stephen midgley
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Re: Lieut. Colonel Stephen Midgley, 5th Light Horse, 54th Battalion
Dear Stellan
Good to hear from you. Grandfather did not (to my knowledge) serve with the Cape Mounted Rifles. He arrived in South Africa with the 2nd Contingent of the Queensland Mounted Rifles on 24 February 1900, as a Colour Sergeant. When the unit left South Africa for Australia on 31 March 1901, he remained behind under the inducements that Kitchener was offering at that time (if a soldier stayed in Sout Africa he would receive a step-up in rank). As a result Stephen Midgley became Lt Stephen Midgley with the Bushveldt Carbineers. Soon after the Bushveldt Carbineers was renamed the Pietersburg Light Horse on 1 December 1901, Grandfather received a field promotion to Captain (and a DSO). He remained with the Pietersburg Light Horse until hostilities ceased and he resigned his commission on 6 July 1902.
Regards
Stephen
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10/23/2005, 7:46 pm
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stephen midgley
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Re: Lieut. Colonel Stephen Midgley, 5th Light Horse, 54th Battalion
Dear Stellan
Since reading your note last night, I went back to the book by Robert Likeman "From Law to War" in which he describes the role of the 2nd Contingent Queensland Mounted Infantry in South Africa. This book is a biology of Gen Lachlan Wilson, the Commanding Officer of the 5th Light Horse Regiment and a close friend of my grandfather (also my own father’s Godfather). They were both members of the 2nd Contingent QMI which served in South Africa. I believe I was wrong in the advice I offered and consider it highly likely that Grandfather may have been seconded to other units before August 1900. I am now looking at a number of new possibilities.
I am having great difficulty in piecing together grandfather’s activities in South Africa for those periods when he was not a soldier. Do you have access to Thord Gray’s letters? In an earlier exchange with you, you mentioned “I know that one letter Ivor Thord-Gray wrote to your grandfather in the 1920-ies was 28 pages.” Letters to Grandfather might have some references to what he was doing at the time. My father has recollections that he was a senior police officer (some of the formal Zulu and Ntebele language that punctuated his everyday speech suggests something like this – perhaps the South African Constabulary or the British South African Police) but I can find nothing. Perhaps the Thord Gray correspondence might offer some hints.
I understand that Thord Gray was with the Cape Mounted Rifles in 1897 – 02.
In reading Robert Likeman’s From Law to War he notes that the numbers of Australian/ New Zealanders were too small to maintain identifiable units and that 2 QMI members may have been seconded/transferred/blended to other units. I was under the mistaken impression that the 2QMI had stayed together as an operational unit. Stephen Midgley had 3 clasps on his Queen’s South Africa Medal; Driefontein (from action on the 10 March 1900), Transvaal and Cape Colony. The clasps on his King’s SAM are South Africa 1901 and South Africa 1902 but these were for service after the 2nd Queensland Mounted Infantry had returned to Australia.
Do any of the Thord Gray letters to which you have access suggest that the two of them worked together in another unit during the Boer War? Robert Likeman notes that this happened a lot in late June 1900 after the fall of Pretoria – many Australian soldiers were persuaded to join police and other units. From the 13 August – 18 October 1900 Grandfather was invalided to England where he continued to receive his pay and allowances from the Qld Government. I have long been puzzled as to why England? Many others from Australian units who became sick were invalided back to Australia. Perhaps it was because he was a part of a different unit at the time?
Had Thord Gray and SM served together in the Boer War before the Natal Rebellion?
Your rather direct question has spawned a large number of other questions.
I will look forward to hearing from you.
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10/24/2005, 10:49 pm
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Stellan Bojerud
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Re: Lieut. Colonel Stephen Midgley, 5th Light Horse, 54th Battalion
Hello Stephen,
1. Your grandfather is mentioned by Thord for the first time when in Royston´s Horse 1906.
2. Thord was in Cape Mounted Rifles 1897-1902. South Africab Constabulary 1902-1903, Transvaal Civil Service 1903-1905.
3. Thord and two of his ex-Milirary friends were running a farm. This was in the 1903-1905 period.
4. After the Bambata war 1906 Stephen Migley, John Watt and Thord were having a lot of affaires together. Watt and Thord claimed a gold mine. John Watt was in 1906 Captain and CO B-Sqn Royston´s Horse and the same year promoted Major.
5. It is possible but not proven that your grandfather could have been one of the partners in the farm and in the gold mine.
Best Greetings
Stellan
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10/25/2005, 4:14 pm
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