Ancestor Details
Ancestor's Name: Charles Headlam Brewer
Ancestor's date of birth: 25/11/1876
Ancestor's date of death: 1968
Cause of Death: I am not sure. Primarily old age I think
Service and Life Before the Boer War: Born at Lilydale, Tasmania. At about seventeen years old he and a brother bought their horses across to Melbourne and I believe rode to Cultower station near Willcannia where he worked for about two years. He went to the goldrush at Kalgoolie and from there went to Freemantle where he joined the 5th Western Australian Mounted Infantry.
Service Number: 288
Colony or State of enlistment: WA, Place of Enlistment: Freemantle
Unit: 5th Western Australian Mounted Infantry
Rank attained in Boer War: PTE, Date Effective: 1901
Highest Rank attained (if served after war): No evidence of post war military service
Murray Page: 421
Contingent: Fifth Western Australian
Ship: Devon, Date of Sailing: 06/03/1901
Memorial details: Buried Palmerston North New Zealand.
Awards/Decorations/Commendations: Queen's South Africa Medal with Transvaal, South Africa 1901 and South Africa 1902 clasps.
Personal Characteristics: Detail not provided
Reasons to go and fight: Detail not provided
Details of service in war: April 1901 - April 1902 in east Transvaal including defeat near Brakpan (Grobelaar Recht) where three dead (16 May 1901). I had two uncles who also served in South Africa . One was George Brewer who was something to do with pay affice and he enlisted in NSW. The third member of the family was William Brewer Who enlisted in the 1st Tasmanian Bushmen.
Service and life after the Boer War: My father and his two brothers all migrated to NZ shortly after their return from South Africa. My father married Eva Johnston and they had five children including three sons who also all served in WWII. He sied in Palmerston North, New Zealand in 1968.
Descendant Details
Name of Descendant: Ian Headlam Brewer, Bathurst NSW
Relationship to Ancestor: Son
