TOPIC:

I have seen this mentioned - there is a photo on Wikipedia from Wikimedia Commons showing a horse being unloaded from a ship via a crane at Port Elizabeth. Is this where all of the troops landed as well? Or were there other ports where the men landed and embarked to return to England?

For troops from the UK and Canada, I think Cape Town would have been the first port of call. Sometimes troops would change there to a smaller ship and continue to Port Elizabeth, it depended on where they were going to be deployed in South Africa.

Troops from Australia and New Zealand may have first landed at Port Elizabeth, as that would be a shorter journey. I'm sure others here will know more.....

For a bit of detail, I am especially interested to know where the Imperial Yeomanry would have landed in 1901. My grandfather was shipped home early in 1902, because he was sick and then convalescing, so presumably deemed not strong enough to continue serving.

From memory, the main IY base was at Greenpoint in Cape Town. I would suggest that he would have embarked for England from there. Sadly, only officers were listed on ship manifests, both coming to and going from South Africa. Your relative, as an Other Rank, would not have been recorded separately in any published list.

Rory

Kathy re Coppock wrote: For a bit of detail, I am especially interested to know where the Imperial Yeomanry would have landed in 1901.

Do you know which company of the IY he served in?

Durban was an important port for entries and exits throughout the war.

Brett