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Below is part of a letter to Waterloo, north of Liverpool, from former resident Edward Lightfoot, in which he writes of an incident where four of the Natal Carbineers were killed - Billy Buxton, Miller, Elliott, and Smith. Lightfoot mentions that Elliott was aged only 16 - can that be correct?

"Private Edward Lightfoot, of the Natal Carabineers, and formerly of Mount-pleasant, Waterloo, writes from the Carabineers' Camp, Ladysmith, December 28, 1899, as follows : - We have just been told we can send one letter each of half a sheet. It costs us 2s. 6d. each to send, and I don't know how they are going through. We removed our camp about 300 yards from where it was - more under cover. The Boers have put about 7,000 or 8,000 shells into Ladysmith since Lombard's Kop, but have done very little damage. We got a shell into our squadron horse lines on the 18th of this month, when we were at early morning stables at 5.30. It went through one horse and then burst, and killed ten more, and killed four men and wounded three. Billy Buxton, of the band, was killed. A piece of shell hit him over the heart and went right through him ; you could get your fist into the hole. Miller of our squadron, had his side ripped open and his leg taken off. They were both killed outright. Miller is the chap I brought back from Lombard's Kop on my horse. The other two belonged to Dundee. They were at our lines drawing horse feed. One named Elliott, only 16 years old, had both legs taken off at the top, and the other, named Smith, was shot through the body ; these two lived for about an hour. Our lines were like a slaughter house. There was blood, flesh, legs, khaki, and dead horses all over the place."

The Bootle Times, 3rd February 1900

410 Trooper W Buxton, 804 Trooper R Miller, 542 Trooper T Elliott and 408 Trooper W Craighead Smith were killed by shell fire and were subsequently buried in Ladysmith, their graves remain extant and their names will be upon a regimental memorial in All Saints church Ladysmith.
I see no reason why Trooper Buxton could not be sixteen, although, taking boys into the cauldron was scarce, it was certainly not unheard of, still very sad, but, they knew what they were doing, moreover, they were volunteers.
Interestingly, poor Craighead Smith was a former Maritzburg College boy.

BereniceUK wrote: Below is part of a letter to Waterloo, north of Liverpool, from former resident Edward Lightfoot, in which he writes of an incident where four of the Natal Carabineers were killed - Billy Buxton, Miller, Elliott, and Smith. Lightfoot mentions that Elliott was aged only 16 - can that be correct?

"Private Edward Lightfoot, of the Natal Carabineers, and formerly of Mount-pleasant, Waterloo, writes from the Carabineers' Camp, Ladysmith, December 28, 1899, as follows : - We have just been told we can send one letter each of half a sheet. It costs us 2s. 6d. each to send, and I don't know how they are going through. We removed our camp about 300 yards from where it was - more under cover. The Boers have put about 7,000 or 8,000 shells into Ladysmith since Lombard's Kop, but have done very little damage. We got a shell into our squadron horse lines on the 18th of this month, when we were at early morning stables at 5.30. It went through one horse and then burst, and killed ten more, and killed four men and wounded three. Billy Buxton, of the band, was killed. A piece of shell hit him over the heart and went right through him ; you could get your fist into the hole. Miller of our squadron, had his side ripped open and his leg taken off. They were both killed outright. Miller is the chap I brought back from Lombard's Kop on my horse. The other two belonged to Dundee. They were at our lines drawing horse feed. One named Elliott, only 16 years old, had both legs taken off at the top, and the other, named Smith, was shot through the body ; these two lived for about an hour. Our lines were like a slaughter house. There was blood, flesh, legs, khaki, and dead horses all over the place."

The Bootle Times, 3rd February 1900

From the Natal Carbineers database:

ELLIOTT T. Trooper 542. On strength 21/1/1899. farmer from Dundee. Killed in action on 18 December 1899 at Umbulwana by shellfire.. Served 29/9/1899 to 18/12/1899. Buried at Ladysmith

Here is his grave.

TPR W. BUXTON


TPR R.M.M. MILLER


TPR W. CRAIGHEAD-SMITH