Boer soldier, PARMENTER

[megsnan]

My great uncle, Arthur Parmenter, born 1884, attested for six years to 3rd Essex on 29 August 1899, and was given regimental number 6097.  He stated on his papers that he belonged to the 2nd ?Coln Battalion Essex, although I have not been able to find any more on that.  The only other papers in the service records are the Description sheet and the Statement of Services which reads "40 days drill on enlistment."  After that, it says something like "RA 16 10/99"  I assume that meant he transferred to the Royal Artillery on 16th October - would that be right?

On the 1901 Census, he is a driver in the 92nd Battery of the Royal Field Artillery in Aldershot but I can't find any further information about his service with the RFA. Is there any other place that might hold records of soldiers who transferred?   

I am now trying to put the jigsaw together.  Driver Parmenter (and Driver Bodill) were mentioned in dispatches for conspicuous gallantry in attempting to rescue the guns of their battery at Colenso on 15 December 1899.  The Second Boer War had broken out on 11 October 1899, so it is logical that Arthur was sent there but I can't prove that it was him who was mentioned.  The Medal Roll for A Parmenter 76136 shows he was a Driver and was invalided back to England on 17 January 1900, but it states he was in the 14th Battalion RFA.  I am not at all clued up on Battalions and Batteries so have no idea if they were at all linked.  Can someone help with that?

When Arthur died in 1946, his obituary stated that he had served in the RFA and was amongst those on duty at Queen Victoria’s funeral on 2nd February 1901 so he clearly had not returned to South Africa.  By 1911, he was back in his native town working in the local foundry but I can find nothing to suggest he was recalled during WW1.  If he had been invalided out of the Boer War, he may have not been fit enough.  There is a medal card for A Parmenter 29311, Essex regiment but he was killed.  There are no others in Essex or RA. 

If any one could advise me, I would be grateful.

[km1971]

He enlisted in the Militia just before the Boer War started. So he was intending to be a part-timer. Militiamen served for an initial six years. As you say he had seven weeks drill on enlistment. If the Boer War had not happened he would have had 6-8 weeks summer training each year. So he must have been in casual employment. The advantages of Militia papers are that they give you his address and also the address of his last employer. You do not get these with Regular attestation forms.

He was previously a member of the 2nd VB (Volunteer Battalion) of the Essex Regiment based in Colchester. VBs were the second kind of part-timers. They attended one evening a week with a two week summer camp. VBs enlisted for four years and as they attended each week recruits had to live locally. They became the Territorials in 1908. VB papers have not survived apart from (from memory) a set for the Middlesex Regiment in the National Archives. They were also kept if the  whole VB battalion went to SA. Other regiments created Volunteer Companies who served with a Regular battalion. In this case they were given regimental numbers from the Regular sequence.

Yes, after his initial training he transferred to the Royal Artillery on 16th October 1899. They introduced one year enlistments in the Regulars, which may explain his short service. I cannot find his RA record on Findmypast which is strange. If he did a gallant deed at Colenso it would be when the RA put their batteries too close to the Boers, and the son of Lord Roberts earned the VC trying to extract them. They failed. During the Boer War the only gallantry awards were the VC, DCM or a mention in dispatches. Although he is mentioned in a despatch he was actually awarded the DCM - https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/27306/page/2707 and their citation - https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/27282/page/938

http://www.nam.ac.uk/online-collection/detail.php?acc=1970-10-9-1 - so it looks as if this has the wrong battery numbers.

Col Long did not know his guns were that close. They thought the Boer trenches were at the top of the hills rather than at the bottom. The Boers used smokeless cartridges. We also lacked detailed maps so did not see the obvious way of defeating the Boer defences.

I will have look another look later on.

Added.. Ancestry have details of his RA medal and clasp for the Relief of Ladysmith. However there is another A Parmenter in the Essex Regiment on Ancestry who served at least 18 months in  South Africa in 1901 and 1902. So he may have gone back.

Ken

[megsnan]

Thank you Ken - I made a mistake with the regimental number in Essex - it was 6091, not 6097 (can't read my handwriting!)

The link I found to the Mention in Despatches is https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/27282/page/938
where Buller recommended him for a medal for distinguished conduct in the field (over a year since the event!)  so thank you for the extra information (if it is, indeed, the right man)

As far as I can see, he was awarded the South Africa Medal with clasp for Ladysmith - WO100/140 p201 (also on Ancestry) but, like you, I can't find any record for his RA service.  If you can find something, that would be amazing.

[megsnan]

I worked my way through all the A Parmenters on Ancestry or FindMyPast in any military record from 1898 onwards.  That led nowhere, so out of frustration I clicked on a poorly indexed page on FindMyPast, with just the surname, a DOB of 1871 and Place, Halstead.  It solved the puzzle (or at least some of it)!  As soon as you view the record, you can see the first name of the soldier and his regimental number in the RA  (so no idea why it is not indexed).  It has all the details of the service, the DCM, gunshot wound to his side and pension of 18d per day.   Sadly, it wasn't Arthur.  It was Albert, and I can't even claim a distant relationship to this hero.   

Interestingly, Albert (who had not been in the Essex militia) had previously served in the Submarine Miners Militia at Harwich which I had not heard of before.

It doesn't explain Arthur, though.  There was one man in the 1st Essex who received a South Africa medal, with clasps for Cape, Orange and Transvaal, and I can't find anything about him (service no 5440).  Would Arthur have transferred back to the Essex from the RA for the remainder of the Boer war, after attending the Queen's funeral?  If so, why the 1st?  If that is not him, and Albert clearly is not Arthur, I can only assume Arthur did not go abroad in the Boer War.  The 1901 census says he was in the 92nd battery.  It would be interesting to know where 92nd Battery were in 1900-1903. 

I am beginning to think Arthur remained on the reserve and was recalled in 1914, but did not go abroad.  Some of the Essex were on Home Defence or maybe his job was  protected - the foundry made those big cast iron Tortoise stoves and they were in demand for public buildings, including (I would think) hospitals and military establishments all through the war.   

Well, that's a weekend I won't get back but I learnt a few things about the Boer War and now have a history of Albert Parmenter if anyone is interested!

Thank you Ken