TOPIC:

....SOLDIER'S FREE TRIP.—The last Australian mail brings news of a real absent-minded beggar, a corporal in the Gordon Highlanders (Thomas Fuller by name), who was inadvertently brought on to Melbourne. It seems he was in hospital with the invalided Australians, and, in his own words, "We became such good pals that I wanted to see the last of them." So he went on board the troopship Batavian at Cape Town, and, to quote his own candid confession, "got a skinful of champagne and port away." The result was that when he woke up the Batavian was 400 miles out at sea, and he had no alternative but to cross the ocean to Australia. Whatever his own regimental authorities may say when he rejoins, so far he has not suffered in any way by the misadventure. The Melbourne military authorities have given him a free passage back to South Africa on another of their troopships, the Warrigal.
The Keighley News, Saturday 7th July 1900

I wonder if he did return to S.A?
Medal roll dated 23rd August 1901 Pretoria.

No mention of him in the Australian papers. I wonder if he wrote home to someone in the UK, rather than gave an interview in Australia.

Hi,

When I initially read this article a few days ago I had a chuckle to myself, thinking that, here we have the first £10 Pom making his way to Australia, beating all others by a good 50 years.

I've been fortunate to locate some further articles and with a bit of research, I was able to follow up with a bit of a back story and what would eventually happen to Corporal Thomas Fuller when he returned to South Africa, and a few good period images to balance out these stories.

In the first article, Corporal Fuller tells the readers of his experiences with the Gordons at the Battle of Elandslaagte and how they were supposedly betrayed by two Boer guides of the Rimington's Guides. I am yet to read anything further about Elandslaagte, (soon to purchase Dave's book) so I would appreciate it if a fellow member could enlighten me if there could be any truth to his version of events or just some more mis-information on the part from this soldier.

After canvassing a number of Casualty Rolls both on-line and hardcopy, I haven't been able to locate Thomas Fuller as an invalid after he has stated that he was in hospital prior to his boat trip, recovering from bullet wounds received from Elandslaagte.




How on earth did you get here?                                                                                                                                                                                              "Well, you see, it was this way. When I was sent down to the base hospital at Green Point suffering from bullet wounds in two places and a severe attack of fever and ague, I happened to go on board the Moravian to see my comrades off. The Australians were camped with ours at Enslin, and we became such good pals that I wanted to see the last of them. When they were embarking at Cape Town a lot of Australian gentlemen and ladies were very generous, and I got a skinful of champagne and port wine. I hadn't had champagne for some time, let alone port wine, and, to cut the story short, we were 10 hours at sea before I woke up again. The ship's officers made me wash decks on the way across to earn my passage, but I am going back again like a gentleman, for your Government here are standing me a passage back to the Cape by the Warrigal, which sails to-morrow. I can't give you my impressions of Melbourne, because I haven't been outside the barracks since I landed, but I can give you some impressions of Magersfontein and Paardeberg if you like.

"Fill up your glass again and fire away, Mr. ——.                                                                                                                                                                      "I ain't a mister; I'm a blooming Tommy. Corporal Fuller, of the 2nd Battalion Gordon Highlanders, that's who I am. After fighting both a Chitral and at Dargai, I sailed from India, with the first battalion of the regiment, the second being then in England, and got up to the front in time for Elands Laagte. At Elands Laagte I was shot in the groin, and they sent me down to the hospital at Pietermaritzburg. In three weeks I was fit for service again, and was sent round to the Cape with a draft of other convalescents from the Dubs., the Munsters, and the Gordons. There were 45 of us altogether. At the Cape I was put on board the train with the 2nd Battalion of the Gordons, and sent up over 600 miles to Enslin, where we camped with the Australians, and got on splendidly with them. There was a blessed little bugler amongst 'em who used to sing a song beginning something like this—                                                                                                                                                                             
"We had a long wait at Enslin, but at last they pushed us forward, and finally I found myself with my battalion holding the line of communication close up to Modder River. The Highland Brigade, under General Wauchope, were in front of us, and at 2 o'clock on the Sunday morning they got the order to advance on the Magersfontein position. The night was pitch dark, and raining in torrents. Two men of Rimington's Scouts were to pilot the brigade. Their names were Private Colley and Private Jackson—or, at any rate, those are the names to which they answered in the regiment. You must know that before a man could join Rimington's Scouts he had to show that he knew the country well, and could speak Dutch fluently. In fact, candidates had to be so good at the language as to be able to pass for Boers. These two men could speak Dutch perfectly. Why? Because they were Boers. That's why. And they had enlisted in Rimington's Scouts for their own purpose. When the Highland Brigade had advanced in quarter column—God help them—close up to the first of the Boer trenches, a shot was fired on the flank either by Colley or by Jackson, I cannot tell you which. They were supposed to be acting as flankers, one on each side, but the shot was the equal to the Boers, and in an instant the whole of the ground was ablaze with rifle fire. General Wauchope was down, and so were most of the men. I did not see it myself, for I was some miles in the rear, but I heard it from the men afterwards. The survivors, with nearly all their officers down, fell on their faces on the ground, and retired as opportunity offered. At 3 o'clock on the Sunday afternoon we got the order, 'Gordons advance at intervals of 30 paces," and on we went to the attack, with Colonel Dowman in charge of the battalion, on the right wing, Colonel McBean, who should have commanded us, being absent through sickness. I was in charge of a section, and we opened out in regular attack formation, each half section alternately making a short rush forward, and then dropping on the ground. When he came up to the retiring parties of the Highland Brigade we swept them on with us to the attack again; but it was no use. The sun was beating down with frightful heat, and we had had nothing to eat since the previous night. When a man's stomach begins to pinch he is not in the best condition for fighting, but still we went steadily on. There was not a particle of cover, with the exception of the ant-hills, and even these were no protection whatever against the Mauser bullets, which went through them like paper. All that we could do was to drop on our faces, with our helmets off, and our hands stretched out in front of us, trusting to the invisibility of the khaki, which on that ground could not be seen at a distance of 200 yards. But we all wore the tartan kilts, and these made fine targets for the Boers. We had been fighting for about two hours, and Colonel Dowman had been shot through the heart, while the men were dropping all round me, when my turn came. A bullet struck me in the upper portion of the thigh, where the kilt made a target, and passed clean through the flesh. I fainted from loss of blood, and I cannot remember much more until I found myself in a tent in the field hospital, but I know that I lay out all Sunday night on the veldt in a half-unconscious state. A party of Boers came along, and stripped every rag of clothing off me, except my shirt, which was all I had on when the stretcher-bearers found me in the morning. I was sent down to an Irish ambulance at Orange River, and while I was there they brought in an officer of the Black Watch, and put him in the bed next to me. He was the champion golfer, but I forget his name. Anyhow, he died in the bed next to me, and was too bad when they brought him in even to speak.

"Did you see Lord Roberts at all?                                                                                                                                                                                            "Of course I did. I was one of the guard of honour that met 'Bobs' at Enslin, when he came up from the Cape, with Hector Macdonald. We never even knew that 'Bobs' was in South Africa till we saw him, and I can tell you that he laid his plans well. After he had been up to have a look at the position six big naval siege guns came up, and they were there for Cronje to look at. Every morning the gunners used to give the Boers their breakfast with a few rounds, and Lord Methuen's camp was all in order. Troops were being entrained and sent away, apparently to Cape Town, but in reality they went a little way down the line, and then struck across for Zoutspandrift, and then, by a wide movement, for Kimberley, which was awaiting the relief. Every night we could see the Kimberley searchlights playing, but we could not make out the messages, because the Boers used to turn their own searchlights on the flashes, and blur them.

"Did you go on with Lord Roberts?                                                                                                                                                                                        "Certainly I did. I was one of a mounted company of the Gordons that went on to Paardeberg, and I was present at the surrender of Cronje. When we got him there in the river bed we made sure that we had the whole of the 12,000 men that he had with him at Magersfontein, but Cronje was not a bad general. He sent 4,000 away under De Wet, and another 4,000 under his grandson. So he saved the whole of the 8,000 by sacrificing himself and the 4,000 that he had with him. I was one of the guard that took the prisoners down to Cape Town, and a dirty lot they were. We treated them very well, and gave them tobacco, when we had a bit, but they wanted looking after pretty sharply all the same. At De Aar, where we took them out for a rest and a meal, a couple of field guns were trained on them while they had their coffee, and it was a quite necessary precaution, for they were full of tricks. At the racecourse at Simonstown, where they were camped, we had three lines of wire fencing running round the enclosure, with sentries stationed outside. On the first night that they were there two Boers were shot dead just outside the first of the wire fences. It was shoot first and challenge afterwards, and they all knew it. At Cape Town my wounds were troubling me, and I had another attack of fever and ague, too, so they sent me to the hospital, and there I was attended by some of your Australian nurses. Real good ones they were too. No giving a chap a dose of medicine and leaving the orderly to do the rest. They looked after me well, and then I slipped on board the ship one day, and here I am. I suppose they have posted me as a deserter at Cape Town, but I'll soon be back again with the battalion, and I'll get to Pretoria yet. Good luck, Australia."






Corporal Thomas Fuller, the Gordon Highlander, who forgot that he was on the Moravian until the vessel was 100 miles out at sea from South Africa, arrived in Adelaide by the Melbourne express on Wednesday morning. He is of small stature, and sadly disappointed the crowd who awaited his advent at the station by not appearing in a kilt, the corporal being dressed in a khaki suit and a great coat. The people crowded round him, all anxious to touch the hem of his garment, and the Highlander seemed quite abashed when the strangers cheered him. Mr. W. Fallow, an old Gordon, was the first to welcome him, and then Sergeant-Major Marshall, from the Staff Office, took him in hand. The people surged round the soldier in a most amusing manner, and when some boys cried out that he had ''gone up the lift," the crowd thumped up the station stairway, awaited the arrival of the Highlander, and followed him through the city until he disappeared in a restaurant for rations. Corporal Fuller comes from Inveraray, Scotland. Some of his companions in affliction at the Green Point Hospital were Australians, and he was seeing them off on the Moravian when the vessel sailed with him on board. He says that he would like to settle in the colonies, but will be sent back to the Imperial authorities in the steamer Warrigal, which leaves on Thursday. Although a comparatively young man, Corporal Fuller has seen nine years' service.

He belongs to the 2nd Battalion Gordon Highlanders, and, having fought at Chitral and Dargai, he sailed for India, and got to the front in time for Eland's Laagte. In that memorable battle he was shot in the groin, and was sent to Green Point Hospital, at Pietermaritzburg. Three weeks saw him convalescent, and his next move was to the Cape, and then to Enslin, where he rejoined the Gordon Highlanders, in the Australian camp. After a long wait the Gordons were moved on to Magersfontein, where Corporal Fuller was wounded in the battle which proved so disastrous to the Highlanders. A bullet passed clean through his thigh, and he fainted from loss of blood. He lay out on the veldt all night on the Sunday, and a party of Boers stripped him of all his clothes except his shirt. Then the stretcher-bearers came along, and the wounded soldier was taken to Orange River. Corporal Fuller made a quick recovery, and was able to go on to Paardeberg with a company of Gordons. He was present at the surrender of Cronje, and was one of the guards who took the prisoners to Cape Town. At that place Corporal Fuller's wounds troubled him, and he had an attack of fever and ague, which laid him aside. He was well attended by some of the Australian nurses. Corporal Fuller is absent without leave, and is anxious to rejoin his battalion, and go to Pretoria. He was taken on board the steamer Warrigal on Wednesday morning.

Matters having been arranged at the steamer the Highlander came to Adelaide again, and was followed all over the city by a crowd of people who waited outside a hairdresser's shop for half an hour whilst he went in. Mr. W. Sutherland treated him well, and then Mr. A. J. McLachlan, Chief of the Caledonian Society, took him in hand as his guest until the sailing of the Warrigal on Friday morning. Mr. W. Fallow supplied Corporal Fuller with a Gordon Highlander's cap with a motto attached— "Bydand"—which means "Stand fast." This served to identify him to the people in the streets all the more readily. At the Selborne Hotel to-night the Caledonian Society will tender him a welcome. Corporal Fuller spent three years at sea before joining the Gordons in 1891, and he holds a second mate's certificate. His father is a bailiff on Lord Kintore's estate at Inverurie, and the Fullers have been tenants of the Kintores for generations. When the soldier left Cape Town he was dressed in an Australian tunic, a medical staff cap, and the trousers of a Life Guardsman 6 ft. 3 in. in height, whilst he himself stands only 5 ft. 6 in.



At the Selborne Hotel on Thursday night a large number of Scotsmen assembled to honor the khaki-clad non-com. of the Gordon Highlanders, Corporal Fuller. Mr. A. J. McLachlan, chief of the Caledonian Society, and commander of the Scotch Corps, presided. After the loyal toasts had been drunk, the Chairman, alluding to the purpose which had called them together, said that it was particularly fitting that they should at that time honor the Gordon Highlanders, for they had in their midst one of the members of that famous regiment, a man who had fought both in India and in South Africa, and who bore on him the honorable scars of war. He felt that when Corporal Fuller returned to South Africa he would be able to tell his comrades that in no part of the world were the Gordon Highlanders held in greater respect than in Australia. He submitted the toast, "The Gordon Highlanders," coupled with the name of Corporal Fuller. The toast was drunk enthusiastically. Corporal Fuller, in responding, gave an interesting account of his experiences in South Africa. After the company had drunk in silence to the memory of "The silent brave," Captain Ramsay Smith proposed ''Brigadier-General Hector Macdonald," and Mr. D. W. Melvin "Success to the British arms." The Chairman then presented the guest with a purse of money collected in the room, and adjured him to spend it in moderation in "the good old Scotch style." The Pipers' Band was present, and made things merry, while national dances and songs filled up a pleasant evening.



The steamer Warrigal left for Cape Town and London on Friday afternoon. Among her passengers was Corporal Fuller, the Gordon Highlander. One of the returned Australian soldiers, Private Nixon, went round in the Warrigal with him from the Port, and landed at the Semaphore. There he was put through a cross-fire of questions by ladies and others, who wanted to know all about the war and the romantic history of that remarkable belt of his, so heavily decorated with the badges of the different regiments engaged in the struggle.



On Sunday we received a letter from Corporal Fuller, who is returning to South Africa by the steamer Warrigal, in which he returns his thanks to the people of Adelaide, who showed great kindness to him. The wayfaring member of the Gordon Highlanders thanks specially the Chief and members of the Caledonian Society for having paid his regiment a compliment in adopting the Gordon tartan for the Scottish Corps, and mentions gratefully several citizens who befriended him during his short stay in Adelaide.



It will be remembered that some months ago Corporal Fuller of the second battalion (92nd Regiment) of the Gordon Highlanders, went on board a returning troopship at Cape Town, and in the hurry of farewell was carried away by the departing steamer and brought to Australia. He had been wounded, and sent to a hospital, in which sick and injured colonials were being medically treated, and his deportation was stated to be entirely involuntary. He was made much of in Melbourne and Adelaide by his fellow-countrymen and the public generally, and he returned to South Africa by the earliest opportunity. There, as will be seen from the subjoined letter, he fell on evil days. He writes thus, under date October 20, from her Majesty's prison, Winchester, Hampshire, to Mr. Sutherland, who had befriended him while in Adelaide:—"I received your kind and welcome letter in the Cape Town guard-room, where I was waiting trial. I was tried by Court-martial and sentenced to be imprisoned for two years with hard labor, but had one year remitted. I was not tried by my own regimental officers, but by officers of the English militia regiment. I suppose you gave me up as a bad job for not writing letters. I wrote, but was not allowed to send them before I had three months' imprisonment. I left the Warrigal at Durban, expecting to get to the 92nd, they being in Ladysmith, but when I got there they were on the march with Buller. I was disappointed, and went back to Cape Town. My crime was desertion on active service. I waited 31 days for trial. I really expected to get off. There was nothing said on the court-martial about my going to Australia. It does not such matter now; I am getting used to it. There is one good thing, I get enough to eat and a bed to lie down on, things few and far between on the veldt. Will you be so kind as to send me one of the photos I had taken with Private Nixon. I may want it to convince my people I did not desert intentionally. Give my best respects to the Chief, Mr. Marshall, Mr. McKenzie, Mr. Gordon, and to the mayor, and other friends. I would like to write to them all. We have to earn a certain number of marks before we are allowed to write. Among the court-martial prisoners tried with me were two of the New South Wales Lancers. This is what you get for fighting for Queen and country. My wound is healed. I shall ship for Australia, as soon as I leave here. I wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy new year."






Mr. William Sutherland has handed us for publication a letter written to him by Private A. R. Nixon, late of the first South Australian Contingent to South Africa, and now a patient in the Adelaide Hospital, concerning Corporal Fuller, the Gordon Highlander, who recently came to South Australia from Cape Town with a detachment of invalided colonial soldiers, and who was sent to gaol on his return on a charge of desertion. The letter runs thus:—"Having seen a paragraph in 'The Advertiser' about the misfortune of my late comrade, Corporal Fuller, Gordon Highlanders, I wish to say that I was one of the instigators of his misfortune, not thinking that anything serious would come after. He being invalided in Cape Town, and no use for any other duties, I urged him to come with us, knowing that a trip to our shores would do him no harm. I am very sorry for what has happened to him, and ask you (Mr. Sutherland) to be kind enough to convey to him my deepest sympathy, and tell him I am quite willing to do half his term if I am allowed, as I am in fault; not he. I swear that he never had any intention of desertion when I brought him to Australia. If he had any such intention it is certain he would never have reported himself at headquarters as soon as he arrived in Melbourne. And, another point, I being so well acquainted with all the colonies, if he had any such intention I could have arranged a different plan for him. I hope that by your assistance a few prominent Scotchmen will interview Lord Tennyson, and ask him, on behalf of an invalided South Australian now in hospital, and, you might say the main instigator of what has happened to the unfortunate Corporal Fuller, to convey, if it is in his lordship's power, a message to Lord Roberts for his reprieve."



Thomas Fuller was a young man of 19 years and 9 months when he enlisted for the Gordon Highlanders on 12 April 1892 at Aberdeen, Scotland. He was issued regimental no. 4181. On his Attestation paperwork (on-line, Find my Past) he indicated his occupation as a seaman and was described as 5 feet 4 1⁄2 inches (163.8cm) tall. He weighed 122 pounds (55kg) and had a fair complexion with blue eyes and brown hair. Thomas noted his religion as Church of England. He was a single man and listed his father (William) and mother (Francis), who were living at 33 Beach Street , Aberdeen, as his next of kin.

From reading the Statement of Service in the Attestation, it appears that Corporal Thomas Fuller never did reach the dizzying heights of a Corporal, but led the life of a Private and also forgot to mention that he had previously deserted on the 17 May 1892 after serving only 35 days after his initial enlistment. Private Fuller was missing in action for a period, just over 4 years and 4 months and rejoined his regiment on 26 September 1896.

After being sentenced shortly after, for a period that appears to be 21 days, he deserted for the second time on the 30 October 1896 and surfaced again by rejoining the Highlanders once again on 17 September 1899, being at large for 2 years and 10 1⁄2 months, awaiting trial and was imprisoned for a period of 56 days from 29 September 1899.

The third and last period of Private Fuller's indiscretion was after he was deployed to South Africa with the 1st Battalion Gordon Highlanders on 9 November 1899, up until the period that he decided to take a cruise to Australia. The Military History Sheet shows that Private Fuller was returned to the United Kingdom on 18 October 1900 where he was 'Discharged with Ignominy' on 26 October 1900.

Private Fuller is listed as being awarded the QSA with the single clasp of Cape Colony, which was not issued, being forfeited due to desertion.

Great research, Trev, well done. I've looked up The Aberdeen Journal, no mention of the Fuller family that I could find, covering Aberdeen, Inverurie and Kintore.

There was no birth registration for a Thomas Fuller in Scotland between 1865-1880. One Thomas Fuller in England - Billesdon, Leicestershire - in 1872, and several other Thomas Fullers with middle names in England around that time. In the 1881 census there were two Thomas Fullers in Scotland - one aged 26, the other 48.

Looking for his father, William, there's no record of a William Fuller being born in Scotland between 1800-1860, but there was a William Fuller born at Kintore, 1862 - Thomas's elder brother? (William Fuller, Thomas' father, doesn't show up on the 1871 census return anywhere in Scotland.) No other male or female Fuller births at Kintore or Inverurie in the 19th century.

In all the census returns in Scotland from 1841 to 1911, there was no one by the name of Fuller at Kintore.

There was a Frances Fuller, aged 31, in the 1901 census, in Midlothian.

So on the face of it, the bit about his father being a bailiff for Lord Kintore, and Fullers having been tenants of the Kintores for generations was either made up or an exaggeration. There was a Fuller birth at Kintore in 1862, but nothing else that I can find.

Hi Berenice,

Thanks for the compliments, as I really enjoyed the research on Thomas Fuller, but it did start to get a bit disheartening with all the red flags that started to appear in his stories which had gaping holes in them. He was fortunate to live in a period in time where it would have been near impossible for the normal man in the street to disprove a furphy (tall story for all the non Aussies), unless you were there to witness an event, otherwise therefore only relying on second hand stories or the information that you can read in newspapers and books.

It appears that you have done some of your own through research and come across similar issues with finding not only where and when he was born, but his general family as a whole and where Thomas Fuller might have lived. Obviously this makes it easier when you can disappear by desertion and reappear a number of years later, knowing that the authorities can't track you down.

I hope that in the near future that somebody will come across this forum post and will be able to fill in the gaps for us and maybe tell us more about this mystery man's story.