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Herbert Lawrence

Sergeant, 2nd Battalion, Kings Royal Rifle Corps – Anglo Boer war

- Queens South Africa Medal with clasps Defence of Ladysmith and Transvaal to 6112 Cpl. H. Lawrence, K.R.R.C.
- Kings South Africa Medal to 6112 Serjt. H. Lawrence, K.R.R.C.

Herbert Lawrence’s antecedents have proved very difficult to track down, born as he was in 1872, he would not have appeared in the 1871 England census and, the only census wherein he would have appeared with his family members – that of 1881 – has been impossible to find.

What we do know is that he was born in Brompton in the County of Middlesex the son of Sarah Lawrence. At the age of 18 years 5 months he completed the attestation papers for Short Service (7 years with the Colours and 5 with the Reserve) at Winchester on 23 December 1890. The object being to enrol in the Kings Royal Rifle Corps as a soldier.

Claiming previous Militia service with the 3rd Battalion of the Sussex Regiment he was a Machinist by trade and unmarried. With a height of 5 feet 4 inches and weighing 117 pounds he was small in stature with a fair complexion, brown eyes and black hair. Interestingly he had a bald patch at the top of his head and a brown patch on his left buttock by way of distinguishing characteristics.

Having been passed as Fit by the Army Doctor he was assigned no. 6112 and posted to the Depot for training and assimilation. On 3 July 1891 he was transferred to the 2nd Battalion where he was granted Good Conduct pay on 3 December of that year. This coincided with the Battalion’s arrival in Gibraltar where they were to spend 3 years and 42 days. Army life suited Lawrence and, on 25 May 1893 he was promoted to Lance Corporal. Further proof of how he was improving himself came on 10 June 1893 when he obtained a 3rd Class Certificate of Education to be followed by a 2nd Class Certificate on 16 June 1894.

A move to Malta was next on the agenda and, on 13 January 1895 the Battalion arrived in this small enclave for a tour of duty until returning home to England on 15 July 1896 – a period away of 1 year and 184 days. Next it was to South Africa the Battalion went, arriving on those shores on 16 July 1896. Promotion to full Corporal came on 22 August 1897 and, according to his service record, he was prematurely transferred to the Army Reserve on 10 February 1898 being taken off strength a day later.

What it was that Lawrence did after being paced on the Reserve is not known but it wasn’t long before he was back in uniform. On 14 October 1899 the K.R.R.C. were mobilised and he was summonsed back for service. What was the occasion? Simply the fact that Great Britain was at war with two Boer Republics in the country where Lawrence had just spent some time with his regiment – South Africa. The 2nd Battalion was one of the infantry battalions which, between 16th and 30th September 1899, were sent from India to Natal.

On re-joining he was posted as a Corporal to the 2nd Battalion. The battalion was first engaged on 24th October at Rietfontein, outside Ladysmith. They were at first with the baggage, and afterwards half the battalion was in the reserve line incurring no losses. Sir George White, being anxious to engage the attention of the Boers and so prevent them falling on General Yule's column, then retreating from Dundee to Ladysmith, had moved out of Ladysmith and fought the action of Rietfontein. The force which he took out was—5th Lancers, 19th Hussars, Imperial Light Horse, Natal Mounted Volunteers, 42nd and 53rd Batteries RFA, No 10 Mountain Battery, 1st Liverpools, 1st Devons, 1st Gloucesters, and the 2nd King's Royal Rifles.

At the battle of Ladysmith (also known as Nicholson’s Nek) on 30th October 1899 the battalion was with Grimwood on the right and was hard pressed all morning. Their losses were approximately 1 officer wounded, 8 men killed, 29 wounded, and some missing. In the great attack of 6th January, with White having decided to try and fight his way out of Ladysmith, four companies of the 2nd King's Royal Rifles were sent in the early morning as reinforcements to Waggon Hill, where they took part in the furious fighting. One company under Lieutenant Tod attempted to rush the eastern crest, then held by the Boers, but the attempt failed, Lieutenant Tod being killed. The battalion's losses that day were 4 officers and 7 men killed and about 35 wounded – not a very good day for the Defenders. It can be imagined that Lawrence was in on the action and suffered, in equal measure with his comrades, the deprivations experienced during the 3 month long Siege of Ladysmith where, towards the end, men were reduced to eating horse meat and were increasingly ravaged by enteric fever and other diseases occasioned by a near starvation diet.

After the relief of Ladysmith on 1 March 1900 the battalion marched north to the Transvaal-Natal border, and in July was ordered to sail for Colombo with prisoners. Lawrence, however, wasn’t destined to accompany them – on 18 July 1900 he was transferred to the 3rd battalion and on 22 April 1901 was appointed a Lance Sergeant.

On 28th July 1900 Major General Cooper, with the 3rd King's Royal Rifles and 1st Rifle Brigade, took over Heidelberg in the Transvaal, and in this district the home or headquarters of the battalion was long to remain. Garrison duty and column work occupied their energies to the close of the campaign. For about the last eight months of the war the battalion was garrison at Machadodorp in the eastern part of the Transvaal. On 14 May 1902 Lawrence received a further promotion to full Sergeant and, on 22 December 1902 he was discharged in consequence of the termination of his first period of engagement having served his full 12 years.

For his not inconsiderable efforts Lawrence was awarded the Queens Medal with Defence of Ladysmith and Transvaal clasps along with the Kings Medal for serving more than 18 months in the war. Interestingly his service records indicated that he was eligible for the Laing’s Nek clasp but this is not borne out by the medal rolls.

Having stayed on in South Africa after discharge he settled in East London in the Eastern Cape passing away on 9 May 1955 at the age of 84. Sadly Lawrence’s last few years were not happy ones – he had initially been admitted as a Mental Patient to the Queenstown Mental Hospital on 8 January 1947 suffering with Senile Psychosis and had thereafter been admitted to the Komani Hospital by order of the Supreme Court on 14 June 1951.

A letter from the Manager of Barclays Bank mentioned that money had been deposited into Lawrence’s account by a firm known as Lawrence and Lewin from the City of London and it was speculated, in the absence of anyone else coming forward, that the Lawrence referred to was Herbert Lawrence’s brother.

One certainly wonders how he spent July 1902 and in particular, just how he spent that twelve pounds and nineteen shillings!