TOPIC:

I have a great uncle, Leonard Cayley, whose name is listed on a commemorative plaque in Croydon Town Hall, as having served in the South African War 1899-1902 with the 1st VB The Queens. I also have a copy of his Attestation Paper for the Canadian Forces (he emigrated in 1911)on which he states he was on active service 18 months with The Queens West Surrey in South Africa, and two years on Reserves (national). I was surprised therefore, when doing further research, that his name appears as having served with the 96th Company (Metropolitan Mounted Rifles) 24th Battalion Imperial Yeomanry. I was convinced this was the same man when I looked at my photograph of the Croydon plaque and picked out two more names: W B Galletley and T J Mays, whose names also appear in the above mentioned Imperial Yeomanry list. Can anyone explain please how these names appear in two different regiments?

Welcome Lilactree,

L Cayley is listed as 34433 Trooper in the 96th (Met MR) Co IY. Unlike most of the men in this unit, he served for only 141 days.

There should be an attestation paper for him in WO128 (IY Soldiers' documents) at the National Archives which might shed more light on this.

His service papers are also available at the NA or online at FindMyPast: L Cayley, born 1880, Croydon, London. British Army Service Records 1760-1915

Good luck!
David