TOPIC:

Royal Berkshire (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) Regiment Memorial Cottage Homes. 79-83 Waverley Road, Reading, Berks RG30 2QB.

A terrace of three brick and rendered cottages with tiled roofs. Built in 1903, following a gift of £3,000 from Mrs Sam Lewis in memory of her late husband. Described at the time as: "Well planned and picturesque, with high-pitched gable roofs, and substantially built with a view to permanency, with a good-sized garden attached to each, the homes are undoubtably a most useful and valuable regimental possession.”

1911 Census: - No. 79, William Mitchell (55), born in Petersfield, army pensioner + wife Maud (48) + boarder;
- No.81, Alfred Adams (64), born in Windsor, army pensioner, widower + three daughters. Enlisted 1867 age 19, 66th
Regiment (66th Berkshire Regiment became 2nd Battalion The Princess Charlotte of Wales’s Royal Berkshire Regiment in
1881), 2466, discharged 30 June 1891 RI Berkshire.
- No.83, Robert Crosse (79) born in Taunton, army pensioner + wife Jane (76).

South Wales Borderers Regiment Memorial Cottage Homes - 2 & 3 Dorlangoch, Brecon, Powys LD3 7RH.

Pair of tile and rendered slate roof cottages built in 1904. The land was given by Lord Tredegar, with money gathered from regimental sources and private subscriptions. Designed by Mr C J E Large and built by Mr T E Morgan of Brecon. Originally named ‘Chillianwallah’ and ‘Rorke’s Drift’ by officers of the 2nd Battalion. It was felt that the regiment was better connected with these places than areas of conflict in the 2nd Anglo Boer War.

The first two occupants were Colour-Sgt. Standen and Private Henry Banks. Both were wounded in South Africa.

Colour-Sgt. Standen received the Distinguished Conduct Medal and the Queen’s Medal with three clasps. He enlisted into the 24th Regiment (later to become the South Wales Borderers) in 1880. Standen went through the South African campaign with the 2nd Battalion up to Modderfontein, where he was shot through the thigh and invalided home. Private Banks went through the Burmese Campaign of 1887 (for which he received the medal with two clasps) and was afterwards stationed in in India (Bengal Presidency). In South Africa he was attached to D Company (mounted infantry) and at Paardeberg was shot in the left leg just below the knee joint necessitating amputation. A dum-dum bullet also struck the right leg near the knee, travelled through the thigh and out of the hip joint, causing a compound fracture and the contraction of the limb.

1911 Census: ‘Rorke’s Drift’, Brecon - Henry Standen age 50, b. Brasted, Kent, army pensioner and sawyer labourer, his wife Sarah Ann age 50 + 5 daughters and 2 sons;
‘Chillianwallah’, Brecon – Charles Price age 45, b. Talgarth, Breconshire, army pensioner, wife Mary Ann age 35, + 2 daughters and 2 sons.

Colour-Sgt. Standen – service no. 4074. 2nd Battalion South Wales Borderers. QSA medal clasp 1901.

C W Price – service no. 30703. 88th Welsh Imperial Yeomanry, Bugler. QSA medal, clasps Transvaal, S Africa 1901 + 1902. Cape Colony clasp.

In answer to Smethwick’s post – “Regarding the Wiltshire Regiment Cottage Homes”

David, thank you for privately messaging me regarding your post on this thread. If I may join in, not wishing to detract from this excellent thread, I can add a little detail to your biography of 2817 Private Arthur Chapman.

Chapman served with G Company under Major Francis Richard MacMullen.

On Friday the 12th of January 1900, the troopships Gascon and Sumatra arrived together at Port Elizabeth from Table Bay. The Gascon was carrying the 2nd Wiltshire and 1st Royal Irish Regiments and Major General Ralph Clements who would take over from Major General John French in the Colesberg area, taking both of these battalions with him.

On the 25th of January, French made a reconnaissance in force towards at Plessis Poort, a mountain pass five miles East of Bastard’s Nek. This was the scene of the Wiltshire’s first action. The order to attack came at 3 pm. G Company were on the right of the Wiltshire’s position. The fighting was unexpectedly heavy. The Battalion suffered one death, Lieutenant Colonel Harry Molyneux Carter’s Bugler who died of his wounds the next day and several wounded. There were no casualties from G Company.

On the 14th of February 1900, Major General Clements had intended to retire his force from Rensburg Siding to Arundel at 5 am, but due to the large numbers of Boers in the vicinity who were ultimately under the leadership of de La Rey, he brought the retirement forward to midnight on the 13th. Both D & G Companies under Major Macmullen (Major Herbert Alfred Stock who had commanded D Company had been taken prisoner at Plessis Poort) failed to receive the order to retire from their Outpost Duty on Vaalkop. This was due to the Wiltshire’s second in Command Major Finlay Cochrane Beatson unwittingly countermanding the order to retire early given by Lieutenant Colonel Carter. Therefore these two companies were left behind and were forced to fight a desperate rear-guard action before being completely overwhelmed by superior numbers. MacMullen died along with twelve other ranks. There were forty-five wounded and one hundred and twenty-six were taken prisoner.

Arthur Chapman was one of the wounded and he was also taken prisoner. I do not know the nature of his wound, but it is this wound which ultimately ended his military career. He of course was held prisoner at Watervaal until release on the 7th of July 1900. He walked the thirteen miles from Watervaal to Pretoria where he was discharged medically unfit on the 24th of July. He was, as you say, awarded the QSA medal with two claps, Cape Colony and Orange Free State.

Answering this post has made me realise that although Chapman received the Orange Free State clasp, he never actually served in the Orange River Colony between 28 February 1900 and 31 May 1902 as per the entitlement criteria. He was transported through it from Rensburg to Watervaal. There must be many more similar cases.