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Dear all,

My great great great-uncle was Sidney Rogers of Birmingham. He was born around 1881 and fought in the 2nd Boer War. I know this only because he sent the following leaves home in a letter:



The Harry mentioned was his nephew, and the 'unknown name' was the baby being carried by my great great grandmother - who turned out to be Elsie, my great grandmother.

Given that he was only 18 in 1899 he would likely have been very lowly in the army...how do I go about trying to find out more about him???

Many thanks for reading,
William

William,

I have seen a few of the leaves before and your examples look to be in excellent condition. How big are they and what colour?

Do you know any more about Sidney Rogers to narrow the search? There are about 19 on the QSA rolls.

Regards
David

Presuming he joined a local line regiment, there is one man of this name in the Warwickshire Regiment and another in the Notts and Derby Regiment.

Getting warmer??

Hi David,

thanks for your response!

The leaves are 11 cm long, or in old money, 4 1/4 inches. They're brown with the faintest hint of green but still have a furry feel even 113 years later! I had no idea that it was a relatively common idea - I suppose it was a very cheap souvenir for the family at home.

As for anything more I know of him: he was born 1881 to parents William & Rosanna Rogers who, died in the 1890s - in which case I guess any next of kin would have been one of his brothers: John, Harry, William T, and Alfred. These were all older than Sidney. I don't know what his occupation prior to signing up was but most of the family seem to have been metal workers and gun makers of one kind or another - very common in Birmingham.

Thanks for taking the time to reply - any help you can provide is very gratefully received. My Nanna - Sidney's great niece - would be delighted to hear anything that can be discovered.

Kind regards,
William

William,

The leaves are almost certainly 'Silver tree' (Leucadendron argenteum). Silver tree is a well-know fynbos species which is endemic to the Western Cape. Actually its distribution is confined to the Cape peninsula. It was common practice for travellers over the centuries to pick a silver tree leaf on the slopes of Table Mountain as a souvenir. Silver tree leaves have often been used as Bible book markers. The leaf appears a dull greenie-brown with a furry texture but under certain light takes on a distinct silver look.

Cheers,

Mark

Thanks Mark - that's very interesting and ties at least part of Sidney's service down.

David - I should have said last night that the Sidney of Warwickshire sounds very interesting. Do the lists you have give any more detail on him?

Thanks,
William