TOPIC:

I have wondered why the name Rand Rifles was chosen. Was this because the scope of the unit's area was more Witwatersrand than just Johannesburg? The authorities chose a different path from when they named the Namaqualand Town Guard.

Interestingly the Pietersburg Town Guard were also issued clasps in error, Tr and mostly SA02.

A zoomed out view of the Town Guards in Cape Colony, Bechuanaland and Griqualand.

A list of medal-issuing Town Guards sorted alphabetically by area/state:

Cape Colony, Bechuanaland and Griqualand

Aberdeen Town Guard
Adelaide Town Guard
Alexandria Town Guard
Alice Town Guard
Alicedale Town Guard
Aliwal North Town Guard
Barkly East Town Guard
Barkly West Town Guard
Beaufort West Town Guard
Bedford Town Guard
Bluecliff/Glenconnor
Britstown Town Guard
Burghersdorp Town Guard
Cala Town Guard
Campbell Town Guard
Carnarvon Town Guard
Cathcart Town Guard
Ceres Town Guard
Clanwilliam Town Guard
Colesberg Town Guard
Cookhouse Town Guard
Cradock Town Guard
Cyphergat Town Guard
Daniel's Kuil Town Guard
Darling Town Guard
De Aar Town Guard
Dordrecht Town Guard
Douglas Town Guard
Durban Road Town Guard
Fort Beaufort Town Guard
Fraserburg Road Town Guard
Fraserburg Town Guard
George Town Guard
Graaff Reinet Town Guard
Grahamstown Town Guard
Hanover Town Guard
Hope Town Town Guard
Humansdorp Town Guard
Indwe Town Guard
Jamestown Town Guard
Jansenville Town Guard
Keimoes Town Guard
Kenhardt Town Guard
Kimberley Town Guard
King William's Town Town Guard
Klipdam Town Guard
Knysna Town Guard
Kokstad Town Guard
Komgha Town Guard
Kuruman Town Guard
Ladismith Town Guard
Lady Grey Town Guard
Laingsburg Town Guard
Mafeking Town Guard
Malmesbury Town Guard
Maraisburg Town Guard
Middelburg Town Guard
Middleton Town Guard
Molteno Town Guard
Montagu Town Guard
Mossel Bay Town Guard
Naauwpoort Town Guard
Namaqualand Town Guard
Oudtshoorn Town Guard
Paarl Town Guard
Pearston Town Guard
Petrusville Town Guard
Piquetberg Road Town Guard
Piquetberg Town Guard
Port Elizabeth Town Guard
Port Nolloth Town Guard
Prieska Town Guard
Prince Albert Road Town Guard
Prince Albert Town Guard
Queenstown Town Guard
Richmond Town Guard
Riversdale Town Guard
Robertson Town Guard
Rosmead Town Guard
Sandflats Town Guard
Somerset East Town Guard
Springbokfontein Town Guard
Stellenbosch Town Guard
Steynsburg Town Guard
Steytleville Town Guard
Sutherland Town Guard
Swellendam Town Guard
Tarkastad Town Guard
Touws River Town Guard
Uitenhage Town Guard
Upington Town Guard
Victoria West Town Guard
Vryburg Town Guard
Warrenton Town Guard
Wellington Town Guard
Willowmore Town Guard
Windsorton/Wedberg
Worcester Town Guard

Natal

Dundee Town Guard
Ladysmith Town Guard
Newcastle Town Guard

Orange Free State

Bethulie Town Guard
Boshof Town Guard
Brandfort Town Guard
Edenburg Town Guard
Fauresmith Town Guard
Jagersfontein Town Guard
Ladybrand Town Guard

Transvaal

Barberton Town Guard
Klerksdorp Town Guard
Pietersburg Town Guard
Potchefstroom Town Guard
Zeerust Town Guard

Thank You very much David...… This will clear up a lot of questions as to where and how many..... A great piece of work and research..... Thanks Again.....

Mike

Hello David,
Yes indeed, I would think because the particular area that they were responsible for did have a great deal to do with it, after all, you had the "Rand Rifles Mine Guard" it is interesting to note that not every member received a medal and of those who did, in many cases the medal was named to another unit, without any cross referencing whatsoever.

The annotation upon the roll of the Pietersburg TG roll is particularly interesting as it certainly suggests that recipients were formally asked to hand over their medals, in order their clasps could be removed.

In the case of the VHV, a unit that I have always admired, whilst the error is noted upon their roll, there appears no further annotation to suggest that the provisional administration in Johannesburg made any attempt to recover those Transvaal clasp actually issued, notwithstanding, this was a note, clearly written, which made it quite clear that no future issues were to be made.
Regards Frank

djb wrote: I have wondered why the name Rand Rifles was chosen. Was this because the scope of the unit's area was more Witwatersrand than just Johannesburg? The authorities chose a different path from when they named the Namaqualand Town Guard.

Interestingly the Pietersburg Town Guard were also issued clasps in error, Tr and mostly SA02.

I am at the National Archives today looking for Wepener attestation papers primarily but I also had a look at a series of maps showing British and Boer disposition by week from December 1901 onwards.

This excerpt of the area around PE shows the locations of, for example, Bluecliff and Glenconnor and also the number of troops stationed there. A check against the rolls shows the numbers are good estimates. As an example, the roll the the Steyleville TG ( angloboerwar.com/unit-information/town-g.../2635-steytlevilletg ) lists 131 names. In December 1901, the map shows a force of 102. It would be expected that the force at any moment in time would be lower than the number on the roll.