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Two memorial cottage homes at 63 & 65 Heath Road, Lexden, Colchester, Essex CO3 4DJ. (Formerly known as 11 & 12 Cross Road, as well as R A Dillon Home and R A Cottage.)

One built in memory of HRH Prince Christian Victor and the officers and men of the Royal Artillery and the other in memory of Lieut. Charles Henry Dillon, 1st Battalion (Prince Consort's Own) Rifle Brigade.

Mentioned in Gildea (p150 & 151) as an example of a memorial cottage home with funds provided (amongst others) from the Memorial Committee, as well as a private memorial cottage home funded by Col. the Hon. Robert Villiers Dillon and Mrs Dillon (nee Gladstone) in memory of their son.

Two bedroom, semi-detached cottages, designed by A Ainsworth-Hunt Architect and built in 1904 by R Beaumont. (I understand that the bronze plaque inscribed: "This Cottage Was Founded by The Royal Artillery 1904 In Memoriam H H Prince Christian Victor of Schleswig- Holstein" is still affixed to an internal wall in one of the cottages.)

Lieutenant Charles Henry Dillon. Baptised on 30 Sep 1877, Beckenham, Kent. Educated at Eton College, Berkshire. Commissioned into the Rifle Brigade on 16 Feb 1898. Promoted to Lieutenant January 1900. Deployed with his battalion to South Africa for the Second Anglo Boer War. Served as part of the 4th Brigade under Major Gen. Hon. N G Lyttelton, part of the Ladysmith relief force. Fought at Colenso on 15 Dec 1899 and at Vaal Krantz on 5-6 Feb1900. Lieut. Dillon was placed on special service with the Rhodesian Field Force from March 1900, and was mentioned in the despatch of General Lord Kitchener of July 28th, 1901 - when "in command of some scouts showed great skill in extricating his men from a very difficult position", and as ADC to Colonel Grey frequently rendered most "plucky and valuable service". He was wounded in action at Blesbokspruit and died of his wounds in 17 General Hospital, Standerton aged 23 years. Buried in Standerton Garden Of Remembrance, Standerton, Gert Sibande District Municipality, Mpumalanga, South Africa and commemorated on the Eton College Boer War memorial board in the Eton College Chapel.

1911 Census: Leonard George Baker, army pensioner, b.1862, Sheerness, Kent. Living with wife and daughter at R A Dillon Home, Cross Road, Lexden. Enlisted for Royal Artillery 25 April 1883 (No. 37520) discharged 23 May 1904, re-enlisted 2 October 1914 (No. 3760) discharged 23 June 1916 (no longer physically for war service), character on discharge, exemplary. Promoted to Sergt. Major 11 October 1904. Medals and decorations: Suakin – Egyptian with clasp 1885, Khedive Star 1885, QSA 3 clasps 1899, 1902, KSA 2 clasps 1899-1902, Distinguished Conduct Medal in the Field 1899-1902, Good Conduct Medal 1 October 1901. Application made for Meritorious Service Medal. Employed as an Orderly Room Clerk at Hd. Qrs in August 1917. Enlisted Royal Garrison Artillery 1917, service No. 3760. (Attested as a gunner in October 1914, discharged July 1916 no longer physically fit for war service. Address then given as 12 Cross Street, Lexden.

1911 Census: John Chappell, b. Normanton, Nottinghamshire 1850. Army pensioner. Living with wife and daughter at R A Cottage, Lexden. (John Chappell Rifle Brigade rather than Royal Artillery?)

1921 Census: Leonard George Baker, widower and employed as a clerk, b. Sherness. Living at Dillon House, Cross Road, Lexden . John Chappell (army pensioner) + wife living at 11 Cross Road, Lexden.

Jumping back to the Royal Warwicks Memorial Cottages in Budbrooke.

I had assumed these cottages were allocated to men who had a permanent disability but Frederick Charles Rowe, the first occupant of No.2, rather blew that out the water by going on to serve in the Great War.

By 1950 to qualify for residence you only needed to have served in the South African War of 1899-1902 as shown by this "advert" which appeared in the Rugby Advertiser of 3 February 1950.



Of course by 1950 any veteran of the South African War of 1899-1902 would have at least been in their late sixties.

I have found two similarly worded "adverts", firstly in June 1953 when No.1 had again become vacant and secondly in January 1958 when No.2 had become vacant. In 1958 alongside "Rent Free" it also said "unfurnished".


In the meantime I have assessed the life and times of Alfred Meeking the 1911 occupant of No.2, As his story has some added interest and my write-up became so long I have posted it on a stand-alone basis.

www.angloboerwar.com/forum/11-research/3...ving-memorial#101713

1 & 2 Artillery Cottages, Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AN.

Pair of 1904 semi-detached cottages and gardens, with associated plaque and badge of the Royal Artillery on the front elevation. One of the memorial cottages bears the inscription: These Cottage Homes for Soldiers of the Royal Horse and Field Artillery were Erected in Memory of Captain G C Fordyce-Buchan RFA Who Died at Bloemfontein 21st May 1900 by His Mother and Sister. (A £1,000 gift was given by Mrs and Miss Fordyce-Buchan.)

Opening ceremony on 6 August 1904, attended by the Bishop of Bath and Wells and Major L H Simpson.

Mentioned in Gildea (p151) as an example of a private memorial cottage home.

Captain George Charles Fordyce-Buchan, 65th Battery, Royal Field Artillery was the second son of Colonel George William Fordyce-Buchan and Anne Ross, daughter of Field-Marshall Sir Hew Dalrymple Ross GCB. Captain Fordyce-Buchan was educated at Eton College and was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in February 1887. He was promoted to Lieutenant in February 1890, and to Captain in September 1897. Captain Fordyce-Buchan was deployed to South Africa with the 65th Battery in November 1899, and fought at the battle of Magersfontein, the battle of Paardeberg and in the advance on Bloemfontein. He died of enteric fever at Bloemfontein on 21st May 1900, and is commemorated on the Eton College Boer War memorial board in the Eton College Chapel.

One of the first occupants of these memorial cottage homes was Sergeant James Boseley, who enlisted in the army in 1888 (69323). He served in the 53rd Battery Royal Field Artillery, was wounded at Ladysmith on 6 January 1900 and invalided home.

1911 Census: James Boseley, army pensioner, b.1875, Kamptee, India, living with wife two sons and two daughters at Royal Artillery Cottages, Claverton Down, Bath. Died, 11 July 1915 and buried at St. Mary’s Churchyard, Claverton. (Obituary in the Bath Chronicle of 17th July 1915?) John Livingstone, army pensioner, b. 1861, Glasgow, living with wife and four daughters at Royal Artillery Cottages, Claverton.

1921 Census: John Livingstone, army pensioner retired, widowed and living with one of his daughters at Artillery Cottage, Claverton Down. Service No. 18471, enlisted Royal Artillery 1901 (44th Battery?) I think he joined the Royal Field Artillery in in WWI (16466?) and became a RSM, before being discharged on 13th August 1916. He died on 25th October 1930, and is also buried St. Mary’s Churchyard, Claverton. There appears to be an obituary to him in the Bath Chronicle and Herald of 25th October 1930.

Redvers you wrote:

"Sergeant James Boseley (69323) ........................ was wounded at Ladysmith on 6 January 1900 and invalided home."

Touch of understatement here - he had his left arm and left leg "shattered" by a Boer shell and lying on the ground he exhorted his men to roll him out the way and go to work. Both limbs were subsequently amputated and he was awarded the DCM.

In Netley Hospital he was visited by Queen Victoria who presented him with an artificial left arm. Somebody else paid for his artificial left leg.



If you go to the Books section on this site and Nevinson "Ladysmith The Diary Of A Siege" Chapter XX pages 280 & 281 you will find some more about him.

A transcription of above from Nevinson can be found here www.angloboerwar.com/forum/16-on-this-da...89-february-4th#2189

John Livingstone Obituary, Bath Chronicle 25 October 1930:

Thanks for the newspaper reports and the link to the extract from Nevinson. It is good to know something about some of the previous occupants of these memorial cottage homes, as well as the buildings themselves.

I am putting together information on another six memorial cottage homes and shall post it on here when I have it in order.

I have seen reference to proposed memorial cottage homes for the RAMC (Naval and Military Record and Royal Dockyard Gazette 4th December 1902) and the Royal Sussex Regiment (Chichester Observer 30th April 1902). However, to date, I have drawn blanks in trying to locate any such memorial cottage homes. Monies raised for such purposes may have subsequently been diverted into another benevolent fund. I understand this is what happened for the Norfolk Regiment. If anybody knows of the existence of cottage homes relating to the RAMC or the Royal Sussex Regiment, it would be great to hear about them.

Bedfordshire Regiment Memorial Cottage Homes - 26 & 28 High Street, Oakley, Bedford MK43 7RG.

Pair of red brick and clay tiled roof estate-built cottages, constructed in 1905 by the Duke of Bedford for injured men of the Bedfordshire Regiment. The houses bear a plaque reading: "1905 ERECTED BY HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF BEDFORD AND PRESENTED TO THE BEDFORDSHIRE REGIMENT".

They were still owned by the Duke in 1918, when he put up the Oakley Estate for auction on 31st October. Held by the Bedfordshire Regiment on a lease for a term of 299 years from the 25th December 1906.

The Journal of the 16th Foot, 'The Wasp', has an article (Volume II, Number 8 of January 1926, page 361) which states: “As it is desirable that Old Comrades should know exactly what provision is made for serving members of the Regiment, who, through advancing age, or wounds incurred on service, are unable to support themselves, a short report is now published of the Bedfordshire Regiment Memorial Cottage Homes”.

“There are, at present, three Homes belonging to the Regiment. Two situated at Oakley, four miles from the town of Bedford, and one at Cheshunt, in Hertfordshire”. “The following extract from a report on the Homes, issued in April, 1908, explains their object and uses”.
“The three Homes are dedicated to the memory of the Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and Men who fell in the South African War. There could be no more fitting or significant memorial, for whilst commemorating the dead, they benefit the living. The Homes are standing witness to the provision made by the Bedfordshire Regiment for their deserving men, and will go on fulfilling their beneficent mission long after the present occupants have passed away; but they are also and abiding monument to the honoured memory of those that are gone”.
“Although a rent-free cottage is a valuable assistance in enabling an old soldier to end his days in comfort with his family, these Regimental Homes must not be regarded as a charity. They are, on the contrary, intended as a recognition of good service with the Colours, and the selection of an occupant is an honour and distinction conferred upon him by the Regiment in which he has served”.

“In 1901, the Officers Commanding both Battalions were consulted by Mrs. Papillon, Hon. Secretary, Regimental Cottage Homes Committee, as to the expediency of raising funds for the erection and endowment of Homes for the use of disabled soldiers of the Regiment, and in response to an appeal for funds for this purpose, Mr. Debenham, of Cheshunt Park, Herts, offered to build a Cottage for the Regiment. This kind offer was gratefully accepted”.

“In 1904 His Grace the Duke of Bedford built two Homes for the Regiment at his own expense, at Oakley, near Bedford. They were completed in 1906, and an Endowment Fund was raised for their maintenance”.

"The Rating and Valuation Act 1925 specified that every building and piece of land in the country was to be assessed to determine its rateable value. Oakley, like most of the county, was assessed in 1927 and the valuer visiting 26 and 28 High Street found them now owned by the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment (as the Bedfordshire Regiment had become in 1919) and occupied by H. Cooper and H. Goodwin. Both houses comprised a parlour, a living room and a washhouse with three bedrooms above. A W. C. and a barn stood outside. Water came from a pump. The valuer commented, a trifle cynically: “Very Nice but Mostly Show”.

1911 Census – Edwin Creamer, army pensioner, b.1852, Hockliffe, Bedfordshire, occupying Regimental Cottage Home, Oakley with his wife Eliza. Former Sergeant. Henry Cooper, army pensioner, b.1873, Bow Middlesex, occupying Regimental Cottage with his wife Susan, two daughters, son, sister-in-law, two nephews and niece.

1921 Census – Henry Alec Cooper b.1873, now widowed and an Insurance Agent, occupying Regimental Home, Oakley, with his two daughters and two sons. Henry Goodwin, army pensioner, b.1867, Ipswich occupying Regimental Home, with his wife Sarah Jane, three sons and daughter.

1939 Census – Alec, Victor, Henry Cooper, b. 10th February 1873, retired Insurance agent, occupying 26 High Street. 28 High Street occupied by Henry Goodwin b.12th November 1867, army disabled pensioner and his second wife Gladys M E.

H Cooper, 2nd Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment service No. 6528, South Africa medal with Cape Colony and Orange Free State clasps.

These are the only statutory protected (grade II listed) pair of 2nd Anglo Boer War memorial cottage homes that I have discovered. The list description (entry no. 1159914) does not mention the 2nd Anglo Boer War.