SOUTH-AFRICA-L Archives

From: "Mansell Upham" <>
Subject: SA LIGHT HORSE
Date: Mon, 01 Nov 1999 12:57:01 +0000

WALLY & DAFANIE et al

I read with interest the comments on local recruitment and the SALH. For
what it may be worth: My own maternal great-granddaddy Robert Vaughan Dale
& his brother Joseph Hugh Lilley Dale - both England-born - joined up
locally (Rosebank, Cape Town) as late as January 1900. Bob Dale joined the
2nd Regiment (later dubbed the Lord Roberts' Horse) some time in January
1900 as they "fell in" on 9 January 1900 and were inspected by Roberts &
Kitchener the following day. Roberts disembarked on 10 January - presumably
many troops accompanied him too. I only know this from a manuscript written
by Bob Dale retrieved from family in England and have yet to look for
records of local recruitment. I know what happened tp Bob Dale until the
troops fought at Dekiel's Drift - but what happened to his regiment
thereafter and when they disbanded I still need to establish. Hope to keep
you posted on any further progress.

Mansell Upham
Bossiesveld

>I am discovering that my grandfather Robert BENNETT who is a holder of t=
he=20
>Queens South Africa medal may have joined the British army South Africa =
not=20
>Britain.
>
>
>He explained that he may have been employed in auxiliary services etc. I=
=20
>wonder what they may have been. ???
>
>It seems so strange that his army number doesn't come up and I wonder if=
=20
>there are separate rolls for people who joined up locally, so my questio=
n=20
>is - does anyone know if there are any records of these people availabl=
e=20
>in South Africa??
>Dafanie Goldsmith ne=E9 BENNETT

Hi Dafanie, there were many units which were comprised of men who were
locally recruited. Possibly the most well known were the "Imperial Light
Horse" and the " South African Light Horse". From what I can gather, they
were formed on 10 October 1890. Initially, these units comprised
"Uitlanders" who had fled from the Rand, just before the outbreak of
hostilities. By the end of the war, some 20 000 "locals" had joined these
two units. There were quite a few "local" units, but I can't help with
where you could find information on them.

Thomas Pakenham's "The Boer War" mentions these units, and is well worth
reading ( the full version, not the abbreviated illustrated version).
Regards
Wally Greig

This thread:

• SA LIGHT HORSE by "Mansell Upham" <>