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The Perils of Poor Punctuation
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The Perils of Poor Punctuation 1 month 1 week ago #99668

  • Rory
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Many of you will have seen a recent post wherein I was asking for help in identifying where in the Free State my medal recipient, Armitage of the NGR, would have done plate-laying in an armoured train mishap - Suggestions were of a spot near Kroonstad and a few other places, none of which were a fit for a NGR man who, if he strayed into the OFS, would not have gone much further than Harrismith.



This conundrum led me to a closer inspection of the roll (I had been relying on the description in the Noonan's blurb for the Lot) - lo and behold, it was all down to punctuation - see below - the Remarks column carries two separate entries for Armitage, as it does for a number of others on the roll.





Read correctly the roll confirms that Armitage was:

- Relaying the Free State Line (probably the stretch from Ladysmith to Harrismith - see map below
AND
- In the Armoured Train Mishap

This puts him firmly on the spot at the time Churchill and co. were fighting a rearguard action, ducking the Mauser bullets as they whizzed past and trying to get the train back on track (literally)

Armed with this information and a SAR& H page on one of the Platelayers there with him - see below - I was able to compile from the rolls, a list of the +/- 17 NGR men who were involved in the famous incident - I append their names below.



NGR employees at Chieveley Armoured Train Incident – 15 November 1899

• Armitage, GC – Ganger
• Bradbury, A – Ganger
• Carmody, JR – Ganger
• Harcombe, J – Inspector WIA
• Irving, G – Ganger
• Kuter, DF – Ganger POW
• Pritchard, J – Inspector
• Welch, J – Ganger – WIA
• Williams, ED – Ganger
• Young, D – Ganger
• Yallup, W – Platelayer
Westerman, JV - Ganger
• Borra, R – Platelayer
• Brannigan, M – Platelayer (Medal returned)
• Lucklings, H – Ganger
• Macnee, A – Platelayer
• Milne, W – Platelayer
• Moran, E – Platelayer
• Pope, F – Platelayer

This was truly one of those rare occasions when proper punctuation saved the day and enhanced the medals and the story behind it.

Regards

Rory
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The Perils of Poor Punctuation 1 month 1 week ago #99691

  • djb
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Excellent research, Rory.
Dr David Biggins
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