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Don't be discouraged if you buy a medal to a "Joe Soap" (apologies to all Joe Soap's out there) and feel that, in the absence of any paperwork, you will never find out who he was.

This medal is to a Trooper H. Meibohm who served with the British South Africa Police from 1897 until 1901. No attestation papers for these fellows are available at Kew (or anywhere else) so, unless you have other info or get lucky, you will never know who H. Meibohm is right? Wrong, with a bit (make that a lot) of detective work and with friends like Adrian Ellard who can smooth your path - it is possible to find out who "Joe Soap" is.

Meet then Trooper Hermann Meibohm the various spellings of his surname are enough to occasion a migraine) who was born in Mecklenburg Strelitz, Germany in about 1872. He made his way to Rhodesia where he enlisted with the BSAP in 1897 (after the Mashonaland War). He earned the Rhodesia clasp to his QSA before taking his discharge and, unlike so many who came south to South Africa, chose to go north where he took up farming in Tanganyika (Tanzania). In 1913 he decided to spread his wings and explore farming opportunities in South America. So it was off to Brazil he went with his wife, Augusta and son Germano, who had been born that year in Tanzania.

He returned to the Fatherland from time to time but always came home to Brazil which is where he passed away in 1931 at the age of 60. Now how's that for a bit of detective work!!?

Well done! An excellent piece of detective work, in a very short time.

Had he stayed in German East Africa a couple of years longer, he might have found himself fighting against SA forces and perhaps even some former BSAP colleagues.

Thank you Rory
Great research and good to see these records are out there somewhere waiting to be found
Clive