TOPIC:

I am researching my great grandfather John Joseph Brady born circa 1858. The only records I can find for him are the 1911 UK Census (where he is recorded but then crossed through) and my grandfather's wedding certificate of 25/12/1919 where he shows as bride's father (deceased). He was awarded The Queen's SA Medal in 1902 as Trooper JJ Brady 1002 in Kitcheners SF Scouts. I have found his award & enlistment record on-line and have confirmed he enlisted and was dischared in Durban. I also understand this unit recruited locally anyway. What I can't understand is how someone in his circumstances got to Durban to enlist, presumably it would have been far too costly and I can't find him on passenger records. I have considered the possibility he was a Merchant Seaman who took a one way contract or jumped ship in search of adventure but for the period in question Merchant Seamen can only be found if you know a ship they served on so this is a dead end. Another possibility is that he enlisted in another unit in the UK and was transferred or re-enlisted. Of course he could also have deserted and re-enlisted. Does anybody have any ideas how I can search for these possibilities?

Service in the SAMIF was a way to get into the Anglo Boer War at great speed, it could be very rewarding financially too, many men came from across the empire and in some cases, actually well beyond it, so nothing unusual here whatsoever, of course, he could have merely worked his passage, but, perhaps the first thing to do would be to have a careful look through the passenger lists in the Board of Trade series at Kew, almost all of it is available on line these days, but, however the method used by Brady, the end result is the same.
He joined the ranks of the 1st Kitchener's Fighting Scouts at Durban on the 6th of April 1901 and was discharged there as a Farrier Corporal on the 10th of October that year, WO100/256 and 257 confirm his medal and four clasps were issued on the 23rd of December 1903.
Surviving rank and file papers for this particular regiment are in WO126/76-82, so it would be worth taking a look for those at some stage.
The 1st KFS was a particularly good regiment, five squadrons in strength, raised in Pretoria on the 23rd of November 1900, standard enlistment was for six months, they were to see some really intense fighting in the Northern Transvaal and were witnesses to the wars most brutal phase out on the veldt, being disbanded in Johannesburg on the 7th of July 1902.
Men like Brady brought about the peace that came in 1902, the hard way, you can forget about Talana and such places, the enemy were to be ultimately bled dry in the Transvaal.

Frank, Thanks for the update. Interesting to know about his unit, I will research further at National Archives at some stage.
I already searched passenger lists and can't find anything likely to be him. Working passage or jumping ship is a distinct possibility but due to lack of such records virtually impossible to prove. As I can't find my great gandmother or their wedding either it's possible they all started out in South Africa and only she came to UK. Great grandmother doesn't show on UK census till 1911 although there is a "possible" for their daughter in 1901.