Oops: Too Young for the Boer War ~ Thomas Thomson

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2020 Week 49 (OOPS)

I remember Grandma telling me how her dad had signed up to go to the Boer War when he was underage. His mother (my X2 great grandmother, Isabella (nee Glass) Thomson) marched down to the local Army office and demanded he be sent home since he was not actually old enough to be there. 

Oops.

I asked dad if he remembered the story grandma told since I was looking for more details to write about.

Dad's recollections: "The only part of the story of my grandfather's involvement in the Boer war was that he joined the British Army by saying he was older than his 16 years when he joined and went to South Africa. When his mother found out she went to the Army and got him sent home. I don’t know when he went but he was 16 in 1896 as he was born in 1880. That’s all I know, don’t know if he actually got into action or not."

Definitely an Oops for the British Army since they had to send Great Grandpa back home. Definitely an Ooops for 16 year old Thomas who would have been in trouble with the British Army as they were sending him home & his parents when he got there. I would have loved to be witness to the conversations in South Africa & at home.

Realizing how very little I knew about the Boer War I began researching.

Oops. 

The Boer War took place October 11th 1899 to May 31st 1902. 

16 year old Thomas couldn't have been there in 1896. 

Maybe he signed up for the Anglo-Zanzibar War that happened August 27th 1896 which fits nicely into the expected dates. 

Or maybe it was the Battle of Ferkeh that took place June 6th 1896. 

Maybe there were other 1896 events the British Military was involved in.

I was feeling pretty confused at this point in my research.

Grandma and dad were pretty confident he went to South Africa for the Boer War. 

In genealogy research it's very common to hear family lore that doesn't pan out after being scrutinized. 

I knew there was a good possibility that the details were wrong, but Dad is retired career military & rarely does he get military facts wrong.

With that in mind I began searching with very specific terms - Boer War 1896. 

I was not finding anything that looked promising.....

BUT WAIT - Had I given up too quickly I wouldn't have found this nugget. 

British Troops Leave For Boer War (1896-1899)   1

The discovery of this footage from British Pathé suggests the family tale is accurate. 

The British Military began forming their troops in 1896 for the Boer War (also known as: Second Boer War, Anglo-Boer War, or South African War).  I watched the short clip, and couldn't see great grandpa Thomas Thomson among the men. I do not have a photo of Great Grandpa Thomas Thomson at the age of 16 so am unsure I would recognize him if he were there, but I would like to believe he's there. 

These are the different stages of life that I have photos of Great Grandpa, Thomas Thomson:

Photo believed to be young Thomas Thomson

Thomas with sister Mary Thomson and brother James Devlin Glass Thomson

Thomas with brother-in-law Dave Slicer

Thomas with daughters: Marion & Mary (my grandma)

Thomas with his bagpipes

This family tale - CONFIRMED!

When family lore proves to be correct!







This is why I search - 



Cause ... 





You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!
















***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***









Footnotes:

1 British Troops Leave For Boer War (1896-1899), British Pathé,  Retrieved November 30th 2020 from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyiqSW1ZLmU






Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/

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