TOPIC:

Thanks to a considerate friend and a generous wife, I have added another good (by my standards) Natal medal group to my collection. I am putting it aside until I complete another project, but I have decided to show it off unresearched simply because I am so pleased with it.


Extract from page 215 of::
‘Steinaecker’s Horsemen’ by William (Bill) Woolmore.
Published in 2006 by South African Country Life, Barberton

HOULDIN, George, Trooper No. 1325: Born Yorkshire 0n 31 May 1871. Pte-war service in the Matabeleland Mounted Police, the British South African Police and in the Cape Police (total police service 41/2 years). Previous Anglo-Boer War service as Private No. 28826 in A Company, Thorneycroft’s Mounted Infantry (14 months). Enlisted in SH at Durban on 128 March 1901 – age 29, platelayer, height 5’ 9 1/4”, blue eyes, brown hair. NOK: father J Houldin, 81 Hodgson Street, Hull, Yorkshire. Discharged time expired at PMB on 15 August 1902 after the cessation of hostilities. Qualified for the QSA medal with clasps Cape Colony, Tugela Heights, OFS, Relief of Ladysmith, Laing’s Nek & Transvaal and his KSA with the two date clasps was issued from the SH roll.

The World War 1 pair are named to Sapper Houldin, SARODS (= South African Railway Oversea Dominion Section). With the group is a WWI identity disc named as follows:
X386 GEO, A, HOULDIN 4th COY RE SOUTH AFRICAN

Coincidentally, I recently saw a TV prrogramme that showed the important role played by the front line railway system. Hopefully, there will be some interesting information on South Africa's part, to add to that on Houldin's ABW service.

Brett

Stunning!

Hello Brett

Good to see your new acquisition, it is not the norm these days to see a KSA to a colonial recipient, they are normally missing, so fantastic to have a complete group, look forward to hearing more

Jon

Hi Brett.....

Great Group and Fantastic Opportunity for Research......

Mike

Hello Brett,

Wonderful Group.

I assume by your second sentence,"he had Pte- War service in the Cape Police" you are actually meaning Pre-War service . If so then that is not correct as he attested into the CP on the 3rd November 1903 for the first time (no earlier entries in the registers found) further more he does state in his CP attestation papers that he had previous service in T.M.I and S.H. He also states that he has been in the Country for only 8 days at the time he joined the CP so one must assume that he first went back to the UK after the war and then came out again.

He was discharged from the CP on or about the 20th June 1907.

I have attached the relevant pages for you.

Cheers
Adrian

Brett
A really great group; I also really like the toning on the QSA/KSA. "Thorneycroft's Unbuttoned" by Droogleever says that "28866 Pte. George Houldin" served with A Coy., TMI from 15/1/00 to 13/8/00. Tfr'd to Police 13/8/00 to 17/11/00 and back to TMI until 14/3/01. Apparently on SH roll as "Houlden". Served with Rhodesia in MMP and BSAP and with MRF in Matabeleland in 1893.
Best regards
IL.