Henry and Frederick Hudson in South Africa
In South Africa during the Boer War. Henry Hudson is third from the right in the back row.
In the 1891 census for Wantage Henry was listed as a gardener but he soon afterwards enlisted in the Coldstream Guards.
Henry Hudson's Career in the Coldstream Guards
Attested and passed fit at Reading on 29th Feb 1892. Joined, as No. 8963, the 1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards. He was then 18 years 9 months old and gave his occupation as a gardener, was 5 ft 9 1/4 inches in height, weight 144 lbs, chest minimum 34 maximum 36 inches, fresh complexion, blue eyes, lt brown hair, had a scar on nape of neck, and was Church of England.
He initially signed up for 3 yrs plus 9 on the reserve. This was extended to 7 yrs 7/7/93 and 12 yrs 24.6.94. He re-engaged at Windsor 13/1/1904 to complete 21 yrs service. He was promoted Cpl 4/8/95, Sergeant 1/5/97 and Colour Sergeant 9/6/1901.
He died of pneumonia on 4th January 1908 in the Military Hospital, Millbank.
He served at Home 29/2/92 to 9/3/99
Gibraltar 10/3/99 to 27/10/99
South Africa 28/10/99 to 4/10/02
Home 5/10/02 to 4/1/1908 with a total service of 15 yrs 311 days.
He obtained Certificate of Education 2nd Class 14/3/94 and passed a class of instruction in musketry at Hythe 23/12/1902. served in the South Africa campaign 1899-1902. Was mentioned in despatches in the London Gazette 10.9.1901, and awarded the South Africa War Medal with clasps for Belmont, Modder River, Dreifontein, Johannesburg, Diamond Hill, and Belfast. He also had the Kings SA Medal with clasps for SA 1901 & 1902.
Dates of Battles in the South Africa War for which clasps were awarded.
Belmont:23rd November 1899 under command of Lieut.-General Lord Methuen.
Modder River:28th November 1899 under command of Lieut.-General Lord Methuen.
Driefontein:10th March 1900
Johannesburg: 31st May 1900 under command of Field Marshall Lord Roberts
Diamond Hill: 11th-12th June under command of Field Marshall Lord Roberts
Belfast: 27th August 1900.
Henry Hudson's Career in the Coldstream Guards
Attested and passed fit at Reading on 29th Feb 1892. Joined, as No. 8963, the 1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards. He was then 18 years 9 months old and gave his occupation as a gardener, was 5 ft 9 1/4 inches in height, weight 144 lbs, chest minimum 34 maximum 36 inches, fresh complexion, blue eyes, lt brown hair, had a scar on nape of neck, and was Church of England.
He initially signed up for 3 yrs plus 9 on the reserve. This was extended to 7 yrs 7/7/93 and 12 yrs 24.6.94. He re-engaged at Windsor 13/1/1904 to complete 21 yrs service. He was promoted Cpl 4/8/95, Sergeant 1/5/97 and Colour Sergeant 9/6/1901.
He died of pneumonia on 4th January 1908 in the Military Hospital, Millbank.
He served at Home 29/2/92 to 9/3/99
Gibraltar 10/3/99 to 27/10/99
South Africa 28/10/99 to 4/10/02
Home 5/10/02 to 4/1/1908 with a total service of 15 yrs 311 days.
He obtained Certificate of Education 2nd Class 14/3/94 and passed a class of instruction in musketry at Hythe 23/12/1902. served in the South Africa campaign 1899-1902. Was mentioned in despatches in the London Gazette 10.9.1901, and awarded the South Africa War Medal with clasps for Belmont, Modder River, Dreifontein, Johannesburg, Diamond Hill, and Belfast. He also had the Kings SA Medal with clasps for SA 1901 & 1902.
Dates of Battles in the South Africa War for which clasps were awarded.
Belmont:23rd November 1899 under command of Lieut.-General Lord Methuen.
Modder River:28th November 1899 under command of Lieut.-General Lord Methuen.
Driefontein:10th March 1900
Johannesburg: 31st May 1900 under command of Field Marshall Lord Roberts
Diamond Hill: 11th-12th June under command of Field Marshall Lord Roberts
Belfast: 27th August 1900.
Frederick Hudson's Career in the Artillery and at Broadmoor Hospital
In 1891 Frederick was a page boy employed, at the Dower House,Shrivenham, by Walter Buckley Barrington, 9th Viscount Barrington of Ardglass. He enlisted at Oxford in the Royal Artillery, 12th October 1894, when his Trade or Calling was groom, He was 5ft 7.5 inches in height and weighed 139lbs. After a period at Woolwich he went to South Africa in May 1896 and remained there until September 1902. He was transferred to the Reserve 14 Nov 1902 and discharged with the rank of bombardier on October 1906.
During the Boer War he was attached to the 10th Mountain Battery RGA (140 men) and was involved in the Battle of Nicholson’s Nek, North of Ladysmith on 30 October 1890.
A detailed account can be found at
Rickard, J (5 February 2007), Battle of Nicholson’s Nek, 30 October 1899,
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_nicholsons_nek.html
The supplies were carried on the backs of well over one hundred mules, being led by the soldiers. The mules stampeded, taking with them all of the water, the heliographs, most of the ammunition and enough parts of the artillery to make all of it useless. The battle ended in chaos. The result was the biggest surrender of British troops since the Napoleonic Wars. Close to one thousand British soldiers entered captivity after the battle. Frederick Hudson was one of them.
Local newspapers recorded the capture of Frederick Hudson and published a copy of a letter he wrote to his parents at Christmas 1899.
angloboerwar.com has information on the prison camp.
NCOs and men were held at Waterval, north of Pretoria, in the Transvaal. Later the advancing British made the retention of prisoners increasingly problematic. When British troops entered Pretoria on 5 June 1900, 129 officers and 36 other ranks overpowered their guards just prior to the arrival of the troops. On 6 June, 3,187 non-commissioned officers and men were released at Waterval.
Frederick was awarded the Queen's South African Medal with clasps Orange Free State, Transvaal, and Natal. Queen's South African with clasps 1901 and 1902.
After his return from South Africa he was employed at Broadmoor Hospital, a high-security psychiatric hospital at Crowthorne in Berkshire.
Frederick married Harriet Grace Smith, later known as Adelaide, at St John the Baptist, Crowthorne on 1st April 1907. They had a son Frederick Henry in 1908 and another son Patrick Ronald in 1917,
He rejoined the Artillery in 1915. and was wounded in the battle of the Somme in 1916 as mentioned in this item from the Reading Mercury.
LANCE-CORPORAL L. HUDSON
Lance-Corporal Leonard Hudson, brother(sic) of ex-Sergeant Hudson of Messrs. Sutton and Sons', has been wounded in the left leg with a machine-gun bullet. He is suffering from a compound fracture, and is now a patient in the Sycamore Hospital at Nottingham, which he reached on Monday.
Frederick Hudson another brother, of the R.F.A. who went through the war in South Africa, also has been wounded, his back being injured in the battle of the Somme. He was a member, before joining up, of the Broadmoor Asylum staff. He is now an inmate of the Keighley Hospital, Yorks.
26 Aug 1916 Reading Mercury
Leonard Hudson was actually a son of Frederick's brother Thomas Morgan Hudson.
Frederick died ion 24 May 1938. The funeral was at Henley Road Crematorium, Caversham, Reading on 26 May 1938.
angloboerwar.com has information on the prison camp.
NCOs and men were held at Waterval, north of Pretoria, in the Transvaal. Later the advancing British made the retention of prisoners increasingly problematic. When British troops entered Pretoria on 5 June 1900, 129 officers and 36 other ranks overpowered their guards just prior to the arrival of the troops. On 6 June, 3,187 non-commissioned officers and men were released at Waterval.
Frederick was awarded the Queen's South African Medal with clasps Orange Free State, Transvaal, and Natal. Queen's South African with clasps 1901 and 1902.
After his return from South Africa he was employed at Broadmoor Hospital, a high-security psychiatric hospital at Crowthorne in Berkshire.
Frederick married Harriet Grace Smith, later known as Adelaide, at St John the Baptist, Crowthorne on 1st April 1907. They had a son Frederick Henry in 1908 and another son Patrick Ronald in 1917,
He rejoined the Artillery in 1915. and was wounded in the battle of the Somme in 1916 as mentioned in this item from the Reading Mercury.
LANCE-CORPORAL L. HUDSON
Lance-Corporal Leonard Hudson, brother(sic) of ex-Sergeant Hudson of Messrs. Sutton and Sons', has been wounded in the left leg with a machine-gun bullet. He is suffering from a compound fracture, and is now a patient in the Sycamore Hospital at Nottingham, which he reached on Monday.
Frederick Hudson another brother, of the R.F.A. who went through the war in South Africa, also has been wounded, his back being injured in the battle of the Somme. He was a member, before joining up, of the Broadmoor Asylum staff. He is now an inmate of the Keighley Hospital, Yorks.
26 Aug 1916 Reading Mercury
Leonard Hudson was actually a son of Frederick's brother Thomas Morgan Hudson.
Frederick died ion 24 May 1938. The funeral was at Henley Road Crematorium, Caversham, Reading on 26 May 1938.
Reading Mercury 4 Nov 1899
Reading Mercury 30 Dec 1899
Berks Chronicle 21July 1900
Broadmoor Staff Record
20 Jun 1876 born
22 Dec 1902 Joined Broadmoor staff as Assistant Attendant
Salary £40 p.a. increasing by £1 p.a. to max. £48 p.a. plus board, lodging and uniform.
9 Mar 1903 gained Civil Service certificate
8 Apr 1913 Promoted to Attendant
Salary £50 p.a. increasing by £1:10:0d p.a. to max. £68 plus board, lodging and uniform.
? Promoted to Senior Attendant: probably a new title for Attendants. Exact date not yet discovered. Salary scale identical to that of Attendant.
1 Jul 1915 Joined the army. Army pay made up to Broadmoor salary level by Broadmoor.
6 Dec 1918 Rejoined Broadmoor staff on scale revised during 1918.
Salary £76 p.a. increasing by £2;12:0d p.a. to max. £94 p.a. plus board, lodging and uniform.
31 Dec 1931 Superannuated.
20 Jun 1876 born
22 Dec 1902 Joined Broadmoor staff as Assistant Attendant
Salary £40 p.a. increasing by £1 p.a. to max. £48 p.a. plus board, lodging and uniform.
9 Mar 1903 gained Civil Service certificate
8 Apr 1913 Promoted to Attendant
Salary £50 p.a. increasing by £1:10:0d p.a. to max. £68 plus board, lodging and uniform.
? Promoted to Senior Attendant: probably a new title for Attendants. Exact date not yet discovered. Salary scale identical to that of Attendant.
1 Jul 1915 Joined the army. Army pay made up to Broadmoor salary level by Broadmoor.
6 Dec 1918 Rejoined Broadmoor staff on scale revised during 1918.
Salary £76 p.a. increasing by £2;12:0d p.a. to max. £94 p.a. plus board, lodging and uniform.
31 Dec 1931 Superannuated.
