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Hello, What a great site!
I am researching a family member who served (family folklore says) as a trooper in Remington's Guides and in the Kimberley Light Horse. His name was Joseph W Dawson born in Cumbria in 1869. If anyone has any information or help to a newbie I'd be very grateful

Sam
Welcome to the site. I had a look on the medal roll of Damant's Horse (late Rimington's Guides) and Cpl. J.W.Dawson's QSA had the clasps "Orange Free State" and "Transvaal". At one point, his roll entry was marked "NO MEDAL" as there was confusion with another Dawson who was marked as a Deserter. JWD's roll entry also shows "Defence of Kimberley" with a query mark. I don't think he qualified for that clasp.
Have you thought of having your man researched on a commercial site for any further info?
Regards
IL.

I would take a vey careful look in WO126/74-75 at Kew, I would hope his original paper will have survived, best of luck to you anyway.

sam wrote: Hello, What a great site!
I am researching a family member who served (family folklore says) as a trooper in Remington's Guides and in the Kimberley Light Horse. His name was Joseph W Dawson born in Cumbria in 1869. If anyone has any information or help to a newbie I'd be very grateful

Thank you so much for your reply. I am very new to all of this. The only information I had were some brief notes written on some family papers "Trooper in Remington's Guides & Kimberly Light horse in Boer War". No one in the family can remember anything though we are puzzled as, as far as we knew, he was a Cumbrian farmer (though he did work as a logger in Canada 1909-19). However, the notes were written by my Uncle in Law and the rest of his family information (so far) has proved accurate.
Were query marks common?
I will certainly do some more research, which sites do you recommend? I spent my childhood in SA and Zimbabwe so am finding this fascinating.

Many thanks Frank, your help is very much appreciated and I shall certainly explore further.

Sam
People could be quite mobile in the 1890's; travelling for work, for adventure, all sorts of reasons. Regarding the query mark on the medal roll, it could be because of the initial confusion between the Dawsons. Frank has kindly given you a reference to search for any surviving personal papers (such as enlistment documents) in the UK National Archives. Sometimes they survive and sometimes not. You might try ancestry (I have no association with them; nor any other commercial concern) and you may have to engage a researcher to look in the NA. And sometimes there is just a Big Nothing.
Good luck.
Regards
IL.