Herlingshaw Family Website

The Herlingshaw family

William (Herling)Shaw in the Second Boer War 1899-1902 ?

According to family legend the first William Herlingshaw lied about his age to join the army as an under-age bugle boy or drummer in order to go to the second Boer War in Transvaal and the Orange Free State, South Africa. No firm evidence has yet been found to substantiate this and of course no Herlingshaw name appears in the records. However, there were many William Shaws and W Shaws there and he would almost certainly was using the Shaw surname then. Below are some of the possibilities, assuming of course that he enlisted as Shaw and not something completely different. Family history (and the "cat and cabbage" cap badge) suggests that if he was there he was in the York and Lancaster Regiment and in that case the only known candidate is Private 6237. If that was him, based on the number sequence he would have signed up in middle to late 1900. However, the actual cap badge in family possession uses a fixing method that did not start until 1903, after the Boer war had ended. The mystery remains.

W Shaw, Private 5346, 2nd Battalion, Middlesex Regiment

W Shaw, Private 2188, 3rd Battalion The Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment)

W Shaw, Private 6237, 1st Battalion The York and Lancaster Regiment

W Shaw, Private 5539, 4th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment (but died in 1900)

W Shaw, Private 3213, 2nd Battalion Loyal North Lancashire Fusiliers

W Shaw, Private 3655, 2nd Battalion Loyal North Lancashire Fusiliers

W Shaw, Private 3060, 3rd Battalion West India Regiment

W Shaw, Private 6961, 4th Battalion Derbyshire Regiment (The Sherwood Foresters)

W Shaw, Private 4188, 13th Hussars

W Shaw, Private 4478, 14th (King's) Hussars

W Shaw, Private 9006, 2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards

W Shaw, Private 3961, 2nd Battalion The King's Own (Royal Lancaster)

W Shaw, Private 7556, 3rd Battalion The Kings Own (Yorkshire Light Infantry)

W Shaw, Private, Royal Marine Light Infantry

W Shaw, Private 4736, 1st Battalion Leicestershire Regiment

W Shaw, Trooper 26226, 104 (Derbyshire) Company, 4th Battalion Imperial Yeomanry

William Shaw, Private 4566, 1st Dragoon Guards (but was killed in 1901)

William Shaw, No. 6961, Derbyshire Regiment

William Shaw, No. 4258, 1st Battalion Derbyshire Regiment (The Sherwood Foresters)

William Shaw, Private 5051, 8 (Derbyshire) Company, 4th Battalion Imperial Yeomanry

William Shaw, Private 12265, 66 (Yorkshire) Company, 16th Battalion Imperial Yeomanry

William Shaw, Trooper 35675, 75 (Sharpshooters) Company, 18th Battalion Imperial Yeomanry

William Shaw, Trooper 40464, 37th Battalion Imperial Yeomanry

William Shaw, Trooper 26482, Orange River Scouts

The second Boer War started on 11th October 1899 and finished on 31st May 1902. At the start of the war William would have been 14, almost 15 years old, at the end only 17½. The official enlistment age was 18 with 19 required for active service overseas - but the rules were frequently ignored. To put this into context the school leaving age was raised from 11 to 12 in 1899 and was raised again to 14 after WWI.

If William was in the Boer War he would have received a medal, either the QSA (Queen's South Africa Medal) or KSA (King's South Africa Medal) depending on the date of the award - or both as the KSA was often issued with the QSA. (Queen Victoria died on 22nd January 1901 and was succeeded by King Edward VII). This is what the medals look like, with additional "clasps" on each. These particular medals were awarded to Private 6048, H Shaw of the North Staffordshire Regiment - an interesting coincidence but not thought to be a relative. The recipient's name was then engraved on the rims of the medals.

In the second Boer War the Imperial Yeomanry was a volunteer cavalry regiment. The Dragoon Guards and The Hussars were cavalry regiments. The West Yorkshire Regiment, Leicestershire Regiment and the Loyal North Lancashire Fusiliers were infantry.

Another possibility is that William was Private 1385 W. Herling of the 1st Battalion of the Rifle Brigade who was in South Africa in 1901 and 1902 and received the King's South Africa Medal and two clasps (one for each year). However, this soldier is listed as C (or E) Herling elsewhere.

Some years after the Boer War William joined the Army for a seven year period starting in 1906 but it is not know what he was doing in the intervening period.