Hi
My grandfatherwas told from a very young age that his father was accidentally killed in South Africa during the 2nd Anglo/Boer war in or around 1901. However, we never new his fathers name and there is no one else to ask now. By a process of elimination we have narrowed it down to two possibilities. Thomas William Armstrong b 1870 and John Armstrong b1862,both from Weardale, County Durham. None of the Armstrong's from Durham serving in the northern regiments (Imperial Yeomanry, Durham volunteer service etc) match up with names or dates and all seem to have made it back to blighty. HOWEVER, I have recently come across a report of the accidental death of a private J. Armstrong (Durham volunteer service company) 6th Dec 1900 on the Vaal river - killed by a train. These are the only details I have but they seem to fit with my grandfatehrs memory of events and now I am wondering if there is any way of getting any more information. Would local papers have carried more of a story? Any help or advice will be much appreciated.
Yvonne
