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Charles Wright

Private, Uitenhage Volunteer Rifles – Anglo Boer War

- Queens South Africa Medal with clasp Cape Colony to 37 Pte. C.Wright, Uitenhage V.R.
- Colonial Auxiliary Forces Long Service & Good Conduct Medal to NO. 88 Pte. C. Wright, Uitenhage V.R.

Charles Wright is a bit of an enigma about whom very little is known. The first encounter we have of him comes courtesy of a baptismal entry for his daughter, Lillian Mary Wright, who was born on 15 January 1895. The entry contains a wealth of information including the fact that Wright was 34 years old and born in England. By occupation he was a Locomotive Worker (or Labourer) in Uitenhage and had married a Mary O’ Laughlin on 21 October 1885, who ten years later, in 1895, was a 27 year old housewife born in the Cape Colony. The record also indicated that there were other children born to the couple – 1 son and 1 daughter living and 1 son and 2 daughter’s deceased (of which one was stillborn) Their residence in 1895 was Market Street, Uitenhage.

That Wright worked with Locomotives was hardly a surprise as Uitenhage, in the late 19th century, was a very large railway junction for the inland route away from Port Elizabeth.

On 24 February 1892 Wright enlisted as a Private with the Uitenhage Volunteer Rifles and was assigned no. 37. The U.V.R. had a long and distinguished history – although they didn’t exist in name before 1892 there was a No. 6 (Uitenhage) Company attached to the Prince Alfred’s Guard in Port Elizabeth. In 1889 the members of No. 6 Company agitated for separation and to be allowed to form their own Corps, this being disallowed they resigned as one body until, in 1892, some of the old members of the Company approached the Member of Parliament for the town resulting in the formation of the Uitenhage Volunteer Rifles with effect from 4 February 1892.

As can be seen Wright, who joined 20 days later, was a foundation member of the U.V.R. who numbered 100 men at this time under Captain J.M. Thornton. The members tried to get a dark green uniform but were obliged, like all the other volunteers to accept red.

In April 1895 a military camp of instruction was held at Grahamstown where the U.V.R. among other regiments was present. Periodic camps followed thereafter, typical of the times, where militia-style units were kept busy with drill and instruction. This was to stand them, ultimately, in good stead for war clouds were looming. The Transvaal under President Paul Kruger and his ally, the Orange Free State, were on a collision course with Great Britain. This escalated into open war on 11 October 1899 and the U.V.R. were ordered to mobilise a month later, on 11 November 1899, and were placed on the lines of communication at Cookhouse and Witmoss tunnel.

From there they were sent to Cradock, and afterwards one company was sent to Rooispruit and two companies to Thebus which was occupied by a column under General Knox. Having been relieved by the King’s Royal Rifles they proceeded to Schoombie before being ultimately transferred to Colesburg (all of these places in the Eastern Cape). After the re-occupation of Colesburg by the British they at different times supplied detachments for duty at Steynsburg, Henning and Kroomhoogte, as well as at Arundel and Rensburg.

Several detachments went on across the Orange River and all the way up to Johannesburg and Pretoria but Wright appears to have been one of those men who remained behind in the Cape Colony earning the clasp to that name on his Queens Medal.

Post-war the Corps was re-organised and the active service contingent disbanded. In January 1906 the U.V.R. consisted of 145 men of all ranks. Wright continued serving and was rewarded with a Colonial Auxiliary Forces Long Service and Good Conduct Medal – this medal was applied for in 1910 with the approval from the Governor General coming on 11 July of that year. He eventually took his discharge on 1 January 1913.

Charles Wright passed away on 17 August 1946 at the age of 86. He was a retired Baker at the time and was resident at 17 Stone Street, Port Elizabeth. His intended place of burial was Uitenhage and the cause of death was Chronic Myocarditis and Chronic Prostatis



The contingent that went to collect the Colours from Cape Town in 1904. Wright was not among them


A photo of the UVR at the time of the Boer War