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Australians
in the Boer War
Oz-Boer Database Project |
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Full Record
Hint: This site is intended as a search aid - not a definitive source. It is essentially an index to documents that seem to relate to this person plus a very brief precis of relevant elements. Sources often conflict and I also flag things with a ? when I am unsure. So if the information below is important to you, then please check the original sources to see what else they contain (and in case I have inadvertantly introduced transcription and/or precising errors). There can be additional information that was not included in the database for both space and copyright reasons.
| Surname | | ROBERTSON |
| Given Name(s) or Initial(s) | | Claude William |
| Regimental Number | | |
| Rank | | Captain |
| Unit Name | | New South Wales Citizens' Bushmen |
| State | | NSW |
Extracts and Comments
(from Sources as shown) | |
Murray: 'B'Sqn. Capt (RMLI) killed 22.7.1900 Koster's R., NSW Govt. pension to widow Mrs EH ROBERTSON.
Source:# 445 biography, born Kent 1869 grandson of Captain LONSDALE the first Resident Magistrate of Melbourne.
HAGSOC: grave Rustenburg photo.
URL3: stationed in Katoomba NSW for 2-3 years.
URL4: ?'C'Sqn. photo #13.
URL5: Trooper Theo WOODS, who is serving with the 1st Regiment of Australian Bushmen, writing to a friend, in Bombala from Pretoria, under date 18.8.1900, says - 'Since last I wrote to you from Buluwayo we have travelled over a good deal of country, and have had three encounters with the Boers'. He then relates various fights with the Boers at Zeerust, Rustenburg, Elands River, and adjacent places, which have already been fully described in letters published in the 'News.' Speaking of the action at Ceylon River, which was fought after the Bushmen left Rustenburg for the second time with 3000 'Tommies,' under Baden-Powell and Plumer, he says - 'Here we had an action lasting for ten hours without any scoffs (the term used for food. Ten of our men were killed and thirty wounded (among them Captain ROBERTSON, of the 'B' Squadron), also thirteen missing and three taken prisoners. In this action we lost 300 horses, some West Australians and Victorians, and about 170 of ours. Most of them were killed, as when attacked we were on an open plain. Nevertheless we beat them back before dark. We left Rustenburg on 7.8.1900 with 500 men, women, and children as prisoners. Our column was 6000 strong when we started and when we reached Pretoria we were only 1500 strong. I have met several of tbe Second Contingent that I knew, and was told that one of the KIRKLANDs, from Bega, had died in Bloemfontein of fever.
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| Source References | |
Murray: Official Records of the Australian Contingents etc. page(s) 72 78 202B 204
Wallace1: The Australians at the Boer War page(s) 255
Source:# Oz-Boer contributed source number 445
Syd. Herald : Sydney Morning Herald newspaper date(s) 3.3.1900 & 28.7.1900
HAGSOC: HAGSOC's South African Graves website
Town&Country: Aust. Town and Country journal date(s) 24.2.1900
Evg. News: Evening News (Sydney NSW) date(s) 27.10.1900
| | External Link URL1 | | www.hagsoc.org.au/sagraves/nmcdb/nmcdb-search.php | | External Link URL2 | | www.hagsoc.org.au/sagraves/photos/za01800.php | | External Link URL3 | | newspapers.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/14327247?searchTerm=boer+lancers | | External Link URL4 | | nla.gov.au/nla.news-page5324820 | | External Link URL5 | | nla.gov.au/nla.news-article114012384 |
Please email me if you can
contribute any other relevant information about this person (eg any
other military service, where in Australia they came from or when/where
they died). Also, if you find an external link broken.
Apology: For some time now it has been difficult to keep up with the newly available sources (especially the Trove newspaper site) plus the flow of contributions and queries. So I have been forced to prioritise maintenance and data entry over replying to correspondence. Nevertheless, your contributions are being added to the database and acknowledged on the contributions page and, although my replies are many months behind, I will attempt to get to them more often.
The
Oz-Boer Database
is copyright and may not be used for any commercial purpose.
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