Ancestor Details
Ancestor's Name: Granville Thomas Cooper
Ancestor's date of birth: 03/06/1878
Ancestor's date of death: 13/10/1900
Cause of Death: Bullet wound to stomach on the 12/10/1900.
Service Number: 399
Colony or State of enlistment: NSW, Place of Enlistment: Boorowa
Unit: D Squadron NSW Citizens Bushman
Rank attained in Boer War: TPR, Date Effective: On enlistment
Highest Rank attained (if served after war): Did not survive the Boer War.
Murray Page: 75 , 204
Contingent: Third NSW Contingent
Ship: Atlantian, Date of Sailing: 26/02/1900
Memorial details: Interred at Molopo Cemetery and later Zeerust south Africa. War Memorial Obelisk at Pudnam Street Boorowa NSW. Australian War Memorial, Canberra.
Decorations: Queen's South Africa Medal with Rhodesaia and Transvaal.
Personal Characteristics: Loyal and Adventurous.
Reasons to go and fight: Good Horseman.
Details of service in war: Served from April 1900 as a unit scout in Rhodesia, west Transvaal including defence of Elands River Post (4-16 August 1900), and in northern Transvaal. During an ttempt to sieze arms at the Molopo river near Pretoria, was wounded in the stomach, on 12 October 1900, he died the next day.
Writing from Louwes Farm on the 15th October, Trooper T. E. Wootten in a letter to his father (Mr W. J. E. Wootten) gives the following account of the engagement in which the son of Mr. Sol. Cooper, of Goba Creek, met his death:-
"We had a narrow escape a few days ago. Twenty men were sent out patrolling about 10 miles from here. They had to go to a house to get some tools the Boer men use for mending rifles. While they were at the house some shots were fired, and they rushed out to find about 200 Boers surrounding them - in fact, there was only one way out. Orders were given for every man to ride for his life. A man named Beaumont was the first to come down. His horse was shot dead and he was wounded in the arm and taken prisoner. The next to come down was Cooper, a Burrowa boy (you will remember his people). He fared worse than Beaumont. His horse was shot and a bullet struck him in the arm, making a nasty gash. Cooper turned round and saw a big Dutchman, about 40 metres away, galloping down to try and cut him off from the other fellows; but I am glad to say he did not come much farther, as Cooper put a bullet in his heart and he fell off his horse dead. Cooper then threw away his rifle and started to run. Sergeant Hurley, seeing him coming, went back to pick him up. Just as he got off his horse another bullet struck Cooper in the stomach, and the poor fellow died a few hours afterwards. The next day 200 of us went and cleared the Boers all out. We have had great praise from Lord Errol."
Service and life after the Boer War: Did not survive the Boer War.
Descendant Details
Name of Descendant: Valda Brown, Boorowa NSW
Relationship to Ancestor: Niece
