Capt: Charles Victor Hosken

Anyone have any more information on Charles Victor Hosken? I'm in the process of researching our family geneology - he is my great grandfather.

Hi all

I am having doubts about Charles Victor Hosken taking part in the Zulu War of 1879

From the article below, you will see that in 1899 (20 years after the Zulu War) he was a Lieutenant

and I am unable to find him locate him on the Medal Roll


The Natal Volunteer Transport Corps came into being as an emergency unit in Pietermaritzburg in August, 1899, when it became clear that war with the Transvaal and Orange Free State Republics was inevitable and imminent.

The Anglo-Boer War broke out in October, 1899, and the Natal Volunteer Force, having been mobilised on a war footing on the last day of September, had taken, the field.

There was no regular transport corps in Natal till March, 1910, but a nucleus of such a corps had existed for some years prior to the war in the form of the mule transport and organisation of the Natal Public Works Department which, when the necessity arose, as twice it did, was taken over bodily — personnel, mules, wagons, carts and gear — and was given a temporary but definite status in the Volunteer Force of which It ipso facto formed a self-contained unit. By 1910 a standing transport corps in the Natal Militia Force organisation (the force was changed from Volunteer to Militia in 1903) had been formed while the transport organisation of the Public Works Department formed an auxiliary. This militia transport in peace time was employed by the Government in civil work by arrangement with the Defence Department. In March, 1910, the corps on formation as a permanent unit, became the 2nd Mounted Brigade Train, Natal Militia Force, and continued as such till it was absorbed, in 1913, into the Union Defence Force Supply and Transport Corps.

The first commander was Captain George Geddie, the Superintendent of Transport under the Public Works Department, big in body and mind and just as big in his regard and sympathy for his personnel and his animals. His Second-in-Command was Lieut. C. Victor Hosken, similar to his chief in mind and humanity. Upon the death of Captain Geddie, Lieut. C. V. Hosken was appointed to the command as Captain. Three other officers were appointed later in the persons of Lieutenants B. T. K. Markham, Courtency Hosken and H. W. P. Hallett, who had served as N.C.O.'s in the Corps; Captain Ambrose Prior, previously of the Natal Royal Rifles, was attached later as Senior Supply Officer when the Corps also undertook supply services.

I am a descendant of Charles Victor Hosken on my mother's side. I have a number of photographs of him. He is mentioned in "Reminiscences of East Africa" by Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, where he was at one stage a prison camp commander.

Andrew

His WW1 Records from the SADF Archives may make mention of his previous service. In WW1 he was also a Director of Remounts for a period.

As a transport conductor in the AZW, especially as a civilian he may never have been on strength of a column and thus his name was never submitted for a medal. There were hundreds of civilian contractors moving material all over the area of operations and if you look at the medal roll's the number of conductors is relatively few. He was old enough to have been there.

Is he wearing his medals in any of the photographs? That should settle it.

Steve

I have been through my photographs and there are very few of him in uniform, and those that do are photos of him with his sons. The only thing I see on his chest is a military "ribbon". Not sure what that signifies.

Unfortunately, all the photos I have of him are from family albums and very few military ones. There are some in there where it appears they are in some kind of encampment and there are gentlemen in uniform on horseback. Not sure if that has anything to do with his service as prison camp commander.

You might be able to tell from the ribbons. If he received medals for the Zulu War, Boer War and WW1 he should probably have five ribbon bands of various kinds. Depends of course when the photo was taken. Can you post the photo?

Steve

Andrew, are you descended through Radclyffe M. Cadman and Natalie Ann Randles?

rusteze wrote:

You might be able to tell from the ribbons. If he received medals for the Zulu War, Boer War and WW1 he should probably have five ribbon bands of various kinds. Depends of course when the photo was taken. Can you post the photo?

Steve

Unfortunately my scanner is not doing a very good job, but I managed to get a pic from my phone.  I added one where I just zoomed into CV Hosken.

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I would say that the first ribbon on the left is the Zulu War medal, followed by the two Boer War medals (Queens and Kings), followed by something else. The uniforms are WW1 but it is probably too early for the issue of those medals. Single ribbons on the two officers on the right.

Steve

Hi Steve

I have to agree with you on the following:
The two Boer War medals (Queens and Kings),

The last medal is a 1906 Natal Native Rebellion Medal, but as to the first?

The problem with black and white photos is that they don't reflect true colours. The first ribbon appears to have two narrow light bars in the same position as the two dark bars on the Zulu medal. It's my best guess for something prior to the Boer War but I could be wrong.

Steve

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The problem I have with the first medal is the colour of the stripes.
In black and white photographs the stripes are dark in colour but these are showing up lighter than the main ribbon colour, so I am now at a loss?

Yes, I agree, but what else could it be? Need to look at more black and white photos.
Steve

But what else could it be?
Now that question has me looking into my medal book!

The only thing that I can find is the Second China War Medal but this does not fit with the rest of Charles history as he was born in 1860 and the medal was for the years 1856 - 1860.

Back to the books and internet again

His son, Victor Frederick Hosken is shown on British medal records as serving as a sergeant in the '1/NATAL CARBS'. He then joined the 7th London Regiment and went to France. He is recorded as 'killed, missing in action' on 7th October 1916. This would have been the battle at the Butte de Warlencourt on the Somme where the regiment was mown down by machine gun fire. My interest was triggered by finding a letter in my parents paperwork to Charles Victor. My parents are no longer alive, so I do not know how they had it so can not be sure of it's authenticity but I attach an image of it. I am researching my family history, and it would appear that the line on my father's side is descended from Charles Victor Hosken, hence my desire to find out more about him, particularly his life in South Africa.

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