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Hello everyone
An update on information for my ancestor Corporal J L Sanderson.
Have unearthed two newspaper articles from the Nottingham Evening Post of Monday, December 22, 1902 which report the unveiling of the Memorial in St Mary's High Pavement Church in Nottingham to the 4 men of the Robun Hood Rifles left in South Africa,

Corporal J L Sanderson
Private G W Richards
Private J H Lewis
Private J Taylor

The ceremony was presided over by General Hildyard and involved a march of 2 battalions of 750 men.
I have transcripts of the articles in Notes on my iPad and if anyone could advise how to attach to a post in this forum I'd be happy to do so. Copy and paste perhaps??
Obviously if anyone does find any more information about Corporal J L Sanderson do please let me know.
Regards
Tony

Hello Mel
Gosh, time flies!
Recently had exchange of emails with Terry Cawood, SA National Coordinator, SA War Graves Project and think the mystery surrounding lack of records for JL SANDERSON other than on the memorial plaque in St Mary’s Nottingham might be solved. Terry provided list of deaths on 28 July 1900 and top of the list was the entry:
“5070 CPL ASHWELL JL IMPERIAL YEOMANRY,4,8 “. [4th Battalion, 8th (Derbyshire) Company.

This caught my eye because Joseph’s youngest son (My maternal grandfather) middle name is Ashwell.
So it seems that as a Robin Hood Rifler he was a Sanderson and under the Derbyshire Company of the IY he was an Ashwell.

So it would appear that when the IY 4/8 was formed in 1900 he enrolled using the name Ashwell.
His name is on the St Johns Anglican Church Cemetery, Boer War Memorial, West Panel.

www.graves-at-eggsa.org/main.php?g2_itemId=176448

Terry also informed me that he was wounded at Senekal on 28 May 1900 and died in Cape Town on 28 July.
I notice that the record on this website for 5070 shows date of death as 30 July and cause of death died from wounds, poor fellow.
The 28 May was the day before a skirmish at Biddulphsberg near Senekal. I’ve read a brief account by the SA History Society which mentions some reconnoitering of Boer positions on the 28th and mentions one IL casualty amongs others.. Maybe him, who knows.

I have also seen somewhere that the ship Umbria shipped about 2000 members of the IY 4/8. Is it possible to check if Corp JL Ashwell was on this ship or if not which one?

I’d like Meurig (AWB) and BereniceUK to see this post but not sure how to do this.
Best wishes
Tony

Hello Tony

What an amazing tale, well done for sorting this out.

Have you seen the IY Service papers for JL Ashwell?

Joseph Ashwell, born St Anne's Nottingham. Enlisted 09-01-1900 age 26 years, a tailor. Currently serving in the "1st Notts RH Rifle Vol"

Died "sickness" 28-07-1900, no mention of being wounded.

Wife - Mary Ann of 39 Hutchinson St Nottingham
Son - Claude Leonard born 1895

Hope these details match what you know. It seems he chnaged his surname to Ashwell as he had married as "Ashwell" - but he was apparently still serving in the Robin Hood rifles as 'Ashwell', not 'Sanderson'. I wonder if Mel can check for a n 'Ashwell' in the Robin Hood rifle records?

Regards
Meurig

Hello Meurig
Just a quick reply to say thank you for this service record which I hadn’t seen but does contain info that matches what I know. My mother wrote down what she knew of her family which confirms that Mary Ann nee Greaves and Joseph Leonard Sanderson had two sons Claude and Arthur Ashwell (her father) b 1892 the year they were married in Salford (she being with child I think). They must have moved back to Nottingham in late 1890s. I didn’t know Joseph was in the 1st Notts RHR. On Arthur’s 1917 marriage certificate Joseph is shown as Corporal Derby Yeomanry decd. Iwas always told he died of disease but how much credence can be placed on the record referring to his wounding at Senekal I wonder.
Thanks again. We’ll what else turns up!
Regards
Tony