TOPIC:

An interesting headstone/memorial (photograph by Julian Tansell):



Corporal Thomas Richard Pursall, Army Medical Corps, despite being born in Birmingham on 23rd December 1879, definitely qualifies as a Smethwickian who served in the Boer War. His name can be found in the Smethwick Central Board School Register which he entered on 5th January 1891 & left on 13th November 1891. Prior to that he attended the Cape Board School half way down Cape Hill in Smethwick. At the time the family were living at 47 Waterloo Road, Smethwick.

The problem is I can't find his service records or any medal rolls with his name on.

For anybody worrying about his eldest brother managing to drown himself up a mountain - Mount Lavinia is a coastal town in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) and these days is considered a holiday destination.

Thomas senior was a successful, based on his probate, builder and he and Mary Ann (nee Mann) had 14 children - 9 boys and 5 girls - as far as I can make out all the other 9 lived to a good age.

Smethwick
My Palmer shows him as "12793 L/Cpl. S.R. Pursall RAMC", Died of Disease, Kimberley 16/5/1900.
Perhaps a trawl through WO100/221 might help?
Regards
IL.

Many thanks Linneyl - FMP has thrown up the following record that indicates that 12793 S R Pursall was really T R Pursall

First name(s) S R
Last name Pursall
Service number 12793
Rank Lance-Corporal
Regiment Royal Army Medical Corps
Year 1899-1902
Memorials Canon Hill Park. Statue CTV, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England;
Gun Hill Road. Memorial. RAMC, Aldershot, Hampshire, England
Event detail Died Disease on 16/05/1900 at Kimberley
Event unit Royal Army Medical Corps
Event source SAFF
Country Great Britain
Notes [Anglo-Boer War Memorials Project] Initial 'TR'
Record set Anglo-Boer War Records 1899-1902
Category Military, armed forces & conflict
Subcategory Boer Wars

David

Ancestry has a different surname spelling.

24th Field Hospital RAMC
Cape Colony and Transvaal clasps.



Dave.....

Many thanks Dave, you are obviously a better interrogator than me - I did put his service number in and allow for name variants but I seemed to miss this one.

He is correctly recorded on the RAMC Boer War Memorial at Aldershot - I was unaware of this memorial until today - still learning!



Photo by Mark Newton.

Good morning David,

Please find attached image of left hand side panel of the Cannon Hill Park memorial.

Also a close up of the naming to Lance Corporal T R Pursall thereon.





I have also posted 'legible' images of the panels of the memorial on the thread for the monument for easier reference.

A nice morning for a walk around the park!!

Cheers Steve.