George Frederick Tatham. Major in the Natal Carbineers

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Batism 1848.

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Siege of Ladysmith.The Roslin Castle left for England Nov. 1, with invalids. The following were listed: Natal Carbineers - Maj. G.F. Tatham [The Times, 07 Nov 1901] Listed as Lieutenant (seniority 06 Apr 1889), Natal Carbineers, as at 16 Oct 1896 [Natal Almanac, Directory and Yearly Register, 1897]

Surveyor and founder of Waltham and Tatham Solrs., Agents and Surveyors. JP. Member of Natal Assembly 1897-1903. Major in the Natal Carabineers. Served with distinction in the Boer War and in particular during the Siege of Ladysmith. Took key part in the "Waggon Hill Fight" on 6.1.1900, saving key defensive position from being captured by the Boers. [Falconer tree; Kennedy tree]
"George Frederick was the second son of Edmund Tatham. Born in 1848 in England, he came to Natal with his parents when he was two years old. He was a Land Surveyor in Ladysmith, founder and senior partner in the firm Walton and Tatham, Conveyances, Law, Land and Estate Agents and Surveyors. The name survives in Christopher, Walton & Tatham, Attorneys, of Ladysmith. He was a Member of the Legislative Assembly 1897 to 1903. He served in the Zulu War 1879. He and his wife were in Ladysmith during the Siege, he serving as a Major in the Natal Carbineers, and his wife took in sick and wounded and nursed them at their residence, Vine Lodge, Ladysmith. He took a decisive part in the action of 6th January 1900 at the battle of Platrand, when General White sent him up several times in a reconnaissance balloon, using his knowledge of the area to direct the artillery and troops and to act as a guide. He also took part in the successful attack on Gun Hill on 8 December. He wrote a diary of every day of the siege, which was published by the Ladysmith Historical Society. George Frederick Tatham died in Ladysmith in 1908, having had a stroke in 1905 He was noted far and wide for his kindness of heart, and never refused to help anyone in time of trouble."

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