TOPIC:

An unusual and rather interesting object relating to the short-lived Waterval prison camp is this manuscript cheque dated March 30, 1900. The cheque for £ 5.- (equivalent to £ 770.- today) was to be drawn on the Ladysmith Branch of the Standard Bank of South Africa and made out by James Gage-Hyde in favour of one A.C. Evans. A search on this website lists Sergeant J.G. Hyde (Born 30/7/1872) with Ladysmith connections and trooper A.C. Evans, both of the Bulawayo Field Force.

Everhard,

In the 1980s there were still members of the Hyde family living in the Ladysmith area. Welly (Llewelyn) Hyde was responsible for the maintenance of ABW graves and monuments in the vicinity. His grandparents had lived at Hydewood, a farm just to the north of Bell's Kopje. I visited the homestead in July 1978, which was then occupied by George Tatham, the president of the Ladysmith Historical Society. The area on the north side of the town, "Hyde Park", is also named after the family.

Neville





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James Gage Hyde lived at Hydewood [Hydeswood], as mentioned in the above post, dying there in 1950. It appears, therefore, that he was the grandfather (or great uncle?) of Welly Hyde, the man who allowed me and my friend to help with the 1978 exhumation programme. See: Exhumations (Ladysmith area) - August 1978

It is a small world.









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Neville, small world indeed. I bought this document a few years ago (in a lot with an ALS dd 15.7.1901 by Frank Dadd to Frank Dowding and a permit dd 1.7.1901 issued to a Miss Malan to bring a packet to a POW by the name of Fisher) and assumed that it was written out in the similarly named town on the Delagoa railway line. Only after reading this thread I realised its significance. If Welly Hyde is still alive, perhaps he knows more about James Gage Hyde e.g. why he was a member Bulawayo Field Force and how he ended up in the prison camp.

Unfortunately, Welly died in 1987.
Having checked S.A. records, James Gage Hyde was actually his great uncle. Welly's grandfather (James’s brother) lived at Aller Park, the farm immediately to the south of Hydewood (see map posted above).

I agree, it seems a bit odd that he served with the Bulawayo Field Force. Other members of the family were content with a stint in the Ladysmith Town Guard.

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