George William Garnham was born on 17 Sept 1871. He enlisted in the 5th Dragoon Guards on 9 July 1886 in Canterbury and traveled to Ireland to join his regiment, then stationed at the military camp at the Curragh. The regiment returned to England in July 1890 and departed from Portsmouth for India on 6 September 1893, arriving in Meerut on the 11th of October.
The regiment's stay in India was typical for a peacetime tour: long parades and, on occasion, stifling heat, with numerous servants to attend to the tedious daily chores. Yet for a few, this routine was briefly interrupted by a campaign to Afghanistan.
In one of the many expeditions sent over the years to punish the warring Afghans, the Tirah Expeditionary Force invaded over the Khyber Pass in October 1897 to attack tribal leaders who were raiding into the northwestern frontier of India. To support this force, a contingent of one officer, three sergeants, and fifteen Other Ranks from the 5th Dragoon Guards were dispatched. The campaign was difficult and involved several severe engagements with the Afghans. Still, the terrain was not suited for cavalry and the soldiers from the 5th Dragoons Guards primarily served with the Field Hospital or provided mounted escort.
The Tirah Expeditionary Force completed their campaign in April 1898. For his service in Afghanistan, Garnham received the 1895 India Medal. Interestingly, he does not appear on the existing medal roll but the 3 March 1900 issue in the Leamington Spa Courier confirms that he served on the Expedition.
The 5th Dragoon Guards were stationed in India when they were ordered to proceed to South Africa on 8 September 1899. Although the Boer War did not officially begin until October, it was apparent for some time that hostilities were inevitable. The 5th Dragoon Guards were among the first regiments to arrive, with D Squadron landing on the 11th October and taking part in the charge at Elandslaagte (21 October 1899). The remainder of the regiment was delayed because of cases of anthrax discovered among the horses and did not land until the 26th of October. It was on the 30th of October when Lieutenant John Norwood received the only Victoria Cross ever awarded to the 5th Dragoon Guards for rescuing a wounded soldier under heavy enemy fire.
Later, the regiment retreated to Ladysmith as part of the force under the command of General Sir George White where they were besieged from 3 November 1899 until relieved on 28 February 1900. During this time, the regiment made a number of sorties from Ladysmith but most of their casualties were due to illness.
Several officers and men from the 5th Dragoon Guards and other British Cavalry regiments served with the Imperial Light Horse and Garnham was one of them. He was seconded to the 1st Battalion and served with the Imperial Light Horse from 8 December 1900 until 25 March 1902.
The Imperial Light Horse were formed in South Africa in 1899 and fought extensively against the Boers. The served along side the 5th Dragoon Guards during the siege of Ladysmith, most at Wagon Hill on 6 January 1900 when the Boers severely attacked the defenses of Ladysmith in an attempt to defeat the British and capture the city. During the attack, 26 officers and men were killed and 33 wounded.
After the siege of Ladysmith was lifted on 28 February 1900, the Imperial Light Horse continued to battle the Boer. While seconded to the regiment, Garnham repeatedly saw heavy action against the Boers. These included engagements on 6 January 1901 near Naauwpoort (where the ILH suffered 22 killed and 28 wounded), 22 March 1901 near Geduld (6 killed and 18 wounded from the ILH), the 23rd and 24th of March (140 prisoners captured with 22 dead and 32 wounded Boers), 18 December 1901 near Bethlehem (when an ambush by General Christiaan De Wet backfired and resulted in the awarding of a Victoria Cross to the ILH), and 8 April 1902 (36 prisoners captured with 51 dead and 40 wounded Boers).
The Imperial Light Horse performed splendidly throughout of the Boer War and received a total of four Victoria Crosses for their service. For his Boer War service, Garnham received the Queen's South Africa Medal with 2 clasps and the King's South Africa Medal with 2 clasps.
86 time-expired soldiers from the 5th Dragoon Guards had voluntarily extended their service to go to South Africa and Garnham appears to have been one of them. When the regiment was ordered back to India on 19 March 1902, his service commitment was fulfilled and Garnham took the opportunity to receive his discharge from the 5DG in South Africa. Garnham remained in South Africa and was appointed Regimental Sergeant Major of the Imperial Light Horse on 19 October 1902.
In December 1905, the Government of Natal had instituted a new tax on the native population, causing much anger and unrest. The situation continued to deteriorate in early 1906, culminating in the Government declaring martial law on 10 February 1906. Several small field forces were created from the Natal militia to quell the violence. As the unrest continued, the Government of Transvaal sent the 500 men of Transvaal Mounted Rifles to support Natal and this force arrived in May and sent into Zululand.
The Transvaal Mounted Rifles were formed in Johannesburg on 26 April 1906 from carefully selected volunteers from the Transvaal volunteer regiments, with A Squadron formed by officers and men of the Imperial Light Horse. With his campaign experience in the 5th Dragoon Guards and the Imperial Light Horse, Garnham was ideally qualified to serve as the Regimental Sergeant Major of the Transvaal Mounted Rifles.
Initially, the South African forces performed sweeps in an attempt to locate the rebels. After this proved ineffective, they conducted raids on local villages trying to starve the rebels into submission. When this policy proved no more effective than the first, the methods were altered to use coordinated attacks to surround areas where the rebels were thought to be.
This culminated in early July in a series of battles initiated when the Transvaal Mounted Rifles located a body of over 8000 rebels on July 1st. On the following morning, the Transvaal Mounted Rifles were attacked by 300 rebels but these were easily defeated and over 60 of the enemy were killed. Later that some morning, the Transvaal Mounted Rifles were again attacked by a force of over 1000 but this was eventually beaten back as well.
After another action on July 3rd and with the rebels suffering more than 1000 casualties over the previous three days, there was a brief lull in the fighting. However, when another enemy force of 600 was discovered on July 8th, they were surrounded and slaughtered in the ensuing battle. The situation settled down considerably after this and Transvaal Mounted Rifles were disbanded at the end of July.
Total European casualties for the entire war were 30 dead and 37 wounded while the natives were estimated to have lost more than 1400 warriors. For his service during the rebellion, Garnham was brought to notice for good work and received the Natal Rebellion Medal with one clasp. Approximately 10,000 Natal Rebellion Medal were awarded.
Records held at the National Archives of South Africa indicate that Garnham wounded himself in a mishap on 22 April 1910 while serving as Assistant Range Officer during a meet. While testing the pull of a revolver trigger, Garnham accidentally shot himself in the chest, with the .455 bullet lodging under the right shoulder blade. The bullet was successfully removed and Garnham recovered within a few weeks. Garnham was assessed to be grossly negligent and granted no compensation as a result. Garnham returned to duty, retiring as Regimental Sergeant Major of the Imperial Light Horse on 4 July 1913.
[The entry for George William Garnham's father, George Garnham, can be viewed here.]