TOPIC:

Hi, I am new to this and my Mum says my Great Grandad Alec Shuttleworth (2nd June 1876-5th July 1963)served in the Anglo Boer war. She said he never talked about it even though they were very close. He was born Blackmore, Essex.
Any suggestions would be welcome.
Take care,
G Jackson

Welcome GreatGDstory,

This was an Essex man but he was born in 1874 and called Albert.



Aged 19 yrs and 10 months, he enlisted in the 7th Hussars in April 1894.

Another option is 5312 Private A Shuttleworth who served in the 4th South Staffordshire Regiment. Sadly, there are no extant papers for this man to confirm his identity.

Are his medals still in the family by any chance?

Best wishes
David

Thankyou so much for your help with this David.

My Mum doesnt know what happened to the medals.

I am seeing her this afternoon to check if Alec was actually Albert!
Once again,I apprieciate your assistance. He died before I was born but this brings his experiences to life.
Am sure my Mum will find this interesting too.

Take care,
G

Having come across the apparently well researched (publicly accessible on Ancestry) Jackson Family Tree created by T G D Jackson I am a bit surprised you are now questioning whether your Great Grandfather was called Alec/Alex. According to the 31st March 1901 Census return he was a civilian living in Blackmore and already working as a bricklayer. If David had shown you the last page of Albert's extant paperwork you would see that at the time of the 1901 Census he was on a period of home service but still a full-time regular soldier. It also almost certainly excludes him from being 5312 Private A Shuttleworth of the 4th Battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment as they went out to SA in February 1900 and returned in August 1901 - he could have been sent home early but one still has to deal with how he ended up in a South Staffordshire Militia Battalion which would have comprised almost entirely men from Staffordshire and the neighbouring counties.

Appearing as a civilian on the 31st March 1901 Census does not exclude him from having fought in the Boer War of October 1899 to May 1902 but it severely limits the possibilities - if he did ever get to SA as a soldier it is most likely he arrived as a tail-end Charlie.