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Private 2752 Harry Grindley 2nd Battalion - Kings Shropshire Light Infantry.

Harry was born in November 1866 at Holy Cross, Shrewsbury, Shropshire. The family resided at Swan yard where Harry lived with his brothers Frank and Joseph, mother Margaret and his father Joseph who worked as a railway porter at Shrewsbury station.



Harry was schooled in the Shrewsbury area and in his late teens he was employed as a butcher. He was of stocky build with light brown hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion. Weighing in at over 10 and a half stone and standing 5 foot 4 inches tall and carrying scars and cuts to his left hand, quite possibly a reminder of his butchery apprenticeship which left there mark.

February 1888, Harry hung up his butcher's apron and joined his local regiment. He was aged 21 and served his basic training in England and Ireland. He then went overseas to Malta for over a year and then to Egypt. It transpires that Harry may have had a short fuse, as he is mentioned several times in the regimental defaulter book and Court Martial Sheets. Obscene language, disobeying orders, striking fellow soldiers and absence without leave from barracks, in fact, his Corporal stripes seemed constantly being ripped off and resown back on to his uniform on several occasions.

October 1891- Private Grindley returned to England from Egypt where he remained with his regiment for over 8 years. Whilst serving, he married Alice Jones in 1893 and had his first child Alice May in 1894. Also, it is believed he adopted a step son. Thomas Arnold Evan's who was born in 1891.

Harry's final trip abroad was fast approaching and in November 1899 he found himself and his comrades on board the Arawa and the S.S. Chicago which both arrived in South Africa on 1 December 1899 with a total of 936 men from 2nd Battalion KSLI.

After their arrival the 2nd Battalion were mainly employed on the lines of communication in Western Cape Colony, the headquarters being at Orange River Station, with a detachment at Zoutpans Drift.  On Lord Roberts' arrival at Modder River they, along with the 2nd Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, 1st Gordon Highlanders, and Canadian Regiment, were put into the 19th Brigade under Major General Smith-Dorrien, and formed part of the IXth Division under General Sir H E Colvile


2nd KSLI resting on the Veldt

Timeline pertaining to Private Harry Grindleys service from Dec1899 to Nov 1900. Private Grindleys QSA entitlement was :- Cape Colony, Paardeberg, Driefontein and Johannesburg.





The Battle of Paardeburg 18 - 27 February 1900.

On 5 February 1900 2/KSLI became part of 19th Brigade commanded by Brigadier-General H L Smith-Dorrien which in turn was part of the 9th Division commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir H Colville K.C.B.
The 2/KSLI arrived at the Paardeburg Drift on the Modder River at 4 a.m. on 18th February after a 66-mile march in 5 days from Ramdam, Orange Free State. 2/KSLI was made up of 8 companies lettered A to H.

Boer General Cronji leading an army of 4,500 with a very large train of oxen pulled carts had been retreating from The Magersfontein Hills along the Modder River to the Orange Free State. He decided to make a stand at Paardeburg on the Modder River and entrenched his position.
The British 6th Division commanded by Lieutenant-General Kelly-Kenny were able to surround General Cronji’s forces by 18 February. Kelly-Kenny plan was to utilise the overwhelming British artillery to smash the Boer army into submission. This began on 18 February with some success.
The arrival of Lord Kitchener changed the plan and direct infantry assaults were ordered on the Boer positions. 2/KSLI were part of the British reserve and were ordered to cross the Modder River and envelop the Boer positions on the north bank. After wading waist deep through the river 2/KSLI (‘A’, ’E’ and ‘G’ Companies) (‘B’ and ‘C’ Companies were escorting a sapper telegraph company on a different task) (‘H’ and ‘F’ Companies remained on the south bank) took up positions on Gun Hill some 1000 yards from the Boer lines having driven the Boers off Gun Hill in skirmish order.




Colour Sergeant 3097 William Drury of ‘C’ Company 2/KSLI described in his campaign diary entry for 19 February 1900. (Information taken from the KSLI museum archive);

"Started march to catch up our Regt. at 7 a.m. After marching around 10 miles we halted for a couple of hours rest, then started again and after about another 8 miles we came to where we could see the artillery firing. We afterwards learned that Cronje and a few thousand Boers has been surrounded after a good fight the day before at a place called Paardeburg. We had to cross the river to join our Regt and the water was up to our hips. We had a job to find our Sgt owing to the darkness, but we managed it by about 9 p.m. While marching about in the dark I fell over a ant-hill and cut the back of left hand on my rifle. I saw the Doctor but he could not do anything to it till morning as no lights were allowed owing to close proximity of the enemy".

Gun hill is about 50 feet higher than surrounding area and named after a gun battery posted there.
Although 2/KSLI could fire on the Boer positions they were exposed to heavy Boer fire themselves. This resulted in 8 killed and 32 wounded on 18 February.

On 19 February there was a temporary ceasefire between the armies. On 20 and 21st February 2/KSLI continued to hold its ground under fire suffering another man killed and five wounded. When darkness fell on the evening of 21 February 2/KSLI rushed forward some 200 yards and entrenched their new forward position. 2/KSLI was then relieved by the Gordon Highlanders.

On 26 February 2/KSLI covered a successful attack by the rest of 19th Brigade on the Boer positions with their fire.
On 27 February General Cronji surrendered with the British taking 4069 prisoners and capturing 6 Artillery guns.

Battle of Toba ( Thaba) Mountain 30 April - 1 May 1900.


Toba mountain is the alternative spelling of Thaba, the mountain and surrounding ridges and valleys which are situated 43 miles South South West of Winberg with Thaba Nchu 10 miles Northwest.


Toba / Thaba, map and information courtesy of Neville_C

On the British army advance to Winburg, the Boer’s under the command of Commandant Phillip Botha were found be holding a line of ridges and Toba ( Thaba) mountain that blocked the route. ‘B’ and ‘E’ Companies under Major Dawkins of 2/KSLI were ordered to secure the crest of Toba mountain, the key feature, together with the Kitchener’s horse.
There was a lack of cover so that the companies held their ground under Boer fire whilst a flank attack was made. Major Dawkins was wounded so Major Austin took over command. ‘B’ and ‘E’ Companies finally charged and secured the summit on the morning of 1 May with half of ‘B’ company under Sergeant Scouse seizing and holding the nek (a mountain col or gap between two peaks) for a few hours under heavy Boer cross fire. 4 of the 2/KSLI died in the action and 12 were wounded.


Railway sabotage

On 30 July 1900 on a sharp curve on the railway line near Frederikstad Boer forces had sabotaged the rail tracks by unscrewing the fishplates (the flat bar between the rails that holds them together) and carefully replaced the loose rails. this followed other attacks and damage to railway lines in the area, such as at Bank station in July 1900, when the track had been torn up and train wrecked.
A heavy train of supplies which also carried a draft of the 2/KSLI including sick men who were rejoining was derailed at the location of the loose rails. The engine was derailed and the heavy supply trucks piled up on top of each other. the front carriage was completely crushed though the rear carriages were unharmed. 13 of the 2/KSLI were killed and 41 injured.

December 1900, Harry was on his way back to England. With over 12 years service he was discharged in February 1901. During this time it was decided to move away from Shropshire and locate over the border to Cheshire. The 1901 census has the family living in the parish of Nantwich. He was working as a engine / motor cleaner. It is possible his work may have been linked to the railway industry based at Crewe.
The family resided at 13 Cobden Street in the Monks Coppenhall parish of the county of Cheshire. I am not certain how long the family stayed in Cheshire. However, the 1911 census records the family now having moved back to Shropshire and are living at Bowdlers Passage Wyle Cop Shrewsbury.


The Grindley family residence

Harry has now followed in his father's footsteps and is working as a Station Outdoor Porter at Shrewsbury station. The family has grown considerably with the addition of 2 sons and 2 daughters. There are now a total of 9 people including a fellow railway worker James Fiest boarding at the Grindleys home.


Grindleys Family Photo circa 1917/18
Harry is on the far left with his step son Arnold standing ( In uniform). The rest of the family in no particular order are as follows :-
Mother Alice, seated 2nd from the right, elder daughter Alice May standing behind her mother.
I am in the process of having a bash at identifying Nora, Walter, Lawrence, Kathleen, Frank and Irene reference their position in the photograph.



Additional notes and Observations.

1914 the dark clouds of war were rapidly approaching the Shires again. The United Kingdom entered WW1 on August 4th 1914. There was serious domestic unrest amongst the labour and suffrage movements. However, those conflicts were put on hold. Significant sacrifices were called for in defeating the Empires enemies again. Harry, now aged 53 decides to don his uniform again and in September 1914 he enlisted. 1916 sees Harry serving in 329 Company Royal Defence Corps regimental number 18663. Appointed provost Sergeant in 1918 and discharged in December 1919. His last known profession reference the 1921 census was recorded as a bricklayers labourer.
Harry died in 1925, in the village of Atcham, Shropshire.

Harry's step son Arnold Evan's. Private, 201362 also served in the KSLI 4th Battalion. A Baker by trade, he was wounded in action in France. He then transferred to the 15th Battalion Notts and Derby regiment. Private 208164 in November 1918. Although Arnold was adopted by Harry it is very fitting to know that Arnold changed his surname from Evans to Grindley.

I am the present custodian of Harry's QSA and Arnold's WW1 medals, so it is rewarding to have both father and stepsons entitlement etched with the surname Grindley on all 3 medals. And, of course to keep them together in memory of the Grindley family.






Sources, Thanks and Acknowledgements.

Ancestry UK
Find My Past.
Shropshire Regimental Museum.
Angloboerwar.com. Neville _C
Google Maps.

Any errors, corrections, additional information are always welcomed.
Thank you for taking time out to read the post.

Best wishes

Dave.......

Hi Dave,

A very nice write-up indeed; I chuckled at the short fuse comment...he didn't hold back.

It's also rewarding to have a photograph of the recipient.

It's good of you to keep the family medals together; I have ended up collecting family groups for that very reason.

All the best.

Regards,
Shaun

Dave,

Thanks for sharing. Nice to keep the family medals together with a concise history of their provenance.

Is it just me and the QSAs I have collected to the Shropshire and Worcestershire Regiments, or are Shropshire blokes of the period extra fiery?

Dave - like the write-up.

I have found Harry & family on the 1921 Census and here is No.9 on the return completed by Harry:



They were still living in Bowdlers Passage and Thomas above was a "Baker". Happy to email you the complete document if you PM me your email address.

Regarding short fuses etc I find amongst regular soldiers those with clean disciplinary records are the exception rather than the rule. Steve seems to be claiming the Worcesters were goody-goodies, I need to remind him of some of the men of the 1st Worcesters who refused to march resulting in two of "my" Smethwickians returning to Blighty under arrest where they spent several months in jail and forfeited their medals.

Shaun, Steve and David

Many thanks for your replies regarding Harry.
Looking at his photograph, even at the age of 53, he does look like a formidable chap. Short in stature perhaps, but as the old saying goes " Built like a Brick S**t House " With regard to the short fuse comment and Shropshire blokes. I do have a few Shropshire Lads who certainly pushed the boundaries. However, I have quite a few soldiers in my collection from all over the country who have found themselves in a spot of bother for various offences and having a different viewpoint on discipline.

A really well researched and presented post, Dave. Many thanks.