Boer War
Information sought on this group taken at the Memorial between 1903 & 1914. Photo courtesy of Joy Staines whose relative Walter Mervyn Peters is shown 3rd.from right
South African Campaign Medal( click on to enlarge)
Western Australia sent 1237 volunteers to the war with the first intake of 130 men of the 1st W.A.Mounted Infantry Contingent departing in November,1899 and the last intake of 121 men leaving June,1902.Units in which the volunteers served were 1st.,2nd.,4th.,5th.& 6th.Contingents W.A.Mounted Infantry- 3rd.Contingent W.A.Bushmen - 2nd.,4th. & 8th.Battalions Commonwealth Horse and Australian Army Medical Corps.(due to the proclamation of the Federation of Australia the 2nd.,4th. & 8th. Btns and the Medical personnel went as Commonwealth troops)Seventyfive decorations including one Victoria Cross* were won by these men.The Memorial (originally called The Fallen Soldiers Memorial)is located some 400m within the main entrance to Kings Park on the l/h side of Fraser Avenue.A square stone monument surmounted by a life size bronze sculpture(by James White of Sydney) of an Australian soldier protecting a fallen comrade,originally of cast bronze, which deteriorated rapidly, it was replaced in 1915 by a copy in bronze sheet manufactured by Wunderlich Pty.Ltd.,Perth.lower down on all four sides are eight bronze plaques in bas relief depicting scenes from the war. The foundation stone was laid by the Duke of Cornwall & York ,the date is recorded as 22 July,1901but,in actual fact, the Duke's yatch was delayed by bad weather postponing the ceremony until the 23rd.;the Duke and Duchess were on their way home after opening the first Federation Parliament but the Royal entourage was forced to take shelter in Albany Harbour on the morning of the 21st. where,later on that day, the Troopship 'Brittanic' carrying 35 Officers and 585 Other Ranks returning from the South African War arrived. The crew of the Ophir manned the riggings whilst the Duke and Duchess waved to the troops and the Royal Band played 'Soldiers of the Queen' and 'Rule Brittania'as the Brittanic passed by and then,in conjunction with the Band of the 'Royal Arthur,'Home Sweet Home' as the ship berthed.Unveiling of the completed Memorial was performed in September,1902 by H.E.Sir Edward Sone,Chief Justice and acting Governor. Above the foundation stone is a brass plaque added after WW1 which records the names of twenty Boer War veterans killed in the Great War,above this on the die stone proper is a plaque reading: "In memory of the under mentioned Officers,Non-Commissioned Officers and men of the West Australian contingents who were killed in action or died from wounds or disease in the war in South Africa 1899 to 1902" fortythree names are given, 5 Officers,6 N.C.Os. and 32 Privates.A muzzle loading field gun(Krupps 75mm OVS captured in 1900) bearing the insignia of the Orange Free State stands in front of the Memorial,a brass plate attached reads: " South African and Imperial Veterans Association this tablet honours the memory of Brigadier General A.J.Bessel Brown* a South African veteran died 3rd.August,1947,General President of the Association since its inception, Trusty and well beloved"The Memorial and field gun were renovated in 1999 to commemerate the Centenary of the start of the War.In St.Georges Cathedral,Perth are plaques and a flag in rememberance of the West Australians who served in South Africa. Lord Kitchener visited W.A. in January 1910 and inspected the Memorial, a photo of this occasion can be seen here.
* Lt.Frederick Bell,6th.WA Mounted Infantry Contingent.In May, 1901whilst retreating under fire at Brakpan,Transvaal gave his horse to a dismounted wounded comrade and continued his retreat on foot.
*Alfred J.Bessell-Brown, a New Zealander by birth ,worked in Perth as a civil servant. In 1899 he had been a volunteer in the Perth Artilley for three years and,at 22 years of age, was in the first contingent to leave W.A. for the War. Upon the outbreak of WW1 Major Bessell-Brown commanded the 8th.Battery,Field Artillery Brigade and fought at Gallipoli and in France.