TOPIC:

Adrian,thank you so much for that photo,
I've been looking for a photo of a memorial in Colesberg for ages and never found one, but
I have seen the one on The Barracks website for the cross at Worcester Hill that also has his name on
Is it a mass grave or do they have individual head stones as well?

Also thank you David for the information on his QSA medal, I wonder if I will be able to track it down.
This really has made my day.

Thank you both again.

Martin Allen

Hello Martin,

Pleasure, I took pics of almost all the head stones etc and there was no individual head stone for him.

During the 1960's a decision was made to centralise many of the war graves from the outlying area's and create Gardens of Remembrance etc. The remains from the outlying graves/area's etc were transferred to these newly created areas and placed into mass graves. This was done in part due to the deterioration of the original graves and also due to construction and soil erosion etc. The names were placed on marble panels in these Gardens of Remembrance.

I have a figure of 282 buried in this Cemetery in Colesberg with only a handful actually having named head stones and this handful would have been the men who were originally buried here.

I also have a pic somewhere of a head stone in Colenso that tells us there are the remains of 29 unknown soldiers buried below it !!


Regards
Adrian

Frank,
Thank you for the picture of my Great Uncles name on the medal roll, My Grandfather also served out there with the Worcester's his name was Harry Allen 5958, Would that be on there to?
I have his medals and his QSA medal has 5 clasps, presumably they run from bottom to top in the order they were gained.


Adrian,
Thank you for the info on the graves, I didn't realise that the bodies had been transferred as late as the sixties, I thought the memorial looked more modern so that would explain it.
Do you know if the original memorial cross is still at Worcester Hill.

I'm really pleased to have found this site, thanks again chaps.

The published quarterly casualty returns show him listed with his CO, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Coningham who also lost his life that day.

Frank,
Thanks for that, I see they've got his number slightly wrong

Hello Martin
Yes, he is shown in WO100/184 with the rank of Lance Corporal and with five clasps, Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal and both South Africa 1901 and 1902.
Regards Frank

Martin 99 wrote: Frank,
Thank you for the picture of my Great Uncles name on the medal roll, My Grandfather also served out there with the Worcester's his name was Harry Allen 5958, Would that be on there to?
I have his medals and his QSA medal has 5 clasps, presumably they run from bottom to top in the order they were gained.


Adrian,
Thank you for the info on the graves, I didn't realise that the bodies had been transferred as late as the sixties, I thought the memorial looked more modern so that would explain it.
Do you know if the original memorial cross is still at Worcester Hill.

I'm really pleased to have found this site, thanks again chaps.