TOPIC:

Phillip (Philip) Sidney (Sydney) Palmer was born late 1880 in the village of Barton-under-Needwood near Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire where his father, Clement, was the local Doctor/General Practitioner.

He served initially with the 6th (Staffordshire) Company, 4th Battalion Imperial Yeomanry but returned early and was discharged, under special authority, during March 1901.

He returned to SA and served in the SAC and appears on two of their medal rolls. The first dated 30/09/1901 and headed “Reserve Division, SAC”. On this his regimental number is given as RD365. The second dated 08/10/1903 and headed “SAC Northern Transvaal”, on which his regimental number is given as 1146.

He married a Harriett Isabella Harford Wheatley in Pretoria in February 1904 and they had 3 children all born in SA. Ernest Ambrose b 1901 Johannesburg, Phillip Francis Daniel b 1906 Barberton, Transvaal & Kathleen Louise b 1909 Johannesburg. I think Kathleen’s birth might have done for her mother as she was dead by the time of the 1911 Census and Phillip had dumped his 3 children in England.

He then went to the Solomon Islands from whence he enlisted in the AIF and served on the Western Front (I have downloaded a mass of paperwork to do with his WW1 service). After the war he returned to the Solomon Islands where in 1939 he was to suffer one of the most gruesome deaths I have come across – some would say not entirely undeserved.

If anybody could oblige with Phillip’s SAC attestation and discharge papers I would be extremely grateful. Marriage certificate, children’s birth certificates would also be of interest but not so important.

Regards & thanks for reading, David.

Hello David,

The SAC papers are in Pretoria and not digitised. The best way I have found to access them is via Rhino Research for a fee.

Best wishes
David

Hello David,

I think that this is your man. He was awarded a badge for gallantry.

















Regards
Adrian

Adrian many, many thanks. Definitely my man. Full write up to follow in due course. Best regards, David,

Good Evening Smethwick......

I am sure that you have seen this thread......

www.angloboerwar.com/forum/5-medals-and-...lantry-badge?start=0

Mike

Mike - I am still analysing the 14 pages of "South African Paperwork" Adrian sent me - I have used inverted commas because at least two were completed in England. These are the two pieces I have found, so far, which refer to Phillip's gallantry:





A Gallantry award brings the word hero to mind but it should be realised he was also a flawed character. He took his 3 children back to England when the youngest (Kathleen) was only 6 months old. The 1911 Census found the boys living with his eldest brother, I have yet to find Kathleen on that Census but on the 1921 Census she was living with her interesting spinster Aunt, Annie Wheatley. The boys cannot be found on the 1921 Census because Phillip had retrieved them and taken them to the Solomon Islands to help him on his Coconut Plantation. On good authority, he worked them so hard they both fled and never spoke or saw their father again. He learnt about running a Coconut Plantation from his brother-in-law Harry Wheatley who, again on good authority, summarily executed any Islanders who got in his way and played one set of missionaries off against the others, not for religious reasons but for his own ends.

Anyway, do I have your permission to use the photo of the gallantry badge you possess in my final write up, with due acknowledgement of course.

I am just about to add some Thank Yous to some of the later pages of your post and copy your list of the 80+ Gallantry Badge winners.

Best regards, David.