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G'day to all from Perth, Australia. My name is Michael Stewart, and I have found myself here searching for information on a relative. My Great Grandfather was John Francis Stewart, and up until recently little was known about his Boer War service. I have some information, and am trying to find out more. So...here I am. John lived in Richmond, Victoria Australia and was born in 1871. He was 29 years old when he enlisted in Bethunes Mounted Infantry. I believe he travelled to South Africa and enlisted there. His enlistment date was 19/7/1900. He was only in Bethunes for a short time, and Transferred to the Transvaal Constabulary on the 06/10/1900. I have contacted an elderly relative who has sent me what I believe is a photo of John taken at O'Neils Cottage in Natal (his name is pencilled on the back!). I have attached the photo. I have lots of questions regarding the photo and the units John was attached to, However, I will leave that for another time! Thanks, and look forward to any help. Michael

Good morning and welcome here,
Stewart served in the Transvaal Constabulary from the 7th of October 1900 to the 3rd of May 1901.
His QSA and Transvaal clasp from Bethune's Mounted Infantry appear to have been returned in 1906.
He is shown twice in WO100/236 and he is also found in WO100/277 in respect of his service in the Transvaal Constabulary.
He would have enlisted into Major Bethune's MI in South Africa, so the next thing to do would be to check WO126/2-3 at Kew, his original attestation and perhaps separate discharge paper might have survived.
Bethune's MI was very much run in a similar vane to the Natal Volunteers, but, it was actually a class C SAMIF unit, raised on the 20th of October 1899, they were involved and indeed, took a very prominent part in operations to Ladysmith and beyond, they were disbanded in Johannesburg on the 7th of July 1902.
Again welcome here and good luck if you take this further,
Kind regards Frank Kelley

Welcome Michael!

I hope we can help ypu with your research.

Best wishes
David

Hello Frank,
Thank-you so much for the quick reply. No-one in the family had any idea of how long John had served in the Transvaal Constabulary. When I received the attached picture (I have a larger copy), it was the first time we had seen a photo of him. I was suprised to see he has a bushy beard, and wonder if this would have been allowed in the British Army? Could the photo be from Johns time in the Constabulary? John lived to be 89 years old, and he had an extraordinary life from all I've been told. Frank, are you able to advise me how to view the references you have mentioned? Also what would have become of John's QSA medal? I am very keen to piece together John's story. My relatives are sending a number of John's photographs from the time, and I will happily post these here as I get them. Again, thank-you for the information you have given. I hope to hear from you again.
Kind Regards, Michael Stewart

Hello David,
Thank-you for the welcome! I am very keen to research the history of my relative, and any advice you can give me would be much appreciated. I really didn't think much would be available, but after seeing this site, It has renewed my enthusiasm. I'm sure there is a story to tell... waiting for me to find it!!

Kind Regards,Michael

Hello Michael,
I'm afraid that I cannot see your photograph as it will not expand from it's tiny size, Trooper Stewart was not serving in the British Army during the war, moreover, dress regulations in the SAMIF were certainly not same.
WO126/2-3 is available at Kew, so if you don't want to go to the expense of actually going there, you just get someone to look at it, if the particular paper in question has survived, then merely make a copy and send it down to you.
Regarding the medal and clasp, the Royal Mint do have very detailed records, but, sadly, they are no longer available to the public.
As I said, the picture will not expand, so if you want to copy it in a larger format, perhaps, 600x600 or so, I'd very much like to see it.
Kind regards Frank

Michael Stewart wrote: Hello Frank,
Thank-you so much for the quick reply. No-one in the family had any idea of how long John had served in the Transvaal Constabulary. When I received the attached picture (I have a larger copy), it was the first time we had seen a photo of him. I was suprised to see he has a bushy beard, and wonder if this would have been allowed in the British Army? Could the photo be from Johns time in the Constabulary? John lived to be 89 years old, and he had an extraordinary life from all I've been told. Frank, are you able to advise me how to view the references you have mentioned? Also what would have become of John's QSA medal? I am very keen to piece together John's story. My relatives are sending a number of John's photographs from the time, and I will happily post these here as I get them. Again, thank-you for the information you have given. I hope to hear from you again.
Kind Regards, Michael Stewart