TOPIC:

Errr - Upwards - do you have membership of Ancestry? - your grandfather makes an appearance on 23 Public Family Trees - some of which carry his photo and photos of his wives - one tree claims he was married 3 times but most seem to go for only 2. He also seemed to change his name frequently with Howard Upwards being one of the suggested variants. Based on these sources of information he never returned to the UK and died in 1957 in Rhodesia. Rory's above detection of his marriage to an Asian lady in Durban is verified by these sources. I can give you a lot more information if you don't have membership of Ancestry but would be best done by email because (a) there is an awful lot of it (b) some of it is a bit shocking.

Attached is a larger copy of the Militia Attestation.

Percy was born 8 MARCH 1884, Chichester, England. The Attestation indicates he was18 years and 3 months. If 18 years and 3 months is added to his known birth date, the attestation date would have been June 1902, whereas the Attestation document date was signed 10th October 1901. This leads me to believe he was not being honest regarding his age!

Percy Edward Cobden changed his name multiple times after the ABW. How many were assigned to the IYC? Perhaps he assumed the name of the person the original bayonet was assigned. Otherwise I'm curious as to how he would have come into possession of the bayonet. Is it possible to determine if the IYC and the 5th (Militia) Bn. Rifle Brigade interacted with each other?

The Rifle Brigade are a light infantry regiment, whereas the I.Y.C. were Cavalry. I therefore think it highly unlikely that there would have been any interaction between the two corps.
The Yeomanry movement was extensive, with every county having their own regiment, so, as you can imagine, the numbers involved are very large. Around 34,000 yeoman fought in the Anglo-Boer War.

Maybe he picked the bayonet up while serving in South Africa.
Corporal Cobden's own bayonet should, in theory, have been handed in at the termination of his period of service. A Rifle Brigade bayonet would normally be marked "R.B".

You mention his own bayonet was possibly turned in at the termination of his period of service. Are there records or forms that are generated at the termination of service and if so are they accessible? Also, if someone did not want to return to the UK at the end of service, were they free to remain in SA or did they have to receive permission not to return?

1. I am unaware of any surviving records listing issued/returned equipment.

2. Yes, men were permitted to remain in South Africa. At their own request, they could be discharged in South Africa rather than returning to the UK with their regiment. Unfortunately Corporal Cobden's Service History sheet has not been filled in, so, in this particular case, we don't know the nature of his discharge in S.A.
Below is an example of a completed sheet, which includes the statement "Discharged in S.A. at His own request. Pte., 27-5-02" (7456 Private John Turton, Volunteer Active Service Company, Notts & Derby Regt.)










Corporal Cobden's blank Statement of Service and an example that has been correctly filled out (for Cobden's comrade 5969 Pte Arthur Braddock, who returned home).

..