TOPIC:

Can anyone help me with this? A couple of years ago I bought a Souvenir card made by -or for- POW A.L. Stuart. The card came with a portrait of the chap taken by the Queenstown based photographer Alfred Dugmore as well as with an old photo -by C.J. Aldham in Grahamstown- of a tombstone erected in Heald Town for one Archibald Stuart who died in 1879. The Boer War museum lists one Boer POW with the name Stuart (Alexander Stuart, age 33, captured on 1/1/1900 at Rensburg). This could be the man in the photograph although it is perhaps more likely that the A stands for Archibald. Stuart is not listed as a rebel, not listed as a POW death and doesn’t figure on the ABO medal roll. There are plenty of A. Stuarts listed for British units including one A.L. Stuart for the Orange River Scouts.
One possible scenario is that Stuart moved sometime before the war from the Cape to the Transvaal, joined the Boer forces, was POW’d and perhaps then, in a moment of mental bewilderment, joined the Orange River Scouts. Another, less likely, scenario is that Stuart was fighting on the wrong side all along and ended up in a Boer POW camp from which he was freed and then joined the Scouts. Does any member have information that could shine a light on this?

There is a death notice for the father, Archibald Stuart:



This also lists his children which conforms his forenames but obscures the dates

Archibald Laing married Magdeld Maria Slabbert on 8 July 1895 in Pietersburg. He was 29 so born c 1866. They had 3 daughters and a son. Their second daughter, Catherine Regina Olive was born 15 May 1899. Catherine's marriage certificate says she was born in the Transvaal.

A L Stuart died 12 June 1953 aged 87. He was a Pretoria resident.