TOPIC:

Hi
I have a GG-Uncle who served with Kitchener's Fighting Scouts.
I have found information on the corps but I'm curious to know why he would join Kitchener's Fighting Scouts rather than a Victorian unit being raised around the same time.
Unit information on this site states Kitchener's Fighting Scouts was raised in December 1900, being recruited in Cape Colony and Natal and his enlistment states he enlisted at Salisbury.
What does this really mean for a farmer from Mortlake, Victoria, Australia?
Cheers
Ross

Ross
Welcome to the Forum.
It must be remembered that many if not all of the Colonial Australian (and indeed, Commonwealth) units raised for South African service were the subject of balloting. In other words, no matter if a would-be recruit for VMR met the demanding selection process, he still had to win in the ballot to enlist. Failing the ballot, men apparently travelled to other Colonies/post 1901 States in OZ to try their luck. And it is very probable that many men took an "indulgence passage" on transport ships as a horse handler and the like- and enlisted at whatever recruiting station at the Cape or elsewhere was open.
What does that really mean for a farmer from Mortlake, Victoria, Australia? Well, it really means that he travelled to SA for his own reasons under his own steam and enlisted for very active service in a crack Colonial Horse unit. Your GG-uncle probably had some exciting tales to tell on his return to Victoria.
Regards
IL.

Many thanks for the reply.
I wasn't even entirely sure that "Salisbury" meant "Salisbury, South Australia".
It's a fair old journey from Mortlake back in the day.
So possibly missed out on the ballot in Victoria, so travelled to Salisbury to try his luck there.
Would that have been a general application and he's been allocated to Kitcheners Fighting Scouts or would he have specifically applied for Kitcheners Fighting Scouts?
I see South Australia are also enlisting for mounted troops at the same time so it's still not clear to me how he ended up in that unit.
Cheers
Ross

Ross
People travelled quite extensively in the days of the Old Empire. In my own collection, I have an example where a Canadian chap apparently travelled to South Africa under his own steam (i.e., not as part of an official contingent) and ended up in the Corps of Cattle Rangers. As well, quite a number of American citizens travelled to South Africa presumably looking for adventure or a fight, So, finding that a Colonial Australian ended up in any of the irregular mounted units would not have been any surprise at the time. Perhaps your GG-uncle travelled to South Africa, ended up at Salisbury, Rhodesia, and fancied the title "Kitchener's Fighting Scouts" - we will never know for sure.
Regards
IL.