TOPIC:

I have a great grand father who apparently served in the Boer War. The only evidence I have for this is a single photograph of him in civies in later life wearing what are almost certainly Boer War medals. His name was John Watson. He was born around 1875 in Birmingham and around 1895 to 1910 lived in Deptford with his wife Mary and two children. This is very nearly ALL the data I have on him. I would really like to know more about his exploits in South Africa during this period. I note there are about 70 or so John Watson's in the Anglo Boer War.com database. Where do I go from here please!

It is a challenge, you need to know his next of kin and then look through WO97, WO363 and WO364, find a match and you have your man, the issue is that his service papers may not have survived.
Did he have another forename, can you put your camera into macro mode and place a clear image on here of the photograph you mention?

Davajam,

A challenge indeed. There are quite a few j Watsons listed on my site but I know that many other names are not listed so the pool of potential matches is likely to grow significantly.

As Frank asks, if you have any more information, we may be able to assist.

Best wishes
David

Here's a slightly more detailed coverage of what I know about John Watson.

Born: about 1872-1877 in Birmingham. 1911 Census says he was 39 in April 1911, but his wedding certificate in 1895 says he was 20. 1901 Census says he was 24.

Father: Henry WATSON - no firm details
Mother: might be Sarah Heartwell b. 3Q1853 Coventry

Married: Mary Ann Willoughby on 19/11/1895 at the Lewisham High Road Congregational Church, District Greenwich.

Lived in Hale(s) Street, Deptford until about 1909 when the family moved to Maddin Road, Sydenham. 1939Register shows him living with two of his daughters in what appears to be a convalescent home in Christchurch.

Children:

Ellen Elizabeth b. 01/06/1897
Margaret Ellen b. 14/10/1898

Mary Elizabeth b. 30/05/1903 my grand mother
Sarah Jane b. 24/10/1905 twin
Ada b. 24/10/1905 twin

Beatrice Lillian b. 21/01/1908 twin
John Arthur E b. 21/01/1908 twin

Ernest A b. 03/03/1911
Harold b. 3Q1913
Kathleen b. 3Q1914

Note there is a significant gap between Margaret and Mary - the Boer War years?

John WATSON died 4Q1948 (the year I was born).

I attach two images showing John in cities wearing two medals which I believe may be Boer War, perhaps you could confirm this. It is the only clear photo we have of him.

Are the WO refs War Office records and can I search them online?

Regards
David James

Those do certainly appear to be a five clasp QSA/KSA pair, assuming they were actually his, then you should look at all available folio in WO363 and WO364 on line or at Kew, if actually at Kew, a manual search in WO97 could also be done, as well as on line via ancestry/fmp.
It might be worth looking at all possible gentlemen actually on the medal rolls, given the photograph you have, one wonders how many of them were entitled to a five clasp Queens and a KSA, it could certainly reduce the number, but, only surviving service papers will give you the proof you need.

Davajam wrote: Here's a slightly more detailed coverage of what I know about John Watson.

Born: about 1872-1877 in Birmingham. 1911 Census says he was 39 in April 1911, but his wedding certificate in 1895 says he was 20. 1901 Census says he was 24.

Father: Henry WATSON - no firm details
Mother: might be Sarah Heartwell b. 3Q1853 Coventry

Married: Mary Ann Willoughby on 19/11/1895 at the Lewisham High Road Congregational Church, District Greenwich.

Lived in Hale(s) Street, Deptford until about 1909 when the family moved to Maddin Road, Sydenham. 1939Register shows him living with two of his daughters in what appears to be a convalescent home in Christchurch.

Children:

Ellen Elizabeth b. 01/06/1897
Margaret Ellen b. 14/10/1898

Mary Elizabeth b. 30/05/1903 my grand mother
Sarah Jane b. 24/10/1905 twin
Ada b. 24/10/1905 twin

Beatrice Lillian b. 21/01/1908 twin
John Arthur E b. 21/01/1908 twin

Ernest A b. 03/03/1911
Harold b. 3Q1913
Kathleen b. 3Q1914

Note there is a significant gap between Margaret and Mary - the Boer War years?

John WATSON died 4Q1948 (the year I was born).

I attach two images showing John in cities wearing two medals which I believe may be Boer War, perhaps you could confirm this. It is the only clear photo we have of him.

Are the WO refs War Office records and can I search them online?

Regards
David James

Frank,
Thanks for the info. I hadn't noticed the clamps (or are they clasps) the picture is pretty poor! As you say they should narrow the field a bit. I assume clasps were awarded according to which battles or campaigns you were personally involved in?

Sorry about the delay in picking this up - AngloBoerWar didn't notify me of your answer - perhaps I didn't tick a box somewhere.