More military content from Ancestry

Ancestry's been busy again on the military front!

Ancestry.co.uk, the UK’s number one family history website, has launched online the UK, Casualties of the Boer War, 1899-1902, detailing 55,000 British and colonial soldiers who were killed, wounded, captured, or who died of disease during the Second Boer War.

This collection of military records highlights the horror of the conflict; detailing the deaths of more than 20,000 British soldiers and the injuries of a further 23,000. Typically each record details the soldier’s name, rank, force, regiment, battalion and date and place of death, injury or capture.

Most of the other records are of capture or disease, which was rife in South Africa during the early 20th century. Dysentery, typhoid fever and intestine infections were among the most common contagions and account for around 12,000 deaths in the collection.

As well as death through sickness and battlefield injuries, the collection reveals some unusual ‘fates’ met by soldiers. These include records of 86 British troops who were killed or injured by lightning, including a mysterious case of two soldiers struck dead within moments of each other when a lightning storm swept their base in Stormberg near Cape Town. One soldier is even listed as having been eaten by a crocodile at the Usutu River.

As the number of deaths recorded in this collection correspond with the fatalities noted in other historical sources, this archive can be considered one of the most comprehensive resources of British soldiers in the Second Boer War available.

Anyone trying to find out more about an ancestor who fought in the Second Boer War will find these records invaluable, particularly as most British soldiers who fought in the conflict won’t appear in the 1901 Census of England and Wales because they were fighting in South Africa.

Following on from the First Boer War, the Second Boer War was a dispute over territory in South Africa, fought between the British Empire and Dutch settlers (known as ‘Boers’ – the Dutch word for ‘farmer’). The catalyst for this secondary conflict was the discovery of gold in the Boer-controlled South African Republic, also known as the Transvaal.

The resulting gold rush encouraged thousands of British settlers (known as uitlanders) to migrate to the republic. Before long the British numbers exceeded those of the Boer, prompting tension around ‘uitlander rights’ and which nation should control the gold mining industry. When the British refused to evacuate their forces in 1899, the Boer declared war.

The so-called 'Boers' were farmers who were used to riding and hunting for survival and were therefore considerable opponents for the British Army and claimed the lives of around 8,000 British soldiers. The Boer themselves lost 7,000 troops.

In an attempt to cut off supplies to the Boers, a 'scorched earth policy' was introduced. This resulted in the destruction of Boer farms and crops, and subsequent introduction of concentration camps where the Boer and African women, children and workers were interned. Thousands of Boers lost their lives here, primarily through malnutrition and disease.


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Ancestry.co.uk, the UK’s number one family history website, has launched online the Gateshead, Durham, England, Roll of Honour, 1914-1920, detailing the heroics of more than 4,000 soldiers from Gateshead who fought in the First World War.

The records are a collection of newspaper clippings, photographs and names of soldiers from Gateshead (then part of Durham) who served between 1914 and 1920. Most of the clippings include a portrait profile picture of the soldier, information on their unit, rank and status and whether they were wounded, killed or reported missing.

In some instances the records provide details on the soldier's service, awards and even group photographs. One such photograph features the local Gateshead police force pictured together before they went off to fight on the Western Front.

Whilst most of the soldiers in the collection are privates (2,265), the collection features all ranks, including Gunners, Brigadier Generals, Seaman, Signallers, Doctors and even Pipers.

These rolls of honour were originally compiled by a publisher who usually would have charged a fee for each entry, meaning that not every soldier will appear in the records. However, detailing over 4,000 of Durham’s First World War soldiers, this collection is one of the most comprehensive archives of its type available.

The Gateshead, Durham, England, Roll of Honour, 1914-1920 was transcribed as part of the Ancestry World Archives Project, which provides the public with indexing software and training support to enable them to contribute in making even more historical records available and searchable online. To date, thousands of Britons have contributed their time to this project.

(With thanks to Annabel Bernhardt at Ancestry)

Chris

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