emirvine

Mervyn. I agree that his past military record could be a problem - obviously the Canadian military were only too glad to get a volunteer, and didn't ask for his record. My only cousin in Northern Ireland has an old photo of a young uniformed man wearing a "pillbox" hat. He thinks it is Willy John (not the hat!). To me, the young man looks more like a bandsman, and I would guess that the Transvaal Police would wear something like a bush hat. I have emailed the Museum in Pretoria, so I can only wait.. Thank you, I do appreciate your suggestions. Maybe I'll try a long shot and try a letter to a local newspaper in Lisburn, County Down. Maurice Irvine

How can I search for members of the Transvaal Police, 1908 to 1913? I have a distant relative (William John Irvine) who deserted from the Irish guards rather than face punishment for a comment about the drunken Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII). If I have the right man he claimed, when joining the Canadian Expeditionary Force at Calgary in 1914, previous service (2 years) in the Transvaal Police. He served on the Western Front in WW1, and was discharged in Canada in June 1919, then returned to his place of birth in County Down, Ireland.