Turtle Bunbury

Eva Halpin's great-uncle John Malone was farm manager at Lisnavagh. She married Alfred Ruddall shortly before his death in action at the battle of Spion Kop.
Eva Halpin’s great-uncle John Malone was farm manager at Lisnavagh. She married Alfred Ruddall shortly before his death in action at the battle of Spion Kop.

St Agnes, Cornwall, England
Spion Kop, Northern Natal, South Africa.
North Wall, Dublin, Ireland
Lisnavagh, Rathvilly, Co. Carlow, Ireland
Bunbury, West Australia

There are times when this globe of ours becomes incorrigibly small, when the ghosts of generations past glide across the oceans of time to leave one frankly gob-smacked.

The following tale should appeal to those amongst you who enjoy the peculiar dynamics of family history.

It begins with Lieutenant Alfred Rudall of the Imperial Light Infantry who was killed in action on 24th January 1900, while fighting the Boers at the battle of Spion Kop. The 23-year-old was leading a charge when a pom-pom shell landed on his head.

I discovered Alfred’s fate while researching the Rudall family for my prospective (and…

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