Individual Details

Birth

Thomas Percival Lines
Event Type: Birth
Event Date: 1877
Event Place: New Zealand
Father's Name: Job Lines
Mother's Name: Susannah Ann Lines
Registration Number: 1877/16033

Death

Online Cenotaph: Thomas Percival Lines
Died 28 April 1901
SERVICE NUMBER: 1380
LAST RANK: South Africa Trooper, New Zealand Mounted Rifles, 4th Contingent (Rough Riders)
ADDRESS BEFORE ENLISTMENT: Buller Road, Westport, New Zealand
NEXT OF KIN ON EMBARKATION: Mr T. Baillie (friend), Westport, New Zealand
WAR: South African War, 1899-1902
MEDICAL NOTES: Died of Sickness, Cause of Death - Enteric fever
DEATH: 28 April 1901 Johannesburg, South Africa
MEMORIAL NAME: Ranfurly Veterans' Home, 539 Mount Albert Road, Three Kings, Auckland, New Zealand
Auckland War Memorial Museum, South African War Memorial 1899 - 1902

Before World War I, enteric fever, or typhoid fever, was the scourge of armies, and in the Anglo-Boer War killed more soldiers than enemy action. It is caused by a bacteria entering the body via contaminated food or water. Early symptoms include high fever, headaches and lassitude. Follicles along the intestinal walls later become inflamed, often leading to perforation and hemorrhaging. Other complications include gall bladder, pneumonia or heart failure. At the time of the Boer War, there were no antibiotic remedies for the disease.