Overseas service

[Brad]

Hi Everyone,
While looking at my Great Grandfathers service records it states he was sent to
South Africa feb 1903 to april 1903
St Helena april 1903 to jan 1904
South Africa jan 1904 to oct 1906
and then on to India with the 1st battalion
My question is why would he be sent to South Africa and St Helena on the above dates.
Thanks Heaps
Brad

[mack]

hiya brad
st helena was used as a POW camp for boer prisoners,he would have been guarding them,and probably getting acclimatised for his posting to south africa

mack

[Robert Bonner]

Brad.
Your Gt Grandfather will have served with the 3rd Bn Manchester Regiment.  They served in St Helena, as Mack suggests - guarding Boer prisoners of war, then on to South Africa where they remained until instructions were received for disbandment of the battalion. They returned to England in November 1906 where disbandment was completed by early December 1906.

Those soldiers with time still to serve were then posted on the either the 1st or 2nd Battalions.

[Brad]

Thank you Mack and Robert Bonner,
My Great Grandfather did serve with the 3rd battalion.
On his attestation form on 07/07/1902 he has put his age down as 18 years and 4 months old.
But he was born in 1886 so would have only been 17 when he was guarding the Boer prisoners.
Thank you both again for the information