CHRISTIE, James William
| Service Number: | 491 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Trooper |
| Last Unit: | 3rd Victorian Bushmans Contingent |
| Born: | Braybrook, Victoria, Australia, 26 February 1870 |
| Home Town: | Cheltenham, Bayside, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Melbourne Grammer School, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Surveyor's Assistant |
| Died: | Enteric Fever, Rustenberg, South Africa, Rustenburg, North West Province, South Africa, 7 December 1900, aged 30 years |
| Cemetery: |
Old Cemetery, Rustenburg, South Africa |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Boer War Memorial (Queen Victoria Square), Brighton War Memorial, Cheltenham St. Matthew's Anglican Church Private Will Christie Memorial Plaque, Melbourne Grammar School Anglican Chapel of St. Peter Boer War Memorial Window |
Boer War Service
| 1 Oct 1899: | Involvement Private, 491 | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Oct 1899: | Involvement Private, 491, Victorian Citizen Bushmen | |
| 10 Mar 1900: | Embarked Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 491, 3rd Victorian Bushmans Contingent, Embarked from Port Melbourne on "Euryalus". Disembarked at Beira in Portuguese East Africa on 3 April 1900. Entrained to Rhodesia to join 3rd Australian Bushmen Regiment R.F.F. before invading the Transvaal. | |
| 3 Apr 1900: | Involvement Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Trooper, 491, Relief of Mafeking | |
| 4 Aug 1900: | Involvement Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Trooper, 491, 3rd Victorian Bushmans Contingent, Elands River | |
| 7 Dec 1900: | Discharged Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Trooper, 491, 3rd Victorian Bushmans Contingent, D.O.D. |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Maurice Kissane
James William Christie was born in Melbourne in 1870. He was well educated for he had graduated from Melbourne Grammer School. He had a good job with good prospects at the time he enlisted. James was an Assistant Surveyor in the Metropolitan Board of Works. He must liked working outdoors. For he was a good horsemen and a good shot. He was likely influenced by disptaches from the front that newspapers received via undersea cable. Dispatches were published to sell newspapers. However, it did have the desired effect to get the public behind the war. For the Boers had attacked the British Colonies and besieged Mafeking plus other outposts of Empire. The "Bushies" were raised to counter Boer tactics. James was almost Thirty when he passed the strict riding and shooting tests. He would have seen it as his duty to Queen and Empire to offer his services. Though he likely wanted to test his mettle on the veld. He would have studied the classics in grammer school. Hence he would have known that war service changes a man. This was his chance to embark on a quest. He was Thirty when he first saw action. The Boers ambushed his unit at Koster River on 22 July 1900. Four KIA plus nine MIA. The Boers targeted 3VBC horses with their long range mausers to immobilize and dismount his comrades. James survived the Boer bullets but later fell victim to enteric fever. Disease was the real enemy that claimed about one half of our Boer War casualties. James died at Rustenburg, not far from where he first faced Boer bullets. He died from that insidious desease on 7th December 1900. His war service qualified him for the Queens South Africa Medal. James rests in the Old Rustenburg Cemetery, far from Melbourne. Lest We Forget.
Bio sketch from "That Ragged Mob" page 446 cited.
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