RootsChat.Com
General => Armed Forces => Topic started by: joahou on Tuesday 22 November 11 12:28 GMT (UK)
-
Hello
I am sorry if I am posting this in the wrong forum and please move it if it is.
I am trying to find out about my great grandfather's career in the armed forces.
I have him on the medal roll of 1902(WO 100/261), listed as Natal Police, regiment number 2533.
Name: CH Hounsom (Charles Herbert)
I know he came to South Africa as part of the military police in the Boer war and he never left SA.
I would love it if someone could give me more detailed information on his career in the army and also is there a way to see if he was given the medal?
Many thanks.
Jo
-
Hi Jo
There aren't any individual records for the Natal Police in the National Archives. The medal roll says he enlisted March 1901. It does not say that he served with any previous units.
You could check the passenger lists - on the Ancestry Worldwide sub for example - for him making his own way there from the UK. If he arrived from India, NZ etc he will not be listed in records in the UK. How to proceed really depends on what you know about his earlier life.
Ken
-
km1971
Are you saying that he did not enter the army in the UK but when he arrived in South Africa?
I have him on census in 1901 in the UK in an army barracks so I think he came to South Africa with the British army.
-
hi jo
is that your post on the boer war site ? .
also i,ve looked in service /pension records just in case of him being in british army but although there are a handful of hounsom,s he,s not one of them .
just checked passenger lists and found this , no first name but hounsom, left southampton 11 feb 1901 for south africa aboard the arundel castle ,occupation police .
well done ken for thinking of the passenger lists .
regards
trevor
-
Thank you Trevor.
Yes it is my post on the other site.
I guess my census record must not be correct if he left England in Feb 1901. If he states his occupation as police, does this mean he resigned from the police in the UK and then joined them in SA?
Thanks again for the info.
regards
Jo
-
hi jo
ok well i won,t bore [ no pun intended ] with the record on the boer war site but you did notice he was a trooper in the natal police , that too me sounds like he was in a mounted unit !?, as to wether he resigned from the police over here pure speculation on my part but it may be that he left with a proviso he could come back and resume his career here but found he liked the place so much he stayed so resigned some time later , it would mean searching for police records if they exist to find the answer to that .
what census record are you referring too only i can only find an 1891 cen for a charles herbert hounsom aged 13 living in hastings with mother and numerous others .
regards
trevor
-
Trevor I was looking at one that was stated as being for:
Charles Herbert Hodgson in 1901
As Hounsom is a commonly mispelled name I took this to be him as the Charles Herbert, date of birth and age are correct. But I am obviously mistaken and it was probably Hodgson.
regards
Jo
-
hi jo
that cen you were looking at had a c h hodgson born in nottinghamshire but never mind .
alsohave you checked out naairs for info on c h hounsom ? .
regards
trevor
-
Yes, Trevor, I realise that now. And yes, I have looked at the archives for CH but I think I only found his death notice. I will try to see if I can get more info from police records somehow.
Thanks so much for your assistance.
regards
Jo
-
hi jo
didn,t you see the record for a charles herbert hounsom and eileen ocea hounsom 1938/1939
and eileen ocia hounsom also known as eileen o cea hounsom [ born fynney ]charles herbert hounsom est no 28104/1938 deceased estate start 1972 end 1972 .
in all i found 15 records for the name hounsom but only the above and possibly one more for a charles herbert hounsom born in shepstone natal & patricia ann hounsom [ formerly murray , born evans ] deceased est start 1970 end 1971 .
hopefully you can find more on the above , do you have any idea if c h hounsom married out in sa or if any children were born as well .
regards
trevor
-
Are you saying that he did not enter the army in the UK but when he arrived in South Africa?
Yes. Because the entry in his medal roll for previous service during the Boer War is blank.
Lots of men made their own way to SA and enlisted in the local forces there. The pay was 4-5 times that of the regular British army.
Ken
-
Ken, thanks. That explains why he would've left the UK police to join the police here.
Trevor, he married Eileen Ocea in about 1914. They lived in the Krantzkop area for a while as their first born son was born there and then they moved to the Port Shepstone area.
I have a trophy cup of his that he won for target shooting in 1912 it states that he is a Sergeant in the M Dist of NP. From another source it would seem that this was the Lower Tugela / Maphumulo district but not sure about this.
regards
Jo
-
Hi there,
"2533 Tpr. C.H. Hounson appears on the Natal Police roll (14 January 1907) for the Queen's South Africa Medal. His medal is listed with South Africa 1901 & South Africa 1902 clasps (but all SA 1902 clasps were cancelled on this return for the NP) and it indicates that his medal had not been issued at an earlier date on another roll (Seems he got QSA with SA 1901 clasp). That would seem to confirm his serving in the Natal Police sometime during the period 1901-1902. His name does not appear in any of the earlier rolls starting in September 1901". (angloboerwar.com, posted by Mark Wilkie in response to a query)
A very interesting site for matters regarding the Boer War, well worth a visit.
Hope that helps
-
Thank you 3SillyDogs and yes that site you mention is very interesting and full of info.
regards
Jo