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Private 3559 William Allen, 1st Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment

Rory recently gave us a very full account of a “successful” man from a “successful” family. I am about to descend towards the other end of the spectrum.

William Allen is marginal, on both counts, as qualifying as a Smethwickian who served in the Boer War 1899-1902. I was attracted to him by his attestation papers saying he was born in Smethwick but the registration of his birth plus the 1881, 1891 & 1911 Census returns all say he was born in Birmingham but, I suspect, only just over the border. I can accurately give you his date of birth from the 1939 Register and his date of death from his death certificate which forms part of his Army Service Records. 22nd December 1873 – 21st July 1944, meaning he died aged 70 – a surprisingly long life as you will see.

William was named after his father who was also born in Birmingham but his mother, Amelia Cook, was born in Cheltenham and presumably moved to Birmingham to find employment before marrying William senior there in 1864. William junior was to be their third child of nine.

The 1881 Census found the still growing family living in Heath Street at the Winson Green, Birmingham end – readers of my previous offerings will remember the west end of Heath Street lay in Smethwick. William senior was working as an “Engine Fitter” and his 16 year old eldest daughter as a dressmaker.

In 1884 William senior died aged just 40 and in 1890 Amelia remarried Charles Pritchard, six years her senior and born in Ledbury in rural Herefordshire. The 1891 Census shows the family had moved to adjoining Winson Street and William’s stepfather was working as a “labourer screw works” (which probably meant Nettlefolds in Smethwick) and William was a “fitter/turner”. According to the return all of the young Allen’s were now known as Pritchard’s – was this an imposition or an assumption by the enumerator?

William attested on 16th November 1892 in Smethwick and gave his name as William Allen. He gave his mother as next of kin and her address as 199 Cape Hill, Smethwick. Thus, William’s marginal qualification as a Smethwickian.

The next day he underwent his medical at Lichfield, where the South Staffordshire Regiment had their barracks, and measured 5 feet 6¾ inches tall and 8 stone 12 lbs in weight. The day after that he started his training at Lichfield and the next 15 months were spent on home service. It is unclear from his service record which battalion he was assigned to. A couple of squiggles suggest the 1st Battalion and he appears on their medal roll for his service in the Boer War but the locations he is reported in do not conform with somebody in the 1st Battalion.

On 10th February 1894 William embarked for Egypt where he gained a 3rd Class Education Certificate and 20 months later he moved on to India on 11th October 1895 without having received a Good Conduct payment after two years service. His service record shows that on 22nd February 1896 William started 66 days imprisonment “awaiting trial”. On the 18th April 1896 he was tried by Court Martial on the following offences: (1) “failing to appear at the place of a parade appointed by his commanding officer”; (2) “wilfully injuring his equipment”. He was convicted & sentenced to 73 days of imprisonment with hard labour (IHL) plus stoppages. 139 days in prison in India does not sound like an experience to relish.

Before leaving India we do need to turn to his medical records which do not make pretty reading. During his 9 years and 1 month in Egypt & India he spent 1 year and 2 months (12%) in hospital with Gonorrhoea & Syphilis being the causes except for 8 days for a “sore throat” and 14 days for a “wounded finger”. The treatment he receives in hospital is impossible to decipher except Mercury is mentioned in 1897 and in 1898, which he spends over half of in hospital, “Very Chronic” is used in describing his condition. During this time he underwent two medial assessments of his fitness to be a soldier. In 1895 prior to his move to India a medical inspection concludes he is fit enough to go to India. On 5th January 1897 he undergoes another medical inspection which concludes his condition is “not likely to interfere with his future efficiency”.

His medical record is also useful for tracking his movements. In Egypt he was hospitalised in Cairo. He reported sick on the HMT Malabar, the troop ship which transferred him from Egypt to Calicut (now Kozhikode) in southern India – the sea voyage took 14 days. Two days after arrival in India he was hospitalised at the Wellington Military Hospital about 100 miles inland from Calicut. William then moved north to Bangalore (Bengaluru), Umballa (Ambala), Subathu (Sabathu) & Dagshai (Daagh-e-Shahi) – the last three are all in northern India in the state to the south of Kashmir and about 1,700 miles from Calicut.



Towards the end of his time in India he was awarded his first and second Good Conduct pay rises in February 1899 & 1901. To have been in the Army for seven years before receiving your first good conduct payment, which can be paid two years after enlistment, suggests not the best behaved soldier although, the fact that his second comes the normal two years later suggests he may have become a reformed character.

On the 18th March 1902 he embarked for South Africa. This means he was in India when the Boer War started when the 1st Battalion were in Gibraltar and he arrived in South Africa nearly two years after the 1st Battalion.

Allowing a week or two for the sea voyage William would have arrived in South Africa with only 2 months of the war left, so his contribution to the war effort must have been minimal. The 1st Battalion medal roll shows he was awarded the “Cape Colony” and “South Africa 1902” clasps to his Queen’s South Africa Medal but by the time he arrived the 1st Battalion were on garrison duty in the Transvaal, so did he ever catch up with them before he left South Africa after only about 4 months there.
He arrived back in blighty on 14th September 1902 and was discharged to the Army Reserve on 17th February 1903 after 9 years active service although a year and a half had been spent either in hospital or prison.
The 1911 Census shows him living with one of his younger sisters and her family at 33 Wattville Road, Handsworth, Birmingham. By then Elizabeth was Mrs Whittle and had 7 children. Her husband, Benjamin was a Scouser “Commission Agent”. William was single and working as a “Turner (iron)”. Wattville Road was (and still is) a bit like Heath Street – its northern end lay in Birmingham but its southern end was in Smethwick.
The 1939 Register shows William living in a large lodging house which occupies 8-10 Ryder Street in the centre of Birmingham. 10 staff are listed along with 100 male residents. William’s occupation is given as “General Labourer” and his marital status as married – the latter might be a mistake as there is no other evidence that he ever married.

His 21st July 1944 death certificate shows he was once again living with his sister at 33 Watville Road, Handsworth. His primary cause of death was “Coronary Thrombosis” assisted by the poor state of his arteries & heart.

The above is a “warts and all” story of a rank and file soldier from a working class background. William’s medical record is not unusual, I could give other similar examples attached to the records of Smethwickians who served in the Boer War. They tend to have been regulars and reservists who previously served in hot climates but one of the worst started before the soldier involved ever left Blighty. Such health issues must have had a significant effect on the efficiency of the British Army – William’s overall efficiency was reduced by about 10% and probably significantly more when you take into account the need for convalescence and catching up with his unit.