TOPIC:

Smethwick, you are right that S a a means smallarms amunition.
And also right that African blockouse guards (well, guards along the wire fences between blockhouses - I doubt they were often allowed indoors) were mainly armed with obsolete Martini Henry rifles. This photo from Ron Bester's book " Small Arms of the Anglo Boer War" shows 4 of 5 African guards with MHs, and one with a .303 Lee Metford or Lee Enfield. The man on the left carries, I think, an ex-ZAR MH with its characteristic hump, the other MHs may be Boer or British in origin.
There was a long tradition in the empire of giving obsolete rifles to local forces. Presumably after the Indian Mutiny "once bitten, twice shy"?

Neville/Rob - many thanks for your answers - I feel very privileged and grateful to be able to pick the brains of such experts so easily.

Neville - in my humble opinion the person armed with a pencil was not quite accurate in their notes - firstly his name was John Richard Rye, secondly only the Kent bit of the Regiment is correct and finally they were very deficient in listing the ships he served on.



After being dismissed from the RGA for misconduct he did indeed, like two of his brothers, serve in the Navy as a Stoker. Above are his five ships from left to right - HMS Albermarle1907-1908, HMS Endymion 1908-1910, HMS Indomitable 1910-1911, HMS Aboukir 1914, HMS Cornwallis 1914-1917.

The photo of HMS Cornwallis shows her delivering a broadside aimed at the Turkish Army on the Gallipoli Peninsula (she opened the firing). On 9th January 1917 she was torpedoed off Malta. The torpedo hit one of the stokeholds killing 13 of the crew but she took two hours to sink and the rest of the crew was saved. So Stoker Rye was a lucky man.

He was the great uncle of somebody called John Carey who has created a public family tree on Ancestry. So if you use the Public Tree search option all you need to enter is John Richard Rye born 1882 in Plumstead, Kent and you will be able to see photos of his mother, sister (John Carey's grandmother) and his brother Albert who also served in the Navy but not of him, which is of no matter as you already have one (in my opinion).

Regards, David.

Another interesting scrap of paper that somehow survived 120 years of woodworm, spring-cleanings and recycling maniacs is this printed Picquet Diary form. Although it may have been used by blockhouse crews, this type of form was intended for outposts of army units laagered in the field.

I'm not sure whether this cabinet photograph depicts a blockhouse garrison, but it shows two Africans and a civilian(?) armed with magazine rifles. Rob might be able to cast light on the nature of these pieces - does the lack of fore-wood indicate that they are sporterised Lee-Metfords / Lee-Enfields, or are they simply over-the-counter sporting rifles? The chap on the far right is holding something similar (though I can't make out a magazine in that case).



..

Perhaps Rob would also like to comment on the weaponry depicted by Richard Caton Woodville for readers of the Illustrated London News, 5th April 1902.

Interested members
The rifles in the hands of the chaps in the first pic are mostly MLEs; one African is holding what appears to be a sporting or cut down LE. Some of the detail of that rifle is obscured by the sling. The so called "chap on the far right" is holding an MLE with some of the detail again obscured by the sling. Refer to the bolt handle clearly seen near "the chap's" left leg.
Regarding the excellent illustration by Caton Woodville, the African is holding a cocked Martini rifle and the soldier holds an MLE - with the artist rather exaggerating the shape of the semi pistol grip.
IL.