TOPIC:

Picture courtesy of Spink

QSA (3) 3 clasps, Cape Colony, Orange Free State, South Africa 1901 (5329 Pte J. Langford. Worcester: Regt), the last clasp not attached

J. Langford enlisted on 10 November 1898 and was serving with the 1st Battalion when he was killed at Ficksburg as a result of a lightning strike on 9 November 1901. Spink say 56 men were killed by lightning in the war.


Sold for a hammer price of GBP 270. Totals: GBP 335. R 7,520. AUD 620. NZD 670. CAD 560. USD 410. EUR 380.

5329 PRIVATE J. LANGFORD: 1ST BATTALION WORCESTERSHIRE REGIMENT.
KILLED BY LIGHTNING AT FICKSBURG ON 9TH NOVEMBER 1901.

Following successful bidding at the recent Spink sale, I have had the greatest of pleasure in adding his QSA to my Worcester's men.


Officially impressed number, name and rank. The medal showing a dark patina, very pleasing on the eye.



Officially impressed regimental naming.

Private Langford was interred at Ficksburg Town Cemetery and is commemorated on Monument 2.
His memory is further perpetuated on the brass tablet within Worcester Cathedral bearing the roll of honour for men of the 1st Battalion Worcestershire Regiment who fell during the South African conflict.

Private Langford was a citizen of the City of Birmingham and it's surrounding area, and so is commemorated on the stunning South African Soldier's Memorial in Cannon Hill Park, Edgbaston, Birmingham.He is one of 521 men named thereon (an interesting aside is that there is only one officer among the 521, Lt. C. H. B. Adams-Wylie of the R.A.M.C. This statistic probably suggests that the majority of the population were of working class stock as you would expect).


I visited the memorial today (26th May 2024) to get some better images for this post. Appropriately, a thunderstorm and heavy rain came in just as I was leaving the park!


Another close-up view of the bronze statue.


The panel which bears the name of Pte. J. Langford amongst many others.



PTE. Langford's name in detail.


Angled view. Please note that the rubbish strewn around the periphery of the memorial area is due to gulls and foxes raiding the numerous waste bins and scattering the contents around the place before the parkie does his rounds!
The memorial is pretty immaculate all credit to the workforce and Birmingham City Council plus the fact that the gates are locked at night.

Spink stated in their saleroom description that 54 men were killed by lightning during the conflict. Some time ago, I had gone through Hayward (1982) counting up the number of fatalities due to lightning. But do you think I can find that piece of paper right now? Not on your life!

However, the Roll of Honour to be found on the Worcestershire Regiment website tells us that another Worcester was killed by lightning. 4533 Private E. Chance also of the 1st Battalion was killed by lightning, again at Ficksburg, on 25th December 1901.
I have no evidence to support this, but I think it highly likely that these men were serving on the blockhouse lines, which must have made perfect lighting conductors on the wide open spaces of the veldt!

I have struggled to make any positive inroads into the backstory of Private Langford other than that written above.

A question for David (Smethwick) if I may please. I think I recall one of your articles on Smethwickians that there was a chap called S. Langford who also was known from the Oldbury area. Perhaps a relative?

Great photos Steve despite the rubbish.

My Smethwickian Langford is on my supplementary list i.e his association with Smethwick started after the ABW. His name was Henry Langford (b 1869) and the 1911 Census, 1921 Census & 1939 Register all show him living at 81 Edith Road, Smethwick. He was actually born in Oddingley, Droitwich, Worcestershire but served in the DCLI. He had five brothers but they were called Herbert, Albert, Arthur, George & Thomas.

However, I can tell you something about your man - he attested on 10th November 1898, was employed as a "Wheelmaker" at the time and his father, who received £10 and a penny as a result of his son's death, was called John. See below and findable on Ancestry:



I have looked to see if a John/Joseph/James Langford with a father named John and who died in 1901 in South Africa makes an appearance of a public family tree on Ancestry but no joy.

Very surprising that only 1 out of 521 Brummies was an officer - not sure the majority of the B'ham population being working class explains it as across the country the majority of the population were working class. Only 1 of my 210 Smethwickians was an officer and if he had not survived his name should have been on the Cannon Hill Park memorial as he lived in the posh Edgbaston area of Birmingham when he want to war, his connection with Smethwick was that he worked there as a Company Director.

David,

Thank you for taking the time to run a search on Private Langford, it looks like his entry into Register of Deceased Soldiers Effects is all there is to go on for the moment.
We know he was a skilled man having the trade of Wheelmaker. Continued searches of local newspapers of the period may yield an address or other lead. But that needs an element of luck!

Interestingly, a 4582 Private A. Langford of the 2nd Battalion Worcesters died of dysentery at Heilbron on 4th December 1901(Watt/SAFF). He is not on the Cannon Hill Park memorial, nor on the Worcester Cathedral 1st Battalion tablet due to his being with the 2nd. So no connection other than surname apparent.

4533 Private E. Chance, also killed by lightning as mentioned in my previous post, is commemorated on both memorials, as confirmed on Find My Past.

Ficksburg Cemetery

The well-documented DCM group to Colour Sergeant J Batchelor, Worcester Regiment, is here: www.angloboerwar.com/forum/5-medals-and-...-war?start=432#96266