://hometown.aol.co.uk/kevinasplin.home.html There are also details of members of Cavalry regiments who were awarded the QSA, and the start of Kevin Asplin's on-going project to index attestation papers of Colonial Soldiers in the Anglo-Boer War, from WO 126. So far, the regiments available are: Ashburners Light Horse, Bechuanaland Rifles, Bethune's Mounted Infantry, Border Horse, Border Scouts, Brabant's Horse, Bushmanland Borderers and Canadian Scouts, but it is hoped to include further units in due course.

Hall's "Handbook of the Anglo-Boer War" gives among much other material a useful list of British Regiments and the dates of their period of service in South Africa, with the battles or operations at which they were present. This helps to sketch an outline of the ancestor's activities and time spent in this country. Hall also gives a list of the Colonial Forces (Australia, Canada etc), with SA arrival and departure dates, and a list of the South African units with details such as when and where these were raised and disbanded. Men who were awarded the Victoria Cross during the Anglo-Boer War are listed alphabetically in this book, as are names of graveyards where Imperial Soldiers were buried. There are brief biographies of some of the major personalities associated with the war (both Boer and British).

Thomas Pakenham's "The Boer War" remains a must-read for anyone interested in this period, and gives the "big picture".

Another useful background source, with photographs of the period, is "Warrior's Gateway: Durban and the Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902" by Wassermann and Kearney.

"In Memoriam" by Steve Watt (University of Natal Press PMB 2000 ISBN: 9-780869-809686) provides a Roll of Honour of Imperial Forces in the Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902, with particulars of Imperial servicemen who died during the war - 25 000 Imperial soldiers, women and civilians in military employ all of whom laid down their lives for the British cause, whether they were from Britain itself, South Africa, Rhodesia, Australia, Canada, or New Zealand. You can expect to find listed alphabetically the individual's name, regimental number, regiment, type of casualty, place, date of death, where buried, and whether the name is listed on a monument or in a graveyard, with location. Where available, particulars of age and religion of the deceased are given.

Other Casualty lists include: The South African War Casualty Roll: the Natal Field Force 20th Oct. 1899 - 26th Oct. 1900 and The South African Field Force: Casualty List 1899-1902.

James Sterling's "The Colonials in South Africa" is a mine of information - some individual names, such as those mentioned in dispatches, are included, as well as details of each particular unit's activities during the war.

Search for the ancestor's name on the SA National Archives online index (NAAIRS) at www.national.archives.gov.za/
There may be a deceased estate file for him with a Death Notice included. Sometimes, there are two Death Notices for estate files of the Anglo-Boer period: one filled in briefly at the place of death, by the Adjutant perhaps, and another notice fully completed later.

There could also be other types of NAAIRS index references to the individual in question. For example, after the war many British men joined the South African Constabulary - you may be lucky enough to find a Record of Service; such files are generally very informative. Or, in the case of members of SA Volunteer Corps, records of correspondence concerning him may exist - widows or mothers claiming the deceased's pay, or the 5 pound "War Gratuity" (which seems scant return for the supreme sacrifice). A poignant memo among my SMITH family papers concerns a youthful deceased soldier's only piece of movable property - his horse, "killed for food during the Ladysmith siege."

For Australians serving in South Africa 1899-1902, listed alphabetically by State and Contingent see http://www.perthdps.com/military/index.html
The Australian National Archives have an online fact sheet on Australian participation in the Anglo-Boer War at http://www.naa.gov.au/fsheets/fs67.html
Listed are sources for service records, medal rolls, attestation papers, enrolment forms, returned soldiers' records etc.
And at http://www.awm.gov.au/database/boer.asp is the Australian War Memorial site, with Boer War Nominal Roll Database, searchable by name, unit and keyword.

The Africana Library Kimberley has much material available on the Anglo-Boer War period and particularly on the Siege of Kimberley http://home.global.co.za/~afrilib as does the McGregor Museum in Kimberley vida@museumsnc.co.za with information on the western campaign during the war.
The Talana Museum Dundee also holds Anglo-Boer War material http://www.talana.co.za/ *
Check the SA National Archives site list of repositories and related organizations for other museums and libraries which could assist in your quest.

The Ladysmith Historical Society publication in several volumes, "Diary of the Siege of Ladysmith" gives first-hand accounts by such people as Major G F TATHAM of the Natal Carbineers, Bella CRAW, niece of Maj Tatham and resident in Ladysmith during the Siege, letters of Lt Col C W PARK of the Devonshires, notes on the campaign written by A J CROSBY of the Natal Carbineers and the experiences of a Siege Nurse, Kate DRIVER.

The South African Military History Society site offers various articles on the Anglo-Boer War topic; search on http://rapidttp.co.za.milhist/

If the ancestor you seek was a woman, she may have been a nurse during the war. Sheila Gray smgray@ihug.co.nz has compiled a database of nearly 2 000 military and civilian nurses, laywomen and civilian volunteers from throughout the British Empire who were rewarded for service during the Anglo-Boer War. Some of these women worked as cooks or maidservants, accompanying the nursing contingents. The arduous nursing work done under difficult conditions during this conflict is indicated by the following extract from Gray's article on the subject (Family & Local History Handbook, 6th edition, ISBN 0-9530297-5-1):

"The mortality rate from disease was twice that from the fighting itself. Apart from the inevitable gunshot wounds and horse-riding accidents ... the climate and harsh conditions in the field contributed to the high death rate. Typhoid, then called 'enteric fever', was endemic in South Africa and clean water supplies few and far between. A dead horse might be pushed into a muddy stream or lie unburied beside a water-hole from which water-bottles were refilled; a temperature of 100F during the day might drop to below freezing at night; troops equipped lightly during a rapid advance frequently slept out with only a blanket for protection from the cold; severe sunburn - especially among the kilted highlanders - and insect bites took their toll. Doctors, overworked male medical orderlies and nurses also died from such diseases as typhoid, pneumonia, measles or scarlet fever during their service in South Africa."

Finally, back to TNA, Kew, whose Source Sheet No. 31 gives a list of many references on the Anglo-Boer War, though not comprehensive of their huge and varied holdings.
e.g. DO 119/1479 1900-1901 contains a list of soldiers buried in cemeteries in the Cape Colony. If your interest lies in ordnance matters, you can find out about the role of Military Balloons during the war under code 45 (N) WO 32/6062 and reports by unit commanders on rifles, carbines, small arms, artillery equipment etc under SUPP 5/132 and SUPP 5/137-138. Other topics shown on the Source Sheet include Pensions and Compensation Claims, Prisoners of War, Maps and Plans and Official Correspondence.

A NOTE ON UNIFORM AND PHOTOGRAPH IDENTIFICATION

Often, the only relic of an ancestor's involvement in the Anglo-Boer War is a faded photograph, showing the khaki uniform which was standard wear in the field by that date.*

Said to stem from the Indian word 'kaki' meaning dust-coloured, there are various explanations regarding the origins of this apparel, which we now recognize as typical of the British colonial campaigns. According to one source, the Indian Corps of Guides were the first to have used mud to dye their clothes as a form of camouflage. Elsewhere, it is suggested that at a dangerous outpost on the Indian frontier, an officer dipped dazzling-white British tropical uniforms into coffee to make them inconspicuous on patrol and followed this up by requesting an issue of properly dyed uniforms in this colour, an idea which was gradually adopted by the British Army.

The Natal Mercury Pictorial 1915 gives the following intriguing version :

"Khaki was discovered by a happy accident. British troops in India wore a cotton uniform which when it was new was khaki in colour, but after a visit to the laundry was indescribable. A Manchester businessman, discussing this defect, casually remarked that a fortune awaited the man who could find a khaki dye that neither sun, soap, nor soda would fade. A young officer heard the remark, hired a skilled native dyer, and began the search. Years passed in fruitless experiment, till one day turning over a heap of rags, relics of their failures, they chanced upon one piece which was still khaki, though the laundry had worked its will. But it had received no special treatment, so far as they knew, except that it had fallen into a metal dish. That was the secret. The metal of the dish and the chemicals in the dye had combined to produce that fadeless khaki colour which makes our soldiers invisible and turned the lieutenant into a millionaire."

Whatever the truth, khaki was adopted as standard campaigning uniform in 1897, and its use spread into civilian life as well: men's khaki jackets and trousers were advertised in South Africa from about 1899.

Because of the universality of the khaki military uniform, it is extremely difficult to identify photographs as being specifically of Anglo-Boer War period, or even to know whether the pictures were taken in South Africa at all, rather than in India or the Far East. As most family historians know to their cost, dates and other facts are usually absent on the back of photos. Badges and insignia to aid in identification of a regiment are seldom seen in Anglo-Boer War photographs. The British soldier's solar topee, more popularly known as the pith helmet, sported no badges - it was advisable to add nothing shiny which could be picked out by the enemy. (The topee, too, was adopted for use in civilian life, even ladies following this trend, especially for riding.) Officers were rendered less noticeable targets in the field by leaving off their swords and side-arms. The felt slouch or "smasher" hat with the brim turned up on one side, as worn by colonial volunteers, was found to be more practical than the helmet, and this headgear became popular among Imperial troops as well, so if the man in your photograph is wearing the slouch hat it may not necessarily mean that he was in a colonial unit.

Sometimes the soldier's accoutrements give clues as to date and regiment and rank. For example, in the case of the Natal Border Mounted Rifles, up to 1896 ammunition was carried in a pouch with a brown leather crossbelt. Later, what was derogatively known as the "Royston Entanglement" was adopted - a combined rifle sling and bandolier used by NCO's and troopers. Officers and Warrant Officers wore the Sam-Browne swordbelt.

A portrait of an ancestor in what might be Anglo-Boer War uniform generally presents more questions than answers. If you are fortunate enough to possess a letter or other dated objects belonging to the same ancestor, this may help to establish the time-frame he spent serving in South Africa.

*Note: The earliest use of khaki for military purposes in South Africa is associated with the Alexandra Mounted Rifles, a Natal volunteer unit which adopted this cloth for its field service uniform in 1874.