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 Surname   Forename   No   Rank   Notes   Unit 
ChamberlainJ3975CorporalMissing - released at Doornberg. 13 Jun 1900.
Source: Natal Field Force Casualty Roll, page 1 line 50
5th (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) Dragoon Guards
ChamberlainJ2nd Battalion
Source: QSA and KSA medal rolls
Bedfordshire Regiment
ChamberlainJ2nd Battalion
Source: QSA and KSA medal rolls
(Duke of Edinburgh's) Wiltshire Regiment
ChamberlainJ1st Battalion
Source: QSA and KSA medal rolls
Durham Light Infantry
ChamberlainJ / A3495Private2nd Battalion
Demise: Died of disease 24 Feb 1900
Place: Cape Town, Wynberg
Source: In Memoriam by S Watt
Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
ChamberlainJ A2nd Battalion
Source: QSA and KSA medal rolls
Grenadier Guards
ChamberlainJ D4610Sergeant2nd Battalion
Demise: Killed in action 22 Feb 1900
Place: Tugelahts, Wynne Hill
Source: In Memoriam by S Watt
East Surrey Regiment
ChamberlainJ G1st Battalion
Source: QSA and KSA medal rolls
Devonshire Regiment
ChamberlainJ G9195PrivateQSA (3) DoL Tr LN
Provisional list of recipients
Source: Ladysmith Siege Account and Medal Roll
King's Royal Rifle Corps
ChamberlainJ H HTrooperNatal 1906 (1)
Source: Recipients of the Natal 1906 Medal
Natal Mounted Rifles
ChamberlainJ TSource: QSA and KSA medal rollsPrince Alfred's Volunteer Guard
ChamberlainJames23Occupation: Fitter. Next of kin: Mother. Address: Scotland .
Source: Attestation paper in WO126
Town Guard and District Mounted Troops
ChamberlainJoseph4th Battalion
Source: QSA and KSA medal rolls
(King's) Liverpool Regiment
ChamberlainJoseph93525GunnerQSA (2)
Source: List of QSAs with the clasp Defence of Kimberley
Royal Garrison Artillery
ChamberlainJosephWas born in Camberwell Grove, London, on July 7, 1836. He is the eldest son of a boot and shoe manufacturer, a man who took no part in politics, but devoted his spare time to his duties as a master cordwainer and as a staunch supporter of the chapels to which he belonged. Had the course of political events during the past thirty years never brought Mr Chamberlain into close contact with South Africa, had it never led up to his famous tour throughout the country, had it never caused the names of the, great statesman and the great Continent to be associated, still the echo of notable things done for some part of the Empire must have reached Anglo-African cars. But when we remember those eight years from 1895 to 1903 spent almost entirely in the service of South Africa, with all their record of successful labour, it would be an extraordinary omission if there did not appear in this volume an account of Mr Chamberlain's career, including details other than those which refer more particularly to his connection with Africa. He is the one man whose actions, whether admired or hated, whose words, whether believed or ridiculed, invariably arouse exceptional interest in every country. His qualities are eminently those that excite simultaneously the dislike and the admiration of the foreigner. Above all, and to this dictum friend and foe alike subscribe, he is 'the man who knows his own mind'. He is indeed a 'maker of programmes', but he knows how to get them carried out, and he believes that the people are the ultimate judges of right and are in the long run prepared to maintain it at any sacrifice. It was to a great extent from this belief that his inauguration of the Tariff Reform Crusade sprang. It was his belief that the time had come when England had a new duty to perform to her colonics which demanded a change in her business methods, and he felt it his duty to promulgate that belief and to ask for that change. When he has expounded its meaning and demands, the people, he is sure, will accept and obev. In his own words "Governments propose, but the people decide". It is this, his cardinal tenet, that has led him to leave sheep-like parties, and change his own expressed views with an utter callousness of criticism. To him consistency is no cardinal virtue. The needs of the imminent hour, and of that alone, are his care, and weigh upon his conscience. Whether they are coincident with or opportune to the aims of his party is a small thing in his eyes. As a Liberal, as an Imperialist, as the strongest supporter of a Conservative body, he has often held views radically opposed to his leaders. The style of his speech, coldness, pitiless denunciation, sarcasm, the creation of phrases incredibly destructive, the impassiveness of his demeanour-all these things have combined to convince the public that Mr Chamberlain is all head, no heart. It is a false estimate, formed on a superficial basis, and an utter inability to judge at a comparatively great distance an essentially complex character. It must be remembered that John Bright said of him "Where he is best known he is best appreciated". Still, it is interesting to note that within a few years of Joseph's birth many of the colonies with which he was in after life to be so intimately connected were annexed, or ceded to the Crown. After all, the times were stirring. Far away, several minor wars in the East were occupying our attention; the Continent was hardly less disturbed. Further events, such as the death of Sir Robert Peel and the lying-in-state of the Duke of Wellington, made a deep impression on the sensitive lad's character. Experiences of City life came early, through his father's connection with the Cordwainers' Hall. Relating his early life while unveiling a window in that building in 1896 he recalled the fact that this was the scene of his first public speech, when as a very young man he was dining there with his father. Years afterwards, records that remain of his early childhood represent Joseph as a clever, serious boy who was wont to go deeply into things and, as his mother said, used to ask questions that she had great difficulty in answering. His early education was of the simplest character, but in 1845 on the family's removal to Highbury he became a pupil of the Reverend Arthur Johnson at another Church of England school. But in mathematics at least the pupil soon outran his master, and at the age of 14 he was sent to University College School, where the next two years' training completed his school life. The University was closed to him as a dissenter, and he immediately entered upon his business career at the bottom of his father's house. In the workshop he doubtless imbibed his Radical views of politics and learned at first hand many of the thoughts and hopes of the British artisan. His lighter moments were devoted chiefly to indulging his taste in amateur theatricals, at which, both as actor and author, he was remarkably proficient. But his leisure hours were short. The devotion to the work of the day that has characterised his whole life often led him even in those early years to work many hours overtime, and that despite the excellent position and fair amount of capital for a good start in life which were his. For Mr Chamberlain is by no means the 'self-made' man which it was at one time the fashion to describe him. It was as a young business man that he first gave evidence of the possession of that combination of qualities to which his success as a statesman is greatly due—the power of accurate foresight, of thinking on a big scale and at the same time giving attention to the most minute details of a scheme. In his position as head of the commercial department of the great firm of Nettlefold and Chamberlain, screw manufacturers, he displayed great ability and enterprise, not only in developing the home trade, but in capturing a good deal of the foreign as well. The consequent prosperity of the firm laid them open to certain malicious libels which were not finally put to rest till 1884, when, after they had been revived in the Daily News, a complete retraction and apology appeared in the columns of that newspaper. At that time Mr Chamberlain was President of the Board of Trade, and there can be little doubt that these slanderous attacks emanated, at least indirectly, from opponents of certain measures that he was then introducing. Within ten years of his becoming a partner in the firm it had produced a substantial fortune, and in 1874 he retired from business permanently. During Mr Chamberlain's superintendence of the commercial department of his business, he had inaugurated and often spoken at a debating club for his men; had taught in the night schools connected with his church; had been President of its Mutual Improvement Society, and had spent his leisure in a variety of political and philanthropic work. He had met and learned much of his future colleague, John Bright. He saw men fighting for vital things the right of free speech, the right of franchise, the right of education for their children. He had early much experience of the struggles on the Irish question, and indeed his first speech in Birmingham Town Hall was made as seconder of a resolution declaring that Mr Gladstone's Irish Church Disestablishment Bill should become law, a resolution that was carried at one of the most turbulent meetings ever held in Birmingham. This was in June, 1869, but though then but thirty-three years old he had already gained a considerable reputation as a debater. It should be remarked that at an even earlier age he had dissented from his leader, John Bright, on the subject of Colonial expansion, which both the latter and Mr Gladstone opposed and disliked. The wonderful power of suiting his speeches to his audience, which has been perhaps Mr Chamberlain's most powerful weapon, was certainly acquired in the course of his addresses to nearly every social and political class of people in Birmingham. Mr Chamberlain was in great request in Birmingham society, being, as has already been noted, an excellent actor in private theatricals, and he was also a very good dancer. Especially was he intimate with the KenrickUnknown
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