Eliza Anna Cheney

A photo appeared in a Natal newspaper ("The Times" ) with the following inscription:

"Mrs. E. A. Cheney, a widow lady, resident in Maritzburg, has no fewer than six sons in the South African Volunteer forces at the front, five of whom are Colonial born, and aged from 18 1/2 to36 years. One of Mrs. Cheney's sons, now in the Natal Carbineers, served in the Matabele war, and wears the medal for that campaign. Two of the Cheneys were employed in the "Times"office. Some Home parents can point to having several sons in the Imperial Army, but surely Mrs. Cheney can say that none of them can boast of having so many boys who think it the greatest honour to fight for their beloved Queen and country."

During the Boer War, six sons fought for the British and one, William, for the Boers. William was captured and court-martialed. Benjamin's wife, Eliza had a photograph taken and sent to Queen Victoria in a plea for clemency. William was tried for High Treason in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrates Court on 8 October 1900 and fined £3 He was held as a POW at Ceylon and was shipped home on the Templemore 19 July 1902

The photograph is still in existance, Ralph, a private with the South African Infantry during World War I, died in action in France in 1917.