TOPIC:

How would one go about getting their hands on Attestation papers and discharge papers for a colonial boer war regiment? Would it be possible to get them for a whole regiment?

It depends on the regiment...… All the Canadian are on line and I think but don't quote me the Australian and possibly New Zealand records are as well.....

Mike

Looking to get for my Driscoll Scouts collection.

The New Zealand records are on line and quite detailed. Unfortunately the Australian records are held by the UK Archives, they may well be on line but I am unaware who with.

Jim

Mike and Jim
The whereabouts of the enlistment papers for the various Colonial Australian contingents has been a question for ages. Some of the contingents were financed by the Imperial Government; the Imperial Bushmen. Collectors who have been in the QSA game longer than IL have opined that the enlistment papers for the IB may well be in the UniK. One might think that the records of the Colonial-Government-financed Australian contingents would reside in the various State archives. That appears not to be the case. Some papers concerning the NSWIB - IL's current interest - do reside in the NSW State Archives; not digitised, those records concern themselves with operational details and not individual members.
To illustrate the difficulty of establishing a paper trail for Colonial Australian enlistment documents, it must be realised that the Australian Colonies federated in 1901 and sometime later the records of the Colonial military establishments were transferred to the Commonwealth. I am sure that I have mentioned that several times previous. The records may reside deep in the archives in Melbourne. Of course, they would not be digitised. So far, there has not been a concentrated effort to establish their location - or, indeed, whether they exist.
However, all is not necessarily lost. The OZ-Boer database has used many sources to cross-index details of many Colonial and Commonwealth Horse enlistees. That database is highly recommended.
Regarding Driscoll's Scouts, that unit was raised in SA (see Unit Information on this site; together with their nominal roll index) - and some Colonial Australians in SA at the time - may well have enlisted during its currency..
Regards
IL.

Hi
Thanks for the info. However I was not asking from an Australian perspective. I am only interested in the Driscoll Scouts, no matter where the men may come from. On occasion when buying a QSA medal to the regiment/unit I get an attestation papers or discharge papers. What I am asking is where would I find these and how would I go about getting them.