Monthly Archives: December 2021
Family History Friday: Researching your ancestor in the Boer Wars
As family historians we so often concentrate on researching our ancestors in the First and Second World Wars. Yet the Boer Wars, fought between the British Empire and two independent Boer states, involved the biggest deployment of British troops since the Crimea. There were in fact 2 separate Boer Wars, but the one which is most generally referred to is the second, which occurred between 1899 and 1902. As usual we’ve suggested some websites that might help with your research.
The National Archives
The South African War, 1899-1902 (or Second Boer War) – an overview – The National Archives
As we so often do, we thought we’d begin by referring you to the research guide produced by The National Archives as it provides an overview of the records held there.
Anglo-Boer War
Anglo Boer War – Home
This free site’s aim is to make available information on the Anglo Boer War 1899 – 1902 and other South African conflicts in the period 1779-1906 and to provide a forum for discussion of the many aspects of these conflicts. Currently 752,000 soldiers’ records are available to view and there are over 75,000 forum posts.
Ancestry
Web: South Africa, Second Boer War British Service Register, 1899-1902 | Ancestry®
UK, Casualties of the Boer War, 1899-1902 | Ancestry®
As you’d imagine Ancestry has a couple of collections that will be of particular interest. The second one contains the following information on over 54,000 soldiers who either died or were wounded during the Boer War:
Force
Regiment
Battalion
Battery/Corps
Rank
Name
Casualty type, date, and place
Casus-Belli
Welcome to Casus Belli (military books and medals) (casus-belli.co.uk)
This website also has the Register of the Anglo-Boer War but is not free to use. As well as giving a useful guide to researching this topic, a full research service is also offered, but again this is not free.
Boer War Roll of Honour
Roll of Honour – Boer War – Available pages (roll-of-honour.com)
Another very useful website, which also provides helpful suggestions to alternative online sources if you can’t find the name that you’re looking for. There’s also links which give details of the Boer War memorials in the UK.
British Concentration Camps
British Concentration Camps of the South African War 1900-1902 (uct.ac.za)
The camps were formed by the British army to house the residents of the two Boer republics of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State. They were established towards the end of 1900, after Britain had invaded the Boer republics. The database is an ongoing project and a number of registers have yet to be completed. Because of the complexity of the sources, most of them produced under wartime conditions, and the incomplete nature of the project, the database does contain duplicates and inconsistencies. Although they will be eliminated as far as possible, variants will always remain.
Anglo-Boer War Museum
Anglo Boer War Museum, Bloemfontein | South African History Online (sahistory.org.za)
And for those of you who are particularly interested, the Anglo-Boer War Museum in Bloemfontein is the only museum in the world dedicated solely to the Anglo-Boer Wars of 1899 to 1902. The museum has a unique art collection, dioramas and exhibits but also brings the visitor closer to understanding the background against which the war took place.
Wakefield Libraries 