EVES, Reginald Horace
| Service Numbers: | 669, 140 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 6th Queensland Imperial Bushmen |
| Born: | Queensland, Australia, 7 August 1876 |
| Home Town: | Sandgate, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Clerk |
| Died: | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 6 October 1946, aged 70 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Toowong (Brisbane General) Cemetery, Queensland Plot: 13-41-9 |
| Memorials: |
Boer War Service
| 1 Oct 1899: | Involvement Private, 669 | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Oct 1899: | Involvement Private, 140, 2nd Queensland Mounted Infantry | |
| 13 Jan 1900: | Embarked Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 140, 2nd Queensland Mounted Infantry, AWM Boer War Unit Details, Murray p. 457 notes 2nd QMI embarked 13 Jan 1900 aboard Maori King arriving Cape Town 24 Feb 1900. | |
| 20 Dec 1900: | Discharged Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 140, 2nd Queensland Mounted Infantry, National archives Australia- Boer War Dossier, notes invalided at Wynberg, Cape Town due to suffering from Varicocele and should never have been passed for service at enlistment. Returned to Australia aboard Sophocles arrived Brisbane 13 Dec 1900, discharged 20 Dec 1900. | |
| 1 Aug 1901: | Involvement 6th Queensland Imperial Bushmen | |
| 20 Aug 1901: | Embarked Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 669, 6th Queensland Imperial Bushmen, AWM Boer War Unit Details, Murray p. 506 & 519 notes Eves part of 1st draft left Brisbane by rail 18 Aug 1901 to embark in Sydney 20 Aug 1901 aboard Britannic arriving Cape Town 22 Sep 1901. | |
| 23 Jun 1902: | Discharged Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 669, 6th Queensland Imperial Bushmen, AWM Boer War Unit Details, Murray p. 508 notes 6th QIB embarked at Durban 17 May 1902 aboard Devon returning to Australia arriving Brisbane 17 Jun 1902, disbanded 23 Jun 1902. |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Claude McKelvey
Reginald Horace Eves served twice in the South African (Boer) War. First service was as a Private S.N. 140, 2nd Queensland Mounted Infantry. Second service was as a Private S.N. 669, 6th Queensland Imperial Bushmen (1st Draft).
When he joined the 2nd QMI in 1899/1900 and his details were published with the rank and file in The Queenslander, 20 Jan 1900, it was noted he was single and his address was Jane St, Sandgate. In the Boer War Service Paybooks for the 2nd QMI, Bk 1 p. 43, it is noted he directed part of his pay to his mother (Eliza S) Mrs. G. T. Eves, Brookes St, Bowen Hills. He was invalided from from service with the 2nd QMI and returned to Brisbane for discharge on 20 Dec 1900.
A number of months later he was selected in the First Draft of the 6th QIB and embarked again for South Africa in Aug 1901. The members of the draft mainly consisted of men who had served in previous contingents in South Africa and were assembled as reinforcements for the 5th and 6th QIB contingents already in South Africa.
Men in the draft were not recorded in the original nominal roll for the 6th QIB but he is recorded in the Boer War Service Paybooks for the 5th QIB (to which he was allotted), Bk 4 p. 105 where it is noted he directed part of his pay to his mother Eliza S. Eves, George St, Bowen Hills. When the 5th QIB returned to Australia, several of the men remained in South Africa for various reasons.
The Brisbane Courier, 16 May 1902, notes when the 5th QIB embarked to return to Australia that, S.N. 669, Private Reg. H. Eves, remained in South Africa for further service. The Boer War Service Paybooks for the 5th QIB, Bk 4 p. 105, does not give a discharge or return to Brisbane date so it is assumed he was discharged in South Africa at or before the disbandment date of the 6th QIB. He was still in South Africa on 3 Dec 1902 when he married.
Reginald Horace Eves was born on 7 Aug 1876 in Queensland, a son to George Thomas Eves and Eliza Sophia Eves (nee Fowles). He married Mary Agnes Coughlan on 3 dec 1902 at Cape Town, Cape Province, South Africa.
It is unclear when they returned to Australia, but in 1914 he was in Sydney working as a timekeeper/clerk at the Government Dockyard, Cockatoo Island, when he was charged and found guilty of forgery and uttering. It appears after serving his sentence he returned to Queensland and was last living at Nudgee, Brisbane, when he passed in 1946.
(source- AWM Boer War Nominal Roll, Murray p. 462 & 519; National Archives Australia- Boer War Dossier 1st service; Qld State Archives- Boer War Service Paybooks 2nd QMI, Bk 1 p. 43, and 5th QIB, Bk 4 p. 105; "South Africa, Civil Marriage Records, 1801-1974", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6ZH5-7WY9 : Sun Mar 10 17:06:33 UTC 2024), Entry for Reginald Horace Eves and Mary Coughlan, 3 Dec 1902; Quarter Sessions: Alleged Forgery And Uttering- The Sydney Morning Herald, 21 Apr 1914, p. 7).
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