Northman

I have been doing research on a what I think maybe a "remittance man" that went by the name of Watson. This soldier served in the Canadian military from around 1896 until 1900 when he met his death in the Yukon Territory during the Klondike Gold Rush. Tim

Hello Rupert, Yes I am still interested in your relative, sort of. I am interested in if the Lt Col had any siblings or relatives that may have came to Canada in the 1890's.

Bolye was buried in England and in 1983 his family managed to convince authorities to have his remains exhumed and reburied in Woodstock, Ontario, Canada. The original Romanian cross, urn and engraved grave slab cover were also brought back and placed over the new grave. But in time these were replaced with newer granite items. At least two biographies were written about Joe Boyle and with his adventures, as I said, a movie should be done about him. I will try to add an image of his grave on another post but I am still trying to figure it out.

Queen Marie had an affair with a Canadian Lt. Col. Joseph Whiteside Boyle in 1918/1919. You should google his name to see more. Boyle was decorated three times from Romania with one of these awards being this order. He did allot of work and negotiations for Romania after the war. This is but a tip in the iceberg of stuff he did. He was also awarded with three awards from Russia (for services in Russia), DSO from Britian, Croix de Geurre from France but nothing, not even service medals, from his home country Canada. Marie loved him so much that when Boyle died she placed a special Romania cross on his grave. She also placed a huge slab covering the grave engraved with his name and this cross and her sigil in one corner. Marie also put an granite urn in which she potted orange lillies. Each year at the anniversary of Boyle's death, a woman dressed in black was always seen at the graveside replacing the lillies. After Marie's death, the lady in black stopped coming. It is wonder that a full length movie was never done about him. No surprise there because he was a Canadian. He is a true Canadian hero.

I am hoping someone can help me locate a photo of the above noted officer. He was Canadian, serving in a Canadian unit, but later served in the Gordon Highlanders ? He was KIA in South Africa and I do have a picture of this officer's grave but what I need is any picture of him. Tim

This is great news and thank you very much. I will get to work on the newspaper search. Tim

I am looking into the bio of Lt. Col. J.K. Watson and who his family was. His father was Maj. Gen. James Watson, late 60th Rifles. What I am wanting to know if J.K. Watson had any siblings ? J.K. Watson had a colourful military career and served in Burma, India, Egypt, South Africa and 1st WW. He was close friends with Lord Kitchener. He was also decorated by France, Sweden, Belgium and Romania.

Hi Mike I got the ancestry.com articles and they look great. I do have a picture of his memorial from Dawson City. It is along with a bunch of other soldiers fro the Yukon. For some reason I can not find the snap. I might have scanned it into my computer but my printer/scanner is down right now. Tim

Mike I can be reached at scully01"at"sasktel.net. I tried the french web site for the military and even tried to translate by using their translate button. I did send a request but nothing came back. Tim

PM me your email and I can send along the links to the ancestry material (it's done through their site, so I can't just forward it.) Did you get a reply from the Archives? That is the most important, as it will give his service information. And since he was born over 120 years ago there should be no problem getting it released.

This information is excellant. Really appreicate the help from you. I was not getting anywhere with the French vets web site. I did receive an email from them, in French, verifying my email address or soemthing like this but after that I was stuck on how to navigate the web site. Anyhow what you have sent has been most helpful. If you can find out more, please send it along. Tim

Hi Chris Yes it is the same man. He was a junior officer in the NWR. By 1989 he was a Maj and a reserve officer and was attached to the Yukon Field Force in 1898. He did go to the Boer War as an officer and came back. He went back again as an enlisted man and the was MID an awarded a DCM. He did serve again in the 1st WW and was commissioned briefly as an officer but finishing out the war as a senior NCO in service or veterarnian corps. He died in Scotland in the 1930's and was listed a Lt. Col. on his death certificate. Now that is interesting and how did he obtain such a rank ? He was commissioned by three sovereigns. Tim

Many thanks Peter for the info. Much appreciated. I will have to do some research to see if there are any unit diaries for the Boer War. Might be a tall order I think. Tim