Private Henry Ruffle of the 80th Foot. Letter

Subject: Private Henry Ruffle of the 80th Foot. Letter Tue Sep 13, 2011 4:08 pm

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!South Africa: Zululand: Anglo-Zulu War: 1879 (Mar.) soldiers concessionary envelope to London, endorsed ''From No 2070 H Ruffle 80th Regt'' and ''On Active Service stamps not available'', countersigned by commanding officer at lower left, with faint target numeral bearing Cape of Good Hope 1d. affixed and cancelled at Cape Town on Mar. 14, and with Apr. 12 London arrival backstamp, also 1877 (Nov. 11) an earlier envelope from the same correspondence, franked by Natal 1877-79 1d. on 6d. cancelled by faint oval barred cancel and red crayon mark, with scarce ''No. 20 P.O./10 11/1877'' c.d.s. with indented inner circle alongside, handstruck ''d1'' and London Dec. 27 receiving mark, both with faults, nevertheless a most interesting pair. Private Henry Ruffle of the 80th Foot (Staffordshire Volunteers, from 1882 the South Staffordshire Regiment, now the Staffordshire Regiment) had been killed by the time his letter reached Cape Town. Together with 61 others from a force of 106 troops, he lost his life on March 12th at the Battle of Intombi River Drift which resulted from a surprise early morning Zulu attack."

Subject: Priv. Henry Ruffle 2070 80th Regt . Wed Sep 14, 2011 4:55 am

Henry Ruffle 2070 Private , Born ; Parish Whitechapel , London , Middlesex , Enlisted at Westminster 1 / 6 / 72 , age 24 yrs 6 mths,
Description ; Eyes Hazel , Hair Dark Brown , Complexion Dark , Height 5 Ft 5in , Trade Clerk , Served in ' A ' Co ( Muster Roll and Pay Book ) and in ' C ' Co ( Major Tucker's Report ) . Killed in Action 12 / 3 / 79 , Intombi River , South Africa . From ' A Staffordshire Regiment In The Zulu & Sekukuni Campaigns 1878 - 79 ' by Robert Hope .

cheers 90th.

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