TOPIC:

Henry Thomas Rathbone Noonan

Trooper, South African Light Horse – Anglo Boer War
Lieutenant, 10th Infantry, (Wits Rifles) – WWI

- Queens South Africa Medal to 1888 Tpr. H.B. Noonan, S.A.LT. Horse with clasps Cape Colony, Orange Free State & Belfast
- Kings South Africa Medal to 1888 Tpr. H.T.R. Noonan, S.A.L.H. with clasps South Africa 1901 & 1902
- 1914/15 Star to Lt. H.T.R. Noonan, 10th Infantry
- British War Medal to Lt. H.T.R. Noonan, 10th Infantry
- Victory Medal to Lt. H.T.R. Noonan, 10th Infantry
- Various shooting medals

Henry Noonan, despite the claim made on his Death Notice that he was born in Cork, Ireland, was in fact a native Australian. Born in Sydney, New South Wales in 1878 he was the son of an immigrant Irishman John Henry Noonan, Car Examiner by profession, and his wife Alice Boyce. The couple had married in Sydney in 1865 and had already quite a number of offspring in the form of Charlotte Noonan, Ethel Marian Noonan, Lily Emmeline Noonan, Louisa Noonan, Adelaide Maria Noonan, Florence Mabel Noonan and Charles Frederick Noonan. These last two born after Henry saw the light of day for the first time.

In 1895 an 18 year old Henry sat the New South Wales Senior Public Examination under the auspices of Mr J. McDowell – the assumption being was that he passed this examination and was now free to follow whatever pursuit his aptitude and inclination determined for him. Four years later the Anglo Boer War erupted onto the world stage and, having experienced several reversals at the hands of the wily Boers; the Imperial forces cast their net far and wide in the search for additional manpower to champion the cause in South Africa. The Australians sent quite a number of men, among these were Imperial Bushmen Contingents from a number of States. Noonan, hoping to be among their number, came forward but, for reasons unknown, was not selected to represent them and, as was the case with those in the same situation, made passage to South Africa on their own steam to join the fight.

On 17 July 1900 at Pietermaritzburg in Natal a 21 year old Henry Rathbone Noonan (as he called himself) completed the attestation papers for service with the South African Light Horse and was assigned no. 1888 and the rank of Trooper. In answer to the question if he had ever served in Her Majesty’s Army he replied “Yes – in the Imperial Bushmen Contingent” although we know this not to have been true.

The SALH had been raised in the Cape Colony in November 1899 and the command given to Major (local Lieutenant Colonel) the Honourable J H G Byng (10th Hussars).

During the remainder of June and the month of July 1900 the Natal Army, of which the S.A. Light Horse was a part, was employed in occupying and fortifying posts on the Pretoria-Natal railway and the south-east portion of the Transvaal. In his telegram of 13th July, Lord Roberts mentions that on the night of the 11th the SALH by good scouting had pre¬vented the Boers from destroying the railway near Vlaklaagte, and that Lord Dundonald had captured a Boer camp. On 7th August General Buller commenced his advance from the railway to meet Lord Roberts' army near Belfast. On several occasions there was sharp fighting, in which the SALH had a most prominent share.

On the 27th General Buller attacked the immensely strong position held by the Boers stretch¬ing across the Delagoa Railway. Bergendal was the point selected for the chief attack. The enemy was thoroughly defeated. On the 29th the SALH drove the enemy out of Waterval Boven capturing five waggons in the process. Buller's force now moved north of the railway and after some fighting occupied Lydenburg. Frequently the SALH did particularly good service, as near Lydenburg on the 8th and 9th September, and they were often mentioned in the telegrams, as in Lord Roberts' telegram of 3rd October, when he said: "On the 28th Colonel Byng, by a well-managed night-march up the Groodenonein Berg, seized the top of Pilgrim's Hill with the SALH, forcing the enemy to retire hurriedly".

In October the SALH were taken to Pretoria, and on the 15th were there inspected and complimented by Lord Roberts. In the second phase of the war the regiment was mainly employed in the Orange River Colony. In his despatch of 8th March 1901, Lord Kitchener said that in the beginning of December 1900 Thorneycroft's Mounted Infantry and the SALH were railed from Standerton and Volksrust respectively to Bloemfontein, and were sent to occupy a line of posts between Thabanchu and Ladybrand, east of the capital. De Wet was then trying to get into Cape Colony, but was headed off by Charles Knox and driven north again. The bulk of the Boers broke through the line above-mentioned and got away to the Senekal district, but in his telegram of 15th December Lord Kitchener was able to say that the SALH and Thorneycroft's Mounted Infantry captured one 15-pounder taken at Dewetsdorp, one pom-pom, several waggons of ammuni¬tion, 22 prisoners, and some horses and mules. Soon after this the SALH and Thorneycroft's Mounted Infantry were, with other troops, railed to Cape Colony to operate against Kritzinger and other leaders.

Both regiments took part in many a memorable pursuit. In January 1901 the SALH was constantly in touch with the enemy, and on the 16th, in the Murraysburg district of Cape Colony, a detachment acting as advance guard became engaged with a strong force of the enemy. In February De Wet himself with a con¬siderable force got into Cape Colony, but being hotly and constantly pressed by numerous columns, including Thorneycroft's Mounted Infantry and the SALH, he was driven out again on the 28th February minus 200 prisoners, all his guns, waggons, and ammunition. The SALH remained in Cape Colony during March and April doing much hard work.

Both regiments were brought back to the Orange River Colony, and in May four squadrons of the Light Horse, under Major Gogarty, captured 31 armed burghers with their horses at Luckhoff. In his despatch of 8th October Lord Kitchener said that the column of Colonel Byng was brought from the south to the north of the Orange River Colony, and in the Vredefort Road, Reitzburg district, his column and that of Colonel Dawkins captured 81 prisoners in the last fortnight of September 1901. After three days' rest Colonel Byng and his men left Kroonstad on 6th October, and in the next three weeks took other 50 prisoners on the west of the railway. He then moved to the Heilbron district to take part in the great combined movements and drives in the north-east of the Orange River Colony, and until the close of the war the SALH and their leader were constantly at the very hardest of work, often trekking for thirty-six hours with scarcely a break.

On 14th November 1901 Byng and Wilson were nearing Heilbron when they were suddenly attacked. The despatch of 8th December says: "The attack, delivered in a resolute manner, was, after two hours' hard fighting, successfully repulsed on all sides by Lieutenant Colonel Byng's rear-guard.
In the despatch of 8th February 1902 Lord Kitchener gives details of certain driving operations, and said: "On the night of 2nd February Colonel Byng, who had remained on Liebenberg's Vlei, to the west of Reitz, learned that a Boer force was rapidly marching north and at no great distance from him. He promptly started in pursuit, and fifteen miles to the east came upon a convoy which was guarded, but not strongly, by a portion of De Wet's commando. The New Zealanders and Queensland Imperial Bushmen at once charged the enemy's rear-guard with the greatest dash and gallantry, whilst the South African Light Horse, rushing the centre with equal bravery, got well home and com¬pleted a very gratifying success. The enemy fled in a westerly direction, leaving in our hands one 15-pr gun, two pom-poms, three waggon-loads of ammunition, 26 prisoners". So Noonan had got his wish (after a fashion) at last and had been in action with the Imperial Bushmen!

The war over on 31 May 1902 Noonan and his comrades were discharged. In his case he was awarded both the Queens and Kings medals including the prized clasp to Belfast for the action that took place there. The Kings Medal roll alludes to previous service with the Imperial Bushmen Contingent but, as has been stated repeatedly above, this was more a case of wishful thinking on Noonan’s part.

It would appear that he had decided that the country was to his liking as he stayed on in South Africa. On 22 February 1903 he tied the marital knot with Margaret Elizabeth Lewis a widow whose maiden name was Jackson. The marriage took place at the magistrate’s office in Durban and Henry Thomas Rathbone Noonan (on this occasion his full names were used) was described as being a Hotel Manager.

At some point thereafter the couple moved to the Transvaal where Noonan renewed his acquaintance with the military in the form of Wits Rifles or otherwise known as 10th Infantry – part of the Active Citizen Force. Testimony to that fact came in the form of a number of shooting medals dating from 1910 – Noonan, by all appearances, was a crack shot and was rewarded for his efforts with The Army Championship, South Africa Medal (the Methuen South African Cup) in 1911, followed by a medal to the “Rifle Meeting” also in 1911 and then, successively by medals to the Scott Cup 1912, the Bracken Cup (Transvaal Bisley Association) in 1914 and the White Horse Shooting Trophy and Reconnoitring and Patrol Competition Medal (1914) won by Wits Rifles – Colour Sergeant H.T.R. Noonan.

Although not of a military nature the Wits Rifles were involved in what became known as the Industrial Crisis of 1914, commencing in the Coal mines of Dundee in Natal industrial unrest fuelled by militant trade unions spread to railway workers of the Witwatersrand who were fearing retrenchment. On the 9th January the drivers refused to work and on the same day ACF units, 10 000 in number, were available to contain any disorder. The Wits Rifles numbered 658 men and were part of the larger force which quelled the uprising of 20 000 men before it had really got off the ground. Ten days later the men were demobilised and sent home from the Wanderers ground.

The Great War was not many months away and, having finally burst into full force on 4 August 1914 saw the Wits Rifles mobilised for training 11 days later. Johannesburg’s The Star newspaper of 20 July 1915 best described the role played by the Wits Rifles in the first leg of the campaign – that of German South West Africa.

“The Wits, were the first of the Union’s Active Citizen Forces to take the field, they left Johannesburg on the 24th August last year and went first to Port Nolloth and escorted the South African Mounted Riflemen to Raman’s Drift. Namaqualand provided their field of work from August to the middle of November, when they went to Luderitz, from which base they moved a month later to Haalenburg and on to Aus, leading the advance on to Aus Nek. Then the call came to the north and from Luderitz the regiment proceeded at the beginning of May to Swakopmund. A month later they were holding the lines of communication at Omaruru, while Botha’s advance northward’s proceeded. It was at Omaruru that the news of the surrender of the German forces was received. From the brief survey it will be seen that the Wits. have covered a very large field – larger than that probably covered by any other infantry unit.”

This last sentence was the most telling – German South West Africa with its vast expanses was not an infantryman’s war. Indeed it was better suited to the Cavalry (Mounted Brigades) who were able to travel with some agility and were hot on the heels of the retreating Germans. On 29 April 1915 the Wits Rifles returned by rail to Luderitz Bay transferring to General Botha’s Northern Force. On 7 May they embarked aboard the Galway Castle for Walvis Bay landing there on the next day, en route for Swakopmund, for which they entrained on 12 May. On 9 July the German s surrendered at Tsumeb and the campaign was over. On 20 July the regiment returned to Johannesburg from where they were disbanded.

Noonan’s service card indicates that he was a Company Commander with G & H Company as a commissioned officer with the rank of Lieutenant and with no. 192. Interestingly he provided his next of kin not as his wife but as his mother of Zulette, 24 Watkin Street, Bondi, Sydney, New South Wales. Having been active in the war from 12 October 1914 (the date he entered the theatre of war) until 24 July 1915 he was awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal all of which were dispatched to him on 14 July 1921.

There is a reference in Noonan’s file to a possible transfer to the Rand Light Infantry but nothing seems to have come of this. On 12 July 1915 from Usakos in German South West Africa, Colonel Thackeray wrote to the Secretary for Defence about the Promotions under his command – here Noonan was to be confirmed a Lieutenant with effect from 12 October 1914.

The war over Noonan returned to civilian life and appears to have cut ties with the military. He next appeared in a ships manifest dated 16 February 1927 when he boarded the “Borda” bound for South Africa from London. He travelled alone and was described as being 47 years old and in the employ of Rand Mines Ltd. He had sailed to London on the “Berhima” arriving there on 3 December 1926.

After this we can assume that Noonan disappeared into the labyrinth of the mining world and it was only when, on 23 August 1945, a Mr Henry Thomas Rathbone Noonan of Denver, Johannesburg appeared in court papers that it could discerned that something was amiss. What was afoot? Margaret Elizabeth Noonan, his spouse of Faure Street, Gardens, Cape Town was suing him for divorce. In the Plaintiff’s declaration it was stated that, “There is issue of the said marriage, - one major child, a daughter. In or about the year 1929, and at Johannesburg, in the Transvaal, the Defendant wrongfully, maliciously and unlawfully deserted the Plaintiff, and since that time has refused to restore conjugal rights to the Plaintiff, though requested to do so.”
Preceding this Noonan had written a letter to his wife’s solicitors stating,

“Gentlemen

I have received your letter of the 31st instant informing me that it is customary for a financial undertaking to be incorporated in the order of divorce in favour of a dependant. I therefore, agree to the inclusion – in order to expedite matters – of a clause in the order to effect that I will pay my wife the sum of fifteen pounds per mensum, no more, and no less me or either of us shall die.

I am gentlemen…”

Both parties seemed satisfied with this arrangement and a decree of divorce was issued on 3 October 1945 making Noonan a free man. At some point he retired to Durban where, at Addington Hospital in that city, he passed away on 23 May 1959 at the age of 80 years and 6 months. He had remarried in the intervening years (at Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape) and was survived by his second wife, Kathleen Cornelia Noonan (formerly Avis born Browne) and his daughter, Lahlie Louise Pope. His address at the time of his death was 9 Shorelands, Snell Parade, Durban.

Hello Rory

Very interested to see the 1911 The Army Championship medal, I have only seen two in 25 years one silver and one bronze. What metal is Noonan's?

I have a silver example to Lt CM TIppetts South Wales Borderers who came second in the Rifle Meeting. Tippetts was not an ABW vet.

I haven't looked in many years but failed to find anything on this event.

Regards
Meurig

Hello Meurig

The group is not with me at the moment but I attach quite a few more photos which should help with that question. Are they considered rare? I don't normally go in for shooting medals but these were with the group.

Regards

Rory

Hello Rory

My judgement is based purely on what I have seen (and not seen) for sale. There are obviously a number of these medals, one would imagine an Army Championship would have a fair number of winners and runners up. I am sure there must be a write up - perhaps it is in the Transvaal Archives?

All I can find in NASA is:

DEPOT VAB
SOURCE G
TYPE LEER
VOLUME_NO 100
SYSTEM 01
REFERENCE 351/5
PART 1
DESCRIPTION ARMY CHAMPIONSHIP RIFLE MEETING 1909.
STARTING 1909
ENDING 1909

Regards
Meurig

If you google "Army Championship Medal 1911" a group comes up on the DNW site with a gold version.

Lot 901
Date of Auction: 19th June 2013
Sold for £270
Estimate: £240 - £280
Five: Serjeant W. Greenstreet, 2nd Battalion Hampshire Regiment, killed in action, Gallipoli, 8 August 1915

1914-15 Star (6682 Sjt., Hamps. R.); British War and Victory Medals (6682 Sjt., Hamps. R.); South Africa Army Championship Rifle Meeting Prize Medal 1911 (2), 39mm., gold, inscribed, ‘L/c W. Greenstreet Champion’ and ‘Individual Championship Unknown Ranges’, with gold brooch bar; another, bronze, inscribed, ‘L/c W. Greenstreet’ and ‘Second Team in Judging Distance Championship’, good very fine (5) £240-280
Footnote
William Greenstreet was born in Buckland, Hampshire, lived in Landport, Hampshire and enlisted at Gosport. As a Sergeant in the 2nd Battalion Hampshire Regiment he was killed in action at Gallipoli on 8 May 1915. His name is commemorated on the Helles Memorial.

That's good - 5 examples then. They also sold the bronze I had noted to Cpl HH Brake Hampshirew Rgt.

Rory wrote: If you google "Army Championship Medal 1911" a group comes up on the DNW site with a gold version.

Lot 901
Date of Auction: 19th June 2013
Sold for £270
Estimate: £240 - £280
Five: Serjeant W. Greenstreet, 2nd Battalion Hampshire Regiment, killed in action, Gallipoli, 8 August 1915

1914-15 Star (6682 Sjt., Hamps. R.); British War and Victory Medals (6682 Sjt., Hamps. R.); South Africa Army Championship Rifle Meeting Prize Medal 1911 (2), 39mm., gold, inscribed, ‘L/c W. Greenstreet Champion’ and ‘Individual Championship Unknown Ranges’, with gold brooch bar; another, bronze, inscribed, ‘L/c W. Greenstreet’ and ‘Second Team in Judging Distance Championship’, good very fine (5) £240-280
Footnote
William Greenstreet was born in Buckland, Hampshire, lived in Landport, Hampshire and enlisted at Gosport. As a Sergeant in the 2nd Battalion Hampshire Regiment he was killed in action at Gallipoli on 8 May 1915. His name is commemorated on the Helles Memorial.