TOPIC:

Hi, I'm hoping someone can help me identify a friend of my great uncle, trooper Hugh 'Smoke' O'Hagan (106, 1227), an Irish-born New Zealander of the Imperial Light Horse (1st Batt).
According to a fellow trooper who spoke to the Otago Daily Times (reported in South Canterbury Times 12Aug1901, see paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/SCANT19010812.2.14 ), they met in unusual circumstances, with the badly wounded Hugh shooting a Boer soldier in the thigh in the aftermath of a battle which hadn't gone well for the ILH. They both recuperated in Johannesburg Hospital, where Hugh visited his former enemy daily striking up a friendship. His friend had his leg amputated, and Hugh was bent double with a bullet lodged near his spine, which eventually killed him on the voyage home on board Brittanic.
Here's what I have gathered so far:
-Apparently the Boer soldier was 6'2'' tall (Hugh was a 5'0" jockey).
-He had a leg amputated, probably near the hip.
-The battle was probably the one at Naauwpoort on 6 Jan 1901 in which the ILH lost 20 killed and 27 wounded.
-That would mean the Boer soldier would have been fighting under De La Rey.
-Assume he was taken prisoner and treated at a hospital in Johannesburg.
-I can't find any POW records that are a direct match for date and location.
If anyone can give me any tips on where to look that would be greatly appreciated. You don't often hear stories of friendship in war like this, and I'm interested to find out who this man was and perhaps how life worked out for him. Thanks, hjo.

HJO
Welcome to the Forum.
I can report that 1227 Tpr. H. O'Hagon of 1st ILH is shown in the palmer Casualty roll as "Sev. Wounded Naawpoort, 5/1/1901". Please note the alternative spelling of his surname. Yes, Ist ILH did suffer casualties on that day. I don't think my confirming info is going to assist you very much in seeking the name and details of the Burger involved in the incident.
In any case, it is a good story - and you never know what a Forum member might turn up.
Regards
IL

Its a very moving story, did Trooper O Hagan die of his wounds after May 31st 1902 ?

I have found he died 13th September 1901

www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/onli.../184927#embarkations

Thanks rhodri95. I've seen that date too (on the official ILH register in red pen). However, his death was reported in the NZ papers on 8 Aug 1901, so I'm guessing the actual date of his death was sometime early August. The Britannic was on its way back to South Africa by September. There are also differing reports on the date of the battle at Naauwpoort, with some saying 5 Jan and some 6 Jan. So I might search the POW lists for his friend again, using a broader brush on the capture dates. Thanks again.

STAR (Christchurch) Issue 7170, 7 August 1901, Page 3



The paper report his death on 7 August 1901