James Hoare (1823)

Born 12 Jan 1823 in Brailes, Warwickshire, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

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Biography

James was baptised on 12 January 1823 in Brailes, Warwickshire, England.^[1]. He is the son of John Hoare and Hannah Edden.

In the 1841 census James (age 18) was in The Square, Brailes, Warwickshire, England.^[2]

45th Nottinghamshire Regiment of Foot

At the age of 19 on the 27th June 1842 James enlisted in the 45th: 1st Nottinghamshire Regiment of Foot, later to become known as the 'Sherwood Foresters'. James enlisted for 5 years service until 26 June 1847 and immediately the next day on 27th June 1847 James enlisted again and served another 3 years and 89 days service until 23rd September 1850. James continued to reenlist until 21st July 1863 after serving a total of 21 years and 25 days in the 45th Nottinghamshire Regiment of Foot. During this time James had served abroad for 15 years 4 months.

Service Record

Regimental number 2561 Private James Hoare, by trade a Laborer and was born in the Parish of Brailes near the town of Shipston upon Stour, in the County of Worcester, and attested for the Fortyfifth Regiment at Shipston in the County of Worcester, on the 27th June 1842 at the age of 19 years. When James was discharged his age was given as 40 years, Height 5 Feet 7 Inches, Eyes Grey, Hair Brown, Trade Laborer, No Marks or Scars on Body or Face. Intended Place of Residence - Brailes, near Shipston upon Stour, Worcestershire. James received 4 Good Conduct Badges and 2 medals for the Xhosa Campaigns of 1846-1847 and 1850-1853.

Military Colours

1842 James served in the 45th Reserve Battalion, we know this from his service record. James joined the 45th on 27th June 1842 at Shipston on Stour and not long afterwards joined the regiment at Dublin in Ireland. September, 1842, the regiment left Dublin by sea for the Mediterranean. On reaching Cork, however, the plans were changed, and instead of proceeding it disembarked and went into garrison there.

The regiment was now divided into two battalions of six companies each; the first battalion was commanded by the lieut-colonel, and the second, which was styled the Reserve Battalion, was commanded by one of the majors. On the 10th of October, 1842 the Reserve Battalion, under the command of Major Butler, proceeded to Kinsale, but rejoined the first battalion at Cork two months later, where the whole battalion was inspected and reported fit for service anywhere by Sir Octavius Carey.

1843 On the 31st of January, 1843, orders were received for the regiment to hold itself in readiness to proceed to the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa and in consequence the Reserve Battalion was again separated from the headquarter battalion, remaining in Cork and furnishing detachments to Buttevant, Ballincollig, and Dungarvan. During the course of the year two companies, under Major Erskine, were employed in aid of the civil power at Baudon and Skibbereen on the occasion of one of Daniel O’Connell's monster meetings.

On the 24th of February 1843 the headquarter battalion sailed for the Cape on the “ Thunderer," with the exception of one company under Captain Shaw, with Ensign Kipper and Surgeon Menzies, who sailed on the 28th in the “Radamanthus ” and the “ Rodney," which also conveyed the 7th Dragoon Guards. That steadiness and reliability which had long characterised the regiment was again evidenced on their embarkation, in spite of the fact that it was full of young soldiers - the average age being only twenty-three.

1844 The 45th Reserve Battalion remained at Cork, under the command of Major Butler, after the departure of the 1st battalion. On the 22nd of December, 1843, James Hoare, with the Reserve Battalion received orders to prepare for embarkation for Gibraltar. The battalion sailed with 607 men and women of all ranks, on the "Apollo" on the 12th of January 1844, and arrived at Gibraltar on the 19th January 1844. The Reserve Battalion remained on the Rock for eighteen months, during which time it is recorded that Drummer Brown carried off a prize for skill in drumming in competition with all the rest of the garrison, at the end of which period, on the 31st of July, 1845, James Hoare sailed with the Reserve Battalion for the Cape of Good Hope on board H.M. troopship “Resistance.”

Previous to the embarkation. Sir Robert Wilson issued an order of the day, complimenting the regiment on its general steadiness and soldier like bearing while in garrison, and also for the assistance it had rendered in the maintenance and repair of the fortifications at Gibraltar.

HMS Troop Ship Resistance 1848.

1845 After five weeks at sea the “Resistance” put into Rio de Janeiro for water on the 8th of September 1845, and on the following day the regiment suffered a severe loss in the death of Major Butler, who had commanded the reserve battalion since its formation. He was buried on shore on the 10th, the funeral being attended by a large number of officers from the foreign ships of war lying in the harbour. In two or three days the “Resistance” was again ready to proceed, but the disturbed state of affairs in the River Plate, where British life and property was becoming seriously compromised, caused Mr. Hamilton, H.M. Minister in Brazil, to take upon himself the responsibility of changing her destination, and the 45th Reserve regiment was accordingly ordered to Monte Video, where it arrived on the 25th of September 1845.

The regiment remained on board the “Resistance ” losing Lieutenant Oakley, who had been fourteen years in the regiment. The men were then landed on the 14th October to protect the British subjects in the city, which was closely besieged by General Manuel Oribe, the rebel ex president of Uruguay, General Oribe beseiged the capital Montevideo for 8 long years between 1843 and 1851.

The accommodation afforded them was wretched in the extreme, consisting of old slaughter-houses and sheds out of repair, very damp and infested with rats. At first there was no bedding, and the men had only their blankets and greatcoats; but after a time the quarters were somewhat improved and a certain amount of comfort secured. On the 16th of October, H.M.S. “Apollo " arrived at Monte Video with reinforcements, consisting of the 73rd regiment and a draft of 48 men for the 45th. Their arrival was most opportune, as just at this time a mutiny broke out among the native troops, who might have plundered the city had it not been for the presence of the British troops.

1846 The “Resistance” had meanwhile arrived back in England, bringing news of the detention of the regiment at the River Plate. Orders were immediately sent for the corps to proceed to its original destination, the Cape; and accordingly the “Resistance,” having brought out Major Cooper to command the battalion, embarked on its journey to the Cape on the 3rd of July, 1846, after a stay of ten months in South America. The climate and peculiar conditions had told upon the regiment during their stay - two officers and fifteen men had died, and at the time of embarkation over one hundred men were sick with dysentery, ophthalmia, and scrofula.

The regiment had, as usual, maintained its credit under the trying conditions to which it had been exposed; the Government of Banda Oriental sent a special despatch to Mr. Ormsby, the British Minister, bearing testimony to the excellent conduct of the 45th; and Mr. Ormsby wrote, in forwarding the despatch, that “ the good behaviour of the regiment while serving with the marines and seamen, with French detachments, and with the half-disciplined troops of the Monte Videan Government, was worthy of the highest praise.” The Duke of Wellington expressed to the 45th regiment “the great satisfaction” he had derived from the perusal of these testimonies.

Military Badge of the 45th

The regiment arrived at Simon’s Bay on the 30th of July 1846, and at once landed with 84 people sick, together with all the women and children. On the 8th of August 1846 the battalion again put to sea, and disembarked at Port Elizabeth, Algoa Bay, on the 16th of the same month. The disembarkation strength was 609 rank and file and the following officers: Major Cooper, Captains Moultrie, Vialle, Tench, Bates, and Parish; Lieutenants Bewes, M'Crea, Johnstone, and Leach; Ensigns Harvey, Goff, Dawson, and Woodford; and Assistant-Surgeon Barker. Grahamstown was reached on the 3rd of September 1846; two companies were ordered to remain there, and on the following day the headquarters marched to join Colonel Somerset’s division on the Fish River.

Considerable sickness prevailed at this period among the troops east of the Fish River, hardly an officer escaping illness, while provisions were scarce and extremely dear, as much as eighteen pence being paid for a small loaf of bread. In the middle of September H.M. troopship “Apollo" arrived at the Cape from Monte Video, bringing the 73rd regiment and 58 men of the 45th, who had been left behind at that place. The ship came on to Waterloo Bay with the troops, but was nearly wrecked there, losing three anchors and cables in a heavy gale, and escaping to sea with great difficulty. The troops in consequence were not landed there, and the detachment of the 45th did not reach camp at Waterloo Bay until the 29th of November 1846.

Seventh Xhosa War (1846–1847)

Who were the Xhosa tribes - The Xhosa, also often called the "Red Blanket People", they are of Nguni stock, like the Zulu. The name Xhosa is a generalised term for a diversity of proud clans, the Pondo, Bomvana, Thembu and the Xhosa tribe itself. There were also the tribes that Shaka, the Zulu king, drove out of Zululand. Some returned to Zululand when peace was declared, but those who remained became known as the Mfengu and were assimilated into the Xhosa nation. The early immigrants formed the backbone of the Xhosa nation and have good reason to be proud. Not only were they to become the second largest group of Black Africans in South Africa but they were also the only ones that were never defeated or enslaved by any other tribe.

The Seventh Xhosa War is often referred to as the "War of the Axe" or the "Amatola War". On the colonial side, two main groups were involved: columns of imperial British troops sent from London, and local mixed-race "Burgher forces", which were mainly Khoi, Fengu, British settlers and Boer commandos, led by their commander-in-chief, Andries Stockenström. Relations between the British Imperial troops and the local commandos broke down completely during the war.

Campaign Medals for the 7th and 8th Xhosa Wars.

On the Xhosa side, the Ngqika (known to the Europeans as the "Gaika") were the chief tribe engaged in the war, assisted by portions of the Ndlambe and the Thembu. The Xhosa forces were greater in number, and some of them had by this time replaced their traditional weapons, the assegais, with firearms. Both sides engaged in the widespread use of scorched earth tactics.

King Mgolombane Sandile led the Ngqika people in the Seventh Frontier War (1846–47), Eighth Frontier War (1850–53) and the Ninth Frontier War (1877–78), in which he was killed. These clashes marked the beginning of the use of firearms by Xhosa armies, scoring many victories for King Sandile, gaining him a reputation as a Xhosa hero and mighty warrior.

Tension had been simmering between farmers and marauders, on both sides of the frontier, since the dismantlement of Stockenstrom's treaty system. Governor Maitland imposed a new system of treaties on the chiefs without consulting them, while a severe drought forced desperate Xhosa to engage in cattle raids across the frontier in order to survive. In addition, politician Robert Godlonton continued to use his newspaper the Graham's Town Journal to agitate for Eastern Cape settlers to annex and settle the land that had been returned to the Xhosa after the previous war.

The event that actually ignited the war was a trivial dispute over a raid. A Khoi escort was transporting a manacled Xhosa thief to Grahamstown to be tried for stealing an axe, when Xhosa raiders attacked and killed the Khoi escort. The Xhosa refused to surrender the murderer and war broke out in March 1846.

The regular British forces suffered initial setbacks. A British column sent to confront the Ngqika chief, Mgolombane Sandile, was delayed at the Amatola Mountains, and the attacking Xhosa captured the centre of the three-mile long wagon train which was not being defended, carrying away the British officer's supply of wine and other supplies. Large numbers of Xhosa then poured across the border as the outnumbered imperial troops fell back, abandoning their outposts. The only successful resistance was from the local Fengu, who heroically defended their villages from the Xhosa forces.

1846 On 28 May 1846, a force of 8,000 Xhosa attacked the last remaining British garrison, at Fort Peddie, but fell back after a long shootout with British and Fengu troops. The Xhosa army then marched on Grahamstown itself, but was held up when a sizable army of Ndlambe Xhosa were defeated on 7 June 1846 by General Somerset on the Gwangu, a few miles from Fort Peddie. However the slow-moving British columns, were considerably hampered by drought and were becoming desperate.

1847 The war continued until Sandile was captured during negotiations and sent to Grahamstown. Although Sandile was soon released, the other chiefs gradually stopped fighting, and by the end of 1847 the Xhosa had been completely subdued after 21 months of fighting. The beginning of 1848 found the 45th reserve battalion concentrated at Fort Hare, with one company at Fort Cox, and a small detachment at Fort White.

1848 On the 17th July 1848 Pretorius, at the head of more than a thousand men (Dutch speaking colonists), arrived within two miles of Bloemfontein, and Major Warden, who had but fifty-seven men of the Cape Mounted Rifles under his command, retired to Colesburg. Pretorius took formal possession of the town on the 20th of July, and then advanced and formed a camp on the north side of the Orange River. Major Warden's report reached Sir Harry Smith at Cape Town on the 22nd of July. He at once issued a proclamation offering a reward of £1000 for the apprehension of Pretorius, and issued orders for all available troops to assemble at once at Colesburg. He also started for the frontier immediately, and arrived at Colesburg on the 9th of August 1848.

Among the troops ordered to Colesburg were two companies of the 45th Reserve Battalion, numbering 170 men, under the command of Captain Blenkinsopp, with Captain Tench, Lieutenant Dawson, and Ensigns Fleming and Howard. The detachment marched from Fort Hare on the 29th of July and reached its destination on the 21st of August 1848. The whole force assembled under the command of Sir Harry Smith consisted of about 800 men, made up of 170 men of the 45th Reserve Battalion, four companies of the Cape Mounted Rifles, two companies of the Rifle Brigade, two companies of the 91st regiment, a few engineers, and some artillery with three six-pounders, and the force was subsequently joined by a few loyal Dutch farmers and about 250 mounted Griquas.

The next day the march was continued to Visser’s Hoek, the country through which the force marched having been completely abandoned by its inhabitants. That evening a party of farmers who went ahead as scouts returned with the information that the country was clear as far as Boomplaats Farm, some fifteen miles in advance. The column moved forward again at dawn the next morning, halting for their morning meal at a place called Touwfontein. The Cape corps was pushed on as an advanced guard, supported by the two companies of the Rifle Brigade, behind whom marched the engineers and the artillery with their guns, followed by the 45th and the 91st detachments; while the rear was brought up by a long train of waggons laden with stores and ammunition. In this order the column traversed the open plain which stretches to within a few hundred yards of the Kromme-Elleboog River.

Here the features of the country changed. A chain of hills, strewn with boulders, rose on the right side of the road, and beyond the river rose another chain of hills in a valley below which lay the farmhouse of Boomplaats; while beyond lay a third chain of hills cut by a neck through which the road passed to the plain beyond.

Information was received from a shepherd that the Boer forces had passed the night at Boomplaats, and Lieutenant Warren, with a couple of men, was pushed ahead to reconnoitre. He returned in a few minutes, reporting that he had seen the farmers in considerable force beyond the nearest range of hills. Lieutenant Salis, with a troop of the Cape corps, was then ordered to ride on ahead of the main column, and Sir Harry Smith himself galloped out to the front eager for a parley with the emigrant leaders in the hope of avoiding a collision. It was about 11a.m. when the party came abreast of the second hill on their right, when someone exclaimed, “There they are.” In an instant the crest was covered with men, and a volley, followed immediately by a second, greeted the party, which instantly turned and galloped back to the main body. The governor’s horse was wounded in the face, and one of his stirrup leathers cut through; Lieutenant Salis was badly wounded in two places, his horse shot dead, and three Hottentots killed.

The governor at once gave orders for the guns to move up into position, and under cover of their fire the Rifle Brigade and 45th detachments carried the position by assault under a storm of bullets. Driven from this position the farmers fell back towards the centre of their line and prepared to make another stand at the next hill.

The artillery now moved forward to a new position and the whole force advanced, the companies of the 91st regiment being sent forward to reinforce the Rifle Brigade and the 45th Reserve Regiment. Each position in turn was carried, the only obstinate resistance being encountered at a stone cattle kraal at Boomplaat’s farm. Driven from this, the farmers made a final stand on the slopes commanding the neck traversed by the road. The first attack by the Cape corps and mounted Griquas failed, but when the infantry was brought up, the position was stormed, and the enemy fled over the plain to the eastward. Such was the affair of Boomplaate, which Sir Harry Smith described as “one of the most serious skirmishes that had ever, he believed, been witnessed.”

The two companies of the 45th Reserve Battalionwere in the front of it from first to last, and lost three men killed and nineteen wounded, including Captains Blenkinsopp and Tench. Among the killed was Bugler Baylis, of the 45th, who was shot while sounding the charge at the commencement of the action. “His officer, Lieutenant Fleming, took the bugle from his body, and, slinging it on his own shoulder, thus guided his company.”

The farmhouse of Boomplaats was converted into a hospital, and the next day the troops pushed on to Bethany, a station on the Riet River. Various accounts are given of the losses of the rebel farmers, but the one generally accepted is nine killed and five wounded.

The next day the force pushed on to Bethany, a station founded by the Berlin Missionary Society in 1836. On the march the Griqua scouts captured two stragglers, who had taken part in the fight at Boomplaats. One was a deserter from the 45th named Quigley; he had sent notice of the Boer movements to the British resident, but this second piece of treachery did not save him. He was tried by court-martial at Bloemfontein and shot. The other prisoner was a young Dutch farmer named Dreyer, who was, by what appears to have been a grave error of judgment, also tried and shot.

At Bethany Sir Harry Smith issued a general order to the troops in which he congratulated them “ upon the brilliant achievement in dislodging from one of the strongest positions ever attacked the rebel force, consisting of nearly a thousand men, well armed and organised, though in a bad cause. The result has been a complete dispersion of the rebels.” It was always the custom to shoot the bullocks required for the men’s rations, and on the march from Boomplaats a Private Hunt, of the 45th, was detached for this duty. On this occasion he missed the animal’s head, and the bullet glancing off one of its horns, killed a Griqua who was standing near. He was made prisoner, and taken before Sir Harry Smith, and it having been shown that he was the first man to crown the hill at Boomplaats no more was said, and the Griqua chief was compensated and consequently pacified.

1848 The force rested at Bethany for two days, having marched forty-six miles on the day preceding their arrival there, and then resumed their march to Bloemfontein, which was reached on the 2nd of September 1848. Here Sir Harry Smith issued proclamations confiscating the property of the insurgents, and offering rewards for the apprehension of the ringleaders, £2000 being offered for Commandant-General Pretorius. From Bloemfontein the troops marched to Winburg, which was occupied without any further opposition on the 7th of September. Here Sir Harry Smith, under a salute of twenty-one guns, proclaimed the Queen’s authority from the Orange to the Yaal Rivers, and divided the territory into four districts, Bloemfontein, Caledon River, Winburg, and Yaal River. The troops soon retraced their steps to Bloemfontein, most of the force with Sir Harry Smith continuing the march across the Orange Rver. The two companies of the 45th, with one company of the Cape Mounted Rifles, and 25 men of the Royal Artillery, with three six-pounders were, however, left behind to garrison Bloemfontein, under the command of Captain Blenkinsopp, who was soon afterwards rewarded with a brevet-majority for his services.

On the 16th of September 1848 Sir Harry Smith published at Bloemfontein a farewell order to the troops, in which he declared he had “the greatest satisfaction and happiness in again recording his high sense of their gallantry as soldiers, of the patient endurance of fatigue in the long-continued marches they had made, and of their exertions in crossing rivers, and other laborious duties which attach to military operations.” “His Excellency,” said the order, “has served with many troops, but in no campaign has he been associated with more energetic officers and soldiers than those composing these detachments.”

He ordered that the troops who had been employed on Fort Victoria, chiefly the 45th regiment, should receive working pay at the rate of fourpence a day, a very unusual grant in those days; troops employed on such works, as a rule, received nothing extra. In conversation with the men of the regiment Sir Harry Smith found that two of them had forfeited their service for misconduct; he undertook and ultimately succeeded in obtaining a remission of their penalties as a reward for their gallantry at Boomplaats.

Sir Harry Smith, on his way to the Cape, visited the remainder of the reserve battalion. At Fort Hare he delivered an address to the wives of the regiment, and especially to those whose husbands had been wounded at Boomplaats, assuring them that they would be taken care of, and praising their gallantry. At Fort Cox he addressed the detachment, and, speaking of their comrades who were at Boomplaats, said, “When you write tell them how proud their commander-in-chief is of them.”

Memorial to soldiers at Fort Cox

At Fort White he spoke to the detachment as follows:- “Soldiers of Her Majesty’s Fighting Forty-fifth! I am delighted to see you; you are an honour to Her Majesty's service and to your country. Your appearance does you and your commanding officer the highest credit. You have, in the arduous services in which you have been engaged, done your duty in your old way, and behaved, as you always have done, like British soldiers. More I need not say. My men ! I love a soldier! and if you love your general as he does those under his command we cannot but get on well together. At the same time let me caution you not to abuse an indulgence. I am about to order the re-issue of spirits, but take care you don’t run into excess. I have been a soldier forty-two years and have drunk my glass of grog, but never got drunk in my life. Behave like men, and show that you can enjoy in moderation the indulgence I am about to grant you.”

Eighth Xhosa War (1850-1853)

Large numbers of Xhosa were displaced across the Keiskamma by Governor Harry Smith, and these refugees supplemented the original inhabitants there, causing overpopulation and hardship. Those Xhosa who remained in the colony were moved to towns and encouraged to adopt European lifestyles.

1850 On the 22nd of December 1850, three officers, five sergeants, and seventy-nine rank and file of the 45th had marched from Fort Hare to Fort Cox, a corporal and three men from the 45th had been sent to escort some sheep back into Fort White; they did not return when expected and it was reported that they had been killed.

Towards the end of 1850 the 45th was distributed between the garrisons at Forts Cox, Hare and White. On the 24th December 1850 Colonel MacKinnon with the 6th and 73rd regiments were travelling through a narrow rocky pass, when they were attacked and came under heavy fire by the Xhosa. Twenty-one men were killed and wounded, and a long and arduous struggle ensued before the enemy was cleared. Colonel MacKinnen fearing a spread of open insurrection marched on Christmas Day towards Fort Cox and the garrison there. Their route took them along a waggon road which led to open country. Sandile with his forces lined the heights on either side, and kept up a fire upon the column during the greater part of the march, inflicting material loss. On reaching Debe Nek, about two miles from Fort White, the force was appalled at finding horribly mutilated bodies of a sergeant and fourteen men of the 45th. Apparently they had been set upon by a large body of Xhosas, armed with assegais.

Things now began to assume a most serious aspect. On the 28th of December Colonel Somerset forwarded despatches to Sir Harry Smith at Fort Cox, but the messengers returned, the road being closed by masses of Xhosas, with the news that Sir Harry Smith was cut off and blockaded there. The next day he started off with 160 men of the 91st regiment, seventy of the Cape Mounted Rifles, and some artillerymen with a three-pounder to attempt his relief, but was met by an overwhelming force of Xhosas and driven back with heavy losses, including the gun, which, however, was recovered the next day. His retirement on Fort Hare was covered by 100 men of the 45th, under Lieutenant Griffin, sent out by Major Forbes, of the 91st, who had been left in command. Colonel Somerset’s loss during this action was twenty killed and fifteen wounded.

1851 The situation now indeed seemed desperate, and the whole frontier was thrown into a state of alarm and panic. The Xhosa police had gone bodily over to the enemy, all the military villages peopled by discharged soldiers, except Ely, had been destroyed and the inhabitants massacred; while the farmers, instead of mustering for defence, were abandoning their properties and flocking inland for protection. By the 9th of January 1851 Sir Harry Smith had escaped from Fort Cox with some men of the 45th. On 28th January a force of some two or three thousand Xhosas made a spirited attack on the 45th stationed at Fort Hare, but were repulsed with heavy losses.

1851-1856 By May 1851, the 45th was distributed as follows, excluding invalids at Cape Town and the two companies at at Bloemfontein, at Fort Hare - one subaltern, three sergeants, and thirteen rank and file. At Leeuwfontein - one subaltern, two sergeants, and thirty rank and file. At Grahamstown - one sergeant and seven rank and file. At Fort Cox, which was the headquarters of the wing, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Cooper, including one field officer, one Captain, four subalterns, eight sergeants, five drummers, and one hundred and seventy rank and file. While at Fort White, were one subaltern, two sergeants, and forty-seven rank and file. Over the coming year the 45th were involved in various skirmishes with the Xhosas. On 9th of March 1853 peace was restored in the region. By 1856 the 45th regiment had been stationed abroad for more than thirteen years, but hopes of returning home were diminished by fresh alarms in the Colony.

1858 On the 16th of February, 1858, the 45th Reserve Battalion took part in a great demonstration at the epening of the Natal Houses of Parliament. In August the men of the regiment gave a theatrical performance to raise funds for erecting a monument in the military cemetery to the non-commissioned officers and men who died in Africa since the arrival of the regiment in 1843. Early in April, 1859, the 85th regiment arrived at Pietermaritzburg to relieve the 45th, and a farewell banquet was given to the regiment by the officers of the relieving force and the rest of the garrison.

1859 On the 16th of April 1859 the regiment finally quitted Pietermaritzburg, and marched for Port Natal, completing the fifty-two miles in two and a half days, which was looked upon as one of the best short marches ever made. On the 20th of April the regiment embarked on board the “Himalaya,” which sailed two days afterwards, and touched at Port Elizabeth on the 24th to embark the 45th 1st Battalion under Lieut.- Colonel Preston. The 45th 1st Battalion and the 45 Reserve Battalion had been separated for sixteen years, and it is said that one of the senior captains of the 45th Reserve had never heard the band or seen the colours of the regiment.

Before the 45th Reserve Battalion left Fort Beaufort to embark for home the following address was presented by about 160 of the principal inhabitants to Lieutenant Colonel Preston;- “We, the undersigned inhabitants of Fort Beaufort, having learned with feelings of sincere regret that the regiment under your command is on the eve of removal from Fort Beaufort, cannot allow the present opportunity to pass without recording the high esteem in which the officers, non-commissioned officers, and men of your gallant regiment are held by the inhabitants of this town. The morality and civility of your regiment we do not believe to be surpassed by any regiment in Her Majesty’s service, and on this account we the more deeply regret that you should have been so soon removed from this station, where they are so universally and deservedly respected. With every sentiment of esteem and respect for yourself and your distinguished corps, and praying that the divine blessing may rest upon and accompany you wherever your lot may be cast, we beg to submit ourselves ”- etc., etc., etc.

HMS Himalaya.

Whilst the “ Himalaya ” was coaling at Simon’s Bay the officers of the corps had an opportunity of meeting and dining with the officers of their sister regiment, the 59th, or 2nd Nottinghamshire regiment, which had recently arrived at Cape Town from China. It is said to have been the first time that the two regiments had ever met ; nor is there any record of their meeting again until the year 1882, at Chatham, when both regiments had been deprived of their time-honoured county connection and title. The “ Himalaya” sailed from Simon’s Bay on the 30th of April 1859, and touched at St. Helena and St. Vincent, arriving at Portsmouth on the 2nd of June 1859. The regiment came home weak in numbers, many of the men having been left behind as settlers in South Africa. The men who returned wore their beards, and their bronzed, hardy, and workmanlike appearance as they marched out of Portsmouth Dockyard and won the admiration of all beholders. They were welcomed on their arrival by Major Gordon and most of the officers of the depot from Parkhurst. The officers who landed with the regiment were:- Colonel Cooper, in command ; Major and Brevet-Lieut.-Colonel Preston, Major Shaw, Captain and Brevet-Major Griffith, Captains Johnstone, Grantham, Griffin, Leach, and Burrows ; Lieutenants Gray, Close, Preston, Webber, Beamish, O’Neill, Hayward, Stubbs, and Smith ; Ensigns Kershaw and Guernsey, Lieutenant and Adjutant Blair, Paymaster- Captain Blythe, Assistant-Surgeons Cunningham and Bartley, and Bandmaster Signor Girolamo Faccioli.

The regiment, on disembarkation at Portsmouth, proceeded to Preston, where it remained until December of the same year, when it was moved to Bradford, finding detachments at Weedon, Burnley, and the Isle of Man.

1861 The 45th's stay, here, however, was not a long one, for in the succeeding June it was moved to Aldershot, where it was placed under canvas on Cove Common until the autumn, when it took up its quarters in the south camp, with one company detached in the permanent barracks, the whole battalion subsequently moving to the north camp. In the musketry returns of the year 1861 the regiment appeared as the third best shooting regiment of the army.

45th Nottingham Regiment of Foot forming a square 1860.

In the 1861 Census for Aldershot, Hampshire, James Hoare is listed with other soldiers of the 45th Regiment.

Total Number of Officers 31

Officers Families 37

Sergeants 50

Corporals 46

Drummers 19

Privates 703

Soldiers Families and Civilians 198

James Hoare is listed with the regiment in the 1861 census for Aldershot, Hampshire, unmarried, age 37, Private Soldier, born Brailes, Worcester.

Private 2561 James Hoare left the 45th Nottinghamshire Regiment of Foot (Sherwood Foresters) after 21 years and 25 days service. He had received 4 Good Conduct Badges and 2 Xhosa Campaign Medals. On his service record he states that he was going to return home to Brailes in Worcester.

Under construction

Sources

1. ↑ Baptism: "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975"
   FamilySearch (accessed 14 February 2022)
   James Hoare baptism on 12 Jan 1823 in Brailes, Warwickshire, England, United Kingdom.
2. ↑ 1841 Census: "England and Wales Census, 1841"
   Citing PRO HO 107, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.
   FamilySearch (accessed 14 February 2022)
   FindMyPast Image
   James Hoar (18) at The Square in Shipston On Stour registration district. Born in Warwickshire.

• Warwickshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1535-1812
• History of the 45th: 1st Nottinghamshire Regiment (Sherwood Foresters) by Colonel P. H. Dalbiac Late Captain 45th Regiment.
• National Army Museum - Chelsea, London
• Forces War Records
• Fold3
• Naval History and Heritage Command