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If you enter St David’s Cathedral in Pembrokeshire via the main entrance, take a sharp right turn and keep walking a large bronze memorial plaque soon comes into view on your left.



On Monday, as usual there was a major problem taking a photo due to reflected light exacerbated by rows of candles burning nearby in support of the people of The Ukraine. Standing well back and using the zoom lens proved the solution but resulted, not inappropriately, in the inclusion of part of the notice regarding the candles. The “IN REMEMBRANCE” wooden cross adorned with a poppy bears the additional hand-written inscription “OF ALL THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES WHILST CARING FOR OTHERS”.

Note the Welsh red dragon at the top with the plaque and the inscription below reads:


Much of the following article has been gleaned from an article entitled “The Anglo Boer War, A Welsh Hospital in South Africa” by the late Steve Watt. It is viewable on-line at the South African Military History Society website. The personal lives of the six are covered in the on-line Pembrokeshire War Memorial Project. Links to both are given at the end of this article.

The source of the photos included the article is a photograph album titled “Welsh Hospital” held by the National Library of Wales. It is viewable on-line and contains 279 photographs – most relate to the Welsh Hospital but many do not. It seems to be an undiscovered source by other forum members and I will do a separate post about it.

The Welsh Hospital was one of several “private” medical facilities established in South Africa during the Boer War. It was paid for by public subscription by the people of Wales. An organisational committee was set up and Professor Alfred William Hughes acted as Secretary.

The appointed staff and their equipment, under the command of Major T W Cockerill (RAMC), set sail for South Africa on 14th April 1900. It is recorded the initial staff , who set sail from Southampton aboard the SS Canada on 14th April 1900, consisted of 73 personnel comprising: three senior surgeons, two assistant surgeons, eight medical students and dressers, ten nursing sisters, two maids and 48 orderlies, cooks & stretcher bearers. However, the “Welsh Hospital” Medal Roll (WO 100/225), dated June 1901, lists only 43 personnel: one civil administrator, one chief surgeon, two surgeons, two assistant surgeons, eight dressers, one matron, nine nursing sisters, three cooks, fourteen civil orderlies & two nurses’s maids. So, it would appear that on arrival there was something of a re-think about the functioning of the hospital with some of the orderlies and the stretcher bearers being assigned elsewhere. Their 42 tons of stores followed by a later ship but did not include the tents & marquees they and their patients were to live in – these were purchased on arrival in Capetown. The photo below shows the marquees in use at Springfontein where the Welsh Hospital was originally established.



An annotated photo in the album indicates they had arrived at Capetown by 5th May 1900 and Steve Watt gives their arrival date as 3rd May 1900. The next fortnight was spent setting up the hospital in Springfontein in the Orange Free State and about 500 miles distant from Capetown. At the time Bloemfontein was suffering a typhoid epidemic which was running riot through the British soldiers based there. As a consequence, the staff of the Welsh Hospital were instructed to assist the struggling medical facilities in the town. Whilst working at Bloemfontein Dresser Thomas Richard Eames fell ill with dysentery and died there on 29th May 1900 aged 26, less than a month after he had arrived in South Africa. He was buried in Bloemfontein Cemetery.

From the start of June 1900 the staff were able to once again focus their attention on their own hospital at Springfontein and the first patients were admitted on 7th June. However, further tragedy was not far away as Nursing Sister Florence Louise Sage, who had nursed Thomas Eames, fell ill with dysentery and died on 12th June 1900, aged 32. She was buried in Springfontein Military Cemetery. Then three days later Assistant Surgeon Herbert Davies also succumbed to dysentery and was buried alongside Florence.

Understandably there was great distress amongst the rest of the staff and Chief Surgeon Professor Thomas Jones, who was in charge of the day to day operation of the Welsh Hospital, was especially showing the strain. Before coming to South Africa both Thomas Eades and Herbert Davies had worked for him. The staff became extremely worried about the condition of Professor Jones and his death was recorded on 18th June 1900. Steve Watt in his account left the cause of his death rather hanging in the air and I would advise readers to read his account and make up their own minds. Professor Jones was buried in Springfontein Military Cemetery alongside Florence & Herbert. The photo below appeared in The Graphic of 30th June 1900 – Steve Watt attaches this photo to Herbert Davies and has another for Professor Jones – more investigation required.



Professor Hughes, who had remained in England, on learning of the death of Professor Jones immediately made his way to South Africa to take charge and arrived at Springfontein on 5th July 1900. The work of the hospital increased through July with the number of beds being increased from 100 to 150 and hand sores were a particular problem for the staff. The photo below shows Professor Hughes two to three months after he arrived in South Africa.



On the 31st July 1900 orders were received to move the Welsh Hospital to Pretoria. This took some time to achieve mainly due to transport problems. The new site was two and a half miles to the east of Pretoria and the number of beds was again increased to 200. The photo below shows the inside of one of marquee wards at Pretoria.



The Welsh Hospital received many plaudits and was officially recognised as being one of the best run hospitals in South Africa. Despite this it was decided to hand it over to the Army on 30th October 1900 and it was re-named the Officer’s Hospital. Most of the staff, including Professor Hughes, took the opportunity to return home. Unfortunately, Professor Hughes must have contracted Typhoid before leaving South Africa because that is what he died of at his home in London on 3rd November 1900. Hundreds turned out to his funeral and burial in the village of Corris (near Machynlleth, mid-Wales) where his medical career had started as an assistant to the local doctor. At Corris can be found a memorial to him, an obelisk bearing his effigy.

Matron Marion Lloyd stayed on in South Africa and worked at the Officer’s Hospital. She became a noted contributor to the social life of Pretoria and was fond of horse riding. In October 1901 she was awarded the Royal Red Cross Medal in recognition of her work in South Africa. Sadly, several weeks later she contracted typhoid complicated by pneumonia and she died on December 17th 1901. She was buried in Pretoria Old Cemetery. The photo below shows Marion Lloyd sitting centre stage.



Only the front seated row are named beneath the photo as follows (for the men I have included their function based on the June 1901 medal roll): Sister Bulkley Williams, Sister Lewis, Mr Laming Evans (Asst Surgeon), Dr Lynn Thomas (Surgeon), Lieut Col Keogh RAMC (he signed off the medal roll and must have taken over at some stage from Major Bockerill), Matron Marion Lloyd, Prof A W Hughes (Civil Administrator), Dr Mills Roberts (Surgeon), Sister Jones, Sister Martins. The discomfiture at having one’s photograph taken in 1901 is noticeable. The wearing of military uniforms by civilians I find strange.

Back in Wales the Committee of the Welsh Hospital decided to instal the St David’s Cathedral memorial to the six members of staff who had died as a result of their service during the Boer War. It was unveiled in October 1902 by Lord Penhryn. The 1902 date is confirmed by newspaper reports at the time but Steve Watt gives it as 1904. Steve Watt gives the translation “Rest in Peace” for “Gorphwysant” although my on-line Welsh/English translator does not seem to recognise it as a Welsh word. Originally the plaque had a flag flying above it – the flag in question can be half seen in the first photo from the album, flying above the Union Jack on the left of the picture.

Several of the staff including some orderlies were mentioned in despatches and back home honours were bestowed on the surviving surgeons. All 44 staff on the Medal Roll were awarded the Queen’s South Africa Medal with up to three clasps “Cape Colony”, “Orange Free State” & “Transvaal”. For obvious reasons Thomas Eames, Florence Sage, Herbert Davies & Professor Jones did not posthumously receive the “Transvaal” clasp. Quite a few of the Orderlies also did not receive the Transvaal clasp suggesting they returned home before the move to Pretoria. A significantly reduced staff with increased patient numbers does not sound likely so presumably they received some seconded replacements who appeared on another Medal Roll.

The link to the Steve Watt article:

samilitaryhistory.org/vol123sw.html

The link to the appropriate page of the Pembrokeshire War Memorial Project:

ww1.wales/pre-ww1-war-memorials/st-david...al-boer-war-memorial

An excellent article, Smethwick, supported by photos I have not see before. Many thanks for posting.

The memorial plaque at St. David's I was aware of but yet to visit.
Many thanks for your most informative post.
Gorffwysfa---resting place?

Cheers Steve

Managed to do some "more investigation" into the death of Professor Thomas Jones and his picture.

This appeared in the BMJ in 2000 - I think the original article was written by Dr Lynn Thomas who features in the group photo in original post.



I found this attached to his profile on an Ancestry Public Family Tree:



Steve Watt in his article obviously had sight of the first but not the second. There is another good reason the photo of Thomas Jones he used for Herbert Davies could not have been the latter - Herbert Davies was only 26 when he died.

Have also found an obituary for him - not the one in The Lancet but one in a Manchester paper. He left a widow and daughter.

Three Celtic Crosses a long way from home - the graves of Dr Herbert Davies (left) & Sister Florence Sage (right) & Professor Thomas Jones (centre) in Springfontein Military Cemetery. Just wondering if anybody out there has a photo of them that has not received the Alamy treatment.

The original graves.

Picture courtesy of Elmarie.