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Welcome to our site which concerns itself with the history of Ladysmith, South Africa, up to 1905. It includes the famous siege and relief which occurred during the South African war of 1899-1902.
Over a period of twenty years, I have complied two databases, one recording the details of residents of the town and the other, for all known British personnel who died during the war. The latter includes information such as regiment, date, where they died, how and, a recently added column for a memorial, as I believe if a person makes the ultimate sacrifice for their country then that should be recorded somewhere in the world; this column is now 95% complte.
British Deaths Database, currently around 24000 plus names, are being compared with War Offces lists that were issued at the time, with some great statistics, a large number of which are not found on any other database making this one the most detailed yet found.
Queries relating to the information on the databases can be sent to kaigs@telkomsa.net for which there is no charge. Additional information can be sourced, for a nominal fee, within the province of KwaZulu Natal, at the various Archives and cemeteries.
I would greatly appreciate receiving any information on the history of Ladysmith, particularly family history, for possible inclusion on this site. It should be accompanied by authentication and presented in MS WORD with photographs in Jpg format. Acknowledgement of source will be given.
The majority of the photographs on this website are by kind permission of the Ladysmith Siege Museum Archives for which a big vote of thanks is extended!
Latest page added: Bernard Wegener account of the siege.
Two books published by Brian Kaighin are available and can now be downloaded from Amazon Kindle Books.
MIDDLEMAN; a novel that contains new “evidence” why the infamous JACK
stopped his killing spree in Victorian London and ended his days in
Ladysmith during the siege.
A DIARY OF THE SIEGE; a day by day account of life during the siege of Ladysmith.
Thanks for catching our site – enjoy!