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I shall very shortly be starting an new topic on the Boer War with info and photo's so if anyone would like to know something or see a photo just ask and if I can help I will
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I have a bit of a mystery concerning my great great grandfather Jesse Enos Holmes and his 'supposed' fighting in the Boer War. My late mother said that no one believed him when he said he fought the Boers and his wife had died young so there was no one left alive to confirm his story. On investigating further, on the 1901 census his wife Caroline is listed as the head of the household and is a widow. I have failed to find Jesse anywhere else on the census, so now I am wondering if he did in fact fight in the boer war and this is why he isn't shown. Jesse didn't die until 1/7/1926 so he must have been somewhere in 1901. How do I find out whether he did fight in the Boer War? Does anyone have any ideas?
Hope someone can help
Jenny
Hope someone can help
Jenny
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Guest
Jennyrose, There is a lot of information you can get from Kew
But I think your best bet would be the British Army Boer War Discharge Papers
But you must have a correct name and date of birth if pos.
then if you can find his regiment I could help you with photo's or ....of any action
https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk...ar+Records&SearchButton.x=19&SearchButton.y=9
But I think your best bet would be the British Army Boer War Discharge Papers
But you must have a correct name and date of birth if pos.
then if you can find his regiment I could help you with photo's or ....of any action
https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk...ar+Records&SearchButton.x=19&SearchButton.y=9
O
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Guest
Birmingham had very close links with the Boer war as we provided the guns, ammo. and trains for the war
which were built at the Metropolitan Railway Works at Washwood Heath
Photo's are not good quality as they have been "rescued"
First pic shows an armoured carriage for Natal Railways
Second pic shows Armoured trains packed for despatch by rail and steamer
Third pic shows Armoured open Carriage Several of these would be joined up to make an armoured train
which would be used for reconnoitring work
which were built at the Metropolitan Railway Works at Washwood Heath
Photo's are not good quality as they have been "rescued"
First pic shows an armoured carriage for Natal Railways
Second pic shows Armoured trains packed for despatch by rail and steamer
Third pic shows Armoured open Carriage Several of these would be joined up to make an armoured train
which would be used for reconnoitring work
O
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Guest
In case I did not make my self clear this thread will only be a question and answer thread using photo's and information from a newspaper from 1899 to 1900 called "Under the Union Jack" which have over 1200 pics in. as I do not want to "Bore" you
brummie nick
master brummie
Cromwell, do you have any pictures of the celebrations that took place in England after the relief of Mafeking.?
cheers Nick
cheers Nick
sylviasayers
master brummie
Alf, I worked for a few months in the late 1960s at Metropolitan Cammell, Leigh Road, Washwood Heath, in the Container Division, the department was closed down and we were made redundant. I was later offered a job at the Met. Cammell Weymann Bus Division, which was near Marston Green, can't recall the actual address, I didn't take the job as it was too far to travel without a car in those days, or so I thought.
Peter Walker
gone but not forgotten
Not only the Boer War but also the Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Co
Just seen this discussion. Can I please butt in to point out that Cromwell's lovely pictures clearly show the name Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Company, which was based in Middlemore Road, Smethwick (it would be, wouldn't it?), and had nothing to do with what became Met Cammell at Saltley, or the Midland Railway Carriage & Wagon Works, also at Saltley. The BRCW was registered as the Birmingham Wagon Co Ltd on 20.03.1855 to acquire a private company set up the previous year, and changed its name in 1878. According to my late friend John Price, their main business at first was with the British-owned railways in Argentina, with which they were financially connected. Apparently in the 1890s they were shipping 50 double-deck sheep wagons per week to Argentina, and were building first-class carriages costing £5000 each, even in those days. They were also connected with the Pullman Car and Wagon Lits Companies, and built 168 luxury coaches for them between 1926 and 1932. They also built underground trains for London and, in the tough 1920s, bus and trolleybus bodies. They were still active in the 1950s, but in 1961 backed out of a contract they had won in 1960 to build 450 tube cars for London, and closed down in 1963.
Peter
Just seen this discussion. Can I please butt in to point out that Cromwell's lovely pictures clearly show the name Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Company, which was based in Middlemore Road, Smethwick (it would be, wouldn't it?), and had nothing to do with what became Met Cammell at Saltley, or the Midland Railway Carriage & Wagon Works, also at Saltley. The BRCW was registered as the Birmingham Wagon Co Ltd on 20.03.1855 to acquire a private company set up the previous year, and changed its name in 1878. According to my late friend John Price, their main business at first was with the British-owned railways in Argentina, with which they were financially connected. Apparently in the 1890s they were shipping 50 double-deck sheep wagons per week to Argentina, and were building first-class carriages costing £5000 each, even in those days. They were also connected with the Pullman Car and Wagon Lits Companies, and built 168 luxury coaches for them between 1926 and 1932. They also built underground trains for London and, in the tough 1920s, bus and trolleybus bodies. They were still active in the 1950s, but in 1961 backed out of a contract they had won in 1960 to build 450 tube cars for London, and closed down in 1963.
Peter
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Guest
Thank you Peter for that info. which I did not know. So the Birmingham Railway must a been a rival to the Metropolitan works ?
When the railways were destroyed during the Boxer Rebelion in the 1890's it was the Metropolitan works at Saltley that made the carriages for the Shanghai and Nankin railways in the 1900's
I do know that J. Wright founded the Railway carriage works at Saltley in 1845
Picture shows J.Wrights and Sons carriage and waggon works in 1858 and after he amalgamated with several other firms it became the famous Metro-Cammel works at Saltley
When the railways were destroyed during the Boxer Rebelion in the 1890's it was the Metropolitan works at Saltley that made the carriages for the Shanghai and Nankin railways in the 1900's
I do know that J. Wright founded the Railway carriage works at Saltley in 1845
Picture shows J.Wrights and Sons carriage and waggon works in 1858 and after he amalgamated with several other firms it became the famous Metro-Cammel works at Saltley
Peter Walker
gone but not forgotten
Re: The Boer War and railway carriages
"Tramcar, Carriage and Wagon Builders of Birmingham" is a very concise 64-page booklet written by the late John Price in 1982, and it contains a mine of information. I doubt if it is still available anywhere, but I will perhaps use it some time to describe on this forum the different firms, what they did and when.
Peter
"Tramcar, Carriage and Wagon Builders of Birmingham" is a very concise 64-page booklet written by the late John Price in 1982, and it contains a mine of information. I doubt if it is still available anywhere, but I will perhaps use it some time to describe on this forum the different firms, what they did and when.
Peter
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Some nice photos of what happened to the trains and waggons when they left the Midlands
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Guest
These are neat photo's
First photo is a Royal Engineer putting up a field telegraph
Second Photo repairing a break in the wire
Third photo R.E. with their Apparatus
First photo is a Royal Engineer putting up a field telegraph
Second Photo repairing a break in the wire
Third photo R.E. with their Apparatus
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Guest
Dennis spent all afternoon trying to get them photo's in a state that I could show them as most had gone past the point of no return, but I did come across a photo which is hard to believe and if I can rescue it I will show it to you ( About the Balloons)
brummie nick
master brummie
Cromwell don't know if you missed my post, so I'll post it again.
do you have any pictures of the celebrations that took place in England after the relief of Mafeking.?
cheers Nick
do you have any pictures of the celebrations that took place in England after the relief of Mafeking.?
cheers Nick
O
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Guest
No Nick I do not.
brummie nick
master brummie
The reason I asked, I read this sad tale in a book about the Boer War.
To help them celebrate the relief of Mafeking, the St Pancras Orphan School at Kings Langly in Hartfordshire, in an astonishing burst of generosity, gave each of its 150 orphan boys twopence to spend as he pleased. Seven-year-old William Wright bought a farthing's worth of matches and firecrackers and joined in the celebrations. One of his firecrackers, thrown into a shop door on the high street set the store alight. Identified by one of the villagers as the culprit, William celebrated the next day on a raised platform of the school, where he was given 'six of the best' on his bare buttocks
To help them celebrate the relief of Mafeking, the St Pancras Orphan School at Kings Langly in Hartfordshire, in an astonishing burst of generosity, gave each of its 150 orphan boys twopence to spend as he pleased. Seven-year-old William Wright bought a farthing's worth of matches and firecrackers and joined in the celebrations. One of his firecrackers, thrown into a shop door on the high street set the store alight. Identified by one of the villagers as the culprit, William celebrated the next day on a raised platform of the school, where he was given 'six of the best' on his bare buttocks
brummie nick
master brummie
Hi aston, thanks for the pic, O0
O
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Guest
Like I Said,.at the start of this topic I have got hundreds of pics from the Boer war some that have not seen the light of day, but I could not post them all here as It would take to much space up.and be of limited intrest to a very few people as I have found out with a few of the topics on the site :- The Army, Commandos, The Navy. Air force. its as if people don't want to talk about them and that was ya parents and grandparent Why is this ? The Blitz is popular but not WW2......... very strange
Dennis I am glad you posted that pic as I have a neat photo of the men manning it which took some guts
and will post when I have scanned it
Dennis I am glad you posted that pic as I have a neat photo of the men manning it which took some guts
and will post when I have scanned it
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Guest
Dennis Close up of the men in the Balloon which I have cropped
This was the Balloon at Ladysmith which they used to keep an eye on the Boer positions
They must have had nerves of steel
Thanks for that little snippet Brummie Nick and the pics Aston O0
This was the Balloon at Ladysmith which they used to keep an eye on the Boer positions
They must have had nerves of steel
Thanks for that little snippet Brummie Nick and the pics Aston O0
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Couple of Photo's for Patsys of the Royal Horse Artillery in South Africa 1900
O
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Guest
Another dark episode in our military history was the use of boy soldiers taken on as drummer boys and buglers and sent to wars abroad with their regiment,.
One such lad was 13 year old John Dunn who joined up with A Coy. 1st Battalion Dublin Fusiliers as a bugler and was shipped out with his regiment from Aldershot to fight in the South African Boer War
In 1899 while the battalion was crossing the Tugela river they were ambushed by the Boers and John Dunn was the first to be shot as he attempted to blow his bugle, medics got to his and bandaged him up and saved his life,during home leave he was presented to Queen Victoria as the 14 year old "Hero of Colenso" and she gave him a bugle to replace the one he lost when he was shot.
His words to her were "I just want to get back to my Regiment and the War"
What a message it was sending out to the folk of England. Patriotic Children fighting in wars
Take a look at this link
https://users.westconnect.com.au/~ianmac5/exhibit5.html
One such lad was 13 year old John Dunn who joined up with A Coy. 1st Battalion Dublin Fusiliers as a bugler and was shipped out with his regiment from Aldershot to fight in the South African Boer War
In 1899 while the battalion was crossing the Tugela river they were ambushed by the Boers and John Dunn was the first to be shot as he attempted to blow his bugle, medics got to his and bandaged him up and saved his life,during home leave he was presented to Queen Victoria as the 14 year old "Hero of Colenso" and she gave him a bugle to replace the one he lost when he was shot.
His words to her were "I just want to get back to my Regiment and the War"
What a message it was sending out to the folk of England. Patriotic Children fighting in wars
Take a look at this link
https://users.westconnect.com.au/~ianmac5/exhibit5.html
O
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Guest
This is a great picture showing the purpose why the armoured train that was built in Brum was built for