TOPIC:

Stephen Henry Kearsey

Driver, Lumsden’s Horse – Anglo Boer War
Sergeant, Machine Gun Company, Nagpur Volunteer Rifles
Lieutenant, 63rd Pallamcottah Light Infantry
Captain, 2/119 Infantry Regiment, attached to Mesopotamian Police – Iraq.
District Superintendent of Police, Central Provinces – India

- Queens South Africa Medal (CC/OFS/JOHANNESBURG) to 289 (DVR.) S.H. KEARSEY. LUMSDEN’S HORSE
- 1914/15 Star to No.22 CPL. S.H. KEARSEY. VOL. M.G. COY.
- British War Medal to LIEUT. S.H. KEARSEY
- Victory Medal to LIEUT. S.H. KEARSEY
- General Service Medal (IRAQ) to CAPT. S.H. KEARSEY.

Stephen Kearsey led an interesting life, although one not uncommon for the times in which he lived. Born in Mhow, Central India (some sources say Born at Sea) on 6 May 1882 he was the son of Stephen Humphries Kearsey, a Railway Driver by occupation, and his wife Charlotte, born Lee. He was baptised in St. Andrew’s Church in Mhow on 15 June 1882. Kearsey senior had been a Sergeant in the army before trying his hand on the railways. He was to become a prominent Chaplain and President of the Templer movement, based in Central India in later years and was often in the United Kingdom delivering lectures and opening branches of the aforementioned movement.

Little is known of Kearsey’s early life. He appears to have been educated in India, unlike many of his compatriots who were “sent home” to England for schooling purposes. This is perhaps an indication that the family were not as financially prosperous as those around them in the expatriate community.

Having completed his schooling, Kearsey appears to have taken up employment with the Military Accounts Office in Lahore. This was the address he provided when enlisting as a Driver, no. 289, with B Company (Transport) of Lumsden’s Horse at the time of the Anglo Boer War. This war, long in the making, was between the two Boer Republics of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State who pitted themselves against the might of Imperial Britain. War was declared on 11 October 1899 and representative regiments were sent from throughout the Empire to aid and assist the Regular Army men on the ground.

The Boer capacity to fight and the up-to-date weaponry with which they had equipped themselves had been woefully underestimated by the British military authorities and an urgent and pressing need was expressed for additional manpower to stem the Boer tide as they galloped into the Crown Colonies of Natal and the Cape.


Men of Lumsden’s Horse

Lumsden’s Horse, consisting of two squadrons and a maxim gun detachment, represented Britain's great Dependency in the South African War. It was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel D M Lumsden, of the Assam Valley Volunteers. 'A' Company sailed from Calcutta on 26th February 1900, and 'B' Company on 3rd March. 'A' Company landed at Cape Town and 'B' at East London, and both joined the army of Lord Roberts at Bloemfontein in April. On the 21st Lumsden's Horse marched out of camp to join General Tucker's Division, which had been holding the hills won at the battle of Karee Siding, 29th March. They were attached to a mounted infantry corps commanded by Colonel Ross, which consisted of Lumsden's Horse (240 men), Loch's Horse (220 men), West Riding and Oxford Light Infantry MI (220 men), and the 8th Battalion Regular MI (420 men).

On 29th April Ross received orders to make a demonstration against the Boer right, to draw them out, if possible, and allow Maxwell's Brigade to seize their position. Henry's Mounted Infantry were to co-operate. Lumsden's Horse occupied various spurs about 1500 yards from the Boer position; but the enemy moved out and took the offensive with vigour. Major Showers, who was exposing himself with rash bravery, was killed early in the action. So strong and determined was the enemy that Lumsden's men were ordered to retire. Lieutenant Crane, who with his section had been detached from Lieutenant Colonel Lumsden's command, did not receive this order. He and his men held on to the position which they were holding, and were cut off and captured. The casualties of the two squadrons in this their first engagement were most severe. Major Showers and 5 men were killed, and Lieutenant Crane and 5 non-commissioned officers and men were wounded. After the engagement, General Tucker complimented Lumsden's Horse, but 'rebuked' them for an exhibition of bravery which, he thought, bordered on rashness and the unnecessary courting of danger.

On 3rd May Lord Roberts commenced his advance to Pretoria. During this movement Lumsden's Horse scouted and skirmished in front of the right centre of the great army. At the Zand River on the 10th, at Viljoen's Drift on the Vaal on the 26th, and near Elandsfontein on the 29th, Ross's Mounted Infantry, including Lumsden's, did well, and their work was much praised by various correspondents. During the advance, and particularly after the Vaal was crossed, Lumsden's men had several casualties.

After the occupation of Pretoria, Lumsden's Horse were employed about Irene and at Springs, where they had the usual hard outpost work and some skirmishing. On 22nd July they marched into Pretoria and joined a force under Colonel Hickman, with whom they did some patrol work. About this time Lumsden's Horse left Colonel Ross, who issued an order in which he bestowed on them the highest possible compliments.

About the beginning of August the corps, now under Brigadier-General Mahon and General lan Hamilton, started on a march to Rustenburg, thence to the country north of Pretoria, and back to the capital, which was reached about the end of August. At Zilikat's Nek there was stiff fighting. Mahon was now ordered to make a forced march to Carolina. He arrived there on 6th September in order to co-operate with French in the march to Barberton.

Lumsden's Horse next took part in the march from Machadadorp to Heidelberg along with the other troops of Generals French and Mahon. After some very severe fighting Heidelberg was reached on 26th October, and the corps then marched to Pretoria.

On 23rd November Lumsden's Horse’s relatively short but action packed stay in South Africa was over - they left Pretoria for India with Lord Roberts telegraphing to the Viceroy expressing his 'appreciation of their excellent services', and stating: 'It has been a pride and a pleasure to me to have under my command a volunteer contingent which has so well upheld the honour of the Indian Empire'.

Though the records of active service with Lumsden’s Horse as a body closed when the corps left South Africa on December 6, 1900, many of its members fought on in the Transvaal with the same undaunted spirit that had quickened them and their comrades throughout, the same determination to be true to their old regimental motto, and ‘Play the Game.’ The following accounts of the affair at Benoni, in the Boksburg mining district, give a good idea of the fighting qualities of the Anglo-Indians who had won their spurs in Lumsden’s Horse:

At the beginning of December 1900 many of the gallant little band had enrolled themselves under Major-General Baden-Powell in the South African Constabulary (Kearsey, who had elected to join the ranks of the Johannesburg Police was one of this band of men), others again in the Rand Mounted Rifles under Mr. Henry, erstwhile Inspector-General of Police, Bengal, whose companies were then holding entrenched positions at different portions of the Rand. The one at Benoni for the protection of cattle, refugees, and the mines was deemed an important duty, as the neighbourhood had been in a very disturbed state for months past, and from time to time had been visited by small parties of Boers. These were always put to flight by the ordinary mounted patrols. But on Boxing Day at 4 A.M. the alarm was given that a strong force of Boers was in the vicinity. Immediate defensive measures were taken, and when a party of 100 of the enemy rode up to the Post Office, they were accorded a greeting very different from the Christmas one of ‘Peace and goodwill.’ They scuttled, but later a second party engaged the right flank of the police post. A second time they were compelled to retire, but Sergeant Walker (Lumsden’s Horse) was killed outright, a bullet entering his head in the region of the temple. He was the senior non-commissioned officer, and died bearing his responsibility nobly.

The command then devolved on Sergeant ‘Tim’ Lockhart, also of Lumsden’s Horse, who displayed great dash and courage, exposing himself at the most dangerous points, and thus inspiring his men to avenge poor Walker. In the meanwhile the Boers took up a very strong position on the left front, from which they harassed the gallant little body of defenders. Finding that rifle-fire was ineffective, the Boers brought a pom-pom and a Maxim to bear on the position, and considerable damage was done to the head-gear machinery of the mine. Lieutenant Evans, in command of a detachment of the Railway Pioneer Regiment, finding he could not relieve the brave fellows, despatched Trooper Tooley to Boksburg for reinforcements. The Boers, however, true to their traditions, were now effecting a hurried retirement, and to prevent a surprise Sergeant Lockhart sent out patrols (Troopers Granville, Kelly, and Lloyd-Jones—all of Lumsden’s Horse). Lloyd-Jones came to grief, falling from his horse and breaking his wrist, otherwise the movement was eminently successful.


Map showing New Kleinfontein Mine

The Boers were retiring in very good order, and succeeded in doing considerable damage to the New Kleinfontein and the New Chimes mines, held by Lieutenant Evans and twenty-three men. Sergeant Lockhart had, all told, eleven men, and two officers of the Intelligence Department and Mrs. Hunter, the wife of one of these gentlemen. The post consisted of twenty-three of all ranks, principally men of Lumsden’s Horse. Among them were ‘Tim Lockhart’—now blossomed into a Sergeant of Mounted Police—Walter Walker, Kelly, Arthur Nicholson, Jones, Harris, Bradford, Kearsey, Petersen, Grenville, and Tooley; the remainder being Railway Pioneer men. Their duty was to protect the mines from raids by Boer patrols, and it was in the head-gear of the mine workings that the defenders ensconced themselves when the attack was made.

Pom-pom, Maxim, and the rifle-fire of 300 Boers under Viljoen and Erasmus played merrily on them from 4.20 A.M. till afternoon, the pom-pom shells playing havoc with the wood and iron work of the head-gear, but without hurting anybody. It has been definitely ascertained that the Boers were 400 strong, and possessed a pom-pom and Maxim gun. Trooper Harris (Lumsden’s Horse) was responsible for the work of ‘entrenching the position,’ and his comrades testify to the creditable manner in which he executed his duty. Of the 1,400 head of cattle in the British laager, not a single one was taken. Viljoen was in command of the Boers.

The reinforcements under Lieutenant Wynyard Battye came up too late to render any immediate aid, but they pursued the retreating Boers as far as Springs. Between 2 and 3 in the afternoon relief came, but not until £300,000 worth of damage had been done to machinery and buildings near. The telegram given below speaks for itself, and it is pleasant reading that those of our fellows who stayed behind are continuing to play the game so well.

Telegram - To Officer Commanding Police, Boksburg, from Lord Kitchener, dated December 28, 1900.

‘Commander-in-Chief has heard with much pleasure of the successful defence of their post by the Police at Benoni against an attack by greatly superior numbers. He considers their gallant conduct does all ranks of their garrison the greatest credit. He much regrets the loss of their sergeant.’

This telegram, with flattering endorsements by the Military Secretary to the Commander-in-Chief and the Military Governor of Johannesburg, was ordered to be read to the men.

Another and fuller version is given in a letter to Colonel Lumsden by Trooper D. Morison, who writes:

Just to show how the reputation of the corps is being kept up and added to by those who remained in South Africa, I enclose an extract from a letter received a short while ago from Sergeant Renny, now serving in the Johannesburg M.M. Police. It gives an account of the heroic death of Sergeant Walker at Benoni last Boxing Day. Renny says: ‘On December 5, after a fortnight’s stay in Johannesburg, we were sent off in two parties to take up police duties. One company, consisting of nine men and Sergeant Walker, was sent to this place (Benoni), the other party going to Brakpan coal-mines, half-way between Boksburg and Springs. When we first came here there were four men of the Railway Pioneer Rifles, together with whom we formed the garrison. We are in charge of 1,300 head of cattle and sheep. We send out patrols every day and mount three guards every night. Our three guards are posted round the enclosure where the cattle are kept at night—one about 150 yards in front, one in an empty dynamite magazine about 250 yards in rear, and the third one is posted near where we sleep. We live in a corrugated iron room on the top of a gold dump, half-way up to heaven—that is, about 30 feet from the ground. A verandah runs round it which we have fortified with sandbags. We have also dug trenches all round the room, as a big body of Boers is reported to be in laager twenty miles from us—the same commando that paid us so much attention on French’s famous march. We had hardly settled down here before the Boers paid us a visit. On December 10th I was on guard with a Railway Pioneer Regiment man, and at 11.30 I suddenly heard the sound of whips, as if cattle were being driven out of the kraal. I immediately fired two shots in rapid succession. This had the desired effect of hurrying the Boers out of the kraal and at the same time of warning the other men. There was a small moon up and we could just distinguish a dark body of men. At this we fired as fast as we could load, and had the satisfaction of completely surprising the Boers, several of whom we hit. They had got all the cattle out of the kraal, but were in such a hurry to get away that they left these all behind. They exchanged a few shots when at a safe distance. But where their bullets went none of us know, as none came in our direction. After this they left us in peace till December 26th.

Reinforced after the first attack, we mustered twenty-seven guns on the morning of the 26th, a day never to be forgotten by the little garrison at Benoni. The Boers attacked us at 4.30 A.M. in large force, numbering over three hundred men, with two pom-poms and a Maxim. Those not on guard were in bed, when Tooley, who was outside the room, shouted that the Boers were on us. We rushed out as quickly as we could, and had just time to get into the trenches before a body of about fifty Boers charged down upon us in regular cavalry fashion. We waited till they were within 200 yards and then we gave them a volley which cooled their ardour a bit and sent them back in hot haste with a few of their saddles emptied. They then took up positions on mounds right round us and began to pour in a hot rifle-fire from ranges varying from 200 to 800 yards, using rifles of every description, even fowling pieces, as we heard several charges of buckshot scatter over us. Poor Walker, whom we all liked, exposed himself, and was shot immediately.

We returned their fire as well as we could, bowling over a good few, both horses and men. We exchanged rifle shots till 9 A.M., when, finding that they could not dislodge us, they brought their pom-poms and Maxim up, and for half an hour gave us as lively a time as we have ever had. Our room was riddled from top to bottom, any kit hanging on the walls being perforated. The noise of the shells going through the corrugated iron was most terrific and made us feel pretty queer. We had to lie low in our trenches, expecting shells to drop into the middle of us at any moment. The Boers crept closer under cover of the pom-poms, but luckily for us the supply of pom-pom ammunition gave out. Then rifle-fire recommenced and we soon drove them back to their original positions. They had fired whole belts of shells at us at a time. So you can imagine the lively time we had. Rifle-fire was kept up till 2 P.M., when the Boers decamped on seeing reinforcements arriving from Johannesburg and Boksburg. They burnt two mines and several dwelling-houses and looted the stores before they cleared out. We have had great praise for holding out so long—4.30 A.M. to 2 P.M.—and have received congratulatory telegrams from Lord Kitchener, Sir Alfred Milner, Colonel McKenzie, Governor of Johannesburg, and Colonel Davies, Military Commandant of Johannesburg. The Boers were led by Ben Viljoen, Hans Botha, and Erasmus.’ The names of men with Rennie were Nicholson, Kelly, G.D. Nicolay, Jones, Petersen, late of A Company; Harris, Grenville, Bradford, Kearsey, late of Transport; Tooley, of Loch’s horse.

Mr. E.R. Henry, lately commanding the Rand Mounted Rifles, writes thus to Sir P. Playfair, C.I.E.:
New Scotland Yard: July 31, 1901.

Dear Playfair,—You asked me last night to note down briefly some details of the attack on the Chimes West mine. Here are the facts as well as I remember them.

We had a Police post at this mine on the Rand about nine miles from Boksburg, a place you will find on all maps. Our force consisted of sixteen Railway Pioneer Regiment and nine Lumsden’s Horse, the latter under Sergeant Walker.

On the morning of December 26 this small force—which, by-the-by, was located in what I may term the first floor of the head-gear of the Chimes West mine—was attacked by 300 Boers, who had with them two pom-poms.

The Boers fired volleys, and a good many pom-pom shells went through the quarters occupied by Lumsden’s Horse. I saw dozens of shell-holes, not only through the iron sheets which formed the walls of their quarters, but also through the great wooden beams or baulks of a foot or more in diameter. From one of the earliest of these volleys Sergeant Walker was killed as he was kneeling behind a sandbag.

Our men were under fire for several hours, and, seeing that we were so greatly outnumbered, Tolley volunteered to ride through the Boers into Boksburg, a distance of nine miles, and did so—a gallant feat. Kelly, Grenville, and Jones volunteered to make a dash for a tailings or dump-heap, so as to enfilade the Boers. Kelly and Grenville got home, Jones’s horse fell, and he fractured his arm and lay there. Kelly and Grenville did excellent work from the tailings heap, and made it so uncomfortable for the Boers that they had to shift their position. I was there next day and met General Barton on the ground. On receipt of his report the Commander-in-Chief, Lord Kitchener, wired us the following message: ‘Congratulate Police on gallant defence Benoni. Deplore loss of their sergeant.’ Lord Kitchener is temperate in praise, so I take it his commendation meant much. I understand that three of the men whose names I have given above have been since mentioned in despatches on account of their behaviour on December 26th.”

As can be seen, Kearsey was in on the action – one of many such skirmishes which punctuated the guerilla phase of the war and one which, were it not for official reports and letters written, would be long forgotten by those who weren’t present.

The end of the war came on the 31 May 1902. Kearsey was awarded the Queens Medal with Cape Colony, Orange Free State and Johannesburg clasps. This was awarded to him off the roll (undated) signed by Colonel Lumsden. Evidently miffed by the fact that his medal was impressed to the rank of Driver he, at some point as his military career progressed, rather crudely removed any trace of it.

Having taken a liking to his surroundings, Kearsey stayed on in South Africa and was still in the Transvaal in 1905 when, as a Sergeant, he applied for six months vacation from the Johannesburg Police.

At some point Kearsey returned to India. It was here that we find him at the outbreak of the Great War on 4 August 1914. Some twelve years after the last bullet was fired in anger in far away South Africa, the world found itself at war once more – this time on a much larger, global scale. As was the case with the Boer War – regiments were sent from all over the Empire to assist the United Kingdom in the war with Germany. There were many fronts on which to fight, Turkey, or the Ottoman Empire, and an ally of the Kaiser’s being one of them. Another was East Africa where men toiled under the combined weight of enemy action and the ever-present pestilence occasioned by mosquitos and an unhealthy and humid tropical climate.

In August 1914 the Volunteer units of the Indian Defence Force were recruited from white and mixed-race members of the civilian community whose expectations were that they would only be used operationally within India for local or home defence. However, on the declaration of war, several members of Volunteer units wished to serve overseas and their willingness allowed the Indian authorities to assemble three units for service in East Africa. An artillery battery, a Maxim Gun Company and a railway defence section were dispatched along with a few specialists such as signallers.

Kearsey was assigned no. 22 and the rank of Corporal with the Nagpur Volunteer Rifles - serving with No.2 Section of the Indian Volunteer Maxim Gun Company. Fortunately for the reader the Public Records Office in London holds the War Diary of this unit, allowing one to follow its progress from formation to return to India. Authority was given to form the unit on 12 September 1914 and the headquarters of The Bombay Volunteers was chosen to be the assembly point. Captain FN James, 104th Rifles and Adjutant of The Bombay Volunteers, was selected to command the new company and Sergeant Major AA Wale, a British Army instructor with the Bombay Volunteers was selected as the Company Sergeant Major. On 15 September, two Maxims, 16 machine gun mules with saddlery and six drabies (men who tended the mules) were sent to Bombay from Jhansi, followed a day later by a similar party from Rawalpindi. The saddlery was new and panels had to be stuffed and holes punched into straps.


Maxim Gun at Maktau in German East Africa

Volunteers arrived for attestation from The Bangalore Rifle Volunteers and the Bombay, Lucknow, Mussoorie and Nagpur Volunteer Rifles. The men were equipped with rifles and 1903 pattern bandolier equipment, issued with mekometers (range finders), field glasses, ammunition and tentage and sent to embark on the MT Bandra on 18 September. The naval convoy sailed 48 hours later and a daily training routine of physical training, gun instruction and instrument skills commenced. In the evenings lectures were given to non-commissioned officers and first aid skills were practised. Most of the men were unfamiliar with the Maxim; one range practice had been fired in Bombay and now the guns were fired over the side of the ship. Medical inoculations were brought up to date.

The Company was organized into four sections. The Section Commanders were 2nd Lieut. H. Agrup (Bombay), Lieut EA Macnee (Nagpur), Sergeant WJ Cockle (Punjab) and Lieut CH Tresham (Mussoorie). Each section contained 18 non-commissioned officers and men. On 3 October disembarkation commenced in Kilindini Harbour, Mombasa, where the Company was split into two groups: Nos 3 and 4 Sections entrained for Nairobi and then moved to the GEA border area south of Nairobi, whilst Nos. 1 and 2 Sections and Company HQ were trans-shipped to the SS Duplex for operations at Gazi near the German East Africa border.

They were soon to see action - two German field companies had moved up the coastline from Tanga in German East Africa with the intention of attacking Mombasa. Arab and African troops of the British forces had blunted this assault but the enemy was still probing through the coconut plantations around Gazi. After being landed from lighters the Volunteers quickly came into action and learned how to fire bursts into trees and clumps of bush to clear out concealed enemy soldiers. CSM Wale, a renowned rifle shot, exposed himself to an enemy sniper in order to locate him, and then brought him out of a tree with one shot. But the Germans were not the only enemy on this insect-ridden coastline. By the end of November half the Company was sick with fever. Captain James appealed for his men to be withdrawn as the enemy had retreated towards German East Africa and in early December Nos. 1 and 2 Sections were moved from the coast to Nairobi which is situated 5,500 feet above sea level.

The Nairobi climate proved beneficial, but was only enjoyed for a fortnight. A new battle on the coast sent Nos. 1 and 2 Sections back down to Mombasa and finally to the Umba Valley on the German East Africa border - one of the most unhealthy locations in British East Africa. Two .450 Maxims were given to the Company for this action, complete with carriage mounts. The guns seldom fired in anger as the enemy had withdrawn again, and the two sections were back in Nairobi in mid-February. Fever was thinning out the ranks and men were medically evacuated to India in March 1915, a replacement draft arriving from the Cawnpore Rifle Volunteers. The Company was now reorganized into three Sections.

During 1915, detachments of the Company supported operations in the Lake Victoria and Kilimanjaro areas, and manned their Maxims as train guards on the Uganda Railway which was being targeted by enemy demolition parties. Two Volunteers were commissioned into the Indian Army Reserve of Officers and joined Indian Army units in East Africa: 2nd Lieut (former Sgt) SH Kearsey (Nagpur) joined the 63rd Palamcottah Light Infantry on 11 August 1915. Kearsey’s new outfit were mainly deployed in guarding bridges and other installations in the East African theatre before being repatriated to India. The Hospital Admissions book for East Africa records that he was admitted to the 19th General Hospital, Alexandria, Egypt on 19 June 1916 with Chronic Malaria. A note appears under the Remarks column that he was sent to England, via Bombay aboard the Hospital Ship “Assaye”.

The war ended on 11 November 1918 but Kearsey carried on in uniform serving in Mesopotamia from October 1919 until December 1920. Why was he there? After the war territories that formed part of the old Ottoman Empire were placed under British Administration until it was decided what to do with them. Discontent with British rule materialised in May 1920 with the onset of mass meetings and demonstrations in Baghdad. The start of the revolution was centred on peaceful protests against British rule. There were large gatherings at both Sunni and Shia mosques, which showed that cooperation between the two main sects of Iraqi society was possible.

An armed revolt broke out in late June 1920. Ayatollah al-Shirazi issued another fatwa which read, "It is the duty of the Iraqis to demand their rights. In demanding them they should maintain peace and order. But if the English prevent them from obtaining their rights it is permitted to make use of defensive force." This seemed to encourage armed revolt.

Kearsey was stationed at Kirkuk with the 2/119 Infantry, seconded to the Mesopotamian Police where, on 22 August, Ibrahim Khan, one of the leaders of the Dalw clan, went with his companions to ascend to the top of Jabal Baba Shah Sawar, overlooking the city of Kafri, and opened fire on the governmental Sarai in the town. The assistant of the town's ruler, Captain Salmon, went himself to the mountain to negotiate with Ibrahim Khan, and as soon as the former arrived at the mountain, he was surprised by the rebels arresting him. The rebels attacked the town and occupied the governmental Sarai and took down the British flag. As soon as the news of the occupation of the town by the rebels reached Kirkuk's ruler, Major Lunkerk, he moved with his army towards the town. After a bloody battle, the British forces conquered the town and restored order.

For his efforts Kearsey was awarded the General Service Medal with Iraq clasp.

On his return to India, Kearsey joined the Indian Police, being appointed to the Service on 12 November 1921 as Assistant District Superintendent, Central Provinces, with the rank of Captain. He held appointments in various places – Balaghat, Hoshangabad, Narsinghpur, Damoh and Saugor to name a few – over the years, culminating in his retirement on 11 January 1936. It was soon after this that he decided to retrace his earlier footsteps – returning to live in South Africa and sailing from Liverpool, at the age of 56, on 27 August 1938 in order to effect this purpose.

A life-long bachelor, he tied the marital knot on 30 March 1943 in the presence of a Magistrate in Johannesburg. Rather bizarrely his age is given as 50 (whereas we know him to have been 61 years old). His wife, Evelyn Gertrude Smith, a 29 year old Nurse, was living at 85 Kilkenny Road, Parkview, Johannesburg whilst he was described as Retired and living at Parkdown Mans., Jan Smuts Avenue, Johannesburg.

Any doubt that there was still life in the old dog was dispelled with the birth of the couple’s first child, Pamela Anne Phyllis, on 5th June 1943. Mrs Kearsey must have been heavily pregnant at the time of her nuptials nine weeks earlier. By the time of her baptism in October 1943 the Kearsey family had moved to Umkomaas on the South Coast of Natal. A second child, Elizabeth Margaret Joyce, was born at Umkomaas on 17 August 1945.

Continuing with the deception with respect to his age, something his family were possibly unaware of, Kearsey passed away ay Grey’s Hospital in Pietermaritzburg on 3 December 1957 – allegedly at the age of 65 with his birth given as 6 May 1892 – fully ten years after his actual birth date. The cause of death was “Left Pleurisy with Effusion due to Non-Haemolytic Streptococus.” Described as a Retired Police Officer – India, he was resident at “Nurae”, Alexander Road, Pietermaritzburg. He had an estate of £126.18s in England.

Acknowledgements:
- Pearse, History of Lumsden’s Horse
- Stirling, Colonial in South Africa in the Boer War
- Fecitt, Harry - Indian Volunteers in the Great War East African Campaign
- Ancestry for Medal Rolls etc.
- Familysearch for India baptism etc.