TOPIC:

i currently have a QSA (with 6 clasps) to 127 Cpl C Hodge of the SALH who according to the medal roll became 29284 Pte C Hodge in the Rand Rifles. can explain why he may of moved units and been demoted

Mortimore
Welcome to the forum. Such a question as you have asked is almost impossible to answer. SALH was raised in 11/99 and saw much service during and after the Relief of Ladysmith. Six clasp medals to the SALH for that period are certainly encountered every now and again and are nice to add to the collection. Enlistment in units like the SALH was for a set period and subject to re-enlistment as required. The SALH were active until the end of hostilities and emerged with a reputation second to no other Corps. You may care to look in the "publications" section of this site - where you can read a good precis of the activities of the SALH in Stirling's "The Colonials in South Africa".
The Rand Rifles was raised towards the end of 1900 and was employed on the defences of Johannesburg and surrounding districts. It would not be at all unlikely for a chap to have served his six months' with such as the SALH found employment in Jo'berg and later enlisted for part-time service in what was essentially a Town Guard. Unless you can find enlistment papers somewhere, you may have to be content with reading about the circumstances of his clasps earned with the SALH. Which, by the way, is a good read!
You might care to let forum members know if you make any further discoveries.
Regards
IL.

Hello Mortimore

I don't think the answer on unit transfer is any more complicated than suggested by IL - his time had expired with the SALH and he decided to join the Rand Rifles. Serving in multiple colonial units was common.

The move from Corporal to Private was not a demotion as such. The Rand Rifles probably had their full complement of Corporals when he enlisted.

After the arduous campaign to relieve Ladysmith and the responsibilities of being a corporal, Hodge was probably perfectly happy to have little responsibility in a quiet unit.

Regards

A very nice medal to have, normal enlistment in the SALH was for six months, after which you could be discharged, at that point in time, Hodge would cease to be an SAMIF Corporal, their is no question of demotion,

The Rand Rifles was, in effect, the Johannesburg Town Guard, if actually a resident of Johannesburg, Hodge would, as an adult, actually been liable to serve within it's ranks for a period of time, this applied to all able bodied men who were not performing military duties.
These men were all employed in civilian capacities and had periodical drill and in the event of actual attack be the enemy, they all had a specific position to occupy and defend as necessary, depending upon where they actually lived, this continued up to Vereeniging.
Notwithstanding, it should be noted that whilst there was a liability in law to serve, not everyone was actually enlisted and many that were, only served for a matter of weeks and these men did not always receive a medal.

Mortimore wrote: i currently have a QSA (with 6 clasps) to 127 Cpl C Hodge of the SALH who according to the medal roll became 29284 Pte C Hodge in the Rand Rifles. can explain why he may of moved units and been demoted

All - thanks very much for your responses. I appreciate everyone's help

The other queries i have are:

1 - I am assuming that the rank of Cpl would of taken 5-6 years to achieve so therefore HODGE would have been in the Army for sometime before he joined. Is there anyway that i can find his attestation papers?

2- I know a young Winston Churchill served the the SALH during the Boer War and that in his book " a roving commission" he wrote that he charged with 2 x Sqns of the SALH during the relief of Ladysmith. Would there be anyway of finding out more details of which Sqns these were and whether HODGE was part of them?

3 - what is SAMIF?

Hodge would likely have been given his rank on or a little after he joined the SALH, the regiment was not part of the British Army and it's terms, conditions and indeed, pay, were rather different, Hodge would have been a founder member, the regiment being raised in Cape Town on the 8th of November 1899.
All surviving papers for the regiment are in WO126/130-138 at Kew
WLSC certainly may well have charged with two squadrons of the regiment, but, I expect he used a generous helping romance, in effect, did not serve within it for a great length time, although, after the campaign in Natal, he still held his supernumerary commission within the SAMIF (South African Mounted Irregular Force and used this to his distinct advantage on a number of occasions.




quote="Mortimore" post=55374]All - thanks very much for your responses. I appreciate everyone's help

The other queries i have are:

1 - I am assuming that the rank of Cpl would of taken 5-6 years to achieve so therefore HODGE would have been in the Army for sometime before he joined. Is there anyway that i can find his attestation papers?

2- I know a young Winston Churchill served the the SALH during the Boer War and that in his book " a roving commission" he wrote that he charged with 2 x Sqns of the SALH during the relief of Ladysmith. Would there be anyway of finding out more details of which Sqns these were and whether HODGE was part of them?

3 - what is SAMIF?[/quote]