Acknowledgements

Dedication

Main Page

Main Sources

Medals

Memorials

Contributed Information

Progress

Search Database

Site Map

Units

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		DAGGAR
Given Name(s) or Initial(s)		Edward
Regimental Number		336
Rank		Private
Unit Name		New South Wales Imperial Bushmen
State		NSW
Extracts and Comments (from Sources as shown)		Murray: 'C'Coy. died of wounds at Ventersdorp 11.1.1901. B5204: stockman born 1877 Sydney NSW, Queen's South Africa medal and 5 clasps (CC OFS Tvl Rhod. & SA01). URL2: 'C'Sqn. 2Section NSWIB photo #16. URL3: Pte. E DAGGER NSW Bushmen dangerously wounded at Venterdsorp c1.1901. URL4: Some Experiences of a Returned Soldier. (Br E BAGGER). These lines are being written under circumstances very unfavorable to brilliant composition. Footsore and not fortified by the self-complacency resulting from a full stomach and cheerful prospects, the writer is about to pencil hurriedly reminiscences of the past few weeks which, although very unpleasant to himself, may prove interesting to newspaper readers and therefore good copy in press-phrase. By way of preface let me explain in the first person, and very briefly, that I served in the present South African war as a trooper in the New South Wales Bushmen and that I was incapacitated from further service by a severe wound received at Wintersdorp, south-west of Krugersdorp in January, 1901. I returned to Sydney — scarcely able to walk owing to the effects of a fractured tendon and broken leg bone — in May, 1901. Having received the balance of pay owing me I proceeded to Melbourne and consulted Surgeon Chas. RYAN about a nasty sensation I was then experiencing in my injured leg. My medical adviser desiring to perform an operation on the injured member I went into the hospital for that purpose and remained there until I was discharged cured, and with a very light purse, in January of the present year [1902]. After having sought work in vain for some time and calculating that the distance between myself and want was becoming unpleasantly near I applied to be enrolled as a member of the First Commonwealth Contingent in Victoria, but my application was too late and therefore abortive. In order to keep 'the wolf from the door' I utilized a knack I have of stringing rhymes together in writing farewell verses for the members of the contingent then at Langwarrin camp to send to relations and friends before their departure for the scene of war. This employment necessarily soon came to an end, as did my stay in Victoria. With £10 in my pocket I came to Adelaide by the s.s. Coolgardie about the end of February last. I struck up an acquaintance on board this ship with a young New South Welshman, who had served with "the Fighting Fourth" in South Africa. We both agreed to don the khaki once more with the South Australian Second Commonwealth Contingent if possible. Unfortunately the corps was complete and had emergency men over and above its complement when we arrived, and so were disappointed again. To make matters worse my chum had no money of his own and so had to share my scanty purse. In order to eke this out I strung some verses together on popular occasions such as the Schippan case and St. Patrick's Day celebrations. By these means we would have been fairly well able to cover expenses until the enrollment of the Third Commonwealth Contingent, or until one or both should have found employment, had no unforeseen misfortune overtaken us. This, however, was the case. Your humble servant had never the knack of holding on to the 'rhino,' while his comrade had, and so it came to pass that the comrade became purse-bearer with an unfortunate result. About April 8th, when my comrade came as usual to summon me to tea, he brought with him the awful intelligence that we were destitute; he had lost the purse and with it all our worldly wealth. It was a shock. No tea that night, no bed all nigt long we walked about the public gardens. Next morning we resolved to board the transport Tullamore, then about to bear the Second Contingents (Vic. and SA) to South Africa. We carried out our intention, but were discovered in the stokehole before the vessel's departure and put ashore. Hungry and tired, blanketless and 'beanless' we then turned our faces citywards and that same evening struck out through North Adelaide for this Northern track. A kind-hearted blacksmith, to whom we revealed our sad plight, gave us his sympathy and a couple of pipefuls of tobacco which was all he had to offer for our relief; but if he had nothing to bestow himself he could tell us of a poor old lady who kept a railway crossing and was never known to refuse to help 'a lame dog over a stile.' God bless her and every kind soul like her; we only had courage to ask her for a 'billy.' but she put us under cross-examination and ended by supplying our needs to the best of her ability. Will either of us forget her? We will forward her a copy of this newspaper to witness if we lie. We had one rug between us which we rent asunder to make two, and fortified by the bread and butter and the tea made in our newly acquired 'billy,' we slept peacefully amidst the dismantled glory of the erstwhile Grand Junction Hotel. Next morning we started afresh with no provisions or money and no means of getting any unless we could convert the unsold remainder of the poems I had written for special occasions into bread or money. With our war ribbons sewn on our vests and a parcel of poems under an arm we went in turn to every respectable house along the road offering our wares for the necessaries of life. Alas! the poet found but scanty favor, and although we showed our wounds and 'fought our battles over again' we found that the cheering to which we were dispatched from Australia was of little material value when put to the test. We had a hard fight for existence. Many people thought it served us right to be hard-up because we had gone to the war, and others thought we were big enough to work. We, of course, argued the point with the former and offered to work for our rations and a trifle weekly for the latter; but, alas our debating powers and arguments were both thrown away. Dreading starvation in the midst of our own people in our own land for whose honor and glory we had offered our lives I wrote to my brother requesting him to send on assistance to Terowie. In the meantime we met many good Samaritans, notably a police constable at Auburn, to whose kindness and sympathy we both wish to pay this all-too empty tribute. From Auburn to Terowie we found the milk of human kindness scarce as the blessed rain which farmers in the districts through which we were passing earnestly desired. One conspicuous exception I must, however, in justice record. A kindly farmer met 'ye weary wayfarers' between Burra and Hallett and took us to his home, where he provided us with such a supper, bed and breakfast as we had not enjoyed for some time. All we had to offer in return for this kindness was a few copies of my verses and some conversation and recitations which our host seemed to appreciate thoroughly. May his flocks and herds increase a thousand-fold and fruitful harvests fill his barns to overflowing. Hoping to find the expected remittance awaiting our arrival at Terowie we entered the sleepy little town hungry, but full of hope. Alas! disappointment that saddens the heart awaited us; there was no letter lying for me at the post-office. Our poetry and war medals found us a meal when the evening sun was low and, having instructed the postmaster to forward to Petersburg any letter that might arrive at Terowie addressed to me, we slept the heavy sleep of the weary until 6 am this (Saturday) morning, when we started for this town. Nothing of moment occurred by the way except that we found a farmer and his family who appreciated our poetry or commiserated our condition and invited us with the grace of a chesterfield to share with him an excellent dinner. To add to our satisfaction with this town of Petersburg we were overtaken shortly after enjoying the local farmer's good fare by a gentlemen who drove us in his buggy to this town. We met with but very few people whose love or loyalty could be moved to assist us, and a considerable amount of the enthusiasm with which we took up arms for Australia's honor and British prestige has been squeezed out of us by our late experiences, thus hurriedly set down for your reader's edification. Notwithstanding this we are both ready to prove our loyalty to the land we love should occasion require.
Source References		Murray: Official Records of the Australian Contingents etc. page(s) 97 204 B5204: National Archives of Australia series B5204 Town&Country: Aust. Town and Country journal date(s) 21.4.1900 Northern Miner: Nortnern Miner (Charters Towers) newspaper date(s) 16.1.1901 Quorn: 2.5.1902
External Link URL1		www.hagsoc.org.au/sagraves/nmcdb/nmcdb-search.php
External Link URL2		nla.gov.au/nla.news-page5325335
External Link URL3		nla.gov.au/nla.news-article79152603
External Link URL4		nla.gov.au/nla.news-article216719225

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.

 

Colin Roe
Canberra

The Oz-Boer Database is copyright and may not be used for any commercial purpose.