| So far "Trooper" F. E. Ashton has eluded positive identification. My impression is that he was a member of one of the Natal volunteer units serving during the Boer War - Possibly the Natal Mounted Rifles, Natal Mounted Police or the Natal Carbineers. I have unable to find his name listed in either Goetzsche's Natal Mounted Rifles or The Natal Carbineers: 1855 -1911. To the best of my knowledge there is no comparable book dealing with the history of the Natal Mounted Police to check. Aside from his uniform proper the only other hint to his unit would be the tunic buttons. Unfortunately under magnification the detail is simply to indistinct to be of help. It is possible that he was a member of a regular British regiment but the same lack of clues hinder confirming this. Cabinet Photograph Robertson - Photographer Pietermaritzburg, Natal, South Africa c. 1902 |
