There’s an invisible gap in the 1901 census. In addition to the Regular British troops involved, thousands of Volunteers found themselves still in South Africa fighting in the Second Boer War (also known as the Anglo-Boer War, 1899–1902). Could your missing male ancestor have been among them?
The conflict was between the British Empire and the Orange Free State and the Transvaal, independent Boer republics. They’d defeated Britain previously in the First Boer War (1880–1881), ruining plans to incorporate them into a South African union. The discovery of gold and diamonds in their territory caused a huge influx of Britons to work in the Boer mines, but they weren’t allowed the vote. Tensions mounted, and the Boers purchased modern weapons and pre-emptively invaded South Africa in October 1900, hoping for a swift victory. Forced to face machine-guns, accurate rifles and modern artillery for the first time, British
