Ancestor Details

Name of Ancestor: Robert (Richard in Murray) Logan Freebairn

Ancestor's date of birth: 21/06/1880

Ancestor's date of death: 1939

Cause of Death: Brain Tumor?

Service and Life Before the Boer War: Had gone to South Africa to seek his fortune in the Diamond mines.

Service Number: 34487, 33879 and 2648

Colony or State of enlistment: Not Australia Place of Enlistment: Duban and Cape Town

Unit: South African Prince of Wales' Light Horse and 3^rd NSW Imperial Bushmen.

Rank attained in Boer War: TPR, Date Effective: 1899

Highest Rank attained (if served after war): No evidence of post Boer War service

Murray Page: 152, incorrectly listed as 'Richard'

Contingent: Fifth New South Wales

Ship: Travelled privately to South Africa

Memorial details: Details not provided.

Awards/Decorations/Commendations: Queen's South Africa Medal with Belmont, Cape Colony, Orange Free State, and Transvaal clasps; King's South Africa Medal with South Africa 1901 and South Africa 1902 clasps.

Personal Characteristics: Detail not provided

Reasons to go and fight: He was part of the ready made enlistments into irregular forces available to Britain from the thousands of "Uitlanders" that took refuge in Natal.

Details of service in war: Records show two Regimental numbers with PWLH [34487 AND 34879]. London Public Records Office Medal Roll for PWLH show entitlement to Queens SA Medal with clasps Belmont, Cape Colony, Orange Free State and South Africa 1901.They also show he was present at actions at BELFAST but no clasp!These were from his PWLH service. After completing his final enlistment with PWLH he enlisted as a reinforcement in the 3NSWIB at Cape Town, Reg. No. 2684. Australian National Archives show a further entitlement to SA 1902 and Transvaal and the Kings South African Medal with two clasps. As the Battle of Belmont took place on the 23 Nov 1899 he obviously had a previous enlistment with another unit to gain that clasp. This also shows the required length of service for the KSA. I have the originals of his last Discharge Certificate from the PWLH at Pietermaritzburg and from the 3NSWIB at Sydney.

Service and life after the Boer War: Returned to Australia on the Drayton Grange, 12 July 1902. No further details provided; he is not recorded as having served with the Australian Army in World War 1.

Descendant Details

Name of Descendant: Robert Freebairn, Scotts Head NSW
Relationship to Ancestor: Grandson

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