Wilfred Samuel, an Actor in Paget's Horse.

Queen's South Africa Medal with Clasps "Cape Colony", "Orange Free State", "Transvaal" and "South Africa 1901".

13623 Pte. W. Samuel, 51st Company, Imperial Yeomanry.

 

Wilfred Samuel, the second child of Louis Samuel, a furniture manufacturer, was born in Cardiff on 17th October 1878. Wilfred is recorded on the 1891 Census as a 13 year old schoolboy at the boys boarding school run by Jacob Herman Cohen at 47 Buckingham Place, Brighton. His father had been born in Biala, Poland, and was originally a Russian subject but in June 1894, Louis took the oath of allegiance and obtained his Certificate of Naturalization from Herbert Henry Asquith, the future Prime Minister. At the time, the Samuel family was living at Pembroke Terrace, Cardiff.

Following the outbreak of war with the Boers, on 31st January 1900, Wilfred presented himself at 12 Suffolk Street, London, the office of the Imperial Yeomanry Committee, and enlisted in the 51st Company. The 51st was one of the four Companies, subsequently known as "Paget's Horse", raised by George Paget, an amateur soldier and Victorian adventurer. This was an exclusive unit made up of public school gentlemen, who were recruited through advertisements in fashionable London clubs. Paget's Horse wore insignia made up of the letters "PH" and this led to much speculation about its meaning, some wags claiming it stood for "Piccadilly Heroes", "Public House" or "Perfectly Harmless." Wilfred's Attestation Papers describe him as a 22 year old accountant, 5' 4" tall, weighing 121lbs and with dark eyes and hair and a fair complexion. His religion was stated as Jewish. He served in South Africa from March 1900 till November 1900, his Papers mentioning service at Elands River, Ottoshoop, Zeerust and Lindley. Wilfred Samuel's Queen's South Africa Medal is fitted with the clasp "South Africa 1901" and although this is noted in his Service Papers, it is crossed out on the Medal Roll with the annotation "not entitled." The clasp is attached with what look like official rivets so perhaps it was issued to him in error and, as he was not discharged from the Yeomanry until 20th January 1901, he may have felt entitled to it.

Interestingly, when Wilfred returned from South Africa, he was interviewed by a reporter from the South Wales Daily News and an article about his South African war service appeared in the paper on 24th November 1900.

With Paget’s Horse. Cardiffian’s Experience.

Return of Mr Wilfred Samuel.

Mr Wilfred Samuel, son of Mr Louis Samuel, J.P., of Cardiff, arrived home yesterday afternoon, and shortly before 5 0’clock was seen by our reporter. Mr Samuel appeared in excellent health except for an injured arm - wounded however not by a Boer bullet but by blood poisoning. He has seen plenty of exciting adventures. “These began,” he said in reply to questions, “on the voyage out when on board the Winkfield. We collided with the Mexican. It was pitch dark, and we all thought we were going to sink, but the captain’s words reassured us and he asked for volunteers to man the boats to go and try to save the Mexican’s passengers. I volunteered among the rest, and we were pulling about for five hours. At length, when day dawned, we found the Mexican, and brought off the women and children.” 

“When did you land?”

“It was right at the end of March. One of the first people I met in Cape Town was Councillor Ward of Cardiff. He was then waiting for a commission in Robert’s Horse. We went first of all for a month’s training at Maitland Camp, and after that we were engaged in putting down the rebellion in Griqualand West. We had some rough experiences here, and on one occasion 11 of our men were killed at night in their blankets.

“Subsequently,” added Trooper Samuel, “we served under General Carrington at Mafeking, and on the north western side of the Transvaal at Elands River, Zeerust, Ottoshoop, Lichtenburg and Rustenburg. We took part in several engagements and had some narrow escapes. On one occasion, at Elands River, 40 of us were lying on our stomachs for two hours, only being able to crawl, for fear of being shot by the Boer snipers. One of our fellows stood up, and instantly he fell mortally wounded. General Carrington is a fine officer, and much liked by us all, his command including a number of the colonials, who were all found splendid comrades. Here (Zeerust) we witnessed the burning of £500,000 worth of stores to prevent them falling into the hands of the enemy.”

“Any other Welshmen in your battalion?”

“Yes, two. One was Trooper Woolley, of the Gaer, Newport and the other Trooper Lawrence of Ferryside, or somewhere near. He is a brother of Mr Lawrence, the Cardiff civil engineer.”

“Meet with any others?”

“Oh yes. Several of the Glamorgan Yeomanry. Norman Biggs I saw at Belmont, and he said he would rather be playing football than fighting. I also saw young Austin and the two Nells. All of them looked very rough and ready for anything.

“I left our battalion, which was known humorously, because of the initials, as “Perfectly Harmless”, at Rustenburg, where I got fever and was sent to Deelfontein, where at the Yeomanry hospital, under the personal superintendence of Lady Chesham, we were splendidly treated. Subsequently I was sent down to Maitland and invalided home. I arrived at Southampton on Tuesday of the present week, and am on two months’ sick furlough, at the end of which time I shall have to report myself at Shorncliffe. On the voyage home I met with a young Welshman named Perry, who is in the Pembrokeshire Yeomanry.”

Trooper Samuel is a modest young fellow, but I managed also to extract from him the fact that he had twice had his horse shot under him. He furthermore declared - and I have no reason to doubt the fact – that Paget’s Horse have been during the campaign very far from “Perfectly Harmless.”

The 1901 Census records Wilfred as living with his father and brother Alfred at 1 Fitzalan Place, Cardiff and gives his occupation as actor. At around this time, he also seems to have begun calling himself Wilfred Stanford Samuel or just Wilfred Stanford, perhaps thinking this sounded more appropriate as a stage name. By 1906, he was the acting manager of the Camden Theatre in London and also a lieutenant in the 17th Middlesex Rifle Volunteers. In 1909, he appears as a sub-lieutenant  in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. The 1911 Census lists him as a theatre manager living in Maida Vale. In November 1913, Wilfred married Grace Clayton Dukeman, the daughter of a Los Angeles Jeweller, but the marriage only lasted six weeks before she left to return to the USA. Finally, in 1922, a court granted Wilfred Stanford Samuel a decree nisi after hearing details of a mocking letter she had written to him from on board the ship taking her back to America. The case was widely reported in the newspapers at the time.

In 1914, Wilfred Stanford Samuel was a lieutenant in the 4th Kings (Liverpool Regiment) attached to the 1st Battalion and went to France on 12th August, thus earning entitlement to the 1914 Star Medal. On 17th April 1915, he left Liverpool on the SS Abinsi (pictured below) bound for West Africa, where he would serve with the Nigeria Regiment in the West African Frontier Force and the Cameroons Expeditionary Force.

After the war, Captain Stanford Samuel returned to England and again took up the profession of acting. He may have found it hard to obtain work as he placed numerous advertisements in the papers at the time asking for employment. "Continuous Active Service Overseas. Aug 4 1914 - Dec 1919. Capt. Wilfred S. Stanford, Character Actor and Management. 20 years' Experience. At Liberty. Will any patriotic management offer engagement?" In the early 1920s, Wilfred's health seems to have worsened and in both April and August 1923, he had spells in hospital caused by "war disability." Sadly, on 1st March 1924, Wilfred  Stanford Samuel died, his recent bouts of ill health most probably a result of his years of service spent in the unhealthy climate of West Africa.

A short obituary appeared in the Western Mail on 7th March 1924.

The death occurred in London of Capt. Wilfred Stanford Samuel, eldest son of the late Mr. Louis Samuel, J.P., of Cardiff, and nephew of Mr. Isaac Samuel, J.P., of Cathedral Road. Capt. Samuel, who was about 45 years old, was born in Cardiff but in early life spent some time in South Africa and Australia. At the time of the Boer War he came home and joined up, and when the Great War came in 1914 he again volunteered and served right through the campaign. He was wounded twice. On one occasion he and a small number of men in France were blown up and he was the only survivor. He was removed unconscious to the base hospital six miles away, and remained in that condition for nearly a week. He saw service in France, Italy and East (sic) Africa. Capt. Samuel was married. The funeral took place on Wednesday at the Jewish Cemetery, Willesden.