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There was nothing particularly remarkable about Walter Curtis save for the fact that Farrier Sergeant is a scarce rank to the S.A.C. and that he was a transfer-in from the Imperial Yeomanry earning himself an equally scarce KSA to the Constabulary.

Walter James Curtis

Shoeing Smith, Remount Department, Imperial Yeomanry
Farrier Sergeant, South African Constabulary – Anglo Boer War

- Queens South Africa Medal with clasps Cape Colony, Orange Free State and Transvaal to 198 FARR. SERJT. W.J.CURTIS, S.A.C.
- Kings South Africa Medal with clasps South Africa 1901 & 1902 to 198 FAR. SERJT. W.J.CURTIS, S.A.C.

Walter Curtis was born in Notting Hill West in London in the County of Middlesex on 16 September 1879 the son of Walter Kennedy Curtis, a Farrier by trade and his wife Cecilia. Baptised in St. Paul’s and St. Pancras Church in Middlesex on 25 July 1880 his parents address was the nearby 5 Lionel Mews in Notting Hill.

Less than two years after Walter had seen the light of day for the first time the 1881 England census came round to find the family still at the above address with rather a large household with elder siblings Charles (10), Cecelia (7), Kate (4) and Augusta (2) in addition to Walter who was “bringing up the rear”

Ten years later at the time of the 1891 England census the Curtis’ had moved to 77 Talbot Road in Paddington, London with not much changing in the domestic make-up of the family. All were still in residence with Walter, now 11, joined by younger siblings Harriet (7), Annie (2) and baby Percy (7 months) – a total of seven children, not uncommon in size for working class Victorian families.

England in the very latter stages of the 19th century was at a hive of imperial activity. She had many dominions and colonies to look after and it wasn’t always plain sailing when it came to relationships with their neighbouring territories. A case in point was the Cape Colony and Natal in far-away South Africa. These territories were bordered by the independent Boer Republics of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal – tensions had been building for quite some time between the Crown and these tow maverick states and this, in October 1899, led to the declaration of full-scale war between the two.

Britain was largely unprepared for this eventuality and didn’t have enough troops on the ground in the region to effectively combat the forces put into the field by the Boers. Initial reverses were heavy and led to “’Black Week” which caused a stir among the British populace once the extent of the calamity reached them. A wave of patriotic fervour swept through the country and Imperial Yeomanry outfits were raised among the general population to assist with the efforts of the regular army.

Curtis, all of 21 years and 3 month’s age, enlisted with the Imperial Yeomanry at London for service in the war on 29 March 1900. Confirming that he had been born in Paddington he had also followed in his father’s footsteps and was a Shoeing Smith by trade. Physically he was 5 feet 7 ½ inches in height, weighed 142 pounds and had a fair complexion, blue eyes and fair hair. He had a hair lip scar pointing to the possibility that he had been born with this deformity.

Having been passed as Fit by the Doctor he was assigned no. 13768 and the rank of Trooper. Unlike most other I.Y. men he wasn’t assigned to a specific company or battalion (these were normally County-linked) but was posted instead to the Base Depot where he was promoted, on the same day he joined, as a Shoeing Smith.

With the dawn of 4 April 1900 he had arrived in South Africa where he was to spend a period of 261 days with the Yeomanry before, at his own request, taking his discharge on 14 December 1900 in order to join the ranks of the newly constituted South African Constabulary. The S.A.C., brainchild of Lord Robert Baden-Powell, was a force eventually numbering some 10 000 men whose primary task was to uphold and maintain law and order whilst the regular army was involved in fighting the Boers. This was the theory but the practice was somewhat different – whilst the war still raged (up to and including 31 May 1902) the S.A.C. did sterling work alongside their regular army comrades and incurred substantial losses of their own in the fighting.
Taking his discharge at Johannesburg he provided his new address as P.O. Box 1315, Johannesburg and came away with a Conduct and Character rating of Very Good.

On New Year’s Day 1901 he signed the Attestation Paper for service in the S.A.C. and was assigned no. 198 and the rank of Farrier Sergeant. Settling down to his duties wasn’t without the odd hiccup – on 4 March 1901 he was charged and found guilty of being “Absent from Parade” at Roodepoort in the Transvaal for which he was Reprimanded. Life appears to have been reasonably uneventful from then on until he took his discharge, time expired, on 18 January 1902 after 1 year and 18 days service. His Character was descried as Good and his forwarding address was provided as 24 Jeppe Street, Johannesburg (P.O. Box 1315) this wasn’t to be the last word from Curtis though – on 11 January 1904 he wrote from Florida in the Transvaal (next to Roodepoort) to the Chief Staff Officer of the S.A.C. as follows,

“Sir

I have the honour to request that you will be so kind as to send me my medal which you have held since June 24th, 1903 (Queens). I should like to know when the Kings medal will be issued, hoping you will favour me with my request. Believe me to remain your obedient servant.

W.J. Curtis”

Curtis wrote from the offices of the Transvaal Town Police indicating that that is where he went on discharge. The medal with clasps Transvaal, Orange Free State and Cape Colony was duly despatched to him and receipt was acknowledged by him on 17 January 1904.

Curtis never returned home to England – a Probate notice appeared confirming that Walter James Curtis of 77 Talbot Road, Bayswater, Middlesex died on 29 March 1904 at Johannesburg, South Africa. He bequeathed the sum of £125 to Walter Kennedy Curtis, Farrier. We will probably never know what occasioned his death as the Master’s File provides us with no clues. Suffice it to say he passed away, unmarried, at the age of 24 in the Johannesburg Hospital. His only surviving “relative” was a friend, Mr J.O Fox of 16 York Buildings, P.O. Box 1218 Johannesburg. £2 had been found on his person with a further £10 being pay due from the Police and an amount of £13 being the proceeds of sale of his effects.

Today he is but a footnote on the page of history but he was once a man who made his contribution to the war