TOPIC:

Steve (& David) - regarding your post of WILLIAM HAYWOOD MORRIS and the identity of AVENUE HOUSE in Doncaster. This paragraph from the Sheffield Daily Telegraph of 1919 seems to provide the answer.



The Alderman Elwis who built it was a military man because in 1891 he was advertising Geese Eggs for Sale and telling potential customers to contact Captain Elwis at Avenue House - personally in view of what was to come I think it should have been duck eggs.

William's great-grandson has created a public family tree on Ancestry and it is very interesting regarding his post 1911 life. I will leave you to discover it for yourself rather than lower the tone.

David.

David,
Post 1911 sounds intriguing. I will take a look at the public family tree.

Mark,
It is never late to join the conversation. I find threads on the forum that are probably years old, but are very relevant to my research or contributions.
Thank you very much for posting the report of the reverend gentleman who went out and found poor old Mitchell who must have suffered greatly. It must have been a comfort to him if he was still alive to have had the presence of a Christian minister by his side
The burning of the farmhouse was typical of the brutal reprisals for those who took potshots at passing soldiers.

I was also very surprised and pleased to find out that Mitchell was a Shetlander. He would have most likely been a pretty rugged, self-sufficient sort of a young bloke if he was from a crofting or fishing background.

Cheers Steve

3481 TROOPER ARTHUR LEWIS HINGS: KITCHENER'S HORSE.

Apologies for posting this biography a bit at a time! But the website just keeps on timing out on me.
But I persevere! Please bear with me....

Arthur Lewis Hings was born in Leicester, England in 1879 to parents John Hings who was a 31 year old Rate Collector according to the census of 1881 and probably not the most welcome visitor on a tenants doorstep come payday! John's wife was Emma (30).
There were three other children of the family namely; Albert W (9), John T(8), and Rebecca E (3).
Their home address was 9, Arundel Street, Leicester St. Mary, Leicester.


The census of 1891 finds the Hings family residing at Gipsy Road, Belgrave, Barrow upon Soar, Leicestershire. The family had now expanded with the addition of Mary A (9) and Ernest (2).
The remuneration of being a Rate Collector was proving to be reasonably lucrative as the family were served by David ? a 19 year old groom and domestic servant. A female (11) by the name of Mary was visiting the family on census day.


Upon his maturity, Arthur joined the army of tradesmen, miners and chancers who would emigrate to South Africa to try their luck in this wild frontier of the British Empire.

Upon the outbreak of war with the Boer Republics in October 1899, as an uitlander, he must have felt compelled by a sense of adventure and duty to
defend the empire to enlist in one of the colonial units being raised as the conflict progressed.

Henceforth, he attested to Kitchener's Horse at Cape Town on 3rd February 1900 and numbered 3481. He was discharged as medically unfit on 10th April 1900. His service with this unit was short!

On 20th December 1901, Arthur enlisted in the Commander in Chief's Bodyguard at Pietermaritzburg with the regimental number 25611. He remained with the regiment until discharge at Cape Town on 28th February 1901. Again, a very short period of service.

The medal rolls for KH and C-I-C Bodyguard intimate service with Cape Railway Sharpshooters and Kimberley Regiment, but I have been unable to substantiate this.




Queen's South Africa medal awarded to 3481 Trooper Arthur Lewis Hings bearing clasps for Relief of Ladysmith, Paardeberg, Driefontein and South Africa 1901.


Number, rank and naming to the rim.




Regimental naming to the rim. Possibly a later issue, note the spacing between the letters.


Having returned to England at some point following the Anglo Boer War we find Arthur getting married to Winnifred Mary Jacques. The couple welcomed a son, Donald Lewes Hings born on 6th November 1907 in Leicester.
Later he was residing at 29 Marston Street, Leicester. This was the address he gave upon discharge from the Grenadier Guards with the regimental number 19138 on 16th October 1914. He had enlisted at the start of the Great War on the 14th September 1914, eager once again to serve his country.
Aged 34 years and 9 months Arthur was a Clerk by profession and was certainly built the way the guards like em at 6' 1 1/2" and 180 lbs in weight.
He was brown eyed, of dark complexion and had dark brown hair with a tattoo on his right arm.
He was Church of England by religious denomination and married.
His stint in the Grenadiers was a short one, as he was discharged on 16th October "Not being likely to become an efficient soldier".


On attestation to the Grenadier Guards, previous service declared at attestation in South African Colony.

Undeterred, Arthur next attested to the Royal Warwickshire Regiment 5th (Reserve) Battalion on 4th January 1915.. He was living at Rowson House, Alcester Road, Birmingham.
His next jif kin was given as his father John Hings of Corner of Marston Street and Upper Conduit Street, Leicester.

Here previous service recorded with Kitchener's Horse during the Anglo Boer War.
He progressed well, initially, with the Warwick's being promoted Lance Corporal and then Lance Sergeant before getting busted for drunkenness and using threatening language to his superior.
Finally, he was discharged from the Warwick's having served 1 year and 15 days in England and not seeing service on the continent.

He was living at Upper Conduit Street, Leicester in 1918. But the census of 1921 has him living as a farmer at Windy Ridge, Widecombe-in-the-Marsh, Devon.

A search through newspaper articles revealed an entertaining incident involving Arthur as follows.

From: "The Devon and Exeter Gazette", Wednesday, April 11, 1928. Page 4.

"A NEWTON OUTBREAK.

WIDECOMBE FARMER'S FISTS.

Arthur L. Hings, farmer, of Windy Ridge, Widecombe-in-the-Moor, was summonsed at Newton Abbot Sessions yesterday for being drunk and disorderly in the town on April 2nd, and for assaulting Nicholas N. Bakerat the gentlemen's cloakroom, in the Market-place, on the same date.
Inspector Hannaford said defendant went to the cloakroom, and when spoken to by Baker in consequence of his conduct, handed his coat to another man and struck the attendant in the face. He was taken to the Police-station, and there again attempted to strike Baker.
Baker, who was 64 years of age, stated defendant must have struck him a dozen times. His nose bled, and while he was bending down to staunch the flow Hings caught him by the neck and punched him again. Defendant was more like a mad bull than anything else.
P. C. Tolley said defendant was drunk, and incoherent in his speech. When first spoken to he said "that fellow (Baker) has assaulted me."

Mr. P. H. W. Almy, for defendant, said, his client suffered from nervousness, despite the fact that he looked a big strong man. This was, probably, due to malaria, contracted in Africa. He had had two or three sleepless nights, and had nothing on the morning the offence save a few drinks, which under ordinary circumstances, would have had no harmful result. He alleged that the language used by Baker when he spoke to Hings was provocative.
The Bench fined defendant 40s and 5s costs for being drunk and disorderly, and £3 with £1 10s costs, for the assault _£6 15s in all".


In his old age Arthur Lewis Hings had relocated to Surrey where he died in 1957 at the age of 77.

Hi Steve,

I found this for you; looks like he transferred from the SAMIF to the c-in-c Bodyguard.

He is also entitled to the CC clasp.

You have to give it to him; he didn't let his medical condition get in the way of serving.

Hope it helps.

Regards,
Shaun





From the South African Mounted Irregular Forces Roll: