TOPIC:

Babbage possessed a famous name but was he in any way related to the father of the Computer?

William Babbage

Private, Johannesburg Mounted Rifles – Anglo Boer War
Driver, South African Service Corps – WWI

- Queens South Africa Medal with clasps Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal, South Africa 1901 & 1902 to 2149 Pte. W. Babbage, Johannesburg M.R.
- British War Medal to Dvr. W. Babbage, S.A.S.C.
- Victory Medal to Dvr. W. Babbage, S.A.S.C.

The name Babbage conjures up, almost immediately, the image of the man of that name who is regarded as the father of our modern-day computer. Whether or not our Babbage, the subject of this work, is related to him is unknown but the name is certainly not a common one.



William Babbage was born in Oswestry, in rural Shopshire in 1876 the son of Thomas and Charlotte Babbage and was baptised on 6 February of that year. The 1881 England census shows that a 5 year old William was part of a much larger family. His father Thomas, a Schoolmaster, was at the age of 59 substantially older than his 39 year old mother. Next came siblings Mary (12), James (10), Henry (9), Thomas (7), Richard (3) and bringing up the rear, Sarah (1). The entire menagerie lived in the School House in Sweeney, Oswestry.

Ten years later at the time of the 1891 census a 15 year old William had moved on. He was now a lodger in the house of James Cattle and his wife Elizabeth of Norton Fitzwarren in Somerset and was employed as a Clerk. Economic necessity had no doubt dictated that, on the death of his father, and with having so many siblings to help feed and clothe, Babbage had sought employment at such an early age.

The 1901 census was conducted when Great Britain had already been at war with the two Boer Republics in far away South Africa since October 1899. Many able-bodied men had joined a myriad of newly constituted regiments to join the fight and patriotic fervour was still rampant although many had grown tired of news of the war. Babbage’s widowed mother Charlotte had moved to Wellington in Somerset and had taken up residence at a house in School Lane. William, now 25 and living back at home, had forsaken the life of a clerk and was now plying the trade of Wool Warper.

Probably tiring of his lot and for all we know imbued with the patriotic fervour earlier alluded to, William Babbage took passage to South Africa in 1901 joining the ranks of the Johannesburg Mounted Rifles at Greenpoint in Cape Town on 18 November 1901. His Attestation papers confirm that he was 25 years old was 5 feet 7 inches in height and had hazel eyes and dark brown hair. He weighed in at 129 pounds and claimed to be a Manufacturer by occupation. He gave his mother as his next of kin resident at Silver Street, Wellington, Somerset. Initially his number was 39329 but this changed to 2149.

Towards the close of 1901 and during the first quarter of 1902 the Johannesburg Mounted Rifles were chiefly employed in the Ermelo district of the Transvaal. In May 1902 they crossed the Vaal and had some skirmishes in the Frankfort district of the Orange River Colony. Down to the close of the campaign they did service which proved them a most useful and well-led body.

On 17th June, after peace had been declared, the Johannesburg Mounted Rifles, Imperial Light Horse, Kitchener's Fighting Scouts, and the Scottish Horse had the honour of marching past and being inspected by the Commander-in-Chief in Johannesburg. Lord Kitchener referred to the fine service of these splendid irregular regiments, and indicated that there was a prospect of permanent volunteer regiments being formed which would be successors to the work, traditions, and organisation of each of them.

Babbage, according to his Record of Service and Discharge papers, would not have been present in Johannesburg for the parade, he had taken his discharge at Cape Town on 5 June 1902, time expired, and with a rating of Good and 200 days service, he left for what appears to have been his new place of employment – c/o Mr Hitchcock of the Nigel Gold Mining Company, in the district of Heidelberg in the Transvaal. Quite how Babbage managed to qualify for the South Africa 1902 clasp to go with that of 1901 is a mystery, unless he had prior service. This is unlikely as we know him to have been in England in March 1901. Notwithstanding this fact he earned the clasps Cape Colony, Orange Free State, South Africa 1901 and 1902 to his Queens Medal.

All sent quiet on the Babbage front until he was pierced by Eros' arrow. On 1 April 1913 he took 24 year old Viva Eugenie Chew who hailed from Gloucestershire, as his bride. The couple were married in the Johannesburg's Magistrate's Office with William being 37 at the time and resident on the corner of Main and Ford Streets, Johannesburg. His beloved lived at Cumberland House, Pritchard Stret, Johannesburg.

16 months later; on 4 August 1914, the Great War erupted on the international stage. Babbage bided his time before enlisting. On 4 September 1916 he completed the Attestation forms at Robert Heights for service in German East Africa with the Mechanical Transport section of the South African Service Corps (S.A.S.C.) No longer in the full bloom of youth at 38 years of age. He and his wife had a 2 year old daughter, Thelma, and were resident at 10 Critic Buildings, Eloff Street, Johannesburg in which city Babbage was employed as a Clerk with Sun Stores.

He confirmed that he had served in the Boer War and was found fit for the army and assigned no. 2777 and the rank of Driver.

On 29 October 1916 he embarked for East Africa at Durban per the “Ingoma” and commenced service on arrival there. On 8 November 1916 he signed his Last Will and Testament bequeathing “in the event of my death I give the whole of my money to my wife – Viva Eugenie Babbage”.

From the very outset it quickly became apparent that the climatic conditions in East Africa were wholly unsuited to men of European descent. Flies, mosquitoes and other insects wrought havoc on the troops and decimated their ranks reducing strong men to skeletons through malaria, black water fever and other illnesses. General Smuts came to the realisation that this was not the theatre for a white man and determined to repatriate most South African troops back to the Union as the close of 1916 came with the dawn of 1917. Babbage like so many others succumbed to malaria and was hospitalised on a number of occasions the first being at Duthumi on 29 January 1917. From there he was transferred to 52 Casualty Clearing Station at Mikissi on 11 February before being transferred yet again to 15 Stationary Hospital at Marogoro on 13 February 1917.

Still unable to shake the condition he was transferred to Base Hospital at Mombasa on 20 March before being moved to Nairobi on 4 April 1917. Returning to duty was a short termed affair as he was sent back to South Africa aboard the Hospital Ship “Ebani” disembarking at Cape Town on 10 July 1917 where he was admitted to No. 2 General Hospital at Maitland. After a lengthy spell there he was sent up to the Convalescent Camp at Roberts Heights from where he was discharged Permanently Unfit (Malaria) on 27 October 1917. Although there is no mention of it on is service card it would appear that Babbage was awarded the Silver Wound Badge no. SA 10920.

Babbage’s Proceedings on Discharge forms reflected that he had a Military Character of Very Good and was credited with one year and 55 days service. He was awarded the British War and Victory Medals for his efforts.

William Babbage stayed on in South Africa after the war and became a successful Motor Spares merchant, going into business with a Mr Herbert to form the firm Herbert & Babbage. He passed away in the Hospital Hill Nursing Home in Van der Merwe Street, Hillbrow, Johannesburg on 13 November 1943 at the age of 67 years and 9 months. He was resident at 8 Kingston House, Pritchard Street, Johannesburg at the time and was survived by his wife and only child, Thelma Carter Stickels bequeathing to them the handsome sum of £4 855.

Rory
My rather faded copy of the JMR roll shows initial clasp entitlement was "Transvaal" with "CC" and "OFS" added 68/SA/8861 on 11/9/09. Under the general heading "Other Service" there is a badly obscured entry that APPEARS to include the words "clasps 1901 and 1902". Regret I do not have the supplementary roll. Access to that might give you more info.
Regards
IL.

Hi IL

I have a pretty decent copy courtesy of Ancestry of which I append an extract clearly stating "medal and 5 clasps including 01 & 02 issued 9.9.09" the same line entry confirms his Transvaal, O.F.S. and C.C. clasps.



My interest (and question) is why was he eligible for the 1902 clasp if he didn't have any where near 18 months service?

Regards

Rory

Good Morning Rory......

You did not have to have 18 months service to get the bar just the 18 months to get the King's South Africa with two bars.....

The hard one to get is the KSA with only one bar the 1902, there is a thread here somewhere......

Mike

Found the Thread......

www.angloboerwar.com/forum/5-medals-and-...-single-bar-ksa#7432

Mike

A day on the veldt in 1902 was enough to get the clasp, easy for a great many perhaps, but, some were earned the hard way, the war had entered a new and very brutal phase in the new year.