Untitled Page

Claude joined in November 1900 stating he was 19, another untruth, and that his father lived in Kent, at the time his father was on a Church Mission overseas.

HAROLD JENNINGS SEDGWICK and CLAUDE HAROLD ANNESLEY are the same person.

I bet Claude would never in his wildest imagination think that his past would catch up with him.

From research it would seem that Soldier Number 20333 would have originally enlisted in the King’s Dragoon Guards. At the time of the outbreak of the Boer

War, and Prince of Wales Light Horse Brigade were in Australia.

They returned to South Africa and joined with the King’s Dragoon Guards to form the Prince of Wales Light Horse Brigade

In 1902 he was promoted to Second Lieutenant.

He served with the Army service corp. Their role was to buy the supplies to feed the troops and to run a canteen* see below

In January 1903 he was court martialled and cashiered out of the Army.

Then in August of 1902 he stole in excess of £2000 from the Army Service Corp. I wonder what he was thinking?

How could he spend that amount of money in Pretoria? Did he hope to escape and start a life somewhere new? Well he did, but

first of all he faced a court martial.

When he was promoted to Second Lieutenant, the commission was given by the King. That same commission had to be revoked by

the King after he was found guilty of the charges.

Why was he promoted to Second Lieutant? Probably for some brave action, however, all his Army records were destroyed, as was the case

with anyone who faced Court Martial.

Transcripts from Court Martial of Harold Jennings Sedgwick

From the National Archives Kew, England

Judge Advocate General’s Office

7 Victoria Street

Westminister S.W.17 December, 1902

My Lord

I have the honour to enclose the proceeding of the General Court Marshal held for the trial of the Officer named in the margin and I have to acquaint Your Lordship that I have, in a written

communication, submitted to The King my opinion that the Proceeding, Findings and Sentence of the Court were legal.

I have etc,Sd) J. Scott

D.J.A.G.

Commander in Chief.

(Named in the margin 2^nd Lieut H.J. Sedgwick, Army Service Corps.

The documents are written on a dark background, probably sepia or parchment, and do not scan very well. The writing style is certainly quite beautiful, and fully legible considering this happened 110 years ago. KH

Journal Entry

Where received Rank Name Regiment Where held Date of trial

Dec 15 2^nd Lieut H.J. Sedgwick A.S.C. Pretoria Nov 19

Laid before the King

Nature of Charge Sentence Remitted

Embezzling public money Cashiered Forfeiture of medals

The following information was sent to the King:

Proceedings of a General Court Martial held in the trial of the under mentioned officer most humbly submitted to Your Majesty by

(The Right Honourable, The Judge Advocate General.

2^nd Lieut H.J. Sedgwick,

Army Service Corps

Issued at Pretoria

19^th November 1902

Charges

First - When charged with the care of public money embezzling the same in that he, at Pretoria on the 3^rd October 1902 having received a cheque for Fifteen Hundred Pounds for public purposes,

applied the cash to his own use

Second - When charged with the care of Public money, embezzling the same, in that here, at Pretoria between 15^th September 1902 and 4^th October 1902, when charged with the care of public

money, having received the sum of Fifty four, Seven Hundred and Forty seven pounds twelve shillings and two pence to cash for public purposes applied Six hundred and three pounds and eight

pence of the above amount to his own use.

Finding

The prisoner 2^nd Lieut. H.J. Sedgwick, Army Service Corps is found guilty of all the charges.

Sentence

The Court sentence the prisoner 2^nd Lieut H.J. Sedgwick, Army Service Corps, to be Cashiered, and to forfeit the Queen’s South African Medal and three Clasps, and the King’s South African Medal

and two clasps to which he is entitled.

The Deputy Judge Advocate General humbly begs permission to inform Your Majesty that the proceedings, finding, and sentence are in his judgment legal.

In May 1903 he applies for a passport, then according to records arrives in Australia in 1903 as Claude Annesley.

Harold Jennings Sedgwick certainly was in the Boer War, but there is no proof of his ever being treated for malaria.

A great many soldiers were however extremely ill with dysentery.

From his service record it indicates he was in the Welsh Regiment and/or 1^st Brabant’s Horse.

Roger Nixon my researcher provides the following information:

From Roger Nixon, Researcher in London:

Good News! Far better than I expected.

See attaché with this email four images taken from WO 90/6 which clearly indicate that HJS was court martialed in Pretoria, South Africa on 19 November 1902 (not 1903)

whilst serving as a 2Lt with the Army Service Corps. He was found guilty on embezzling public money and was cashier as a result and all his Boer War Medals were forfeited as

well. The outcome of the trial was entered into the register on December 15 1902 and the matter was also laid before the king as it would have been the monarch who had

granted his commission in the first place.

See also two other emails.

WO 92/3 is effectively a copy of WO 90/6 but WO 91/51 is the actual Report of the trial and contains a lot of detail which I will let you savour in your own time. One thing is

certain, though. Your description of him was bang-on.

Found the attached today in WO 16/104 Enrolments of the Prince of Wales Light Horse on 27 November 1900. He seems to have enrolled firstly in Brabant’s Horse but this

may not have materialized. I think the Welsh Regiment bit is an error. The clerk might have made an assumption based on the Prince of Wales bit. He is shown to have been

commissioned on 18 March 1901 and to have resigned on 30 September 1901. I can only think that he was made an officer with the Prince of Wales Light Horse and then

resigned six months after he was commissioned to possibly obtain a commission in the Army Service Corps.

Now, so happens that a colleague mine has just received a wonderful book about the Prince of Wales Horse. By all accounts the content has been very well researched. I shall

send him detail about Sedgwick this afternoon and he will check the content so see whether any reference to HJS is included and will get back to you with anything if found.

The Army Service Corp

In his dispatch of 2nd April 1901 Lord Roberts says: "To do justice to the excellent work done by the Army Service Corps during the war, and to give lengthy details of the magnitude of the task assigned to this department, are beyond the limits of a paragraph in a dispatch. It is, however, estimated that since the war began, and up to the 30th October 1900, the approximate number of rations issued to the army operating from the Cape Colony north of the Orange River has been:

                                                       Nr of rations               Approx tonnage
Soldiers and natives                   45,000,000                           90,000
Animals                                       20,000,000                         100,000

The strength has been approximately-
                                                      NrReq'd daily                  tons
Soldiers and natives                     179,000                          358
Animals                                           93,000                          465

Lord Roberts points out the difficulty of getting up supplies by trains, and says, "Again the supply of the army after leaving Bloemfontein was a matter of very grave anxiety, and it was only by the devotion and zeal of the Army Service Corps officers that the supplies were brought from the rail-head to the troops in sufficient time to supply their daily wants". After mentioning the fact that until September 1900 the army was dependent on 95 old engines, while the Orange River Colony and Transvaal found in peacetime 250 engines were necessary for their daily use, Lord Roberts says: "In the above I have only referred to the work done in supplying the troops based on the Cape Colony.

The Natal Army has reason also to be entirely satisfied with the manner in which it has been supplied, and the occasions have been rare when any portion of this army have had anything but full rations. These services reflect the greatest credit on Colonel W Richardson, CB, and Colonel E W D Ward, CB, directors of supplies, and the Army Service Corps serving under them".

General Buller in his final dispatch, under "Supply", speaking of Colonel Morgan, ASC, says: "Has been throughout in charge of the supply of the Natal Field Force. In addition to undertaking the extremely onerous duties of supply, he also charged himself with the supervision of the Natal Field Force canteen, an institution which proved the greatest possible boon to all officers and men, and which, under his able direction, supplied the best possible goods at the lowest possible rates. Colonel Morgan's arrangements for it were admirable, and will, I hope, be made a model for use on any future occasion.