Solly, trooper 10th Contingent, Collingwood
Photo Collection Reference Number
176977
Description
Full length outdoor portrait of a man with a rifle and what is thought to be a swag on a stick, and a wicker beer carrier with a Speight & Co label.
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Object detail
Object Type
Media/Materials Description
Glass plate.
Media and Materials
Measurements
6 x 8 inches
Collection
Subject Category
Public comments
Trooper John (known as "Jack") Solly (1871-1906. South Africa Service # SA9330. Served 10th (South Island) Contingent. 2nd Regiment, New Zealand Mounted Rifles - at South Africa (1902). Born 1871 - at Takaka, Nelson District. Son of Edward and Mary (nee Moore) Solly. Attested for South Africa war service 14 April 1902 -aged 31 years. Embarked from New Zealand - for war service at South Africa - 19 April 1902. Served at South Africa for 127 days (1902). Returned to New Zealand 1902. In 1904 he married Mary Scrimgeour. The couple lived at Collingwood, Nelson District. Following South Africa war service Trooper Solly suffered from debilitating ill-health - believed to be tuberculosis - and possibly contracted during war service. John Solly died 18 November 1906 - at Takaka - aged 35 years. The following is his Obituary from Papers Past (TC19001122.2.17 Takaka). Obituary [4] Quite a gloom was cast over the township on Sunday when it became known that poor Jack Solly had passed away. Deceased was a very well-known, and equally well-liked young man, who served his country in the late Boer war. Returning to his native place, he married and settled down, but he had evidently suffered from the hardships and exposure of the war, and consumption got a hold on him. For a time his wife and friends had hopes of his recovery, but latterly it was only too apparent that his days were numbered. After a trial at the Consumptive Hospital, which for a time really seemed to benefit him, he returned home, but since he got rapidly worse, and the end could have been nothing but a happy release from suffering. Deceased has always been an active and useful working member of various athletic clubs, and he will be much missed by a great number of friends. Great sympathy is felt for his poor wife, who has nursed him and tended him through his long illness. The Takaka Mounted Rifles accorded him a military funeral. For the full military record of Trooper John Solly refer Archway (New Zealand Archives).
- Jenifer Lemaire posted 4 years ago.