Grandfather in the Border Regiment (forum archive)

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 Posted by Daisymae » 09 Apr 2010, 04:57
Daisymae
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Hi All: I'm new at this. My grandfather served in the Boer War - medals are all we have as records - they say he was in Bord. Regiment (I assume this means Border). The medals say Orange Free State, Ladysmith, Tugula Heights, Cape Colony. How would I identify his regiment? We know very little about him. His name was Henry Boardman Tyson and he was born about 1879-1882. I just read some interesting things about this regiment on this site and am hoping someone reads this and can give me some guidance. He was from the Lancashire area. Many thanks for any guidance that members may have.
 Posted by CockneyTone » 09 Apr 2010, 22:15
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Daiseymae, welcome to the Forum. My Grandfather was in the Border Regiment and served with them during the Boer war. It is more than likely that your Grandfathers Service record survives, I obtained a copy of my Grandfathers from the Public Record office in Kew. There were only four pages but it gave a lot of information on him and his service. I obtained my copies thirty plus years ago by just applying to them by letter, however I understand that they no longer do this, you have to either attend in person to carry out a manual search or pay a researcher to undertake the process on your behalf. obviously there is a cost implication either way. Are there any other clasps on his medal? (My Grandfathers has the ones you mention plus Transvaal and South Africa 1901. Also is there a number around the edge of it which would/should be his service number which will aid your search?Regards and good luck with your research.

Scottie.

 Posted by CockneyTone » 09 Apr 2010, 22:29
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Daiseymae,more info on researching; http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-subject/boerwar.htm?WT.lp=rg-3068

Good luck,
Scottie.

 Posted by Daisymae » 13 Apr 2010, 18:05
Daisymae
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Scottie:

Thanks very much for this information and for the additional web site. I will check into that as well. My brother has the medals and I'll contact him re the rim and any more details that he can provide (isn't email great?). I will probably have more success if I get his regiment no. How lovely that you found your information. And thanks again for sharing your insight.

 Posted by Daisymae » 13 Apr 2010, 18:29
Daisymae
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Thanks again: Just thought I'd tell you that I found some information in one of my files that had a number on the rim of a medal. It says: Medal printed South Africa......on rim: 5865 Pte. Boardman, Bord R., held by ribbons holding 5 horizontal bars stating: Transvaal, Relief of Ladysmith, Orange Free State, Tugela Heights, Cape Colony.This should be of help to me - thanks again.
 Posted by CockneyTone » 23 Apr 2010, 11:45
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If you have a look at some of my previous posts on the Boer war it will show the Regiments (and your relatives) movements earlier in the conflict, must get around to updating it!Good luck with your research.

Regards,
Scottie.

 Posted by Daisymae » 03 May 2010, 21:31
Daisymae
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Thanks for your help. Thought I'd update this thread as I found out some disappointing news about the soldier I wrote about. It turns out that he deserted during the Boer War. I don't know when. Apparently he served for some time because of the medals he has cover a period of time. A researcher found that he is listed on the medal rolls as having forfeighted - deserted. He was about 20 at the time. I suspect he may have changed his name after this action. There are no services records (apparently) at Kew. Does anyone know how to access service records anywhere else? I am looking for his parentage. Naturally we are disappointed that he deserted but he went on to lead a good life and later served in WWI (possibly under an assumed name?). Any leads are appreciated - thanks for the information and advice given before.
 Posted by CockneyTone » 03 May 2010, 22:49
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Thank you for the very interesting update!Seems really strange that the records say he deserted but you actually have his medal? That does not seem right to me (But I am not an expert!) In your first entry you refer to medals? If he has other ones could you please describe them for us please?My understanding was that Kew would be the only place to have his records!

Kind regards,
Scottie.

 Posted by Daisymae » 07 May 2010, 05:44
Daisymae
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My brother has two medals for him: one is from the Boer War - service no. on rim is 5865 - medal is South Africa 1901 - bars for Transvaal, Relief of Ladysmith, Orange Free state, Tugula Heights, Cape Colony, Border Regiment. The other medal is from is participation in WWI in Canada. We do have the attestation papers from WWI, his regiment no. and such. Thanks again for your help and interest.

I did follow your advice and hired a researcher who said she found the medal record and it said forfeited - deserted. She did not find any other records and said they may ot have been kept because of the desertion. If he re-enlisted there is no record of that (apparently). I did read your posts - interesting and enlightening about the Boer War - have also read quite a bit on the internet and learned a lot.

 Posted by Daisymae » 07 May 2010, 05:47
Daisymae
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Just noticed another post on this site re uniforms: I have a picture of another grandfather in uniform, believe it was also in the Boer War - would be interested to find out if anyone can identify the regiment, etc. from the uniform. We have no other information about his participation except rumor has it that his mother tried to 'buy him out' but was not successful.
 Posted by kerchi » Sat Jun 05, 2010 10:09 pm
Kerchi
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In memory of
John Bardgett
(15309 L/Cpl.)

11th Border Regiment
Who died 1st July 1916.
Hi Daisymae,

I have read your posts and found your story interesting. My main interest is WW1 not Boer War but I will agree with Scottie that his records will be at Kew; WW1 records also at Kew but also available online at Ancestry.co.uk. Scotties info on the Boer war is very interesting......note to Scottie, always interested in reading about your knowledge on the Boer War, any chance of more details?I agree with Scottie that it seems strange that he has mentions of medals after deserting (this is such a strong term and I do prefer forfeiting) but if he did serve for a long period of time before his desertion, this does not change the fact that he did his part and was duly awarded these medals. However, desertion was very bad thing and was one of the worst crimes in the military and so in his records, other than saying deserted or forfeited, the chances of finding anything else is slim indeed.Regarding WW1, I would certainly believe that he did not enlist under that same name as he would almost definitely not have been accepted because of his past, which is why so many men lied to get in, be it because of their pasts, maybe they wanted a better life than they already had (as so many were on the brink of starvation or no work etc.), or because they were too young or did not declare certain past illnesses etc. But you say you have his attestation papers from WW1, then you mention "if he re-enlisted in WW1", surely you have details of his enlistment of WW1 during his time in the CEF if you have his attestation papers? You certainly have an interesting story and I would like to learn more if you have any new information.I would also be interested to see pictures of the medals from the Boer War and the uniform you mention in your posts.

Chris

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