He was born on the 21st of July, 1868, emigrated to Canada some time between 1906-09, and died in Victoria, British Columbia, on the 2nd December 1955, being cremated there. He may have met "Breaker" Morant during the war.
....Much interest has been shown in North Devon in the volunteering for the Imperial Yeomanry about to proceed to South Africa, and in connection with which there was an important parade of men and horses at Barnstaple last Thursday.
....The following unattached men were also enrolled :—
[including] Morant, F. G., Torrington, aged 30. Mr. F. G. Morant, from London, has been a member of the British South African Police and also a member of the Cape Mounted Police.
....The surprise of Thursday was provided by a stranger who volunteered for service. The man gave a name and said he was born in a certain part of North Devon, but beyond that nothing more could be elicited from him. His reticence and general demeanour excited great suspicion. He was, indeed, regarded as a Boer spy, and was rejected. Attempts to enlist on the part of Boer spies have been chronicled in other parts of the country; but a similar occurrence was hardly expected at Barnstaple, although the authorities are proving that they are fully on the alert. Thursday's incident at Barnstaple passed off very quietly, and up to the present the matter is known to very few persons.
North Devon Journal, Thursday 11th January 1900
ALLEGED TREASON BY A YEOMANRY OFFICER.
.
REPORTED ARREST IN HAMPSHIRE.
....The Press Association Bournemouth correspondent telegraphed as follows on Tuesday night :—"The Bournemouth Directory" states : We hear that a well-known Hampshire gentleman, a member of a leading county family, has been placed under military arrest, and is now on his way to Pretoria, there to answer to one of the most serious charges that can possibly be laid against him—that of treasonable intercourse with his Majesty's enemies. As far as we are at present able to gather two military officers specially detailed for that purpose came down to the New Forest, and after an unsuccessful quest in one quarter, due apparently to inadequate information as to family connections, proceeded to another town, and there found the gentleman of whom they were in search. They explained the purpose of their visit, and their prisoner had to accompany them. According to our information they went direct to the railway station, and thence to Southampton, where their prisoner was detained till Saturday, when he embarked for the Cape, en route for Pretoria, where he will be put upon his trial by general Court-martial, the charge against him being that, while serving as a Yeomanry olficer, he conveyed information of very material importance to the King's enemies. The evidence in support of the charge is said to be contained in letters found amongst correspondence left behind when ex-President Steyn made his hurried flight.
The Gloucester Citizen, Wednesday 14th August 1901
GRAVE ALLEGATIONS.
....The "Bournemouth Directory" has stated this week that a Hampshire gentleman, a member of a county family, has been placed under military arrest, and is now on his way to Pretoria, there to answer one of the most serous charges that can possibly be laid against him: that of treasonable intercourse with His Majesty's enemies.
....An Exchange Telegraph Company's Southampton telegram says : The "Southern Echo" states that the reports published with regard to the arrest of Trooper Morant, of Brockenhurst, for alleged high treason are greatly exaggerated. Morant was charged with cowardice before a Reitfontein court-martial but not sentenced. He returned to England on pass, and is now at Shorncliffe. It is expected that he will shortly return to Brockenhurst.
....The Press Association says : With regard to the reported arrest of a Hampshire Yeoman, the "Southern Echo" states that the charge of treachery is false. The trooper in question has been taken to Shorncliffe by a corporal and private. He was court-martialled eight months ago, but sentence was not then pronounced, and he came to England on pay. The charge against him is as to cowardice at Reitfontein. In this engagement the horses stampeded and ten troopers, including this one, were pursued by the enemy and cut off, being thus unable to rejoin the column.
The Manchester Courier, Saturday 17th August 1901
Unfounded Charge Against a Trooper.
.
....The "Bournemouth Daily Echo" says :—"We are pleased to hear that the trooper who was about a fortnight ago conveyed from Brockenhurst to Shorncliffe by a military escort for the purpose of investigating a charge against him of cowardice at Liliefontein has been fully exonerated, and released."
The Sheffield Daily Telegraph, Saturday 31st August 1901
Ancestry, which I can't access, has a record of disciplinary action taken against an F. G. Morant.
H. H. "Breaker" Morant claimed to be related to the Morant family of Brockenhurst Park. From "Breaker Morant: The Final Round-up" by Joe West and Roger Roper—"Flora Morant's second son was serving in the Imperial Yeomanry in South Africa. Francis George Morant enlisted in Barnstaple, Devon, on 4 January 1900 describing himself as aged 30 with previous service in the Cape Mounted Rifles and British South African Police. He declared he had a tattoo of a snake on his right arm, a lady and dagger on his left arm and the royal coat of arms on his chest. He was discharged on 23 September 1901 and presumably returned to England. The Breaker wrote a will the night before he died and bequeathed his Mauser rifle to Francis Morant of Brockenhurst Park, Hampshire, England. Thus he must have met Francis during his time in South Africa and discovered the address of the Morant family. It is not known if Francis received the rifle and there is no record of it. Francis, the second son, would not inherit anything of the estate so he went off to Canada and made a new life there. His son, Nicholas, became a very successful and much published photographer with the Canadian Pacific Railway."
www.google.com/search?q=Breaker+Morant%3...3tA1wQ4dUDCAk&uact=5
He was the captain of Ringwood Cricket Club, Hampshire, between 1902-1906, and also turned out in Brockenhurst Park's occasional matches.
....The marriage was celebrated on the 23rd of July, at Quebec, of Mr. Francis George Morant, younger son of the late Mr. John Morant, of Brockenhurst Park, and Miss Mary Catherine Edith Wylde, only daughter of Mr. E. M. Wylde, K.C., M.G.
The Western Gazette, Friday 13th August 1909
Nicholas Morant was born at Kamloops, British Columbia, in 1910, and died in Calgary on the 29th of June 1999. There's a record of at least one photo of Francis which was taken by his son.
archives.whyte.org/en/permalink/descriptions19220
