TOPIC:

QUEEN'S SOUTH AFRICA MEDAL
CLASPS :CAPE COLONY /WITTEBERGEN
Clasp entitlement confirmed WO100/184
Died of disease at Bethlehem Field Hospital 9th January 1901.

John Smith Wildig was born in Worcester, Worcestershire, England in 1878. He was adopted by a kindly couple who are buried in Astwood Cemetery, Tintern Avenue, Worcester. At the present time I have been unable to find their resting place in the cemetery but have found a partial image of their headstone on war's last goodbye website. The image does not reveal his adoptive parents names, but the following inscription is clearly legible:

"Also of their adoptive son
JOHN S. WILDIG
who died in South Africa
January 9th 1901
Aged 22 years
THY WILL BE DONE"

At this point I would suggest that Wildigs' Christian name initials given as C. J. In Hayward(1982); Watt (2000), on his grave marker as shown by the above image and on the Nominal Roll as detailed on our ABW Forum are incorrect.
His true name being John Smith Wildig.

For the movements and actions of the 1st Battalion Worcestershire Regiment I would guide the reader to the Worcestershire Regiment pages of the forum to avoid repitition.

Sgt.Wildig is commemorated on his adoptive parent's headstone, his grave marker at Bethlehem, the Roll of Honour for the Worcestershire Regiment and the memorial plaque located inside Worcester Cathedral, College Green, Worcester

I do not have Wildigs QSA medal in my collection and have not seen it in the marketplace, so do not know if it is extant, hence my posting away from thread 'medals to the worcestershire regiment ".

Maybe a fellow forummer could add to this thread?

Hello Steve
Sergeant Wildig is proving very elusive regarding paperwork.
Medal rolls and a birth mention only. Nothing came up on QSA medal search. However, I did find a family tree entry on Ancestry, See enclosed document. 3 contributors, 2 private. Perhaps an email to them may help in your quest? Also your research and information may be beneficial to them?
Best wishes
Dave.

Worcestershire Chronicle 26th January 1901



Pete

Hi Dave,
Many thanks for your searches. Many men of the Worcesters are not easy to research as many of their attestation papers no longer exist!
I will definitely chase up your leads and report back if the private contributors on Ancestry wish to share their knowledge. As you say, hopefully they can benefit aswell.

Hi Pete,
The newspaper extract is another great lead. It really starts to help piece the back story together.
The home of the Comptons at College Precincts in Worcester are townhouses that date from the 1600s and would possibly have been the homes of people from the upper end of society in Victorian Worcester. These houses are still very much standing and are highly desirable properties today. They stand but a good throw of a cricket ball from Worcester Cathedral where Sgt. J S Wildig is commemorated on the memorial to 1st Battalion Worcesters.
I am intrigued by the possibility of a connection (if any!) between Edward Wildig and the Comptons which resulted in JSW becoming adopted by them.

Indebted to you both.
Cheers Steve

WORCESTER CATHEDRAL

Hi Elmarie,
Many thanks for your image of the fine memorial to the 1st Bn.
Much improved on my dark, chair obscured effort!
Cheers Steve