Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Josiah Salt, Edward's father, was a justice of the peace and the leader of the Quaker Charitable and religious misison on Achill Island,County Mayo, originally founded by Edward Nangle in 1847, for 23 years until his death in 1904. Josiah was by all accounts a most charitable man, heavily involved in helping the poor in Achill.

Josiah would have been well aquainted with leaders of republicans and land reform movements in Ireland, including Michael Davitt. Though we cannot say what his political views were, he clearly loved Achill and its people. He was a trustee of a fund established after a drowning disaster in the 1894, when 37 islanders lost their lives crossing the strait from Achill to Westport on a boat called the VICTORY - as they headed for Scotland for jobs in the potato picking industry.

Josiah had married Frances Colthurt who joined Josiah in Achill. They arrived in or arround 1880 with three children in tow - Ethel, Harold George and Edward Hugh who were 7 and 4 and 3 respectively. It is also likely that Frances was in the early stages of another pregancy as you will soon read.

Not long after arriving in Achill, in circumstances we cannot know for certain, Harold, aged 5, died. Most probably the harsh climate and environmental conditions on Achill at the time took their toll on the child and also in a time when infant mortaility was high even among the more fortunate in society. What is probable, however, is the incredible grief of his mother that the little Edward would have witnessed and the incomprehensible loss of his own best friend?

Soon thereafter, Norah was born, and though she would never get to know her eldest brother Harold, perhaps she was a special replacement for him? Could Edward have thought as much? Certainly, Norah must have been especaily fond of Edward and he of her. Later we will learn why.

The Salts stayed in Achill and their remaining children grew up there, running thruogh the heath, exploring the vast beaches, and probably enjoying the arrival of tourists in summer who came for fishing and hunting. It is well likely that, among the many visitors, Edward Hugh might have heard stories of adventure and a world to explore, even most likely of Africa and he may certainly have already learrned to hunt and shoot, since shooting seal, eagle, grouse, pheasant and other such wildlife was a common sport in the tourist season such as it was.

By the start of the new century, Ethel was already in her early twenties. She married in westport in 1900 - an occassion of joy no doubt for the family, but perhaps also a moment of melancholy without Harold and most likely already without Edward Hugh!

Edward had arrived in Oz and gone through training well in advance possibly up to a year earlier., but not much earlier.. and here is why. Edward would have been aware of the conditions for enlistment to the QIB. Enlistees were required to be good shots, good riders and practical bushmen of experience, to have good eyesight and hearing, and otherwise to be of "sound" health. Age 21 to 38 years, chest measurement 86 centimetres, height 1.7 to 1.8 metres; weight, not over 74 kilos; to undergo a physical examination and to be unmarried for preference. So, clearly his youth on Achill Island was of some use and benefit to his ambition for greater adventure. Additionally, he would have turned 21 in 1898, in all probability he had left Achill in his late teens or certainly by the time he was 21 and of course by the time Ethel was marrying he was most likely already in Australia.

The 500 or so 5th Queensland Imperial Bushmen disembarked at Port Elizabeth, South Africa, 1st April 1901 after a two month voyage across the Indian ocean aboard the Templemore....a name that would have been familiar to Edward and other Irish enlistees aboard! By the 11th April, the 5th QIB had arrived close to the frontline in the Transvaal just north of Pretoria. It is here that Edward would spend that last 6 months of his life, under the command of Brigaddier general Plummer.

By all accounts, all of Edwards experience in the 5 QIB was one of continuous fighting and action. At the same time, the troop was marred by a lack of horses with hundreds lost due to fatigue and illness and poor preparation for their replacements. By December 1901, the troop was already well used to travelling on foot by bicycle or on carts and in terrain that would have been well familiar to Edward - barren, mountainous rough terrain - a lot like Achill.

It was in these conditions that the 5th QIB got entangled in an affray with the Boer. By all accounts, the battle was focused on the Boer trying to capture a heavy armour gun called a POM POM. At a crucial point in the attack, the tow horses were shot forcing the QIB to retreat and focus on protecting the gun from a distance until reinforcments arrived. However, reinforcements were late coming and the Boers managed to encircle the 5th QIB from the rear trapping a group of NCOs who put up a brave resistance. But at close quarters, 16 were killed. Private Corporal Edward High Salt, a rector's son from Achill Island, County Mayo, Ireland died at Onverwacht, Transvaal on 4 January 1902. It was the last battle of the 2nd Boer war. Edward was just 24 years old.

Edwards remains lie after reinternment in 1962 at a dedicated military grave in Ermelo, Mpumulanga, some three hours east of Pretoria along with other fallen comrades. It is dificult to find traces of surviving relatives though they are surely out there! Edward's mother and sister Norah are recorded as living in Bristol in 1911. Frances, Edwards mother died in 1913. Norah's surname is also recorded as William in the 1911 census. She was married and had a one year old Infant son, whom she named Edward Hugh.

Who knows if Edward's final resting place has ever been visited by a family member. However, this is where I come in. I am from Achill Island. At the time Ethel married in Westport my grandfather 'William' Fahy was sergeant in the RIC in the town. He would most certainly have known Josiah and most likely would have wished the family well on the marriage of their daughter. As I write this, I find myself in Pretoria and with a chance to visit Ermelo and so, with that in mind, and mindful of the connections, I will be so cheeky as to visit in the name of Edward's family and the people of Achill with whom he spent his youth and pay my respects to the Achill Bushman!