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Good day to you all. My husbands Great Grandfather, George Thomas Manners 2614, died in Middelburg 6.2.1901 while serving in the Shropshire Light Infantry, he died from disease. We were able to visit and identify his grave this weekend which was very special.
I would love to be able to get more information on why they were there at that time, how many British soldiers were there, were they in tented camps etc.
Would he have volunteered to fight or have been enlisted?
Would there be a record of his birth, wife's name, children or anything personal connected to him on his enrollment.
When would he have left England?
So many questions I know but it would be nice to be able to fully understand why he left England for such a far away place and the hardship they must have endured.

There is some information on the SLI here: www.angloboerwar.com/imperial-units/662-...shire-light-infantry . This mentions that the SLI were in the Eastern Transvaal in 1901 undertaking column work.

I can imagine it must have been very special to stand before his grave.

It is difficult to say how many soldiers would have been there but they would have been housed in tents.

Your ggf would have volunteered to join the Army and agreed to serve for a set period.

As he died in South Africa, his papers containing useful biographical information, will not have survived. Census information will be available but I'm not sure what else. Can anyone else suggest possible sources?

Regards
David