| Signed to his mother on the reverse of this Real Photo Post Card as Fred this soldier has indicated that he was member of the Eastern Mounted Rifles. I believe that when Fred mentioned the Eastern Mounted Rifles he may actually have been referring to the Eastern Rifles which were a Transvaal volunteer unit first raised in 1902. Headquartered at Standerton the unit was to be commanded by Sir Hugh Archibald Wyndham. The unit lasted until 1907 when it was merged with other Transvaal volunteer units to form the Southern Mounted Rifles. During the 1906 Bhambatha Rebellion the Eastern Rifles contributed 33 men (out of a complement of 685) to the Zululand Field Force. Fred's splendid uniform gives no hint as to his rank which would have been a great help in pinpointing his full identity. Real Photo Post Card Unknown Photographer Transvaal, South Africa c. 1905 |
| The reverse inscription written by Fred to his mother. In it he mentions Ruby who seems to have been his wife as well as their children. As no address is present and he wrote on both sections of the card's reverse it is an educated assumption that this card was either mailed in an envelope or included inside a parcel. |