What was the Boer War?
The word ‘Boer’ comes from the Dutch and Afrikaans for farmer or husbandman and refers to settlers in southern Africa of Dutch, German and Huguenot ancestry. The First Boer War of 1880–1881, also known as the Transvaal Rebellion, saw Boers of the Transvaal revolting against the British annexation of their land in 1877. However, mentions of the Boer War normally refer to the longer, bloodier and much better-known Second Anglo-Boer War, fought between the British Empire and two Boer States from 11 October 1899 to 31 May 1902.
With its quick-firing rifles, machine guns and high explosives, the Second Anglo-Boer War is often characterised by historians as a kind of bridge between the smaller-scale Victorian wars and the increasingly mechanised bloodshed of the First and Second World Wars. It is also remembered for the Boers’ successful use of guerrilla tactics against British forces, and for the British use of concentration camps, in which they imprisoned Boer civilians in appalling conditions resulting in the deaths of thousands of women and children.
Boer War records: The best websites
1. The Register of the Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902
The Casus-Belli military history website is home to The Register of the Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902, a pay-per-view list of over 382,000 soldiers’ names, as well as guides to researching Boer War ancestors. The Register has been compiled from over 565 sources, many of which are available elsewhere, but the site claims a high level of accuracy and also includes details about injuries and causes of death that are not included elsewhere. Prices to view a single record start at £1 with reductions for multiple purchases.
2. Ancestry Casualties of the Boer War
Ancestry has a collection of more than 54,000 Boer War records of British soldiers killed, captured or wounded during the conflict. It also has ‘Campaign Medal and Award Rolls, 1793–1949’, which you can search for the two Boer campaign medals: the Queen’s South Africa (for service to 22 January 1901), and the King’s (for service from the accession of Edward VII to the war’s end). Men might also be awarded clasps, which can tell you roughly where they served. The site also has the National Army Museum’s Registers of Soldiers' Effects 1901–1929.
3. The National Archives Second Boer War
This guide from The National Archives summarises where you might find the government’s Boer War records, before directing you to the more genealogically relevant guides to soldiers, officers and campaigns up to 1913. Together these detail campaign medals, army lists, service records and more. Some are searchable online, such as Boer War officers’ service records (in WO25 and WO76). You can list results by relevance or date, before downloading any digitised records. Other important collections of Boer War records include attestation and discharge papers in WO97.
4. British Concentration Camps
This project, led by Dr Elizabeth van Heyningen of the Department of Historical Studies at the University of Cape Town, records the names of the thousands of individuals who were imprisoned in the British-run camps designed to hold residents of the two Boer republics of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State. The concentration camps were established towards the end of 1900, and this database, drawn from the original registers, was built in order to investigate prisoners’ mortality rates.
5. Expert’s choice: AngloBoerWar
Chosen by Anthony Dawson, author of Real War Horses: The Experience of the British Cavalry 1814–1914:
“One of the best websites for Boer War records is angloboerwar.com, a website set up and run by Boer War historian David Biggins. It contains details on the 1899–1902 war as well as earlier conflicts in Africa from 1779 onwards. It lists an extensive bibliography and has three main forums, with recent topics on the role of certain military units, Boer prisoners, and other conflicts in South Africa."
6. Army Museums Ogilby Trust
Outside centralised sources for military research, lots of material is hidden away in smaller regimental collections. The Army Museums Ogilby Trust was established in 1954 to support these institutions, and via its website you can explore a directory of museums across the UK. Many provide useful online tools, from articles and image libraries, to indexes and finding aids. The trust also spearheaded the Ogilby Muster, a subscription-based platform through which member institutions can share documents, old photographs, letters and diaries. Although the main focus is the First World War, the online collections cover 1900–1929.
7. National Army Museum
The NAM’s website includes this detailed summary of the conflict. It starts with the origins of unrest, caused by the British desire to unite its South African territories with the Boer Republics, and the Afrikaans-speaking farmers’ desire to stay independent. This was brought to a head by the discovery of gold in the South African Republic in 1886, which led to a huge influx of English-speaking uitlanders (outlanders). The site includes maps, timelines and photos, plus material on the First Boer War (1880–1881) between the British and the Transvaal Boers in the South African Republic. Click ‘Collections’ in the menu bar for advice about researching individuals.
More Boer War records websites
8. Britain’s Small Forgotten Wars
This website surveys obscure wars and battles from the past 200 years, including numerous conflicts on the African continent.
Browsing the left-hand column of this website leads to battles listed by conflict. You can then read detailed pages on combatants and commanders, narratives and illustrations.
This is an excellent site if you’re having difficulty identifying medals. You could also try the Orders and Medals Research Society.
11. Findmypast
This collection of British Army service records include many for those who served in the conflict.
The military specialist has the Second Boer War casualty roll containing 75,000 names.
This subscription or pay-per-view site enables you to search registers of cadets, cemetery records, photos and magazines for those who attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
14. South African Military History Society
Here you can read articles from back issues of the society’s long-running journal.
