239624 Drvr. Henry James Southam British Army Royal Horse Artillery from:Ivydene Villa, 7 Whitehouse Road, Dordon, Warwickshire Harry Southam was my grandfather. He died in 1953 when I was eight years of age. I remember him telling me about the Hills of Moab and the flies in his soup in the desert.
He was born in 1877 and was probably a little too old for front line service, so was assigned ambulance driver duties. I have his dog tag which reads Dr. H.J. Southam R.H.A. C.E. 216704. He brought back a few souvenirs including two Egyptian banknotes from 1917 which are now worth more than just a bob or two.
Pride of place in his front room display cabinet was a decorated ostrich egg. On the wall there was a flintlock pistol, probably liberated from one of the unruly natives; and two coshes each with a wooden ball at the end linked to a handle by a tight leather sheath made flexible with stuffed horsehair and doubtless used to quell said unruly natives. There was a coin which had been most likely used as a medallion, as a hole had been drilled through it. The coin showed two dates, the lower date on the coin which looks like irrr is Arabic for 1223, which equates to 1823 AD/CE. This is the year in which the reign of Ottoman Sultan Mahmud 11 began in Egypt. The upper date - which looks like r7- is Arabic for 26. This coin was, therefore, issued during the 26th year of Mahmud 11s reign. Add 26 to 1223 and the date becomes 1249. This equates to 1849 AD/CE which was the year the coin was issued.
After the war Harry returned home to his wife and daughter and continued in his trade as a carpenter and joiner using some of the tools that had once belonged to a nephew who had been killed at Ypres.
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