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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 | | NOLAN |
| Given Name(s) or Initial(s) | | William Patrick |
| Regimental Number | | 179 |
| Rank | | Private |
| Unit Name | | 4th Queensland Imperial Bushmen |
| State | | Qld |
Extracts and Comments
(from Sources as shown) | |
Price2: ?initials PW, 39735 Trooper 2Scot. Horse, Queen's South Africa medal and 3 clasps King's South Africa medal and 2 clasps.
B5172: c/- Broken Hill NSW.
URL4: photo #179.
URL5: Trooper P NOLAN, who was well known on Netley and in Broken Hill, and went to South Africa with the Queensland Imperial Bushmen, writes from Pretoria to his mother at South Broken Hill. His letter is dated 31.7.1900 - "We were sent straight to the front the day after we dinmbarked at Capetown. We were sent to Kroonstad, and went in chase of De Wet. We formed a flying column. We had nine days there, going pretty well night and day. We half surrounded De Wet and drove him from ours on to another column. We never got a proper 'go' at him, although our advance guard had a shot or two at his rearguard every day. He was retiring as fast as he could, and we were keeping as close as we could, but we could not catch him. So we ran him back into another column and they settled him. We heard the 'crap'. As soon as they started they captured the convoy and the Boers; then we found out that it was another De Wet we had captured and not the original at all, as we have found out since to our sorrow. He has since captured a train belonging to us, and has got all our kit-bags, and we have only what we stand up in. He captured eight prisoners, a captain and a sergeant among them, all belonging to our contingent; then they burned the train. When we knocked this other De Wet out we came in to Kroonstad rejoicing, thinking we were going to have a day or two's spell, for we were awfully dirty and tired - you can't get a wash when you like; in fact, it is rather a luxury. We marched 12 miles, and then found out that we had to put all our horses and our waggons and ourselves on the train and go to Pretoria at once. By 4 o'clock we were on the way. It took two trains to take us up. Then our trouble started. The day after we reached Pretoria the Queenslanders and four pieces of artillery went out to find a sentry who was wounded. We found him lying in the grass, after a night and half a day by himself. He was alive and is now doing well. We had just started back with him to the camp when 'Boom' came a shell amongst us. It never killed any men, although it smashed a mule team and ambulance waggon to pieces. They put six shells amongst us before we got our guns in action. The shells did us no harm, as we got under cover at once - good cover, too, among the stones. Our guns knocked the Boer guns flying and the enemy cleared for their lives. They reckoned there were 5000 men with the Boers. ... The next day we started on a march after General Botha, 21,000 of us (including 19,000 fighting men). We were to drive the Boers on to Buller and Lord Roberts; they retired before as every day till we reached Balmoral. We were close upon them there, for we cooked our dinners in their fires. Then came a storm, and our waggons and guns were bogged; the Boers were in pretty much the same plight. Buller came on them the next day and blew old Harry out of them. He took a lot of guns and prisoners. ... We had two skirmishes that day. Private DUGGAN and Sergeant MAXWELL were killed; MAXWELL was shot in five places. "We had a good go in at Bronk Horst Spruit, and gave the Boers fits. I was properly knocked up. We had some terrible shellfire there. We were firing Lyddite and shrapnel. We lost a lot of live stock, but only 14 men as near as I can find out; no Queenslanders. ... We have come back to Pretoria and are going out again presently, as the Boers are threatening a place. We expect a big go in, and are taking a lot of cannon."
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| Source References | |
Murray: Official Records of the Australian Contingents etc. page(s) 483
Price2: Southern Cross Scots page(s) 132 161
B5172: National Archives of Australia series B5172
Smith2: Australian KSA Medal Recipients page(s) 19
Queenslander: The Queenslander newspaper date(s) 19.5.1900.
Barrier Miner: Barrrier Miner newspaper date(s) 7.9.1900
| | External Link URL1 | | www.britishmedals.us/files/iyn.htm | | External Link URL2 | | www.britishmedals.us/files/127scothorse.htm | | External Link URL3 | | www.archives.qld.gov.au/Researchers/CollectionsDownloads/Documents/boer_war_index_id18351.pdf | | External Link URL4 | | newspapers.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/page/2528966?zoomLevel=2 | | External Link URL5 | | nla.gov.au/nla.news-article44263862 |
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.
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