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The 3rd (Militia) Battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment were embodied in early May 1900 and their enthusiastic members had high hopes of putting some Boers in their place but the War Office said “No”. How about some Chinese Boxers then? – once again the War Office said “No”.

The War Office then relented to some extent and allowed the Battalion to supply a draft of 100 men to bolster the 1st Battalion of the Northumberland Fusiliers. They set sail on the Orotava on 28 June 1900 but their journey was somewhat troubled by a collision with a German ship and it was a month before they disembarked in South Africa. Amongst their number was one man born and raised in Smethwick and another who although he was born in Birmingham was living in Smethwick when he attested for Militia service in 1894. A 1906 letter by another of the 100 tells us they were volunteers. So from Militia men they had gone to being part of one of the top line infantry battalions and they were to take part in the two bloodiest encounters of 1902 when the opposition was led by Koos De La Rey.

The next members of the Battalion to arrive in South Africa were 46 men sent out to bolster the 1st Battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment. I don’t have an exact date for their departure & arrival but it was probably in August 1900.

In December 1900 the Battalion was disembodied only to be re-embodied in May 1901 and on 17 June 1901 they travelled in their own name to South Africa with one of their companies being a Mounted infantry Company. Based on the QSA Medal Roll they comprised about two dozen officers and 650 men. Amongst their number were five men born and raised in Smethwick and a sixth left England on16 January 1902 as a draft. Once in South Africa the unmounted companies spent their time entirely in Cape Colony guarding Boer prisoners and on Blockhouse duty. The Mounted Infantry Company also never left the Cape Colony but spent their time as part of the flying columns combatting the late invasions into the Cape Colony by the Boers.

If you visit Lichfield Cathedral today you will find a stained glass memorial window which was unveiled in July 1904 and commemorates the men of the 3rd Battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment who never returned home from South Africa and the inset panel contains 25 names:



In the order they are listed, which is not perfect alphabetically, here are the details for each I have been able to glean:

1 Colour Sergeant H Hadley
1254 Colour Sergeant Henry Hadley. Died of enteric fever at Simon’s Town on 18 September 1901. Born in Birmingham. Married man at the time of his death.

2 Sergeant J Cope
3009 Sergeant John Cope. Died of disease at Wynberg, 29 December 1901. John was born and raised in Walsall, Staffordshire. Married man, aged 26, at time of his death.

3 Corporal J T Smallwood
6316 Corporal James Frederick Smallwood. Accidentally shot whilst on duty 7 March 1902 at Lamberts Bay. James was born and raised in Birmingham. Aged 23 at time of death.

4 Private G Bull
2412 Private George Bull. Attached to 1st Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment. Died of disease at Wynberg 17 October 1901. George was born and raised in Walsall, Staffordshire. Married man with two children, aged 34 at the time of his death.

5 Private G Bates
3885 Private George Bates. Attached to the 1st Northumberland Fusiliers, No. 6971. Wounded at Yzter Spruit on 25 February 1902 and hospitalised at Klerksdorp. At some stage he was transferred to a hospital in Johannesburg where he died on 29 March 1902. George was born and raised in Walsall, Staffordshire. Aged 31 at the time of his death.

6 Private H Butler
4794 Private Harry Butler. Attached to 1st Northumberland Fusiliers, No. 7018. Killed in action at Tweebosch, 7 March 1902. Harry was born and raised in Birmingham, Warwickshire. Aged 22 at the time of his death.

7 Private J Burke
4857 Private John Burke. Attached to 1st Northumberland Fusiliers, No. 7020. Killed in action at Kleinfontein on 24 October 1901. John was born in Bilston, Staffordshire but by the time he attested for Militia service he was living in Willenhall, Staffordshire. Aged 21 at the time of his death.

8 Private S Brown
6031 Private Samuel Brown. Served in the Mounted Infantry Company. Killed in action at Fraserburg on 17 April 1902. Samuel was born and raised in Birmingham, Warwickshire. Aged 20 at the time of his death.

9 Private W Cole
5872 Private William Cole. Died of enteric fever at Clanwilliam on 20 or 21 June 1902. William was born and raised in Birmingham, Warwickshire. Aged 19 at time of death.

10 Private A Chilton.
3016 Private Amos Chilton. Attached to 1st Northumberland Fusiliers, No. 7048. Killed in action at Yzter Spruit on 25 February 1902. Amos was born and raised in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire. Aged 30 at the time of his death.

11 Private P Clarke
1828 Private Patrick Clarke. Attached to 1st Northumberland Fusiliers, No. 6974. Killed in action at Kleinfontein on 24 October 1901. Patrick was born and raised in Bloxwich, Staffordshire. Aged 31 at the time of his death.

12 Private S Giles
4458 Private Samuel Giles. Attached to 1st Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment. Died of Disease 9 April 1901 at Ficksburg. Samuel was born and raised in Darlaston, Staffordshire. Aged 23 at the time of his death.

13 Private E S Gould
5270 Private Edward Samuel Gould. Died of enteric fever at Beaufort West on 18 February 1902. Edward was born and raised in West Bromwich, Staffordshire. Aged 22 at the time of his death.

14 Private W H Griffiths
4549 Private William Henry Griffiths. Attached to 1st Northumberland Fusiliers, No. 7063. He was killed in action at Yzter Spruit on 25 February 1902. William was born and raised in Willenhall, Staffordshire. Aged 33 and a married man with a 3 year old son at the time of his death.

15 Private M Hill
5649 Private Matthew Hill. Died of disease at Simon’s Town on 11 August 1901. Mattthew was born and raised in Willenhall, Staffordshire. Aged 25 at time of his death.

16 Private T Leach
5118 Private Thomas Leach. Served in the Mounted Infantry Company. Killed in action at Fraserburg on 17 April 1902. Thomas was born and raised in West Bromwich, Staffordshire. Aged 20 at the time of his death.

17 Private T Morris
3813 Private Thomas Morris. Attached to 1st Northumberland Fusiliers, No. 6980. Killed in action at Yzter Spruit on 25 February 1902. Thomas was born and raised in West Bromwich, Staffordshire. Aged 29 and a married man at the time of his death.

18 Private B Mason
3126 Private Benjamin Mason. Attached to 1st Northumberland Fusiliers No. 7008. Killed in action at Lichtenburg on 3 March 1901. Benjamin was born and raised in Darlaston, Staffordshire. Aged 26 at the time of his death.

19 Private T McFarlane
4214 Private Thomas McFarlane. Attached to 1st Northumberland Fusiliers, No. 6997. Killed in action at Kleinfontein on 24 October 1901. Thomas was born and raised in Wednesbury, Staffordshire. Aged 29 at the time of his death.

20 Private F Mole
5378 Private Frederick Mole. Served in the Mounted Infantry Company. Died of enteric fever on 21 May 1902 at Fraserburg. Frederick was born and raised in Birmingham, Warwickshire. Aged 20 years at the time of his death.

21 Private J Porter
5280 Private James Porter. Died of enteric fever at Simon’s Town on 08/09/1901. James was born and raised in Walsall, Staffordshire. Aged 20 at the time of his death.

22 Private W Reid
3669 Private William Reid. Attached to 1st Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment. Died of disease at Bloemfontein on 06/02/1901. Wiiliam was born and raised in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire. Aged 24 at the time of his death.

23 Private S Roberts
4580 Private Stephen Roberts. Attached to 1st Northumberland Fusiliers, No. 7000. Killed in action at Yzter Spruit on 25 February 1902. Stephen was born and raised in Birmingham, Warwickshire. Aged 24 at the time of his death.

24 Private J Turner
3965 Private Joseph Turner. Attached to 1st Northumberland Fusiliers, No. 6984. Killed in action at Yzter Spruit on 25 February 1902. Joseph was born and raised in Willenhall, Staffordshire. Aged 33 at the time of his death.

25 Private J H Withers
5402 Private George Henry Withers. Served in the Mounted Infantry Company. Killed in action near Fraserburg on 16 January 1902. George was born and raised in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire. Aged 19 at time of his death.

As with every mass war memorial I have studied there are some errors – in this case only apparently minor ones for Smallwood & Withers concerning their initials. Errors over initials are not surprising considering some of the old fashioned ways of writing letters like F, G, J & T. However, I do wonder if the error regarding Withers was more fundamental as a J H Withers (No. 5416) did also serve in the 3rd Battalion SSR but the medal roll gives his rank as Corporal and there is no evidence, beyond this memorial, that he perished in South Africa.

From the above descriptions it can be seen that the City of Birmingham with 7 fatalities, despite being in Warwickshire, made a considerable contribution to the men who served in the Battalion – they all appear to have lived in the west of the city in the suburbs bordering Staffordshire. However, they were outnumbered by the men from the Black Country, the coal mining/industrial area which lies between Birmingham and Wolverhampton, with 15 of the 25 fatalities – Walsall (4), West Bromwich (3), Willenhall (3), Darlaston (2), Bilston (1), Bloxwich (1) & Wednesbury (1).

Summarising, during the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902 the 800 men of the 3rd Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment suffered 25 fatalities – 14 down to battle, 1 due to an accident and 10 down to disease. An overall attrition rate of 3.1% is unremarkable but the lack of an officer and deaths due to battle outstripping those due to disease are surprising.

Splitting the figures down to the separate factions the 11% attrition rate for the 100 men who were attached to the 1st Northumberland Fusiliers is notable and it is obvious, despite being mere militiamen, they played a full part on the battlefield. By the time they arrived in South Africa the northeners they were attached to were part of Von Donop’s Column which repeatedly attracted the attention of Boer forces commanded by Koos De La Rey. There were four bloody encounters the 1st Northumberland Fusiliers were involved in:

03/03/1901 at Lichtenburg when the 3/SSR contingent contributed 1 to the 15 of the 1/NF KIA.
24/09/1901 at Kleinfontein when the 3/SSR contingent contributed 3 to the 12 of the 1/NF KIA.
25/02/1902 at Yzter Spruit when the 3/SSR contingent contributed 5 to the 12 of the 1/NF KIA.
07/03/1902 at Tweebosch when the 3/SSR contingent contributed 1 to the 2 of the 1/NF KIA.

I don’t know the overall battle strength of the 1/NF on each of these occasions but I would suggest for a maximum of 100 men 10 out of the 41 KIA shows they more than pulled their weight.

All those members of the Battalion left standing went home about 2 months after the war ended. Those who had been attached to the 1st Northumberland Fusiliers reverted to being members of the 3rd Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment the day they stepped foot again on the soil of England but their medals appear to have been issued in the name of the 1st Battalion of the Northumberland Fusiliers. It is unclear what the situation was for those who served in the 1st Battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment.

The battalion returned to being a militia battalion shortly afterwards and based on the discharge dates given on about 60 sets of militia attestation papers nearly all of the returnees continued to be members – oh to be a fly on the tent walls at their first post Boer War camp when they would have exchanged tales of their very differing experiences in South Africa.

Medal wise, for those that stayed the course:
Those attached to the 1/NF & 1/SSR qualified for 2 medals, KSA with both date clasps and QSA with three clasps - Cape Colony, Orange Free State & Transvaal.
The remainder only qualified for the QSA with 3 clasps – Cape Colony, South Africa 1901 & South Africa 1902 although the draft missed out on the South Africa 1901 clasp.

Other memorials to the 25 are still under investigation but all those who were attached to the 1st Northumberland Fusiliers are commemorated in the centre of Newcastle-upon-Tyne on the Northumbrian Regiments Boer War Memorial. The men from Birmingham should all be listed on the Birmingham Boer War Memorial in Canon Hill Park - Mole, Roberts & Smallwood definitely are. There are Boer War Memorials in some of the Black Country towns. The one in Willenhall no longer exists but the bronze plaques that once adorned it, which bear the names of Griffiths, Hill & Turner, have been preserved and relocated on a wall near the Memorial that commemorates the fallen of both World Wars.

At least 5 widows were created by the Battalion’s involvement in the Anglo-Boer War. To date I have only been able to follow up on one of them and it does not make happy reading. She remarried another soldier and although they had four children he went to prison at least twice, the first time for a horrendous assault on her and the second for failing to support his family.

The Smethwickians who served in the 3rd Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment in South Africa 1899-1902:

Attached to 1st Northumberland Fusiliers:

3885 Private John Howell. SA service dates 28/06/1900 – 03/08/1902. 1/NF Regimental No. 6995. Born and raised in Smethwick.

4949 Private John Evans. . SA service dates 28/06/1900 – 03/08/1902. 1/NF Regimental No. 7042. John was born in Birmingham but when he attested for Militia service in September 1898 he was living at 17 Market Street, Smethwick.

The following two have extremely tenuous links to Smethwick prior to their service in South Africa but have been refused admission to my database of Smethwickians who served in the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902:

3259 Private William Ground – SA service dates 28/06/1900 – 03/08/1902. 1/NF Regimental No. 7009 claimed to have been born in Smethwick when he attested for Militia service in October 1894. All other records show he was born in Birmingham. He was almost certainly born just on the Birmingham side of Birmingham/Smethwick border in the Winson Green area where even today people argue about whether they are in Birmingham or Smethwick. He went on to serve in the RFC/RAF in WW1 as ground crew.

3674 Private Edward Gething – SA service dates 18/06/1900 – 12/09/1901. 1/NF Regimental No. 6072. Edward was born and raised in West Bromwich (which neighbours Smethwick) and when he attested for Militia service in October 1894 he was working for the brother of Smethwick’s future first Mayor who owned an iron foundry in Birmingham.

The following served amongst those who fought in South Africa in the name of the 3rd Battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment s
Served in the foot core

6050 Private George Henry Barnes. SA service dates 17/06/1901 - 18/07/1902. Born and raised in Smethwick.

6023 Private Alfred Charles Higgins. SA service dates 17/06/1901- 18/07/1902. Born and raised in Smethwick.

5208 Private Thomas Hill. SA service dates 17/06/1901 – 18/07/1902. Born and raised in Smethwick.

5207 Private Harry Jones. SA service dates 17/06/1901 – 18/07/1902. Born and raised in Smethwick.

and finally the draft:

6260 Private Henry Jesson. SA service dates 16/01/1902 – 18/07/02. Born and raised in Smethwick

Thank you for sharing your very interesting and clearly very thorough research. Once again I’ve learnt something new about a unit I have never looked at before.