TOPIC:

Thanks, Mark !

It is getting interesting !

Roscommoner

Hello, Dave,

Thanks for the info, I appreciate it.
It is interesting that seveal of this name but none in BSAP.

I distinctly remember hearing "South African Constabulary" when I was kid...

Apparently he was a civilian policeman and he volunteered for South Africa.

Perhaps he went into a yeomanry formation in that case.

There is a man of this name on the RUNIC, at the 1901 Census, he is a "clerk", aged 26.
(at his marriage in 1904, he was "27", although he was actually 34 !).

I do not think that the one L or 2 L's in "McNEIL" is significant, it could be either.

Much appreciate your research !

Best regards,
Roscom

It is possible that John McNeil served in the South African Constabulary (SAC) and not the British South African Police (BSAP). If they have not already done so, perhaps David or Mark could check the SAC roll.

Regards
Brett

H, Brett
thanks for that :

In effect, the key word here is "constabulary".
I understand that the BSAP was another outfit altogether, and I have no indication that John McNeill ever belonged to it.

It would be nice if the SAC rolls could be checked, but I don't know how !

Roscommoner

Roscom,

If your man is indeed on the SAC roll then there is a very good chance that his attestation papers will have survived. They will either be in Bloemfontein or in Pretoria. This will depend in which Division he served. If memory serves Division A, B and C are in Pretoria and Division E in Bloem.There was no Division D I believe.

These papers are normally rather informative and well worth getting.

Cheers

Adrian

Did check previously and nothing came up. I'll double check when I get home. I'll also check Rhodesian Field Force rather than BSAP as some BSAP listings are just RFF.

Cheers,

Mark