Royal Irish Rifles
The RIR were the garrison regiment in Ladysmith prior to the siege & just before leaving Ladysmith the battalion went through an epidemic of enteric fever which necessitated the other battalions in camp being sent out from Ladysmith. The RIR suffered, on the whole, less than the other troops stationed with them, & they remained in Ladysmith despite the outbreak. Leaving Ladysmith on the 24th.march, the Battalion went first by rail to Durban. There it embarked on the R.I.M.S. “Clive”, & sailed for Calcutta, en route for Dum Dum. It numbered 13 officers& 631 other ranks, besides 27 women & 47 children; 7 officers were at home on leave, whilst 91 non-commissioned officers & men remained in Ladysmith, of whom 56 were suffering from enteric fever.
The battalion erected in the cemetery at Ladysmith an obelisk to the memory of those who had died during their tour at that station, numbering one officer(Lieutenant & Quartermaster Cunningham who had been a great support to the cricket eleven of the Battalion) & 23 non-commissioned officers & men, also 1 woman & 9 children.
Reference. History of the Royal Irish Rifles by Lieutenant Colonel George Brenton Laurie.