Return to Civilian Life.
Heroes Remember
Return to Civilian Life.
Transcript
Picture of six soldiers standing or on a fence.
Mr. Weaver remembers what it was like when he returned to civilian life and getting a job as a roughrider. He also talks about a girl he was acquainted with before the war and how they kept writing to each other and later got married. Interviewer: So, before we close off, what happened to you after the Boer War? What did you do? Gosh, it's funny. Well, I went back to Queensland as I say and I went back to the Old Country, me own hometown, went back to see me mother. Interviewer: Of the Old Country, do you mean a... (England) Oh, your originally from England! (Oh yeah.) Oh I see, I see. I should have made that clearer at the beginning. I went back to see me mother. Well there was a little girl there, that I was acquainted with, just a little girl, we were little boy and little girl together. We, well young, young teenager andSoldier holding his rifle on horseback.
I kept writing to her and she kept writing to me all the way, all over. I had, look I had must of had five or six hundred letters that I, followed me all around the world and back here to Canada. They followed me all around the world and back here to Canada. And, well, I called on this little girl, the place where she was in Bray, by Virginia Water, near London. And we said, "Well, we oughta get married!" So we went and got married. Not then, not right away. I went and got a job. After I'd beenSoldier posing with rifle slung.
home, seen me mother and she cried, boy she cried, she cried. Boy, the tears come down her face, poor mums, and dad, and... Well I got a job as a roughrider, down in South Wales and I went down there and started breaking in horses and on the steeplechase and point to point racing. I was breaking in horses for that and, well, then Ole Jake Smith that I was hired with, him and I had a set to. One day, I broke a horse in, was breaking a horse in, a beautiful horse and we sold it. At Caves Repository in Birmingham. And this horse nobody could ride, and he'd had hisPicture of a man standing and a woman sitting, holding flowers.
ride. I was hired just to ride this horse and break him in. A beautiful horse, lovely black, jet black, a beautiful horse. And I broke this horse in. After he was broken in, Jake would ride him once in awhile, never, (inaudible) bother. So, that was alright. So Jake says to me one day, he says, "I'm going to take them two horses up to Caves Repository," he says, "I want you to go up with me," he says, "and show em off." So I says, "Alright." So we went up to Caves Repository and we showed the horse off and he sold a horse, sold both of them, got a good price for them. Well about a month after that the horse come backThree Veterans standing in front of war memorial.
He had a telegram come to the house, for his house to meet the horse that was in the horsebox down to Tamer down to Bridge End. And we met the horse. This was a black horse. He gotta refund the money. The horse, (inaudible) the fella, the goon, was a looking after him and started cutting up some trick with him, and that horse wouldn't stand for any tricks. And, he went back to his old, bold, bold ways. Boys he'd tear the ass out of your pants. Well, gosh he was, and look he'd get up and sometimesBoer War Veteran talking with current service men.
he'd come right back on ya. He was a bad horse, but he was, I broke him in, but he was tame after. But he come back and Jake and I, I was to get so much money for breaking him in. Especially this one horse. And after he was broken in and he got him returned he didn't give me any money. Not the money he was bargained for. So him and I fell out and I left him. And then I went to Dr. Hadley, yes, Dr. Hadley and there, from there I got married. And I went down to the bride's home and we got married and then we come back there and I was withBoer War Veteran sitting on a chair, holding a document.
Dr. Hadley there for a couple of years and we had two children, Francis and Connie.Description
Mr. Weaver remembers what it was like when he returned to civilian life and getting a job as a roughrider. He also talks about a girl he was acquainted with before the war and how they kept writing to each other and later got married.
Frank Weaver
Frank Weaver was born in England, April 7th, 1881 and moved to Canada following his service in the South African War. At the time of this interview Mr. Weaver was 97-years-old. This interview was recorded in Saint John, New Brunswick on August 13, 1971 as part of the Living History Project completed by students and faculty of Military and Strategic Studies, Department of History, University of New Brunswick. This interview is used with permission of the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick. Mr. Weaver's interview was taped outdoors. VAC apologizes for the sometimes poor audio quality of these clips.
Meta Data
- Medium:
- Video
- Owner:
- Veterans Affairs Canada
- Duration:
- 05:01
- Person Interviewed:
- Frank Weaver
- War, Conflict or Mission:
- South African War
- Branch:
- Army
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