Brierfield is a former cotton mill and coal mining town situated in East Lancashire, between Burnley and Nelson. The war memorial has the name of one man from Brierfield who died in South Africa during the ABW - J. W. Slater.
However, there's another name which should be on the memorial, that of 5664 Private Henry Bowman, of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, who was killed at Modder River on 28th November 1899, aged 24.
A BRIERFIELD SOLDIER KILLED.
....President Kruger's threat, before the commencement of the Boer war, that England would have to pay a price that should stagger humanity is to a certain extent being realised, and of the toll of British life which is at present being levied by Boer Commandoes. Brierfield has paid its share, in the person of Private H. Bowman, of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. Private Bowman was the eldest of a numerous family living in Brierfield, and his father will be well remembered as a member of the county police force. His son, Henry, who has found a soldier's honourable grave in far-off Cape Colony, was born about 24 years ago, and was, when he met his death from a casual Boer's bullet, in the very flower of a very vigorous manhood. Until his twentieth year, Bowman followed the occupation of a weaver and was exceedingly well-known in this district. He was a steady youth, with a taste for quiet study, not unmingled with a leaning to athletic sports, shooting, &c. Before entering the regular army, he joined the Burnley Volunteers, and became rather distinguished for his abilities as a shot, to which his excellent sight, judgment, and steady mode of life contributed not a little. So smart a shot was he that he was one of the first four sent from Burnley to Aldershot to compete for the Army Cup, and in that competition he added to his high reputation. After spending some time as a volunteer, he determined to try his fortune further afield, and joined the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in February, 1896. Since then he had lived his life apart from his old comrades in Brierfield and Burnley. Occasionally his friends heard from him, and the tidings which reached them from him was that he was doing well with the army, was respected by his comrades, and esteemed as a steady young soldier, possibly marked out for distinction, by his superiors. Eventually he was selected by one of the officers of the regiment as a private servant, a position which is coveted as a rule by the ordinary private, but can only be filled by one who leads an exemplary life. During his four years' service with the Highlanders, the deceased soldier was stationed at Dublin for some time. About seven weeks ago, he came home on furlough, and when the present war broke out he was recalled in haste to rejoin his comrades.
....A sad feature of the leave taking, and perhaps - in the light of later events - a remark he made to his mother was that if she saw the name of Bowman among the list of killed in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders she was to take no notice of it, as there were others named Bowman in the same regiment, unless his number accompanied the name. The thoughtfulness in the remark was characteristic of the young private, and this trait was exemplified in dozens of other ways. Little wonder then, when the tidings of the battle of Modder River reached Brierfield last week and that his anxious parents should make haste to scan the list of killed and wounded. His name was conspicuously prominent in the list of those who had fallen to rise no more, and this accompanied by his number 5,664 made assurance doubly sure. True friends came forward in trouble, and the true sympathy of fellow townspeople and of friends has done much to lighten the sad blow. The only news they have received from their son since he went to the front was one posted at St. Vincent, in which he stated that he was "well and hearty, and hoped to come off all right." We believe, however, that since then and before the battle of Modder River, the young soldier wrote another letter to his parents, and the bereaved father and mother now await in pathetic suspense the last letter that the fingers of their dead son penned.
Burnley Express, Wednesday 6th December 1899
....As we regretfully announced on Wednesday, Private H. Bowman, of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, was killed at the battle of Modder River on November 28. Private Henry Bowman was the eldest of a numerous family living in Brierfield, and his father will be well remembered as a member of the county police force. The deceased soldier was born about 24 years ago. Until his twentieth year, Bowman followed the occupation of a weaver and was exceedingly well-known in this district. He was a steady youth, with a taste for quiet study, not unmingled with a leaning to athletic sports, shooting, &c. Before entering the regular army, he joined the Burnley Volunteers, and became rather distinguished for his abilities as a shot, to which his excellent sight, judgment, and steady mode of life contributed not a little. So smart a shot was he that he was one of the first four sent from Burnley to Aldershot to compete for the Army Cup, and in that competition he added to his high reputation. He joined the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in February, 1896.
Burnley Express, Saturday 9th December 1899
THE DEATH OF A BRIERFIELD SOLDIER.
....At St. Luke's Church, on Sunday evening, in the course of his sermon, the Rev. E. Jobson (vicar) made sympathetic allusion to the death of the late Private Bowman, who was formerly a member of his choir, and also to the demise during the week of the late Mr. Thomas Berry, a parishioner.
Burnley Express, Wednesday 13th December 1899
BRIERFIELD MAN CAPTURES A BOER.
....Private Matthew Riley, whose parents reside in Brierfield, has written from Modder River on December 1st (or three days after the great battle), He says: "Just a line to let you know I am all right so far. You will have seen in the paper that we have been fighting, but I came through all of them safe - thank God. My first experience was very terrible. I was under fire four hours, and the bullets whistled round me. But I came out without a scratch. The battle was at Belmont, and we drove them off. They are very bad shots, or we would have lost more than we did. The next fight was three days after. I did not come under fire much, only I had the honour to capture a Boer prisoner. We had to fight our way here, and this was the worst of all, as we got ambushed by them, and they nearly blew us off the face of the earth with their quick-firing guns. I went to find out Bowman's lad, as the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders are with us, and they told me he was shot through the head, but not killed. Send my sympathy to Mr. Henry Bowman. We expect to march in a week to Kimberley, and we have some more fighting yet."
Burnley Express, Wednesday 27th December 1899