TOPIC:

My GGuncle, John Francis Lightbody served in Steinaekers horse from early 1902 until disbanded in mid 1902. He was born in Australia in 1874 and died in Natal in 1903. He doesnt show up in any Australian units so assume he was living in Natal or went over privately to enlist.

His medal record for SH shows previous service with Waldron/s Scouts. He is bit of a mystery and i`m doing a military history for our extended family and would love to expand his history.

# I can find no record for Waldrons Scouts, history, size ,area of operation, members etc, other than a couple of obscure, one line mentions on the internet. Can anyone help?

# I have John Lightbodys SH records but no idea what he was doing prior to the War, in South Africa, or where he died or buried in Natal?

Any and all help appreciated

Gary Bartlett
Melbourne Austrlia.

Gary

In the Pietermaritzburg Repository of the SA National Archives there is a file on FRANCIS LIVINGSTONE LIGHTBODY dated 1903. He is the only Lightbody on record there for the period 1902 to 1905. Could there be some mix-up with the forenames of your relative?

Regards
Brett

Thanks Brett,

I`m not 100% sure. I first got his name off his parents headstone in the small, town cemetery where our family is from (Drik Drik).It stated John "T" Lightbody.
Boer War service, born 1874 died Natal 1903.
No Australian records so checked and found him on the british, as John Francis.
It might be that he has a history of changing some/part of his name. I`ll make a few enquiries with the family and see what i come up with.

Oops. I noticed i spelt Waldron/s Scouts incorrectly, my apologies. I`m really enjoying my search, and lots of information on SH on the net.

Thanks for your help

Regards
Gary.

Hi Gary

I noticed in Bill Woolmore's book on Steinaecker's Horse that Lightbody worked for the Natal [Government] Railways and that he died of pneumonia in Durban on 15/9/1903. It is likely that he was buried in Durban and it might be possible to find out what cemeteries were in use then and if there are records of grave sites. Given the declining state of public services in South Africa, a quest of this sort may now be impossible, but I will make some enquiries.

In the book 'The Armed Forces of South Africa' by G Tylden there is a short note on Waldon's Scouts (sic), which reads:
"Possibly a South African unit. Mentioned in a MS. book in the Public Library, Johannesburg from the late H.J. Burroughs, Johannesburg (vol. 1, p. 95). Apparently some casualties were buried near Platrand, Standerton District."

Contacting the Johannesburg Library might be like contacting a Black Hole, but it might be worth trying.

Regards
Brett

Evening Brett,

You deserve a medal. Thank you very much for the great information. I`ve ordered a copy of Bill Woolmores book and I`m looking forward to a good read. They sound like an interesting bunch.

I will follow up with the Johannesburg library on the Scouts. I know the library well as I lived in Jo`burg in the early/mid 1970s, pre tv, and it was a regular saturday visit, a lovely library with a wonderful africana collection. I worked for a motor spares company and my territory was the Transvaal, Free State, Northern Cape, Swaziland,Lesotho,Botswana, Rhodesia and sth Mozambique. 4 weeks in 6 on the road, my boss called me the highest paid tourist in Africa. He was right. My 1st interest/love is the Zulu War but enjoying this family history search.

Again, thanks a lot
Gary