Military Chat

My daughters husband has a box handed down to him from a family member, It was made by a prisoner of war , carved on it is Corporal Gibbs Boer war with the letters B A M G does anyone know what the letters stand for

Have you tried googling?

Can't find anything by Googling. Could they be the initials of the person who made the box?

Kath. x

If you haven’t already, you may have to trace his family back to see if it contains anyone by the name of Gibbs. It may not necessarily be a direct ancestor, but someone who was ‘married in’ eg a great great aunts, husband’s sister’s brother- in-law!

Just in case relevant:

Gibbs
in the Web: South Africa, Second Boer War British Service Register, 1899-1902
Name: Gibbs
Military Rank: Corporal
Military Date: 1899-1902
Military Country: South Africa
Reference: Reference to a written source
Link:

The link leads here:

http://www.casus-belli.co.uk/index.asp?PageId=108

You'd have to register, and pay to view the record.

There were several other Gibbs men who were corporals in the Boer War. None has the initial B, but maybe B A M Gibbs was the POW's wife or child.

The only one with no initial given is the above man, who was in the Scots Guards.

It may be relative to something like "British Army Mafeking Garrison" or similar and not familial.

Re-reading the opening post - I had thought the box just had BAMG on it, but now I realise it also had "Corporal Gibbs Boer War", so it's not a decorative item as I'd imagined, such as a jewellery box which might have been made for a wife/sweetheart/chld.

Is it a big box, such as the man might have kept all his belongings in while a POW?

Have you traced the lineage of the 'family member' who handed down the item?

Is there a connection to the name Gibbs?

Just got back to my Daughter and she has had another look at the box . She now believes looking at the C in Corporal it is carved like a G so the letters are BAMC so do you think it could be the British Army Medical Corps

We have been trying to put a name to Corporal Gibbs going back through the family.The most likely is a Frederick, the family came from the London area.

Can you give us more info on him, please?
Dates? Parents? Siblings?

BAMC - the Corps name was/is Royal Army Medical Corps.
Is the B definitely B? Could it be R?

The RAMC was so named in 1898. Just before the start of the Boer War

Are you going to share with us what you know about Frederick, so that we can try to help? Or don’t you want any more assistance?