Pre-First World War conflicts – Sudan and Boer War

Sudan

On 3 March 1885, 758 soldiers forming the New South Wales Contingent, departed from Sydney to participate in a British colonial conflict in Sudan; the first time that Australian soldiers had been sent to fight overseas. Hostilities had ended before the Australians arrived and the Contingent returned on 19 June 1885. Nine men were lost through illness.¹

This table, provides an overview of the known service personnel, who gave Araluen as their place of birth, upon their enlistment for service in the Sudan Contingent.

SERN – Service or Regimental Number
DOE – date of enlistment
RTA – date of return to Australia
Aged – age given on the attestation papers completed at enlistment
# Next to Surname denotes served in Sudan and Boer War

Surname	Name	SERN	DOE	RTA	Aged	Occupation	Marital	UNIT	RANK
Anderson #	George Martin	312	21-Feb-1885	23-Jun-1885	21	Hat maker	Married	Colonial Military Forces, Sudan,	Sapper
Teasdale	George	280	19-Feb-1885	23-Jun-1885	23	Blind maker	Not given	Colonial Military Forces Sudan, C Co.	Private

The above list has been compiled from family records, local research and public sources such as:

Australian War Memorial, https://www.awm.gov.au
National Archives of Australia. https://www.naa.gov.au
University of NSW AIF (Australian Imperial Force) project https://aif.adfa.edu.au
Virtual War Memorial Australia, https://vwma.org.au
Roslyn Maddrell, Braidwood. Letters from the Front, Hypercet Printing, Goulburn. 2004.

BOER War

A picture of Joseph Faustino “Joe” Palazzi (1877-1900) with his brother Silvio (seated) — ^{Joseph Faustino “Joe” Palazzi (1877-1900) with his brother Silvio (seated)}

The Second Boer War, also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two independent republics of Dutch–Afrikaner settlers, known as Boers, over the Empire’s influence in Southern Africa.² Australians served in contingents raised by the six colonies or, from 1901, by the new Australian Commonwealth.

It is thought that about 16,000 Australians fought in the Boer War. This figure includes those who enlisted in an Australian unit, as well as the many raised locally, but it does not allow for double-counting of those who served in two contingents. Of these Australians, 282 died in action or from wounds sustained in battle while 286 died from disease, and another 38 died of an accident or other unknown causes, giving an insight into the nature of the conditions under which the war was fought.

^{Benjamin Joseph Quigley aka Benedict Joseph Hickey (1872-1900)}

Joseph Faustino ‘Joe’ Palazzi (Service number – 90) Died – 19 July 1900, killed in action at Palmeitfontein, South Africa.³ Giovanni Baptiste ‘John’ Palazzi and Mary Assunta Eleanor Delponte, had eleven children following their marriage in 1869, in Braidwood. Joseph, their fourth son, was born on 23 September 1877 in Araluen, enlisting in Wagga when aged 18, with his older brother Silvio ‘Sid’ (Service number – 124). Joseph died aged 23 in South Africa.⁴
Benjamin Joseph Quigley (Service number – 398) Died – 20 December 1900, at Lichtenburg, North West Province, South Africa, of Enteric fever.⁵ B.J. Quigley, as he was known in the Bushman’s contingent, was also known as Benedict Joseph Hickey and was the youngest son of Michael Hickey and Mary Ann Quigley of Araluen.⁶

The table below (a work in progress), provides an overview of the service personnel who gave Araluen as their place of birth, or whom had next of kin or other known associations with Araluen upon their enlistment in the BOER war.

SERN – Service or Regimental Number
DOE – date of enlistment
RTA – date of return to Australia
KIA – Killed in Action
Aged – age given on the attestation papers completed at enlistment
UNIT- Bn (Battalion), Rf (Reinforcement), LH (Light Horse), Reg (Regiment), Co. (Company), Squad. (Squadron)
# Next to Surname denotes served in Sudan Contingent
All nominated Araluen as their place of birth, unless their connection to Araluen is otherwise noted

Surname	Name	SERN	DOE	RTA	Aged	Occupation	Marital	UNIT	RANK
Anderson	George Martin	453	16-Jan-1900	21-Oct-1900	33	Hairdresser	Married	1st New South Wales Mounted Rifles, C Squadron	Corporal
Byrne	Frank Patrick	1279	3-Mar-1901	6-Jan-1902	26	Farmer	Not given	3rd NSW Mounted Rifles, C Squadron	Trooper
Clarke	John James	2127	15-Mar-1901	3-Jun-1902	30	Labourer	Not given	3rd NSW Mounted Rifles, Regimental Staff	Trooper
Coles	William	411	21-Apr-1902	1-Aug-1902	23	Sheep Farmer	Single	Australian Commonwealth Horse, 5th Bn, D Squadron, 2nd Troop	Trooper
Gifford	Robert Cornelius⁷	734	11 Oct 1899	15-Oct-1901	27	Shearer	Single	South African Light Horse (Natal), then South African Constabulary (SAC)	Corporal
Lynn	Richard John	680, 384	25 Oct 1899	1-Aug-1902	21	Station Manager	Single	1st Australian Horse (Araluen), Australian Commonwealth Horse, 5th Bn, D Squadron, 2nd Troop	Trooper
McIntyre	Frederick⁸	2268	22-Apr-1901	19-Aug-1902	29	Not Given	Not given	3rd NSW Imperial Bushmen	Sergeant
Palazzi	Joseph	90	17-May-1895	KIA 19-Jul-1900	18	Saddler	Single	NSW Infantry Unit which became 1st NSW Mounted Rifles, E Squad	Private
Quigley	Benjamin Joseph	398	1-Jan-1900	KIA 20-Dec 1900	24	Labourer	Single	NSW Citizen Bushmen, D Squadron	Trooper

Personnel listed below, on their enlistment in WWI, noted their prior military service in the BOER, or SA African conflict, however these records have not yet been found.

Johnson, George Augustus – Second Mounted Rifles
Simpson, William Edward – 6th Imperial Bushman
Robinson, Joseph Alexander – noted as unfit for service.

The list has been compiled from family records, local research and public sources such as:

Australian War Memorial, Nominal Rolls, https://www.awm.gov.au
P.L. Murray’s ‘Official records of the Australian military contingents to the war in South Africa, 1899-1902’, https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1416414
National Archives of Australia. https://www.naa.gov.au
Virtual War Memorial Australia, https://vwma.org.au
Roslyn Maddrell, Braidwood. Letters from the Front, Hypercet Printing, Goulburn. 2004.
Australians in the Boer War, Oz-Boer Database Project https://members.tip.net.au/~croe/ozb/ozb_1st.htm
Braidwood Museum. Boer War veterans from the Braidwood district of NSW https://members.tip.net.au/~ppmay/braidwood_boys/index.htm

Photographs of some members of the NSW Bushman's Contingent 1900. — ^{Photographs of some members of the NSW Bushman’s Contingent 1900}

The Australian contribution to the BOER war took the form of five waves.⁹

The first were the contingents raised by the Australian colonies in response to the outbreak of war in 1899, which often drew heavily on the men in the militia of the colonial forces.
The second were the Bushmen contingents, which were recruited from more diverse sources and paid for by public subscription or the military philanthropy of wealthy individuals.
The third were the imperial Bushmen contingents, which were raised in ways similar to the preceding contingents, but paid for by the imperial government in London.
Then were the draft contingents, which were raised by the state governments after Federation on behalf of the new Commonwealth Government, which was as yet unable to do so.
Finally, after Federation, and close to the end of the war, the Australian Commonwealth Horse contingents were raised by the new Federal Government.

Personnel		Unit¹⁰	Departed	Unit Returned
Palozzi	Joseph * KIA 19 July 1900	NSW Infantry Unit	3-Nov-1899	8-Jan-1901
Lynn	Richard John	1st Australian Horse, 1st Contingent	14-Nov-1899	2-May-1901
Anderson	George Martin	1st NSW Mounted rifles, C Squadron	17-Jan-1900	29-Apr-1901
Quigley (Hickey)	Benjamin Joseph **Died 20 December 1900	NSW Citizen Bushmen, D Squadron	28-Feb-1900	11 Jun 1901
Johnson	George	2nd NSW Mounted rifles	15-Mar-1901	4-Jun-1902
Clarke	John James	3rd NSW Mounted Rifles, B Squadron	15-Mar-1901	3-Jun-1902
Byrne	Frank Patrick	3rd NSW Mounted Rifles, C Squadron	21-Mar-1901	3-Jun-1902
McIntyre (Williams)	Frederick	3rd Imperial Bushman – [raised at Klerksdorp, Transvaal on 4 May 1901]	4-May-1901	11-Aug-1902
Coles	William	5th Australian Commonwealth Horse, D Squadron	22-May-1902	1-Aug-1902
Lynn	Richard John	5th Australian Commonwealth Horse, D Squadron	22-May-1902	1-Aug-1902

Fifth (New South Wales) Battalion, Australian Commonwealth Horse

In early 1902, it was decided to raise these New South Wales Corps on a territorial basis, to engender ‘cohesion, comradeship and local association … promoting the highest standard of discipline in the field’.¹¹

The Fifth Battalion Australian Commonwealth Horse consisted of four squadrons.

A squadron – NSW Lancers,
B squadron- NSW Mounted Rifles,
C Squadron -Australian Horse, and
D squadron- Australian Horse. The Second Troop, of D Squadron, was the Braidwood and Araluen squadron.
- William Coles (Service Number 411) and Richard Lynn (Service Number 384), both born in Araluen, were enrolled in D Squadron.
- William Michael Barrett (Service Number 447), Robert Henry Craig (Service Number 410), Edward Daft (Service Number 424), Herbert William Finch (Service Number 452), Leslie Augustus Grenenger (Service Number 429) and Samuel King (Service Number 383), all noted as born in Braidwood, were enrolled in D Squadron.

References

1
State Library of NSW, https://dictionaryofsydney.org/event/sudan_war_1885 Accessed 24 August 2024.
2
Australian War Memorial, https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/atwar/boer Accessed 2 September 2024.
3
Australian War Memorial https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1712515 Accessed 19 August 2024] and [Find a Grave https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/249831582/joseph-palazzi, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/180948316/joseph_faustino_palazzi Accessed 19 August 2024.
4
Wagga Wagga Express (NSW : 1875-1876; 1879; 1890; 1892-1917), Saturday 28 July 1900, p 2.
5
Australian War Memorial https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1712764 Accessed 19 August 2024] and [Find a Grave https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/249837289/benjamin-joseph-quigley Accessed 19 August 2024.
6
Braidwood Dispatch and Mining Journal (NSW : 1888-1889; 1895; 1897-1954), Saturday 10 August 1901, p 2.
7
Gifford, Robert Cornelius was born in Braidwood. The Queanbeyan Age [Queanbeyan Age (NSW : 1867-1904), Wednesday 21 January 1903, p 2] reported on the 21 January 1903 ‘Sergeant Major “Bob” Gifford, formerly of Bombay … is now in charge of an outpost about 90 miles from Bloemfontein. A week or two ago he was married to Miss Rose Pike, [the daughter of Sarah Ann and Henry Pike], of Araluen, [at St George’s Cathedral, Capetown][Braidwood Dispatch and Mining Journal (NSW : 1888-1889; 1895; 1897-1954), Saturday 16 May 1903, p 2] who had voyaged across to South Africa to be united to her future husband.’ The Gifford’s remained in the Bloemfontein region, and later Cape Town, South Africa, returning to Braidwood on 1 May 1917.[Australian War Memorial https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1263345 Accessed 30 August 2024].
8
McIntyre, Frederick – (Birth name Frederick Williams) was born in Cooma, with his next of kin given as his step-sister Miss M Hogan of Araluen on his enlistment.
9
Australian War Memorial, https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/atwar/boer Accessed 30 August 2024.
10
Australians serving in the BOER war, https://perthdps.com/military/index.html Accessed 30 August 2024.
11
Australian War Memorial, https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1416414 P.L. Murray’s ‘Official records of the Australian military contingents to the war in South Africa, 1899-1902′, pp 184-185.