TOPIC:

I'm rather looking forward to getting my research teeth stuck into this new arrival! 1908 Pte. P Duffy of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was, depending on which casualty roll/newspaper report you read, either Severely Wounded at Bergendal on 27 August 1900 or Died of Wounds on the same day.

The medal rolls indicate that not only did he receive the clasp for SOUTH AFRICA 1901 but also that he returned to England as 'Time expired' Clearly if he had died in August 1900 neither of these statements can be correct. If they are both right then he can't have died.

Although no papers exist for him in the above guise, there are Militia papers for a John Duffy (note the J), with the same number (1908) with the same outfit (Royal Inniskilling's) - I am inclined to think this is one and the same man.

An interesting contretemps









Regards

Rory

Rory - 'In Memoriam' shows him only as DOW at Bergendal 27/8/1900 with no burial or grave details. The Inniskilling Diaries 1899-1903 show him as DOW Bergendal Farm 27/8/1900 but he's not mentioned in the text.

Cases like this are very frustrating. I have a similar case with 2824 Pte, R. Carney, Royal Scots Fusiliers, who was a Pieters Hill casualty. The casualty roll shows him as wounded. 'In Memoriam' shows him simply as died with no further details. His surviving (burnt) service papers show him as died of wounds at Pieters Hill 27/2/1900 (the day of the battle). His soldiers' effects entry shows him as died at Pieters Hill 27/2/1900. The QSA roll shows him as KIA.

The available evidence indicates he definitely died at Pieters Hill and in my view either he was killed in action or was mortally wounded and died on the battlefield before he was able to be evacuated to a field hospital.

David

Hi Rory,
It appears that ChrisE has previously owned the medal that you now have in your possession and has asked a similar line of questions to Forum members of whether or not that 1908 Private P. Duffy was either KIA, severely wounded or went on to survive this action.
See this link - Private 1908 P. Duffy, Inniskilling Fusiliers - A Bergendal casualty - or not?

Here is some more information from Military History Journal Vol 12 No 4, 2002, The Battle of Bergendal by Jooste Cecilia which talks about the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and the part that they played during this Battle.

It appears that the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers have no monument for this action, but I was able to find a list of other Fusiliers who also died taking part in this Battle. This list mentions that they were all buried at Braamfontein (no final resting place found) and that Private Duffy was one of four other Fusiliers that were killed on this day. See link - List of Fusiliers

Trev

Hi Rory,
I've looked this evening further into the information that I have found with regards to the possibility that all five of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers are buried at Braamfontein.

I hope that this doesn't sound too far-fetched, but I have found a monument in the Braamfontein main cemetery that lists British and Colonial soldiers who died in the Johannesburg and surrounding districts and are now buried at this cemetery. The monument is dated 1963 and was erected by the South African War Graves Board of Pretoria and I would imagine that this date would coincide with the reinterment of graves from the veldt to the larger capital cities.


What is noteworthy in pointing out that this monument also lists at the very bottom, five unknown British soldiers - could these be the five missing Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers that are said to be buried at Braamfontein.



I'm not sure if these five unknown British soldiers on this monument have been previously identified, but I would be happy to hear from any other forum member who might be able to shed some further light on this subject.

Trev

I agree with ChrisE's research that shows that 1908 P Duffy survived his wound and served in WW1.

I think it worth discussing the sources used in this thread:

Natal Field Force casualty roll - a modern creation from contemporary newspapers, not a government issued casualty list like it's shelf-mate SAFF is. NFF is full of errors and omissions, some are from newspapers others appear to be faults by the compilers. Having revised the casualty rolls I regard NFF as unreliable.

Cemetery memorials in SA - these were created when the various war time cemeteries and scattered graves were concentrated to ease the maintenance of graves. What was the source for these memorials - contemporary records. I don't know if any attempt was made to verify records. Any errors would be carried forward.

In Memoriam - Steve Watt's very useful index to British Empire casualties. Steve's primary source were NFF, SAFF & the graves and cemetery memorials. I don't know how much he was able to check and revise the names. I don't believe he had access to the digitised records we enjoy today. As good as In Memoriam is, it is unfortunately based on sources with faults - particularly NFF.

"Unknown soldiers" - there is a project to be done to see if they can be identified.

With the name Duffy, number 1908, the medal roll reference to 5th Batt, and time expired date of 1901, surely this is your man with the very common mistake of incorrect initial on the roll

search.findmypast.co.uk/record?id=GBM%2F...WO96%2F506%2F1281290

Peter