Siege and Relief of Ladysmith 50th Anniversary 1950

50TH ANNIVERSARY OF SIEGE AND RELIEF OF LADYSMITH
29 February - 4 March 1950
List of some of the veterans attending the celebrations, with place of residence and regiment where given - many of these people are undoubtedly included in the group photograph taken on this occasion.
(Zoom in for a closer look.)




Abbreviations:
NC Natal Carbineers (or RNC Royal Natal Carbineers)
SALH South African Light Horse
RE Royal Engineers
VCR Volunteer Composite Regt
ILH Imperial Light Horse
NNV Natal Naval Volunteers
BMR Border Mounted Rifles
NMR Natal Mounted Rifles
DLI Durban Light Infantry
KRRC King's Royal Rifle Corps
R I L Royal Irish Lancers

SA Druitt Milton Hankey Cape Province RE
Alex Lyle Capt NC 432 Bulwer St PMBurg
WA Poulton (?) Maritzburg 5 R I Lancers
James E Greig Ladysmith NC
C Page Wood Umkomaas SALH
ER Baldock Bulawayo
R Tomlinson Pietermaritzburg NC
WH Smith Ladysmith Town Guard
AT Rowsell Ladysmith attached to RE Corps
KM Champion Sister Durban*
M Rowland Sister Durban*
K Boyd Nurse Cape Province*
Thos Hackland Richmond NC and VCR
GR Reynolds Port Nolloth Namaqualand
TA Lewis Richmond NC and VCR
WT Hamp Durban
ES MacGillivray Pretoria
WJ Crouch NC Colenso
Dan Yeadon Kings Own (R L) Regt Durban
FS Hornby Donnybrook NC
CR Carter Parkhurst JHBurg NC
EE Houshold 49 Loop St PMB NC
B Buntting Babanango Natal NC
M Taylor Sunrise PO Highbury NC
WE Antel NC
CW Lewis 48A Vause Rd Durban NP
AL Cooper Salisbury S Rhodesia ILH
CR Turner Durban NNV
Geo Craw McArthur Dannhauser BMR and VCR
Thos Gee Camperdown VCR
HG Finch NMR
FM Sivil Scottburgh NNV (with HMS Powerful)
A Joyner Matatiele East Griqualand NC
CF Thomson BMR PMB
C Francis PMB NC
JH Harwin Johannesburg
AA Mason Capt RIL
HE Smith NMR
CE Freeman BMR
JA Greer BMR
AW Starr NMR
J Foster BMR
AB Jones NMR
HGB Finch NMR
C Gottschalk BMR
HD Archibald BMR
LGray BMR
AH Shuttleworth BMR
BW Martin BMR and NC
JD Watson BMR
WH London BMR Umkomaas
AP Jefferson Currie Rd Durban
JG Shaw Howick NC
AS Clouston St Winifreds South Coast NC
TE Stubbings Royal Scots Fusiliers Ladysmith
GW Stevens Brakpan 2nd Dorset Regt
F(?) Brooks Voortrekker Rd 3rd Batt Rifle Brigade
R Rogers NMR
EC Chittenden PMBurg BMR
CL Tomlinson Bellair DLI
Lucky Lockwood Capt Felixton RFA
JW Tunmer Nicolson Rd Durban NMR
H Evelyn Haddon Kenilworth CP RNC
GD Kettle Durban RDLS
W Haworth Zululand NRR
Hbt T Mitchell Dundee NC
CG Kemp Tpr NC Dundee
O Hesom Trpr NC Dundee
? McMaster Ladysmith SAAF and RLI
R Grant PMB
F (?) A Gifford Ladysmith NC
JB Nicholson Underberg NC and VCR
HN Shaw Ladysmith NC
AB Alexander Durban NMR
C (?) Dunning Rondebosch Cape NNV
FE Follwell St Winifreds S Coast NC
F Yeadon Durban 45A Aliwal St
H Scott Richmond Natal
Mrs K Boyd Onrust Rivier
Mrs CF Cook Durban
? Hawkslee Chelsea Pensioner Royal Hospital Chelsea 1st KRRC Bugles
John Murray Durban NC Med Staff
AA Mason RNC
W Wright NC PMB
(Source: Ladysmith Siege Museum Collection)


*These three women were Siege nurses. Mary Rowland's maiden name was PENTNEY; she was Kate Champion's 'tentmate', and survived an attack of enteric fever while working at Intombi Hospital Camp. Kate Boyd was previously Kate DRIVER, whose diary of her experiences in the Siege has been published by the Ladysmith Historical Society.

Kate Champion, Siege nurse.

Kate Matilda Champion was a descendant of the HILLARY family who came to Natal from Hampshire in the 1850s. She was born ca 1870, the 3rd child of Charles and Emma Champion, and grew up in the Orange Free State. Kate Champion never married but was once engaged to a young lawyer who died of blackwater fever.

At the time of the 1950 celebrations, Kate was 81 years of age. In a manuscript held at the Campbell Collections, Durban, she describes her trip to Ladysmith in 1950, and the nostalgic reunion of herself and her two colleagues with some of the men whom they had nursed fifty years before. According to Kate Champion, Mrs Boyd 'came round by boat with 5 overseas men' (veterans of the Siege) for the celebrations. The three nurses stayed at Ladysmith's Royal Hotel, and were included in the group photographs taken in front of the Town Hall. 'It was a never-to-be-forgotten trip and memories which will keep green to the end of my days'.