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Jack Wedderburn (John Ogilvie Maclagan Wedderburn) was a private serving in the Lothian and Borders Yeomanry which constituted the 19th Company of the 6th (Scottish) Battalion of Imperial Yeomanry during the Boer War. Jack was born on 10 April 1869 and before he joined the army, he was a Parliament House Clerk in Edinburgh.
Since its inception it had never been intended that the Yeomanry should serve overseas. However due to the heavy casualties and defeats of the regular British Forces during the first few months of the Boer War, special legislation was brought in to allow volunteers to serve abroad. Jack's Company left Edinburgh on the 22nd February 1900, sailing on the Carthaginia for Cape Town on the 24th. The letters cover the journey and his subsequent experiences during the war until his hospitalization and eventual homecoming in July 1901. |