What happened to ernest?

[naomiatt]

Ernest Phillip (or Philip) BERLYN was the 9th child of Moses BERLYN and Leah BERLYN (nee LEWIS). He was born Dec 1878 in Birmingham, aged 2 in the 1881 UK census. He was a scholar aged 12 in the 1891 census, still in Birmingham.
He left Liverpool for Philadelphia in 1895, and in 1897 left the US for Cape Town via Southampton. He served in the Boer War with Brabant's Horse and then Kitchener's Fighting Scouts. He was sent as a representative to the 1902 Coronation and discharged in London with a military pension.

Between 1907-1913 he appears to have been in New Zealand, arriving on the Corinthic from Capetown, Sep-1907.

He must have returned to South Africa some time later as there is a Commonwealth war grave for Clive Gerald BERLYN, aged 20, Corporal 1st Royal Natal Carbineers, who died 22/02/1941. Clive was the son of Ernest P. BERLYN and Ethelwyn M. BERLYN, ward of Mr G.D.M. BOWLES, of Harding, Natal.

Would be very grateful if anyone can help fill the blanks in Ernest's life; notably the period from 1902-1907 and especially after 1913.

[Jessbowbag]

Wonder if his father dying ( I am assuming here) in 1914 saw him in UK ?

[naomiatt]

Hi Jess - didn't think of that - funnily enough, I've just found this in the SA Archives - DEPOT KAB
SOURCE PIO
TYPE LEER
VOLUME_NO 52
SYSTEM 01
REFERENCE 4139E
PART 1
DESCRIPTION IMMIGRATION PAPERS. ERNEST PHILIP BERLYN.
STARTING 1930
ENDING 1930

Database: Cape Town Archives Repository


http://www.national.archsrch.gov.za/...04&DN=00000017 I'm not quite sure how to apply for a file, or at least get to look...doesn't seem easy to find marriages etc

[WendyP]

Hi Naomi

Have you seen the articles on the same name in the NZ papers past website http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast

If not then visit the site it may explain why you can't pin him down in let s say 1910. When on the first page that loads select exact phrase then type Ernest Berlyn dont bother with the inital letter. You should then get abt 6 hits. You can then try with just his surname you get a few more hits then, but again it may not be your man it could be coincidence.

[naomiatt]

Hi Naomi

Have you seen the articles on the same name in the NZ papers past website http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast

If not then visit the site it may explain why you can't pin him down in let s say 1910. When on the first page that loads select exact phrase then type Ernest Berlyn dont bother with the inital letter. You should then get abt 6 hits. You can then try with just his surname you get a few more hits then, but again it may not be your man it could be coincidence.

Hi WendyP - yes, have seen all the info - and that's the mystery. Is it the same person? He had a prestigious army career and was an articulate man according to a letter he wrote in the JC...did he suffer from pts perhaps? land up in NZ....and then???? Not found a marriage, well, so far, in
NZ....he had another son as well, both born in SA, so he must have returned to S. Africa before 1920... if he served his full sentence he could have been in the UK in 1914 and in S Africa before 1920.

[WendyP]

according to ancestor.co.za site the named mother of Clive passed away in 1921. Is this info that you've added

[WendyP]

this is the other article I saw that I didn't see on papers past



hopefully it's big enough to read the article

[naomiatt]

Thanks WendyP - where did you see that article?

I looked in http://www.ancestor.co.za/search.asp - no, it wasn't me - I've not seen the site before..haven't had too many dealings with SA...so this is all a bit new to me - did notice that it says ETHELWYN MARY BERLYN WILLOWS ERNEST PHILIP 1921 - Do you know if that means that Ethelwyn's maiden name was Willows. or if Ernest had changed his surname to Willows? Thanks.

[marymog]

Hi

I saw that one it is a death

ETHELWYN MARY BERLYN maiden name WILLOWS husband ERNEST PHILIP died 1921

mm

[anniern]

He is part of a very full public member tree on ancestry. It gives a second marriage to Edith Stella Torque with a daughter Phillippa and a death in Rhodesia. It would be worth contacting the owner of this tree if you have not done so.

Ancestry has photos of Ernest and his wife and daughter.

[naomiatt]

Hi mm and Anne - thanks for the clarification and for the info. I don't have access to Ancestry, and didn't realize there was info on there.
Seems that between us all, might have found some further details to add.

[naomiatt]

Just sent a message to the owner of the tree.

[mangelwurzel]

I have just joined, and I suspect I have been corresponding with you already. I am actually his grandson!

[naomiatt]

Hello mangelwurzel (great name!!) - wow, that's great. I'm not sure that we've communicated directly, but am in contact with a relative of yours in New Zealand, and also have contacts for your family in Australia. If you can send me a personal message with your private email, I'll introduce you all.
To do that, click on my name, and you can click to send a message.

[mangelwurzel]

Perhaps some of you out there can help with the mystery of Ernest's medals from the Boer War. I recently recovered these when going through my father's stuff after his death. He had presumably taken care of them after my mother died. There are three of them, two of which are readily identifiable as the QSA and KSA respectively. The third has no clasp, but it does have his name E.P. Berlyn engraved on the rim, together with K.F.S., which refers to Kitchener's Fighting Scouts (formed in 1901 and disbanded after the war was over). The medal itself is the medal from the Zulu campaign from 1877-79, which patently could not have been earned by Ernest as he was only born in 1878. I wonder whether he could have nicked it and had the previous owner's name skimmed off and replaced. But then the correspondence in the NZ newspapers indicates he won a Distinguished Conduct Medal in the field, although his name does not appear on the official list for this particular brand. No sign of that one amongst my collection, nor of the Coronation medal which he ought to have been entitled to wear as he was selected to appear at the coronation on behalf of his unit, the KFS. It's all a bit of a mystery and I would love to sort it out.

[naomiatt]

Hi - I don't have experience with the medal side of things......... but have sent you a pm re; a lady in NZ. I'm not sure if you subscribe to JGen?
Recently there was some info on there about the Boer War..in the SA SIG...http://www.jewishgen.org/Safrica/ - it will be in their message archives.
There is also this general write up http://www.jewishgen.org/SAfrica/commando.htm

[WendyP]

HI

Ernests name appears here on this site detailing the KFS medal

http://www.britishmedals.us/files/127kfs.htm

Berlyn Ern Philip 1527 Corporal/King's Sergeant 1KFS Pretoria 19/8/01 to Coronation discharged London

[WendyP]

He is also mentioned on this site in connection with KFS. If you use Edit on your toolbar and Find on this page from the drop down list an enter Berlyn you can skip straight to your man

http://www.angloboerwar.com/Other/army_mentions.htm

[mangelwurzel]

Thanks. Slowly building up the picture, but still no solution to the mystery of the medals.

[naomiatt]

Do any names familiar to you appear in here -

http://www.northeastmedals.co.uk/

There is a Zulu War discussion group - http://1879zuluwar.talk-forums.com/1...dal-f20-50.htm and Boer War Forum's -
http://www.victorianwars.com/viewforum.php?f=17 and http://boerwar.forumotion.com/
I wonder if they can give an insight..