TOPIC:

After my mother died I discovered that her father (my grandfather) came to SA in the Boer War as a Medic. I have the records from Somerset house in the UK but can find nothing about him in any SA records. From documentation (Attestation of Short Service - One year with the colours)I have learnt the following:

Name: Sidney Stephen Mayes
No: 15042
Corps: Royal Army Medical Corps
Joined up on: 5th February 1901 at Norwich, 11th February at Aldershot.
Discharged: 7th July 1902 - Presumably in South Africa somewhere.

He was awarded the South Africa medal.

As he lived in and signed up in Norwich he could have been attached to the Norfolk Regiment.

I can find no WWI record of him and do not know if he returned to Britain after the Boer war. He was in SA from at least 1918 to 1962 when he died.


Can anybody help?

Don

Hello Don,

I can offer only the following for you:

DEPOT TAB
SOURCE MHG
TYPE LEER
SYSTEM 01
REFERENCE 4679/62
PART 1
DESCRIPTION MAYES, SIDNEY STEPHEN.
STARTING 19620000
ENDING 19620000
REMARKS PREDECEASED SPOUSE ALICE MAY MAYES.

This is his death notice which is in the Transvaal Archive.

Regards
Adrian

Thanks Adrian. We have records of the latter part of his life but the Boer War service (where and when and possibly the Regiment he was attached to) are completely unknown as is the whereabouts of his QSA medal.

Regards

Don

Mayes was formerly in F Coy, 3 Volunteer Bn, Norfolk Regt which had its HQ in East Dereham. On 31 May 1902, a Norfolk newspapare reported he was "still out there".

A few 1 and 3 VB, Norfolk Volunteers, though not necessarily Mayes, served in 22 Bearer Section, RAMC with non-Norfolk numbers. I cannot find the men's original Norfolk numbers on the QSA rolls.

Rob.