TOPIC:

1. Did the 18 month qualification period for the KSA include the journey time out and back?

2. Is there a photo of the grave in Lindley Cemetery of Trooper 4160 Rowland Pearson Rogers? – as his family were very well heeled I would imagine it warrants a photograph.

3. Is it known what the 115th (Sharpshooters) Company & the 120th (Younghusband’s Horse) Company of the Imperial Yeomanry did in the war?

Four members of the first contingent of the 30th Company (Pembrokeshire), 9th (Welsh) Battalion stayed on and served with the New Pembrokeshire Imperial Yeomanry as the second contingent were often called.

Two others came home and then enlisted in another IY Company. Both carried their original service number forward with them. They were:

4136 Walter Burden, who attested for the second time in London on 25/11/1901 for service in the 120th (Younghusband’s Horse) Company, 26th Battalion. He sailed to South Africa on 08/02/1902, making him third contingent (or should I say second contingent as Younghusband’s Horse were not raised until 1901?), and on 18/07/1902 he was discharged at his own request in South Africa where he wished to become a Hairdresser. I think he must have eventually returned to the UK because on the 1939 Register I can find a Walter Burden of the right age and occupation “Hairdresser”, living in Willesden, London. He started out life in the rather delightful Cotswold town of Chipping Norton. His father worked as a carpenter/joiner in the Bliss Tweed Mill whose chimney, now redundant, still dominates the skyline. The mill has been converted into luxury apartments whose selling prices I suspect rival London prices. Walter, when he attested for the first and second times gave his occupation as “Valet” and presumably worked for a local well healed family, thus gaining his hairdressing skills. His second service added the South Africa 1902 clasp to his QSA but did not qualify him for the KSA. I reckon his South Africa war service (including two journeys there and one back) totalled 1 year and 153 days – so his lack of the KSA seems in order.

4160 Rowland Pearson Rogers, who attested for the second time on 06/09/1901 (i.e. a month after he was discharged from his first service) at Chester for service in 115th Company (Sharpshooters), 25th Battalion. He sailed for the second time to South Africa on 16/09/1901 making him second contingent. On 09/02/1902 he died of peritonitis at Lindley. His second service again added the South Africa 1902 clasp to his QSA but again he was not awarded a KSA. However, I reckon his South Africa war service (including two journeys there and one back) at 1 year 231 days – this would qualify for the KSA.

So, am I in error and the journey times were not included in the calculation of the eighteen qualifying months for the KSA? In the service records I have the South Africa service dates start with embarkation for South Africa and end with disembarkation in the UK. That would mean the existence of a separate set of more detailed records for awarding the KSA.

Rowland was at the other end of the social scale to Walter. His father was the leading corn broker in Liverpool and in 1881 he, his wife and nine children had eight servants caring for their well-being, whereas Walter became a servant. He was buried in Lindley Cemetery and presumably, as the family were so well healed, his grave stands out – are there any known photographs? – FindaGrave has a write-up on him but no photo of the grave.

Finally, I can find nothing about what the 115th & 120th Companies of the Imperial Yeomanry did in the war. Can anybody help on that?

Smethwick
Regarding your question regarding activities of 115th and 120th Coy's., I.Y. , both The Times History and the Official History (Maurice) are mute. However, falling back on SAFF, the 115th Coy., I.Y. was a component of the 25th Bn., I.Y. and that Bn. as a whole, incurred over a dozen casualties in contact with the enemy at Steenkop (CC?) on 26/4/1902.
The 120th Coy. I.Y. was a component of the 26th Bn., I.Y. and that Bn as a whole sustained several casualties at Kalkfontein on 19/4/1902.
Post war, I understand that the I.Y. took part in the rounding up of their former enemies and the numerous duties associated with that task.
Regarding the qualifications for the KSA, BBM (7th edition) says it was awarded for service in SA on or after 1 January 1902 and for those who had completed 18 months service before 1st June 1902. Periods of convalescence could count but service had to be a total of 18 months. Nothing there about service including journeys there and back.
Regards
IL.

Smethwick,

Your query about travel time is interesting. The service papers for soldiers always always show contiguous dates.



I have worked on the assumptions that a) travel time to the new post is includes in the time period for that post and b) the KSA entitlement calculations use these dates to determine eligibility.

I remember a post from a few years ago of a man who just missed out on his KSA by a few days. I will search for that as it may confirm assumption 2.

Best wishes
David

David,

This statement from the Important Decisions Book would appear to validate assumption 2 because it states that the voyage home for invalids is to be counted towards their entitlement to the KSA.

www.angloboerwar.com/forum/15-important-...-book/660-re-ksa#713

Best wishes
David

IL – Many thanks for the useful info.

115th - Unfortunately by 26th April 1902 Rowland Pearson Rogers was no more having succumbed to peritonitis in February. However, I have now found reports in newspapers across the land reporting an action he would probably have been involved in – 16th December 1901 at Schuttesdraal, 15 miles NW of Senekal. The 115th & 117th Companies of the IY held the right flank during an encounter with 500 Boers led by Commandant Haasbroek. As you can see below, the 10th Battalion of the Mounted Infantry, who held the left flank, received the glory. Haasbroek was shot through the head and body. The Times History opined that De Wet suffered “a serious loss in the death of the brave Commandant Haasbroek”.




26th Btn – A newspaper search shows they were also known as “Younghusband’s Veteran’s Corps”. They sailed to SA on the Braemer Castle, 400 strong and arrived the end of February 1902. They seem to get a lot of mentions in the newspapers which I am still deciphering.

I wrongly reported Rowland’s father as a corn broker, he was actually a Liverpool cotton broker and appears to have been top dog. He died in 1891 which was probably just as well as they opened the Manchester Ship Canal two years later. I have found Rowland’s death notice in a Liverpool paper which describes him as “the tenth and beloved son of Fletcher Rogers Esq. of this city”. The 1881 Census return lists 8 sons and 1 daughter, 2 of the sons are younger than Rowland. So assuming no infancy deaths they could have fielded a cricket team plus twelfth man with Emma to keep the score or, these days, keep wicket.

David – when I first attacked “my” Smethwickians who served for about 3 dozen different regiments I became confused about what the service dates on the Military History Sheet exactly meant. Since I have focussed on “my” Pembrokeites, who all served for the same unit and found a good number of newspapers reports referring to their activities, I have achieved clarity.



The above man, along with 43 others, boarded the S.S. Montrose at Liverpool on 14th March 1900 and she set sail the same day. Likewise, he arrived at Southampton on 8th July 1901 and disembarked the same day. Although his South Africa service is listed as 1 year and 117 days he only spent 1 year and 60 days in South Africa. The journey out went well and lasted 24 days but coming back took 33 days and resulted in a short newspaper article complaining about the performance of the Castle Liners. In this case how you allot the days at sea does not matter as he had fulfilled his original contract with Monarch & Country and had no aspirations for a KSA.

I think both your example and mine suggest there were more detailed records available to the person who completed the extant records which have both been completed retrospectively in two blocks by different hands.