TOPIC:

I am trying to find any info about my grandfather. According to his obituary (he died in 1952, "during the Boer War, he served as a wealthy general's private servant. His family remember his story of how the General was taken prisoner and Alfred, or John as he was commonly know, fought along with the privates - without pay - until the end of the war."

My grandfather lived in the Salehurst/Mountfield, Sussex area and many of his relations worked on the Wigsell Estate. He may also have worked there as he was a groom on an estate. I can find him on censuses in 1881 and 1891 as a labourer and 1911 as a coachman but not 1901 (understandable if he was in S. Africa).

I've tried to look up captured generals without success (except for Boer ones). I've also tried to look up owners of the Wigsell estate but again without success.

I'm just to fill out his story as no-one in the family seems to know much about our family prior to their move to Canada. I also wonder if I can't find him but maybe the general, I'll be able to fill in more blanks.

hi,

That's an interesting story. I have looked on the medal rolls for the Boer War and there is no one listed with that surname. This means he was not issued with a medal and not that he was not there. The surname is unusual. Are there any alternative spellings.

Perhaps we can approach this the other way? Do you know the name of the general? Would this be the same person who owned the estate?

Regards
David

Thanks for your reply.

I have seen the name misspelled as Rammery or Rumney but since he was not really a solder, I didn't expect to find him winning a medal.

I think that the General may have been from the estate or nearby - Wigsell Estate (sp? also seen as Wigshall), Salehurst, Sussex. I have looked up a history of the Estate but the owners are not listed for the Boer War time period - Culpeppers until 1625, then English (1700's), then a branch of the Harcourt family. In the 1920's, a Lord Edward Cecil owned it. I tried looking at Generals names and bios to see if any were born in that area but didn't see any.

I am not overly familiar with British geography so may have missed a connection (I am Canadian and we got one year of British history in school. I've only really started learning in trying to trace out my family tree.)

Lord Cecil was in Mafeking during the Boer War so this may be a connection?