TOPIC:

I joined this site/group in order to find the actuallity of information from other sources and fill some gaps. My family history research to date had determined that Grandfather's cousin, Aquila Edward Booth had a warrant issued for fraud from his employer in Melbourne, Victoria but then reported in early 1901 as travelling to Sydney to join the Boer War. Other sources indicated that an Aquila Booth was recorded in both the Imperial Light Horse and the Kimberley horse, but with no info as to the Australian link. Thanks to this site I was quickly able to find three sets of documents, two of which clearly showed the Australian link, including a very recognisable next of kin, Mrs J Booth of St Kilda (Joshua Booth being his father and residing in St Kilda. This was the attestation papers for both the Regiments indication.

I now have advanced one year or so in tracing Aquila: the problem now is that he discharged from the Kimberley Horse (np date given) with a forwarding address of what looks like Buluwayo (assuming Bulawayo, Zimbabwe). I don't know what happened then. Of course I still don't know how he got to South Africa.

If anyone has suggestions for finding out what happened to Boer War veterans in Rhodesia, it would be much appreciated.

Booth was discharged from the Kimberley Horse on the 30th of June 1902, after serving with both the 1st Imperial Light Horse and the 3rd New South Wales Bushmen, although, WO100/289 suggests the 31st of June, this particular regiment was disbanded on the 30th of June, so I would suggest the former is correct.
When the SAMIF was disbanded, Lord Milner's new administration was very concerned because of the large numbers of them remaining, in particular those in the Transvaal, he devised a scheme whereby existing farms were split up into really quite small and therefore manageable tracts of land, these being made available to ex SAMIF members at a basic cost price.
For some, quite few I suppose, it was to be a success, but, for most, it was not, very many sold up and simply returned home.
However, in Rhodesia, things were rather different, the government support was not in place, at that junction in time.
He gave his address as care of the post office Bulawayo, I would think that he had secured employment there, actually in Bulawayo itself, rather than taking a chance and just going up for the hell of it, but, notwithstanding, Rhodesia was, like the Northern Transvaal, a very real melting pot.
It might be worth you consulting the De Beer's archive in the Kimberley Library to see if that name appears anywhere within.

Welcome BASearching. I wish you well with tracking him down. A year's information is great.

Frank - thank you for filling some (of the many) gaps in my knowledge about what happened to these men after discharge.

Thanks for that, Frank.

I will have to figure out how to look at the archives you mentioned. I am sort of assuming they are on line.

Similarly, will look through WO100/289 docs you mentioned to aquaint myself with the broader contents.

Yes, as a former clerk in Australia he may have had a skill set of use in Bulawayo, even in the Post Office. Have to assume they didn't know about his arrest warrant for fraud in Melbourne.

I am reasonably sure that it is not him that was in NSWIB, but one Alfred Edward Booth (from the Serial No in a reference I have). Will look further for attestion papers for Alfred to see where and when and NOK info. Still, an interesting link.

Overall his service was short: seemingly 5 months in ILH and attested for KH on 20 May 1902 at Green Point and discharged 31 Jun.

I was certainly not suggesting that he was actually employed by the post office, but, merely that he used that as his address, the available folio in WO100 suggest that he served in the 3rd New South Wales Imperial Bushmen as number 2286.

BASearching wrote: Thanks for that, Frank.

I will have to figure out how to look at the archives you mentioned. I am sort of assuming they are on line.

Similarly, will look through WO100/289 docs you mentioned to aquaint myself with the broader contents.

Yes, as a former clerk in Australia he may have had a skill set of use in Bulawayo, even in the Post Office. Have to assume they didn't know about his arrest warrant for fraud in Melbourne.

I am reasonably sure that it is not him that was in NSWIB, but one Alfred Edward Booth (from the Serial No in a reference I have). Will look further for attestion papers for Alfred to see where and when and NOK info. Still, an interesting link.

Overall his service was short: seemingly 5 months in ILH and attested for KH on 20 May 1902 at Green Point and discharged 31 Jun.

No worries Frank: the post office quip was in jest.

The reference to service in the NSWIB is problematic: it is linked to Alfred Edward Booth. Having seen WO100 reference previously, I was initially certain that it was not him but am revisiting that assumption. I would note that cross-referencing with other sources is difficult in Australia as the records are not on-line. I haven't been able to find attestion papers but at the same time Alfred Booth is not necessarily documented in the broader genealogy world.