"British Columbia" Contingent for South Africa Oct. 23, 1899

Group portrait showing "A" Company, 2nd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment in front of the old drill shed (formerly the Imperial Opera House) on Pender Street at the foot of Beatty Street prior departure to South Africa: (in doorway) Henderson, F. Kennedy, W.W. Foster, Cornish, J. Reynolds Tite; left to right (sitting): John Moscrop, A Lohman, H. Neibergall, Otway Wilkie, Robert Mackie, A. Battson, J. Porter Smith, C. Leamy, Charles S. Court, George Wallace, George Neill, Todd, Frederick T. Cornwall, Arthur Carter; (middle row): William I. Scott, John H. Somers, S.W. O'Brien, W. Jackson, George S. Hutchings, J.H. Livingstone, A.J. Nye, W.H. Brooking, Ralph W.J. Lehman, William H. Brethour, James Anderton, John H. Dixon, Frank Dickinson, James Stewart, James W. Jones, Frank Finch-Smiles, R. McCalmont, Henry J.D. Andrews, Sgt. Joseph Northcott; (back row): J.J. Sinclair, Percy Greaves, H.J. Allan, H.W. Bonner, F.W. Whitely, C.C, Thompson, W.D. Wallace, G.B. Corbould, Alexander M. Woods, Seymour H. O'Dell, Clark W. Gamble, Arthur Maundrell, Alexander C. Beach, Henry Smethurst, William H. Stebbings, Cecil M. Roberts.
City of Vancouver Archives,AM54-S4-: LP 156

Nice !

The 2 men with the last name wallace , are they brothers ? Do you know where i would look for date of birth, city or parents of the men ?

Hi Joanne

I put up some info in your other post.

Although they share a last name and are successive Regimental Numbers, I do not think that they are closely related if at all.

George is Catholic and his Father is James in Greenwich UK while William is a Scots-born Baptist and his Father is a Reverend "R.B." Wallace in Oxford UK

regards
Darrell

Hi darrell, i am hoping i put my response in the correct spot. Here are pics of badges nwmp, pre 1906. Also the love token used during the boer war

Hi Joanne

Very nice. Thank you. Please forgive my late reply.

The NWMP badges are nice. They look to be a cap and a collar badge. Very collectable in their own right.

I'm unsure about the other two items in the pic with the NWMP badges. One looks like it holds a scent or perfume and the other isn't a British/Dominion crown or lion. Dutch?

The other two are the then coats of arms for Canada showing the seven provinces (so pre-1905) although the design and colours are a bit rough! They look very period and like many I have seen. The crown looks to be Victorian. Not a uniform item but rather a patriotic type lapel pin.

As for the love token, the initials remind me of some of the Women's Institute badges that I have. Looks like Manitoba Women's Institute but they didn't ramp up until 1910, according to their website. I am unsure.




I hope this helps in some way.

regards
Darrell

Thankyou so much for your help. A coin dealer had suggested a love token, but i know i had family that had immingrated to manitoba, the dime i think was 1867, but people held on to coins lile treasure :) i will be selling the badges after i solve the mystery :)) were the men who served in the boer war immigrants ?

Hi Joanne

You are welcome.

It very well could be a love token. Maybe her name was Winnifred May Irving or something like that. You may never know unless you can tie a family set of initial to any combination of "W", "I", and "M".

WRT your question about Boer War soldiers being Immigrants, I don't think in every case, no. I am no expert on the conflict and am unsure if a study has ever been done on Canadians and their places of birth for that conflict or not. You could check the link as their service files are there but I suppose you would have to check them all for their birthplace. In my own small experience, many (most?) were from Canadian Militia units and not just in off the street recruits.

https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/south-african-war-1899-1902/Pages/service-files-south-african-war.aspx

I would advise you to be careful where and how you sell those badges if you want to maximize your earnings. The NWMP ones are not in-expensive. Now that you've said so, I suspect there will be private offers to you. They will want to see the backs of both. Maybe a search first to see what they are making and involving yourself with someone that you have some trust in.

Are you in Canada?


regards
Darrell

Hi, i am in canada. I dont collect badges, and thought they should go to someone who would covet them. I know the larger gold colored one sold on ebay for 1200 but would have to look into the other one. I am going to spend my days off learning lol and going into the rabbit hole of ancestry.

Hi Joanne

Good idea.

Reference eBay prices, I will advise you that they are not to be considered a guide to collectors of such things as yours. More of a "Who wants it bad enough". Somedays they do, somedays they do not. Better to look at online vendors. Of course their prices will be full-on retail. You should not expect to get that. Just sayin'.

Badge collectors, like any theme specific collector worth their salt, know their business with regard to pattern, maker's marks, lug types, metal composition and other things. Some of them, not all, will count on you not knowing all that.

Good luck down the rabbit hole of historical research, Alice!!

regards
Darrell