TOPIC:

Thomas, Mark & William Leavesley were all born and raised in Smethwick.

All three served in the army but in different regiments – North Staffordshire, South Lancashire & Kings Royal Rifle Corps.

Cumulatively they contributed a total of 28 years and 11 months of active service of which 23 years were spent overseas.

All three served in South Africa but only two during the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902.

All three returned to Smethwick when they left the army.

I need to start this account in Braunston in Northamptonshire – Forummers who enjoy canal holidays will probably have passed through Braunston Junction, where the Grand Union & Oxford Canals meet, and under the nearby tunnels on the Grand Union. Joseph Leavesley (1795-1871), the paternal grandfather of the Leavesley brothers was born, lived and died in Braunston where he gained a living as a “boat-legger”. Just looking at the photo below makes every joint in my body ache!



Joseph & his wife Mary had a typically, for the time, large family of ten children with all but the last two being born before Queen Victoria ascended to the throne. Mark, born in 1832, was seventh on the list and aged 19 in 1851 was deriving an income from the canals by working as a “canal porter” – i.e. somebody who loaded and unloaded the canal boats. Even by 1851 canal trade was being affected by the “new-fangled” railways which may have encouraged Mark to seek his fortune in the industrialised West Midlands as the next record for him is his 28th June 1857 marriage in Birmingham when he was aged 24.

The entry in the marriage register has survived and makes interesting reading. Firstly it shows he married in St Phillip’s Parish Church in the very centre of Birmingham. In 1905 when Birmingham became a city St Phillip’s, as the grandest and most central of Birmingham’s parish churches, was promoted to cathedral status. Secondly he married 20 year old Ann Gregory and both gave their address as Hill Street in Birmingham but Ann originated in the village of Everdon about 8 miles from Braunston. Finally and most interestingly is that Mark gave his occupation as “Glass Grinder”.

The place where Mark almost certainly ground glass was Chance Brothers in Smethwick where a glass grinder was a skilled job involved in the making of optical lenses and the complex Fresnel lenses used in lighthouses. The 1861 Census supports that he worked at Chances as he and Ann were living in Fawdry Street in Smethwick with the first two of their children, both daughters. The enumerator has written down “factory labourer” as his occupation but the 1871 enumerator for Fawdry Street has him down as a “Glass Grinder”. By 1871 their first two children, both daughters, had passed away and Thomas aged 8 was the eldest of their children, followed by Annie aged 6, Mark aged 4 and Alice aged 7 months. Annie & Alice will reappear in this account and the appearance on Census returns of William, born 2nd January 1873, had to wait until the 1881 edition.

By the time of the 1881 Census their mother had passed away and widower Mark had moved his family to Bridge Street, Smethwick alongside the branch of the Grand Union Canal which runs through Smethwick. He had also reverted to working on the canals as his occupation was given as “labourer on canal”. One can only wonder at the impact of Ann’s death, aged only about 40 and possibly associated with the birth of William or a subsequent attempted addition to the family. Mark senior continued to work as a canal labourer until his retirement and in 1891 there was only 20 year old Alice still at home and ten years later Ann had married and started her own family and was providing a home for her father who passed away in 1910 aged 78.

Now to the soldiering. Six months after the 1881 census 19 year old Thomas attested for army service in neighbouring West Bromwich. His attestation papers show he did not request to join a specific regiment, perhaps because of the uncertainty caused by the Childers’ Reforms enacted earlier in the year. In the event he was appointed to the newly created North Staffordshire Regiment formed out of the 64th & 96th Regiments of Foot. His regimental service number of 49 reflects the newness of the unit he had joined. He was to serve in the 1st Battalion based at Lichfield. His first three years of service were all at home but on the third anniversary of his enlisting he and the first Battalion set sail for the West Indies. When they arrived their headquarters was on the island of Barbados but there were outlying units based on other islands such as Jamaica & Trinidad. Which island(s) Thomas served on I cannot say and the only reported activity of the Regiment I can find in newspapers of the day was the provision of the regimental band to entertain attendees at various events such as the Annual Exhibition of the Barbados Horticultural Society. The writer of an article in the Lichfield Mercury was of the opinion that such a fine body of men should be put to better use than kicking their heels on the trouble free islands of the Caribbean. After 2 years and 76 days they were relieved by the East Yorkshire Regiment and set sail for Natal aboard the HMS Orontes. The HMS Orontes was commissioned in 1862 as a lightly armed (three 4 pounder guns) troopship intended for carrying British Troops to and from the West Indies & South Africa.



The Orontes left Barbados on 8th December 1886 and arrived at Durban on 7th February 1887 – a 2 month voyage. From an article in the Lichfield Mercury of 13th July 1888, clairvoyantly entitled “The Coming Conflict In The Transvaal”, we again learn in the last paragraph of the column long article what a fine body of men the 1st Battalion of the North Staffordshire Regiment were although I have to admit there may have been some local bias in that conclusion. But before going to the end of the article the opening sentences make interesting if cringeworthy reading:

A conflict between the Boers and the English diggers in the Transvaal, long anticipated, is evidently at hand. President Kruger has decreed that in the market places and whenever public business is transacted no language must be used but Dutch, not withstanding that the whole population of the district may be English, and the diggers are only awaiting the publication of the scale of punishments now being drawn up by the Transvaal Government to decide whether to oppose the decree by pacific constitutional means or by resort to force. The crisis is one of deep interest. The English have swarmed into the Transvaal until they now outnumber the Boers; and the question is, will the English majority submit to this senseless decree on the part of the minority, or set foot an agitation for a change of Government that could only end with the hoisting of the Union Jack! For a long time past the diggers have stood being bled by the Transvaal Government with a patience unusual in the English race, and explainable only by the fact that men engaged in making their fortunes in gold mines are usually too engrossed in their rush for wealth to care who governs them.

Oh dear, oh dear - Ongelooflijk, wat een hoop chauvinistische, arrogante onzin - Gall Cymry gloddio – let alone Scotsmen and Irishmen. When I got to the last sentence quoted above I began to wonder if the there was an element of intended satire in the article but I think the writer was totally serious in his expressed views.

Moving in haste to the last paragraph:

Should hostilities break out it is interesting to note that the 1st Battalion of the Prince of Wales’ North Staffordshire Regiment (late 64th Foot) is one of the regiments which would in all probability take a prominent part in the war. That regiment is now located in Natal, with its headquarters at Pietermaritzburg, under Lieutenant-colonel E. T B. sparks who arrived in that country recently to take over command in succession to Col. J. W. Keogh, who has retired. Should they be called upon these gallant Staffordshire lads will doubtless make a bold stand against the enemy, and distinguish themselves as their own regiment and Staffordshire comrades have done in past campaigns. Remembering the humiliation inflicted upon the 2nd Battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment (late 80th Foot) on the occasion of the surrender of Majuba Hill their fellow comrades in arms will only be too eager for the fray.

In the event neither the reputation of the 1st Battalion North Staffordshire Regiment nor the well-being of Thomas Leavesley were to leave South Africa unscathed.

“Truth” was a society journal published between 1881 & 1957 which you could either dismiss as gossip or praise for saying it as it was. Its byline was a quote from Cicero – “Cultores Veritatis Fraudis Inimici” – which seems to translate as “Worshippers of Truth, Enemies of Fraud”, but I “gloriously” failed my Latin O level mock. The June 13th June 1899 issue contained the following which was also syndicated in several other newspapers:

I take the liberty of directing the attention of the War Office, the Colonial Office, the military authorities in South Africa, the champions of law and order in this country, and all else whom it may concern, to the following edifying story from Zululand. Mr H Sjothun keeps a general store at Umsinduzi in Zululand. The place was attacked and surrounded by the rebellious Zulus in Jane last, until relieved by a column under Major McKeen in July. Major McKeen returned a day or two later, leaving a detachment of the North Staffordshire Regiment behind, and Mr Sjothun took the opportunity of conveying his wife and children to a safer spot. As soon as he was gone, the gallant British soldiers, according to his account, broke into his store, looted the place, stole everything portable, and broke or destroyed everything they could not steal. This was done under the very noses of a magistrate and a sub-inspector of police, who were powerless to interfere.

The victim of this abominable outrage has, it seems, applied to the military authorities, and has been refused redress. He has appealed to the Resident Commissioner at Etshowe and has been informed that he is at liberty to prosecute his claim in the courts having jurisdiction in Zululand. He pays £20 a year to the British Government of Zululand for a license, and in return this is what he receives. I can only say that is the benefits of British “protection” in South Africa comprise being robbed by British soldiery, snubbed by British commanders, and refused redress by the civil representative of the British Government, I am not surprised that our imperial credit is rather at a discount in that quarter of the globe.

Again oh dear, oh dear and moving on – Thomas’s service records contain some medical records for his time in South Africa and they show that on Boxing Day 1889 he “fell from a cart” and suffered a head wound. This resulted in him spending 9 days in hospital in Wynberg before being transported to Cape Town where he spent another 12 days in hospital.

Sometime later in the month of January 1890 the 1st Battalion, including Thomas, left South Africa and disembarked in England on 10th February 1890. Eight days later Thomas was transferred to the Army Reserve. On 21st September 1893 he was fully discharged from the North Staffordshire Regiment having completed exactly 12 years of service, 8 years 5 months active and 3 years 7 months in Reserve.

He had an exemplary record and his conduct on discharge was described as “Very Good”. At the due time he had been awarded both 1st & 2nd Good Conduct Badges and pay rises and never forfeited them. He was promoted to Lance-Corporal on 13th October 1884, Corporal on 16th December 1884, Lance-Sergeant on 4th June 1887 and full Sergeant on 22nd September 1889.

The words in the 1888 Lichfield Mercury article that he would want to avenge his fellow Staffordians for the humiliation they suffered at Majuba Hill seem to have left him unmoved as he did not volunteer for service in the Anglo-Boer War – he was 37 when war was declared. The 1901 Census shows him living in Bridge Street in Smethwick with his wife of ten years and their only child, Edward aged 9. Neither of his brothers appear on the 1901 Census because they were overseas serving in the army – one in India and the other in the thick of the Anglo-Boer War, so perhaps he felt the Leavesley family were already doing their bit.

Moving on to the military career of Mark who was nearly 4 years younger than Thomas. He attested in Warrington, Lancashire on 22nd August 1893 and gave his age 22 years and 6 months old when in actuality he was a fortnight shy of his 27th birthday. His recorded answers to the various other questions show he was living with his father when he attested and he gave a Smethwick address for his father as his next of kin. One can only wonder why he made the 70 mile journey northwards with the apparent desire to join the South Lancashire Regiment but that is what he appears to have done. He gave his occupation as “Puddler” and one begins to wonder whether he had a puddled brain.

After 3 months general training he was posted to the 1st Battalion but Mark did not prove to be an exemplary soldier like his elder brother. On 17th August 1894 he was in prison awaiting trial, his offence - “violence towards an officer”. He was tried by District Court Martial eight days later and sentenced to “Imprisonment with Hard Labour” for “six calendar months”. At first sight there appears to have been no comminution of this sentence as he is recorded as returning to duty on 25th February 1895. However, he is also reported as embarking for India on 25th January 1895 having been posted to the 2nd Battalion. So it would appear he spent the last month of his sentence on a troopship. Mark was to spend 7 years in India, unfortunately I can find no reports of what the 2nd Battalion South Lancashire Regiment did in India. What I do know is that whilst in India Mark was twice awarded a Good Conduct Badge and pay rise and both times forfeited it about a year later.

On 3rd March 1902 he was posted back to the 1st Battalion and embarked for South Africa. During September 1901 the 1st Battalion had suffered two dozen casualties in actions at Alleman's Nek, Fort Itala & Fort Prospect – ironically the only man to be killed at Fort Prospect was a Smethwickian (who had a very obvious reason for joining the South Lancashire Regiment) – so you could say we had one Smethwickian stepping in to the dead man’s shoes of another Smethwickian. For his less than two months of participation in the Anglo-Boer War Mark was to receive the Queen’s South Africa Medal with two clasps, Transvaal & South Africa 1902. His much better behaved elder brother never received a medal. Mark left South Africa in late August 1902 and set foot on English soil on 11th September 1902. On 17th December 1902 he was transferred to the Army Reserve and fully discharged 2 years 9 months later on 21st August 1905 by when he had completed 12 years service, 8 years 9 months active, 6 months in prison and 2 years 9 months in Reserve.

Finally William, the youngest. He attested in Warwick and two years earlier than Mark, on 16th May 1891 when he was only 18 years 4 months old. He gave his occupation as “brass founder”. He was assigned to the Kings Royal Rifle Corps – nearly 10% of just over 200 Smethwickians I have identified as serving in the ABW served in the KRRC and I can only imagine they used to have recruiting drives in the West Midlands.

After 4½ months of training he was assigned to the 2nd Battalion and 2 months later he embarked for Gibraltar. On the second anniversary of his enlisting he was awarded his first Good Conduct Badge and on 13th January 1895 the battalion moved to Malta. 9 months after arriving in Malta he was promoted to Lance-Corporal, despite not having received his 2nd Good Conduct Badge and pay rise. On 16th July 1896 the battalion moved again, this time to South Africa. On 17th March 1897 he lost his stripe owing to an unspecified act of misconduct but two months later he was awarded his Second Good Conduct Badge and pay rise on the sixth anniversary of his enlisting. On 22nd January 1898 and still in South Africa he was being held in a civil prison for “playing in a public place with some instrument of gaming or pretended game of chance”. He was fined 10 shillings with an alternative of 7 days imprisonment – he obviously paid the fine. Four months before the Boer Republics declared war he returned home and was transferred to the army reserve but 3 months later he was recalled and was back on South African soil on 4th November 1899.

The doings of the 3rd Battalion KRRC in the ABW are well documented and the Tugela Heights, Relief of Ladysmith and Laing’s Nek clasps on William’s QSAM show he was in the thick of it along with the rest of his battalion. When the war moved into the guerilla phase they were chiefly involved in guarding the main railway. His service records indicate he survived unscathed and remained with the battalion until they returned home in August 1902. He beat his brother Mark by 4 days in the race to set foot again on English soil. He completed just under 12 years of service of which only 3 months was in reserve.

Moving on to the 1911 Census all three brothers and their two sisters can be found living in Smethwick:

Thomas, his wife (Mary Ann) and son Edward were living at 29 Bridge Street. They were all gainfully employed – Thomas as a “Tally Clerk” for a Nut and Bolt manufacturer, Mary Ann as a “bolt packer” and Edward as an “iron moulder”.

Mark was living with his recently widowed sister Annie and her four youngest children, ranging in age from 12 to 22, at 73 Lower Cross Street. Mark was employed as a “puddler”.

William was living with his sister Alice and her husband and their three children, ranging in age from 3 to 14, William was employed as a “steel tube welder” for a firm making boilers.

Mark died in March 1914 at the early age of 47, cause unknown. At the start of the Great War, Thomas was 58 years old and Mark was 41. As conscription did not come in until early 1916 Mark would not have been eligible for service.

Moving to the 1921 Census both Thomas and William were still living in Smethwick

Thomas and Mary Ann were now living at 18 Exeter Road, Smethwick and Thomas was an out of work “Book-keeper” previously employed by Guest Keen & Nettlefolds but Mary Ann was still packing bolts for GKN. Edward, their son, had married and was now the Assistant Curator of Smethwick’s iconic Council House. He and his wife Gladys had two children, their daughter Ivy was to make the Smethwick Telephone in 1930 for having qualified as a Life Saving Instructor (aged 17) and in 1931 for coming fourth in the Staffordshire Ladies 200 yards breaststroke championship.

William had now married and he and Ada, born in Birmingham, had crossed the border and were living in Monument Road in the Ladywood area of the city. William was still working as a welder.

Thomas died in Smethwick in 1924 at the age of 61 but William made an appearance on the 1939 Register. He and Ada were still living in Monument Road, Birmingham and he was still working as a welder. He died in 1954 in Birmingham aged 81.

Both Thomas & Mary Ann were buried in the churchyard of Smethwick Old Church and this simple headstone marks their grave. I assume Edward was responsible for this and the 1939 Register shows he became the Curator of Smethwick’s Law Courts.



A quick comparison of the 3 brothers:

Thomas was born in 1863 and was 5 ft 4¾ inches tall when he attested in 1881. He received no medals. He died aged 61.

Mark was born in 1866 and was 5 ft 9¾ inches when he attested in 1893. He received the Queen’s South Africa medal with two clasps (Transvaal & South Africa 1902). He died aged 47.

William was born in 1873 and was 5 ft 3½ inches tall when he attested in 1891. He received the Queens South Africa medal with 5 clasps (Cape Colony, Transvaal, Tugela Heights, Relief of Ladysmith & Laing’s Nek) and the King’s South Africa medal with both date clasps. He died aged 81.