Boer war Ancestor?

[fridayschild]

I have an Ancestor Joseph Whitehead who I have just discovered may have fought in the Boer War. On his marriage certificate in 1897 his occupation is given as being in the Army medical corps, on the 1901 census his wife and son are living in England with her family and the sons birth was given as Simonstown, South Africa, there is no trace of Joseph in 1901 and I can't find him his wife Ada or son Harry on the 1911 census.
Can someone please point me in the right direction to look for clues as to where he may have served or what became of them all.

[amazon510]

I have an ancestor who was posted to Simonstown during the Boer War - it was a major British naval base near what is modern-day Capetown.  I think there was also a large Boer internment camp near Simonstown.  Capetown seems to have been called Table Bay in the Boer War period.

I think Capetown was a stopover for steamers en route to Australia.  Maybe your ancestor and his family either went back to Capetown after the war, or moved to Australia?

Jennifer.

[km1971]

As a corps the RAMC were stationed wherever there other army units. The easiest way is to look for his service record on Findmypast, or for his medal entitlement on Ancestry - http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/DB.aspx?dbid=1686&pcat=MIL_AWARDS

The fact that his wife was in South Africa means he was there as part of the pre-war garrison. Do you when his son was born? They may have left before the start of the Boer War - October 1899.

In 1897 they were the Army Medical Staff Corps, and became the Royal Army Medical Corps in July 1898.

Ken

[ShaunJ]

Harry Whitehead's birth in 1899 is listed in the regimental returns birth index

Army Hospital & Medical Corps  (it actually says A.H and M. Cps)
Simonstown, South Africa
1899 volume 614  page 40
 

[ShaunJ]

Boer War medal roll in WO100 has two entries for

Private Joseph  Whitehead
6917
Royal Army Medical Corps; Base Hospital Cape Town

Pages 219 and 220
 

[FS]

My Grandfather Hartley Shackleton joined the 3rd Battalion East Lancashire Regiment as a private in 1897. This was a Militia regiment. He was "Embodied" from 1900 to 1902 and served in South Africa. He was awarded the Queen's South Africa and the King's South Africa 1901 - 2 medals. He left the militia in 1903 after his marriage and just before the birth of my father.

He joined the 4th Battalion East Lancashire Regiment before the declaration of war in 1914. He served in Egypt, Gallipoli and the Western Front.

Any information on the East Lancashire's in South Africa would be appreciated.

[t mo]

militia record for hartley shackleton
att date 18 jan 1897  soldier no 7255
training dates as follows
18jan 1897 - 7 mar 1897
8 mar 1897 - 10 july 1897
11 july 1897 - 23 july 1897
24 july 1897 - 19 june 1899
15 july 1899 - 16 july 1899 disembodied
embodied 24 jan 1900 - 26 mar 1902 disembodied
26 mar 1902 - 16 jan 1903
paid war gratuity of £5 10 shillings by officer commanding c company 25 apr 1902

awarded qsa with clasps for cape colony and orange free state  plus kings sa medal
regards
trevor