TOPIC:

Good morning,

If you have a copy of Andrews, please would you contact me.

I am trying to get new photographs of the graves of Norfolk Volunteer Service Company men that died during the 2ABW and are buried in South Africa. I am starting with Heroes Acre, Church Street cemetery, Pretoria. I gather Andrews may list those interred the cemetery and would like to get a list together before my next move.

There are at least three memorial I am interested in. Each was illustrated in: Josling, Harold. 1907. The Autobiography of a Military Great Coat. Being a story of the 1st Norfolk Volunteer Active Service Company, 1900-1, Jarrold & Sons (1907) 424 pp.

The first two are stones erected by the Norfolk VSC. The third was put up by the Norfolk Regiment, and may be related to the 2nd Bn’s presence in town at that same time.

Regards,

Rob.

I have at last tracked down the text I was after. It was a disappointment. Here it is:

CHURCH STREET CEMETERY

BRITISH WAR GRAVES 1900-1902 This military section occupies a large portion of the cemetery. Some 39 785 Officers and Men lost their lives in South Africa up to the end of August 1900. 28 222 men of all ranks were hospitalized under the heading 'disease' mainly enteric fever of which some 5621 died and filled many cemeteries throughout the country. By the end of the war in 1902 many more thousands were hospitalized and died of the illness. The old Yolks Hospital in Potgieter Street being too small to accommodate all the wounded and sick, the military authorities took over buildings and homes turning them into hospitals. The yet uncompleted Palace of Justice was one of such buildings, this 'hospital' was formally opened by Field-Marshall Lord Roberts on 11th July, 1900; wards were furnished by Messrs Lewis and Marks, Tom Beckett, George Heys and Andrew Johnston. Other places used for hospital purposes were: the Staats Meisjesschool (Hamilton School), Kenturk, home of George Bourke in Celliers Street, Sunnyside, Mr. Tom Beckett's, Merton Keep in Eastwood, Arcadia where Prince Christian died. 'Sons of the Empire' lie buried here in a foreign acre, their graves were tenderly cared for by the Guild of Loyal Women and are now looked after and protected by the National War Graves Board. As was the military custom of that time, officers were buried apart from other ranks, their graves are found on the perimeter. Also buried apart are two Australians, court martialed and executed for plundering and murder.

Rob
Thank you for your two posts. It must have been disappointing for you to have had no response to your first post, but it did not pass unnoticed, and I hope that you will make other such contributions to this forum in the future.
Regards
Brett

I was disappointed but not surprised. It was always a long shot considering the how few google hits the book title generates. On the other hand, I was pleased with the number of looks my post received. This is such a specialist site that I reckoned if interested folks here aren't able to help, I was out of luck. I was wrong.

Yesterday, a separate line of inquiry paid off. I now have recently taken, high resolution and well composed jpegs of all the known Norfolk graves and memorials in the cemetery, courtesy of the extremely helpful and knowledgeable Mr Terry Cawood, SA National Coordinator, The South Africa War Graves Project.

I shall post these shortly, along with some 1901 "before" images, when I am better organized.

Rob.

Hi Rob,

Were you ever able to get a copy of Pioneer Sketches?

Thanks,
Leanne