The Boer War - London Area Casualties

On the side of London’s Boer War Memorial is a list of six names of men who died in the fighting in South Africa.

Deaths did not even come close to the scale experienced in the Great War. The Boer War was Londoners’ first taste of battle outside of  Canadian borders. They were very enthusiastic about the whole thing. In 1900 the average Londoner considered himself a good citizen of the British Empire, and they supported the Canadian Contingent wholeheartedly. To judge by pictures in the local newspapers, that supposedly depicted reality, one can see something of a romanticizing of the war. Nothing was mentioned about getting your head blown off by a dumdum bullet. That would change after the Great War.

                          "The London Free Press", March 24, 1900.

Company “B”, Royal Canadian Regiment. “City Of London: The Pioneer Period and The London Of Today”, 1900, p.175.

John Andrew Dunegan #7188
Killed in battle at Paardeberg February 18, 1900. He was buried in the Vendusiedrift Garden of Remembrance, Paardeburg (Veteran Affairs Canada: The Canadian Virtual War Memorial). He is #17 in the above photo.

Douglas Leeds Moore #7089

Died of enteric fever February 14, 1900 at Orange River Station, South Africa. He was born September 1877 to George James Moore and Agnes ? in Cambridgeshire, England (England & Wales Birth Index 1837-1915). He is buried at the West End Cemetary, Kimberley, South Africa (The Canadian Virtual War Memorial).

Robert Smith #7036

I have very little on Robert Smith. He is  #11 on the above group photo. He was killed February 18, 1900 at Paardeburg along with John Andrew Dunegan. He is buried at the Vendusiedrift Garden of Remembrance, Paardeberg.

William George Adams #7160
He died of enteric fever on April 16, 1900 at Bloemfontein. He was born in 1881 to Robert Adams and Isabella (Bella) Stockdale in London, Ontario (Canada Census 1881). He is buried at the President Brand Cemetary, Bloemfontein. He is #2 on the group photo above.

Ernest Mullins #3676
Another one that is difficult to find. He died June 11, 1900 at Kroonstad, and is buried at the Kroonstad Garden of Remembrance. According to his entry in the Canadian Virtual War Memorial he was 26 years old.

Francis George William Floyd #7193
He was born May 14, 1878 to William Floyd and Hannah Osworth in Middlesex County (Ontario Birth Records), and was killed at Zand River in the Orange Free State. He is buried at the Kroonstad Garden of Remembrance. He is #21 in the group photo above.