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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 | | CHESHER |
| Given Name(s) or Initial(s) | | George |
| Regimental Number | | 23 |
| Rank | | Private |
| Unit Name | | A Sqn. New South Wales Mounted Rifles |
| State | | NSW |
Extracts and Comments
(from Sources as shown) | |
Murray: CHESHER wounded Paardeburg 19.2.1900 invalided to Australia arrived 30.8.1900.
Sproule: Orange NSW.
B5204: born 1874 Bathurst NSW grazier, next of kin father in Eugowra NSW, Queen's South Africa medal and 2 clasps (Paard. & RoK).
Kopje: CHESTER G 'A'Sqn., Queen's South Africa medal and 2 clasps wounded Paard.
URL1: CHESTER G War Memorial Bathurst NSW.
Source:# 932 Forbes Services Memorial Club Ltd. NSW - South Africa 1899-1902 memorial CHESHER G.
URL2: letter from De Aar dated 20.1.1900 suggests war will take 6 months.
URL3: Writing to his friends in Sydney, from the hospital, De Aar, 3.3.1900, Trooper George CHESHER, of the NSW Mounted Infantry, says - 'I am writing under great difficulties. My first finger has been shot off, so I am holding the pencil between the second and third fingers. I was wounded when we captured Cronje and his forces. We were also at the relief of Kimberley. I have been under fire six times. Once we lay for six hours under heavy fire and none of us were bit, but come very close. The only protection we have is the anthills, and they (the 'enemy) keep up a heavy fire at them. We have been exceptionally lucky. The Boers are very bad shots. They use a terrible lot of ammunition, keep firing as quick as they can, and, I think, take little or no aim. We were fighting several days at Paardeberg. The work of the artillery is something wonderful. We had about thirty guns and four naval guns playing on the enemy. The accuracy of the firing is something never to be forgotten. They can drop a shell on a man at 5000 yards. I have seen a lot of our men shot down and wounded all round us, but we have come out pretty luckily. So far only five of us have been wounded. I shall be here about three weeks, and then I suppose they will send me back to the regiments. I am in a marquee with eight others wounded from different regiments. We have had to rough it very much lately. Once we were for five days on two days rations, and our horses had only three pounds of oats a day. They fell away to nothing. We can thank our horses, for they carried us out of very heavy fire many times. We have been through some very tight corners, and I expect to have a few to go through yet. They have been using us as scouts.
URL4: The [Western] Champion [newspaper] is sent regularly to the front, Mr George CHESHER, of Eugowra, who is now [c1.1900] at the Modder River, having copies posted.
URL5: The toasts of 'Our Sister Colonies in South Africa' and 'The Press', having been been duly honored and responded to [9.6.1902], the Chairman [Dr. COX. Mayor of Forbes] proposed 'The Visitors,' coupled with the name of Mr D CHESHER, of Eugowra, who, while sympatheticallv responding, remarked that 'if he had 20 more sons he would sanction their going to uphold the grand old flag'.
URL6: Aust. Boer War Memorial database record.
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| Source References | |
Murray: Official Records of the Australian Contingents etc. page(s) 33
Sproule: Molong Mounted Rifles South Africa 1899-1902 7
B5204: National Archives of Australia series B5204
Kopje: ABWSGoA journal The Kopje date(s) 6.2002
Source:# Oz-Boer contributed source number 932
Syd. Herald : Sydney Morning Herald newspaper date(s) 2.3.1900
Evg. News: Evening News (Sydney NSW) date(s) 9.4.1900
WCParkes.: Western Champion newspaper Parkes NSW date(s) 26.1.1900 MolEx: 21.6.1902
| | External Link URL1 | | www.warmemorialsnsw.asn.au/A_to_C.cfm?MemNo=263 | | External Link URL2 | | nla.gov.au/nla.news-article14297248 | | External Link URL3 | | nla.gov.au/nla.news-article113714370 | | External Link URL4 | | nla.gov.au/nla.news-article112283978 | | External Link URL5 | | nla.gov.au/nla.news-article139543438 | | External Link URL6 | | bwm.org.au/site/George_Chesher.php |
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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