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[Kiwi Bob]

Greetings again from Kiwi land

I know the Boer War is not a part of this Forum but I am trying to give some respectablilty to a former British Boer War vet who came to NZ after that war and fought for NZ in Gallipoli and France. He came from the east end of London I believe and the references I have of him he was named Jim Hogan. His NZ unit was the NZ Field Engineers and he left NZ with the 5th Reinforcements on the Troop ship Aparima in June 1915 for Colombo, Ceylon then Madras in India and thence to Gallipoli and finally France. As a sapper with the NZ engineers he should have had a Unit number 4/*** but there is no one with that name and unit number. There is however a Baxter Hogan unit number 4/952 but he was with the 6th Reinforcements who left a month or two later from NZ. It would help to verify who he was if there is a way I can find that a Baxter Hogan fought for Britain in the Boer War. Baxter's NZ army file is on order from the NZ Archive which will of course give some information I hope.

The reason I wish to find out more about this man is to give him some "good press" as his whole life seems to have been a very sad one. He was court martialled in France for striking an officer who had tormented him and he served 18months hard labour as a punishment at the "Bull Ring' I believe, and returned to the front a broken man in spite of numerous acts of bravery and honour before his court martial. His sergeant who spoke on his behalf during the trial told of these acts to no avail. After the war Jim lived in poverty and never married or enjoyed any form of family life. He had one leg amputated above the knee due to a gangrenous toe which had remained untreated too long. He seems to have died in the late 50s as "he had never seen TV" according to his old sergeant.

Any help will be appreciated Thanks Kiwi Bob

[carolm]

Hello Kiwi Bob,

I checked the Boer War data base but couldn't find a record of any B Hogan having served. There were plenty of J Hogans, including a couple in the Royal Engineers. However there is no additional information listed about any of them - just that they served in SA, and giving their service numbers. You can check on Casus Belli at:

http://www.casus-belli.co.uk

(You have to register, but it's free to search.)

Do you have a date or place of birth for Jim? There is a record of a James Hogan, labourer, travelling from London to Wellington in 1909 aboard the Paparoa. That was the only J Hogan I could find between 1900 and 1915 travelling directly to New Zealand.

There is a Baxter Hogan in the 1901 census - age 22 - blacksmith - living in Kent. He does not appear in the 1911 census but I can't find him on the immigration database, so not sure if it's the same person, but it is a pretty unusual name.

The fact that there is no B Hogan on the Boer War medal roll would make me think that your Jim is not the same person as Baxter, provided Jim did indeed serve in the that war.

By the way, where did your original information come from? How definite are you he served in the Boer War?

I did come across an interesting service record for a James Hogan who enlisted in the Royal Artillery in 1898 aged 18 years. He was discharged "with Ignominy" in August 1900. He was a dock labourer from Poplar in the East End of London. It would be interesting if that was your man, but wouldn't help with the "good press" aspect.

Carolyn

[nhclark]

Just be aware that the Casus-Belli Boer War roll is not complete, and that it is being added to as additional material comes to hand.

[David B]

Kiwi Bob,

you could try the Victorian Wars Forum (just google that name), join, its the same as here, and maybe they could find out a bit on your

relly.

David

[Philip Wilson]

You could also try www.angloboerwar.com/ it has some excellent links.

Philip